Promo discussion: Episode 2x12

[treonb]

This post is intended to allow discussion of the upcoming episode, as reflected in the official show promos. 

Please keep the comments spoiler free from anything not mentioned in the promos (interviews, articles etc).

Clips will be added as they appear online.  If you find any clip floating around, please post in the comments and I'll update the post.

"The Americans 2x12 Promo [HD) "Operation Chronicle"" (Watch on YouTube)

Also:

• SpoilerTV
• VOD FX (in US)
• YouTube FX (in US)

Exclusive Scene:

• SpoilerTV
• VOD FX (in US)

Comments

[sistermagpie]

Facebook has the scene from next week up. A quick summary:

Clark arrives at Martha's to discover that she's brought home a pile of secret files because she thinks Clark's office should know how lax the security is there. Clark's almost wary of the goldmine she just laid at his feet, but she just needs to make a point.

Martha assures Clark that he doesn't have to worry she'll get in trouble. He never has to keep any secrets from her because she really loves everything about him. She even loves his toupee.

Um, "You know about that?"

[(Anonymous)]

So, does Martha's revelation put her in danger? Would Clark think she may be getting too close to the truth that he is not who he says he is? If so, what would/could he do about it?

[sistermagpie]

I took it as Martha definitely putting herself in danger. Not immediate danger because Philip now just has to remember that Clark wears a toupee/is losing his hair. But I'm sure any hints that Martha is seeing the brushmarks in this life he's created with her is dangerous. She's seen through the fakery.

Of course it's possible that Martha's assumed he had a toupee from the beginning just because his hair is weird. But to Philip it must feel a little bit like having his ass exposed. Worse than his ass. His natural hair.

It's kind of a great callback to his first scene of the season, which probably adds to the sinister feel of it. Things did not end well for the last person who looked under the hairpiece!

[soupytwist]

Things did not end well for the last person who looked under the hairpiece!

Oh my god seriously the symbolism of that is just killing me because MAAAARTHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

[katiac]

I took it as Martha definitely putting herself in danger. Not immediate danger because Philip now just has to remember that Clark wears a toupee/is losing his hair. But I'm sure any hints that Martha is seeing the brushmarks in this life he's created with her is dangerous. She's seen through the fakery.

That could really make things interesting. I kind of wondered if they really had time to dispatch of her this season (with only two episodes left and a lot of story coming around to a high point) but who knows.

[sistermagpie]

It would be interesting to have that just be one more thing that's gotten more dangerous. Clark's frozen smile is becoming like a permanent thing with him. It's probably too much to ask that we get to see Philip report this development to Elizabeth.

[katiac]

Interesting! Thanks for the summary!

[treonb]

I really appreciate you putting these up!

[treonb]

I wonder if we'll see Martha and Gaad now that she's no longer his devoted secretary, and what he'll make of it.

[sistermagpie]

Isn't she Gaad's secretary again now that he's back? Along with his pen?

[treonb]

Yep. But she's not his *devoted* secretary. Poor thing came in on the weekend to help him pack.

[quantumreality]

And then got lied to by Clark about what he said. :|

[(Anonymous)]

Of all the 'main' characters, P&E, Stan, Nina, Gaad, Arkady...even Oleg, my instincts tell me that Martha may be the most in danger of not surviving S2. After all, how long can this go on?

No surprise that Kate is gone, (making way for Claudia's return} and next will be Larrick. They cannot continue his rampage or there would never be a season 3.

Have no idea what is happening with Jared, but I think we will understand his relationship with Kate before the end of the season.

[katiac]

Of all the 'main' characters, P&E, Stan, Nina, Gaad, Arkady...even Oleg, my instincts tell me that Martha may be the most in danger of not surviving S2. After all, how long can this go on?

Yeah, I kind of feel the same way... maybe they could continue it a little into S3, but they don't really have *that* much room to go somewhere new and interesting with Martha. They haven't had her in 4 episodes this season, which I think is a wise move if they don't have anything important for her to do that episode, much like they do with Sandra and the kids, and I kind of wonder how much longer it can really stretch out without just seeming pitiful. Of course in real life, many of the fake marriages lasted for years, but real life spies would never be doing some of the thrilling stuff we see either.

[treonb]

They could have her start to suspect and flip on him. But that would be too dangerous for Philip and would definitely end with her dead.

[jae]

Yeah, I've been wondering if maybe she's going to find out that Clark isn't what he seems and turn on him, and then Clark will pull a runner. Maybe she'll even work directly with Stan to try to track down the illegals next season?

Aren't there pictures of Clark, though? The very thought makes my blood run cold.

-J

[tjl1]

Thank you for the summary. I feel reduced to second class fan by this geolocation business...

Oh, dear. Its true that the last person who saw under that wig did not survive that sight for too long.

But Martha has had a lot of time to take a real close look at his head and she really isn't stupid - I'm not sure how she could not know at this point. So, maybe presenting him with a big pile of intel and announcing that she doesn't mind that he is hiding things from her is actually cementing her bond with him.

Not that this doesn't stress Philip extremely. But she continues to prove valuable.

I still think the danger lies more from the FBI figuring it out than from Philip. Between the wedding picture and that pen - this is not going to end well. Not that much does on this show...

[georgley]

There is a wedding photo of Clark and Martha in Martha's apartment.

Pictures of Clark

[katiac]

Yeah, there's the one on the side table next to the couch, and I think there's a new one we can see in this week's sneak peek.

Which actually complicates things quite a bit, IMHO. It makes the "Clark dying" option of getting out of things with Martha harder to pull off because what reasonable way would they have for Jennifer to come in later and say she needed all of Martha's old pictures? Wouldn't Martha feel freer once Clark could no longer get in trouble with his department (because he was dead) to keep a picture at work on her desk? Or tell people why she's upset?

Pictures

[jae]

Yeah, that's the one I was thinking of, too.

-J

Pictures

[katiac]

Yeah, I'm a little surprised he was willing to take that step... really complicates things and doesn't spell a good end for Martha.

Re: Pictures

[jae]

It just seems like such a faux pas! Although I guess I'm not sure how he could have prevented it.

-J

[quantumreality]

I IRL gasped and then laughed out loud in that "WTF" way when I saw Stan roll on into the safe house and meet Arkady!

DAMN MISTER SPYMASTER REZIDENT DO YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE A SPLASH OR WHAT.

I can't wait to see the actual scene next week! :D Gonna be goooooood. :D

[sistermagpie]

Had a thought about the preview less than a day before the ep airs...the moment where Elizabeth says of Paige and Henry "If they were in his shoes right now they'd be dead...." I wonder if Jared does turn out to have been raised with more information and Elizabeth's wondering if they should have followed Emmett and Leanne's example.

Jared

[katiac]

It's really kind of fascinating to think about. It would be a great twist if they did that since she's not only getting to see one worst case scenario play out (as it's fascinating enough just to think of her having to spring the information on Jared cold) but also see how Philip's idea of telling them from the pilot might go, and also (if Jared does fall more in line with his parents) see how Paige might've been more like her if she'd been raised more truthfully. It's like in one way it's the last thing she wants for her kids, but I think part of her kind of yearns for it too... she doesn't want Paige out there having to seduce random men for information, but must also crave her and her daughter actually connecting in a gut-level, real way they've never been able to.

It's coming

[(Anonymous)]

At the end of the trailer, E says: "It's coming. You know it is." What is she talking about? Could that be the necessity of telling the kids about their real jobs?

CA

Re: It's coming

[treonb]

If it is, what changed from the pilot? Elizabeth was so adamant there that the kids shouldn't be told. And this season, Elizabeth decided not to tell Jared. Though he was much older and maybe had a right to know (though I think it was the right choice, given the circumstances..).

Re: It's coming

[(Anonymous)]

Ah, yes, but so much has happened since that pilot (and the slap) and the idea that they should think about defection. Not only are the children older, wiser, and more suspicious, but there have been so many brutal missions, not to mention the murders of Leann and Emmett. While Philip seems to be more emotionally affected by the killing of innocents, Elizabeth may have become a bit more like Philip in that she wants to protect her children.

It's possible that her position has shifted. She sees Jared as a surrogate for her own children and it frightens her. If she thinks she needs to extricate Jared, doesn't she need to extricate her own children?

I love the dilemmas and mysteries that this series presents to us.

CA