theamericans | Promo discussion: Episode 2x06

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This post is intended to allow discussion of the upcoming episode, as reflected in the promos. It will be updated as more promos appear.

Please keep the comments spoiler free from anything not mentioned in these promos.

"Next On: Behind the Red Door" (Watch on YouTube)

"The Americans: Exclusive Scene from Episode 6" (Watch on YouTube)

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From:

jae

Where as for Philip Elizabeth's question about "would Clark ever be unfaithful?" might be more to the point because if he was going to "be" Clark with Elizabeth he'd actually be being Clark and that would require a more fully realized scenario (and would probably bring up some issues when he went back to be Clark with Martha having been unfaithful).

EXACTLY. It would be something that he couldn't undo, and couldn't pretend hadn't happened when he's with Martha later. It would become a piece of Clark and what he'd done, and he'd have to incorporate that. It would be emotionally hugely complex for him in ways I think Elizabeth wouldn't fully understand.

But maybe...this is going to sound kind of horrible, but...maybe that wouldn't ultimately matter? I mean, he's obviously willing to have Clark do hurtful things to Martha when the situation calls for it; this would just be another level of that. And as far as Martha's concerned, it of course wouldn't be any different from him having sex with her as Philip in terms of the degree to which she'd perceive it as cheating.

-J

From:

sistermagpie

Yeah, that's exactly how I thought he would see it. Clark would somehow meet Elizabeth--maybe Philip knows that Clark's being honeytrapped. I mean...the situation almost writes itself. Because Clark isn't a spy, he's a pencil-pusher--the very type that Elizabeth would make mince meat of. And once in bed Clark would be thrilled to get all wild animal with her!

But he'd bring that back to Martha. Maybe he'd just be guilty. Maybe he'd even have to confess he met some woman who came onto him. Maybe he wouldn't confess that he slept with her, but he might say he didn't and felt guilty about it anyway because he was tempted and he loves Martha, which would give Martha a chance to be the worldly one and love her rule-following husband for being so earnest and true.

But the possibilities with Philip for this are just endless.

From:

katiac

Clark would somehow meet Elizabeth--maybe Philip knows that Clark's being honeytrapped. I mean...the situation almost writes itself. Because Clark isn't a spy, he's a pencil-pusher--the very type that Elizabeth would make mince meat of. And once in bed Clark would be thrilled to get all wild animal with her!

That scenario would actually kind of work because it also gives Philip a psychological out if they're both roleplaying and it's not just him. Like it isn't just him acting like "Clark" while Elizabeth is just Elizabeth, but both of them playing something out, and with "Clark" being the victim of a honeytrap, it rather takes some of the blame off him as well.

So long until Wednesday!

From:

katiac

But maybe...this is going to sound kind of horrible, but...maybe that wouldn't ultimately matter? I mean, he's obviously willing to have Clark do hurtful things to Martha when the situation calls for it; this would just be another level of that. And as far as Martha's concerned, it of course wouldn't be any different from him having sex with her as Philip in terms of the degree to which she'd perceive it as cheating.

No, I don't think it's horrible because really I don't think it enters into his thinking in a huge way. On the grand scale of what he's doing to Martha, that's kind of small time, you know? But at the same time, since one/the point of "Clark" psychologically is to make spy work bearable/possible for Philip, dragging that other piece into it would have to be something that has positives that vastly outweigh the negatives that would come with it, which is why I kind of wonder if they'll try something more in the middle first (Philip using some of the qualities Elizabeth was turned on by in what she heard about "Clark" and allowing her to get some of what she wants while he also gets to protect some of what he wants.) And I could see them roleplaying like in one of the personalities that isn't so actively hurting someone (Scott, for example), or one of her random black leather-clad girls at the bar, it just seems messy to go there straight off with Clark.

From:

sistermagpie

Also I imagine there's got to be different levels of separation between Philip and Clark. I almost want to use the terms Doylist and Watsonian here.

It's from the Doylist perspective that Clark is doing horrible things to Martha. That's what Philip would see when he looked at the situation as Philip, who is controlling what Clark does.

But the Watsonian perspective--Clark's perspective--is different. From his pov he's a government agent who's secretly married this woman and just loves her and wants to be with her and is worried they'll get caught. When Martha says she's thinking of applying for a job in a non-espionage department, Philip is alarmed because it will make her useless. So he directs Clark to make sure she stays where she is.

That then gets translated into a different motivation for Clark--doesn't Martha want to be in a more important department? I mean, Clark takes his job so seriously and part of his attraction to Martha, although he wouldn't want her to know this, is that she's doing Important Work. So he genuinely does feel like she's selling herself short if she's just making more money in a department that doesn't excite him as much.

But this is more difficult if Clark's having an affair, because now it's reversed. Philip doesn't really want Clark to be bothered by it at all, but Clark knows he had an affair and has to deal with it as cheating on Martha in ways Philip wasn't cheating.

Iow, currently Clark isn't doing anything bad to Martha, Philip is. But if Clark cheated on her Clark would be hurting her.

From:

jae

Yeah, this is exactly how I see it too (or how I see him seeing it).

That said, though, I do think he'd manage to find a way around (or more likely, through) the convolutedness of this. I just don't see him turning her down on this, and like Katia, I think it could be tremendously exciting to him in the end.

-J

Edited (I actually can spell my native language! *g*) Date: 2014-03-30 04:10 pm (UTC)

From:

sistermagpie

Yes, I think it would be OOC for him to both not agree to it and agree to it right away. It's a tricky area so he's not going to be like her and just think of it as a fun game. But he's not totally against it in the scene we see. He just has to come around to it. His first response is always going to be kneejerk and defensive but if they can figure out a way he'd be up for it, surely.

Plus it's again a great way to advance the way they're both moving this season. She's exploring how she feels about him and sex etc. He's considering figuring out who he is as a whole person instead of separate people.