Question of the week #41

[treonb]

The Church and Pastor Tim seem to serve as additional parental figures for Paige--parental figures that provide a more unambiguously black-and-white, worldview than her real parents can. We also know that Philip and Elizabeth will soon be asked to tell Paige the truth about their jobs and their lives in the U.S.

Do you think Paige might confide in her pastor if her parents try to bring her in?  What do you think she would tell him?

You can expect spoilers for the entire first two seasons in the comments.

(There's no expiration date on these questions, so if you're reading this post months later and feel like jumping in, please do.)

Comments

[sistermagpie]

Also, there's so many degrees of knowledge here, it's not all or nothing. Philip and Elizabeth could tell Elizabeth something about what they do without explaining any of the details. She's not going to leap to the conclusion that Philip has a second wife, Elizabeth's blowing strangers in hotel rooms, they're both assassinating people. She doesn't know the details and she'd have no reason to know them. These aren't things either parent would be eager to talk about with her and they're going to be naturally reticent anyway because these are secrets that aren't always just theirs to keep. I think they'd both be somewhat aware that there's a huge difference between what they consider normal (like Elizabeth just saying "it happens" about guys getting rough in the bedroom with her) and what other people consider normal (Paige being more freaked out by seeing them having sex than they were).

One of the interesting things about that last ep, the more I think about it, is that Philip actually doesn't tell Arkady the kids are off limits. He tells him that the Centre can't approach the kids themselves. It's still presumably understood that Philip and Elizabeth are expected to fall in line. So that's where we're left, with Philip prepared to find a way to avoid having the kids brought in and Elizabeth considering whether they should do it. They made it an issue between the two Jennings instead of Jennings vs. the Centre for now.

[katiac]

And it seems like what he's really objecting to is their exploitation, the same way Jared was used, and seen 0as this bright shiny object by the Centre, to the point they wound up losing not only him, but two other agents, and Amelia in their greed. If Paige came to the conclusion on her own she wanted to spy for the KGB, it's not like he would object on ideological grounds, or like he loves Elizabeth any less because of what they do. But he doesn't want their kids treated like pawns, manipulated into the spy game and put at great risk unless it's something they freely want. Elizabeth just doesn't view it the same way so the same issues don't come up. And really P and E have to be thinking with the kids they're so close to being "safe." Paige will be an adult in 4 years, Henry in just 7 and then even if something were to happen to their parents, they've reached an age where they can survive, even if a bit messily, and now the Centre wants to take that future from the kids too, who never signed up for this.

[sistermagpie]

Yes, I think it's also significant beyond just that the two of them tend to play Devil's Advocate with each other, that Elizabeth was so freaked out over the idea of Paige and Henry being set loose in Europe where they'd be "dead in a week" in her mind, while Philip had confidence they'd be fine. It reflects their views a bit here, I think. Elizabeth sees the kids being under the eye of the center as potentially a good thing because it gives them structure for their life, protection and stability in exchange for their sacrifice and work. She saw them being completely on their own as dangerous to them because they're so unprepared.

Where as Philip saw that situation as a sink or swim moment that would end with them swimming. This I think, is reflected in the little we know about them both. Elizabeth has always needed something bigger to give her life shape and been disturbed by things like kids playing all day, thinking it makes them soft and directionless. Philip seems to really like the idea of them having freedom to choose to be or do what they want--and he seems to see survival situations in his own life as really formative. He never got to the end of that story about the milk but he seemed to be setting it up as a moment where he took control when left on his own. So the only two stories Philip's ever told about his past life involved play (swordfighting with icicles) and survival. Where Elizabeth's stories are more about responsibility and sacrifice (she took care of her mother on her own;they refused food because it came with hidden strings attached). Survival is Philip's default mode.