I think one of the biggest differences between Philip and Elizabeth is that Philip is a pragmatist and Elizabeth an idealist. And I think that this also plays into what Apolla said. I think Mischa created a character for Philip when he came to the US and has grown with that character over the years. It's his default persona that incorporates things he likes and loves. Elizabeth thinks of Elizabeth as a cover and doesn't really want to think of herself as having grown into her US life at all, though of course she has, especially as a mother.
So yeah, I think that Elizabeth above all wants to be loyal to the cause--as Zhukov said she was chosen because she'd never surrender. While Philip is above all a survivor. He's looked around the US and definitely thinks he can survive here. Though he could survive elsewhere as well. Both Philip and Elizabeth have proved they have the ability to adapt and I think they could again. It's not really the living conditions or the place that sustains either of them.
Both of them want to have it all and they see different ways of getting that. In the pilot Elizabeth saw telling the kids as terrible, just a way to make the kids hate them--but that was when it was part of the defection package. As a way to get the kids into the cause with them it suddenly seems doable. Likewise Philip though telling the kids was fine as a lead-up to a defection retirement plan with minimal betrayal of the USSR. But telling them to bring them in would destroy them.
So I think on some level for both of them the kids are bound up in "life in the US." They disagree on whether one can be a loyal Soviet while enjoying all those beautiful shoes, and whether enjoying their life is a weakness. But they've come to see that those differences don't make either of them untrustworthy to the other. But they both value their kids the same, and their kids are part of their life as the Jennings. And the kids can speak for themselves.
I think it's easier for the guys at the Rezidentura because they have a more open relationship with the US. They can enjoy things to an extent, and without the anxiety about their identity. They're also surrounded by other people being openly Russian and can see their reactions to things. Philip and Elizabeth only have each other to go by.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2014-08-13 02:09 am (UTC)So yeah, I think that Elizabeth above all wants to be loyal to the cause--as Zhukov said she was chosen because she'd never surrender. While Philip is above all a survivor. He's looked around the US and definitely thinks he can survive here. Though he could survive elsewhere as well. Both Philip and Elizabeth have proved they have the ability to adapt and I think they could again. It's not really the living conditions or the place that sustains either of them.
Both of them want to have it all and they see different ways of getting that. In the pilot Elizabeth saw telling the kids as terrible, just a way to make the kids hate them--but that was when it was part of the defection package. As a way to get the kids into the cause with them it suddenly seems doable. Likewise Philip though telling the kids was fine as a lead-up to a defection retirement plan with minimal betrayal of the USSR. But telling them to bring them in would destroy them.
So I think on some level for both of them the kids are bound up in "life in the US." They disagree on whether one can be a loyal Soviet while enjoying all those beautiful shoes, and whether enjoying their life is a weakness. But they've come to see that those differences don't make either of them untrustworthy to the other. But they both value their kids the same, and their kids are part of their life as the Jennings. And the kids can speak for themselves.
I think it's easier for the guys at the Rezidentura because they have a more open relationship with the US. They can enjoy things to an extent, and without the anxiety about their identity. They're also surrounded by other people being openly Russian and can see their reactions to things. Philip and Elizabeth only have each other to go by.