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theamericans2014-05-21 05:14 pm
jae) wrote in theamericans2014-05-21 05:14 pm
Entry tags:
Episode discussion post: "Echo"
Aired:
21 May 2014 in the U.S. and Canada
25 May 2014 in Israel
7 June 2014 in the UK
This is a discussion post for episode 213 of The Americans, intended for viewers who are watching the show on the U.S./Canadian schedule. (Feel free to dive in to the discussion even if you're coming in late--and you should also feel free to start a new thread if it seems too daunting to read through what's already been posted first. If you're reading this at a point where you've already seen subsequent episodes, though, please take care to keep comments spoiler-free of anything that comes after season two, episode thirteen.)
Original promo trailer
Episode recaps
From Grantland
From Time
From the Washington Post
From Rolling Stone
From the AV Club
From Hitfix
From IGN
From the Huffington Post: Karen Fratti, Maureen Ryan
From Vulture
From Variety
From the Tampa Bay Times
From Sound on Sight
From Collider
From Paste Magazine
From Gawker
From the Cloture Club
From tv.com
From tvrage.com
From Headline Planet
From spoilertv.com (in French)
From TV Ate My Wardrobe
From GAMbIT Magazine
From showratings.tv
From Comments Enabled
From Boob Tube Dude
From Unreality Primetime (UK)
21 May 2014 in the U.S. and Canada
25 May 2014 in Israel
7 June 2014 in the UK
This is a discussion post for episode 213 of The Americans, intended for viewers who are watching the show on the U.S./Canadian schedule. (Feel free to dive in to the discussion even if you're coming in late--and you should also feel free to start a new thread if it seems too daunting to read through what's already been posted first. If you're reading this at a point where you've already seen subsequent episodes, though, please take care to keep comments spoiler-free of anything that comes after season two, episode thirteen.)
Original promo trailer
Episode recaps
From Grantland
From Time
From the Washington Post
From Rolling Stone
From the AV Club
From Hitfix
From IGN
From the Huffington Post: Karen Fratti, Maureen Ryan
From Vulture
From Variety
From the Tampa Bay Times
From Sound on Sight
From Collider
From Paste Magazine
From Gawker
From the Cloture Club
From tv.com
From tvrage.com
From Headline Planet
From spoilertv.com (in French)
From TV Ate My Wardrobe
From GAMbIT Magazine
From showratings.tv
From Comments Enabled
From Boob Tube Dude
From Unreality Primetime (UK)
While watching thoughts
Why point out where the phone number is for? He doesn't need to know and it's better if he doesn't.
Long silence in the kitchen.
Some pauses in the car too, like before "That must have been hard". Oooh, some Philip backstory...
.. cut off by something so dramatic that it gets a background track :)
Obviously #1 priority is the shoes. I like them listening to the scanner and not visibly going to his rescue. I'm surprised neither change expression when they hear that he's dead - much better than being captured alive, I'd have thought.
Presumably that's a genuine aerial view of the time, rather than being manipulated to look old.
Argh, no paper sleeve for the floppy?!? And just one?!? (In terms of having local backups when, not if, the floppy fails, perhaps because it wasn't kept sleeved - the source code is MATLAB, and we're about a couple of years before that was commercially released, so it isn't going to be particularly large.)
Ha, after someone's (been) sacrificed in a more permanent way, and with all her parents have done this season. Including letting others be sacrificed.
Oooh, how clever of Stan. It wouldn't work if it wasn't a scripting language like MATLAB.
Not wanting kids is one of the bigger lies for Philip, even if it's really 'more' and 'with you'.
Ha, red wine in the fridge again, and oooh there's the gun.
This is going to be difficult to explain - a motel reservation is enough to do this?!?
Ha, at the love advice from the KGB.
Ha, at walking past Martha taking advantage of the mail robot. Oh, dream.
Why go to the cabin?? Apart for the dramatic reason of getting one of P&E, Jared and - ha, yes - Larrick in the same spot, absolutely nothing good can come of it.
Stan looks like he's trying for the part of a zombie.
Doesn't Gaad look a bit like a young Reagan?
Ha, at the very innocent looking meeting.
How did Larrick find him, unless Elizabeth talked?
"Where's mom and dad?" Yes, it is totally weird.
Ooooh, note that Jared doesn't even think of raising his hands. Why does Elizabeth take him along, when Larrick hasn't addressed anything to him?
Bit obvious, that 'gun in belt' shot.
What's in Jared's pockets? Whaaat?!? No way would Larrick want to turn these two in.
Nicely choreographed fight, but I'm still not convinced Larrick would lose it.
Ha!!! at Jared's confession.
Lovely looks at the family day out. What's Henry going to do in the future...
Would Nina be shown the note?
This has been more crushing to Philip and Elizabeth than just about anything else.
I like the way Oleg can't look at her as she goes past. I don't think this is the last we'll see of her.
Hmm, not convinced by the explanation. Or the 'Paige is next' twist. Guaranteed to alienate Philip and Elizabeth, especially after what has happened.
How did he know where Arkady would be?
That's too obviously a setup for season three. Why send Philip on a dangerous private mission and then go 'Oh, well, they could be right?' Her letting Paige do more with the church would be more plausible.
Love advice from the KGB
'Don't behave with her how you want to behave - she is too different and won't respect you' is one way of putting someone off.
Re: Love advice from the KGB
-J
Re: Love advice from the KGB
Re: While watching thoughts
I really feel like just about everything Philip does as his character is a big lie. Other people have said this before, and I feel it fits, that Elizabeth seems to pull parts of herself into the character she has to play (the rape story with Brad) and Philip seems to try to invent an entirely new character, perhaps to keep the persona as far from himself as possible as a defensive mechanism. Sometimes he will use something he's learned over the course of being human on one of his assets, but I really think he's always thinking of it through "Clark's" viewpoint when he's over there, and "Clark" doesn't want kids at all. Whether "Philip Jennings" happens to want or have them is irrelevant to "Clark" I think in his head.
Philip "lying" in character
You could actually make the argument that what Philip is actually doing is creating another truth--just one that doesn't have anything directly to do with him, and belongs entirely to his character. I think this must be how Philip himself thinks of it.
-J
Re: Philip "lying" in character
Ooh, I completely forgot about those!
I was also wondering how much code you could put on a disk.
Oooh, how clever of Stan. It wouldn't work if it wasn't a scripting language like MATLAB.
I don't get that. In general I didn't get just sticking the thing in and having the code display so nicely.
Not wanting kids is one of the bigger lies for Philip, even if it's really 'more' and 'with you'.
I thought his repeating "this is who I am" was even worse.
Doesn't Gaad look a bit like a young Reagan?
Yes!
How did Larrick find him, unless Elizabeth talked?
Find who?
I like the way Oleg can't look at her as she goes past. I don't think this is the last we'll see of her.
I think it's more that he doesn't trust himself, but then he throws caution to the wind. And I certainly hope so.
How did he know where Arkady would be?
Excellent question.
Re: Philip "lying" in character
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_floppy_disk
More info! :)
Re: Philip "lying" in character
It's just the source code - he's either looking at it in an editor or they've just listed it to the screen - so it's formatted for human readability. Being a scripting language means he doesn't have to steal compiled code (which wouldn't display so easily!) and the KGB will have to get the libraries and the interpreter.
How did Larrick find Philip? Unless it's walking distance from the cabin, Elizabeth must have been dropped off, and if he was watching, he could have seen the car, and possibly went looking for that.
Re: Philip "lying" in character
Re: While watching thoughts
I have to wonder about that. There's a scene where the brand-new black highway cuts off suddenly at an overpass and the remainder of the road looks older and concrete-y.
Maybe someone on the show's staff could do a Q&A about how much they have to do in "post" to avoid obvious post-1980s anachronisms in long-range shots like that.
Aerial view
It did make me realise where it is, relative to the park with the Washington Monument / Lincoln Memorial etc. I thought it was off in some distant suburb.
Whenever it was, it must be a day off for most of the staff, given how many cars there are in the car parks!
Re: While watching thoughts
Re: While watching thoughts