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theamericansThis is the discussion post for "Safe House" and "Only You" (episodes 1.9 and 1.10) in the group rewatch of seasons one and two. When you rewatched the episodes, was there anything you noticed that you didn't notice the first time (and any subsequent times) you saw them? What things about them did you perhaps view differently after having seen the later episodes?
You can expect spoilers for the entire first and second seasons in the comments. Feel free to join in even if you only got to rewatch one of the episodes.
You can expect spoilers for the entire first and second seasons in the comments. Feel free to join in even if you only got to rewatch one of the episodes.
Safe House
Date: 2014-11-07 08:27 pm (UTC)While we're at the FBI side of things: Gaad's original plan - killing Arkady - would have been a really dumb way of escalating things. I mean: the head of the Rezidentura? But as opposed to the Amador flashbacks, I buy this as ic and fitting the escalating cold war situation of the era.
Rewatching, I'm pretty sure this is where Nina first starts to rethink her options. So far, she's bet on Stan on the best chance she has to get out of this alive, but here Stan demonstrates that he can easily turn on her, and that in a doubtful situation, she's still the enemy. Vlad's death later settles it.
Something I paid attention to upon this rewatch was whether there was something Philip could have done to get out of the Amador encounter without either blowing his cover or taking out Amador. And you know, I don't think so. Not because Amador suspected Clark of being anything but a rival for Martha, but precisely because Amador thought that, and was set on using his FBI agent status to intimidate and harrass Clark. Of course, if Clark were real, he could have called Amador's bluff and simply produced his own identification badge. Presumably Philip has a fake one, but given Amador's jealousy, he'd have checked up on Clark later. The one thing Philip could have avoided was staying at Martha's apartment for the night, but he had no way of knowing she had a jealous ex boyfriend waiting outside.
Which leads me to: this episode's Clark and Martha scenes. The sex scene, as sex scenes on this show do, being part of the characterisation: Philip-as-Clark's face was completely empty and downright chilling while he was having sex with her (which she couldn't see due to the position). Given he's just left crying Henry, angry Paige and determined Elizabeth, it's no wonder that he utterly divorces the act from any emotion. And that's a contrast again to the scene where Martha asks him the very same thing Elizabeth did a few episodes earlier - "is this real?", and Philip-as-Clark does have to use emotion when telling her "yes". Martha breaks my heart a little here, because she's so hopeful and so laying herself emotionally bare with her admission of love and longing for it to be real, and nothing good can come out of this for her, ever. Btw, Philip taking her up on the offer to stay the night post sex is one of the few times where he uses Clark to fulfill an emotional need of his own, in this case, not wanting to go to his motel room in this first night of separation from his family.
The "Elizabeth and Philip break the news to the kids" sequence is such a richness of characterisation. Paige blows up and looks for someone to blame, immediately settling on her mother, Henry withdraws into himself, locks himself away and silently cries, and it wouldn't even need Philip outside the door on the floor in mirror position to point out how they mirror their parents here. On this rewatch, I was also struck by Paige's angry "why are you taking her side?" to Philip in the family scene later in the episode because it reminded me of Elizabeth siding with Philip completely when Philip has his own fallout with Paige in season 2. Paige and Elizabeth have this emotional set up where where they need to pick a side and prove their love and loyalty by going into attack mode, and Philip's way of seeing both sides drives them not a little mad.
And here's why I ship Philip and Elizabeth, which I decided I do when watching this episode for the first time a few months ago: no matter how screwed up their husband and wife/romantic situation is at any given time, they have each other's back at partners. The mutual complete lack of bickering and snide attacks when dealing with the Amador crisis continues to deeply impress me.
Re: Safe House
Date: 2014-11-07 10:26 pm (UTC)I also always remember that moment when Stan gets rough with Nina--it does seem like a moment she would make sure she never forgot. It's also a nice foreshadowing of his loyalties in S2. Not that it's the same situation, but Stan's anger at Nina does seem to come from a real us vs. them place.
I've always loved the "taking his side" line from Paige. As with so many things in the scene, it works in multiple ways. Presenting a united front is absolutely the standard way for healthy parents to go, but it just infuriates Paige. It also makes me think of S2 where Paige starts to see her parents as a united team of hypocrites when they stand together.
But also, like you said, it rather mirrors Elizabeth's thinking, and in a way that can have serious consequences. Elizabeth tends to see Philip's ability to see both sides as a flaw, an inability to be truly loyal or committed, or worst of all as weak. And I get the impression in scenes like this, and later in S2, that Paige could very easily see it the same way. She knows that Elizabeth is the hardass in the family and Dad's the nice one. Sometimes that makes her protective of him, but I think other times she sees him as not standing up for himself--just as Elizabeth in S2 scolds him that he lets Paige walk all over him.
The fun thing about that aspect is I think both of them have the potential to be surprised by how not weak he actually is because there's not a lot of opportunity for Paige, especially, to see it. He spends a lot of time projecting a personality that's non-threatening, but of the two of them (P&E) Philip's got the higher body count, he's the one with the "monster" theme in his arc and I think also the one more likely to do non-professional violence. Elizabeth's fight with Timoshev is a special case that was about more than just doing violence to him, and her losing it on the Israeli agent was more panicked flailing than targeted damage. It always comes across differently to me than Philip's murder of Timoshev and his attack on the mall guy, complete with a toasting fork to the testicles (followed by stealing the guy's hamburger!)
But he's still definitely not an example of the thing Elizabeth says she and Paige have in common, that need to give themselves over to something bigger. I can definitely see Paige as being more attracted to someone offering her a ready guide on how to live her life in the right way and make a difference (Elizabeth and the KGB) than Philip only wanting to give her the chance to make her own choices. That does seem to be what she likes about church. And it's neatly summed up in Philip's line "You respect Jesus but not us?" Iow, you respect a long dead person for outsized heroism and sacrifice, but hold the people who actually care for you day to day in contempt. You dismiss the little good things in favor of a big good thing that may not be real.
Re: Safe House
Date: 2014-11-08 07:23 am (UTC)Yes. I mean, yes, he's already feeling protective (when not angry because of Amador) and a little in love with her and will fall more and more in love, but not only doesn't it override his basic loyalties. Plus the Nina he's in love with is in large parts his fantasy of a woman in need of rescuing from the bad Soviet Union. As soon as there is a situation with the unpleasant reminder that Nina is actually part of the Soviet system, she's outside the magic circle that defines "us".
Parents presenting a united front: Philip and Elizabeth are actually consistently good at that through both seasons, aren't they? One more reason why the tag scene in the s2 finale is so potentially devastating. Given that they both grew up as semi orphans according to what we know, btw, that seems to be something they decided on their own they must do, not based on role models.
The fun thing about that aspect is I think both of them have the potential to be surprised by how not weak he actually is because there's not a lot of opportunity for Paige, especially, to see it.
Well, Paige got a few very unsettling and frightening glimpses in s2. I think she handled stuff like Elizabeth waking her up in the middle of the night to clean the kitchen better, because that's consistent with Elizabeth as she's always known her. (Err, not that I think Elizabeth dealt out this specific punishment before, but you know what I mean.) Whereas both Philip laying down the law when he caught her lying and then later Philip's big "You respect Jesus, but not us!" outburst are something absolutely new to Paige and inconsistent with funny, unthreatening Dad as she knows him. I don't think it makes her revise her idea of Philip from "sometimes, he's Mom's doormat and he shouldn't be" to "Dad really has this other side"; rather it makes her conclude that maybe all of her ideas about him are wrong and she doesn't trust him anymore.
But back to the taking sides thing which both Paige and Elizabeth do. Whereas it doesn't seem to occur to Henry at any point during the separation that he should/could choose between Mom and Dad (rather, he's afraid that they could abandon him if they can abandon each other), Paige immediately goes to that emotional place, and it's frustrating for her that Philip doesn't do the "you and me against the world, especially Mom" thing, not even in a subtle, nudge, wink way. (BTW, it just strikes me how big a contrast this is to the Walter-Skyler-Junior/Flynn situation in season 3 of Breaking Bad, where Walt is really good at making Skyler look bad and unfair in their son's eyes and while doing lip service to defending her makes it very clear to Junior Skyler alone is to blame for their separation.)
Elizabeth's fight with Timoshev is a special case that was about more than just doing violence to him, and her losing it on the Israeli agent was more panicked flailing than targeted damage.
Well, there is at least one more case of Elizabeth using physical violence for emotional, not professional reasons, and that's her beating up Claudia in Trust Me, where Philip has to restrain her from downright killing Claudia. But that's, again, a very specific situation and not something she'd have done (or not in this way) if she'd time to think about it between the revelation of the truth and getting her hands on Claudia. Whereas when we see Philip use violence - as with the guy in the mall - or almost use violence, as with Pastor Tim -, he HAS had time to think about it. So I agree with your general characterisation! Philip's frustratingly unfinished story from his childhood seems to indicate that using violence was how he stopped the other children bullying him. Whereas for Elizabeth the traumatic experience of violence came later, when she was raped, and where defending herself could have ruined her career and life - there was no catharsis via violence as a youthful imprint.
Re: Safe House
Date: 2014-11-08 04:18 pm (UTC)With Philip, like you said, the angry outbursts seem very much controlled and planned. Even the blind-spot guys seem like people he chose as acceptable people to beat up when he was angry about Gregory.
I don't think it makes her revise her idea of Philip from "sometimes, he's Mom's doormat and he shouldn't be" to "Dad really has this other side"; rather it makes her conclude that maybe all of her ideas about him are wrong and she doesn't trust him anymore.
Good point. For me, it always seems like the Jesus moment is the real shock because she doesn't seem to take him that seriously in the earlier scene. A lot of viewers seemed to think he was too harsh with her, but Paige still seems pretty comfortable rolling her eyes at him. I think you hit it on the head saying that it's more about there being another side to Philip rather than her really having a clear idea of what that side is or how it adds up to a whole personality--which is fitting for Philip, since it's hard for us to add it all up either!. We've seen that he likes to keep the different "personalities" separate. Paige would find KGB!Elizabeth more familiar, imo, than KGB!Philip.
It is really interesting that the two of them clearly decided to always be united with the kids. I wonder if that came somewhat naturally out of their spywork. They always put aside personal differences when they work and especially in the beginning the kids might have been part of that work. They have to work together to cover for each other and their secret lives, so it's practical to work together. But at the same time they both seem to see this as important as parents as well.
Which is going to be really hard to work around next season when they have a genuine disagreement about raising the kids. That's a great analogy with Breaking Bad and Walt's manipulation there. That's something that didn't occur to either parent on The Americans when they were separated since they both seemed to want the same things for the kids. But it's harder when the two of them have a different goal in mind. They're in direct competition for the first time, but they also both still believe it's important not to set the kids against the other.
Re: Safe House
Date: 2014-11-08 06:26 pm (UTC)Or the general in the swimmingpool. I agree, Elizabeth is at her most formidable when she's not angry at all and utterly in control.
With Philip, like you said, the angry outbursts seem very much controlled and planned. Even the blind-spot guys seem like people he chose as acceptable people to beat up when he was angry about Gregory.
Agreed. And that fits with the aborted childhood story, where he goes back to deal with the bullies. Pastor Tim is an interesting in between case because while I don't think Philip went to the church with the firm intention to kill him - he probably went to smash some furniture, since it was night and he didn't expect someone to be there, but felt the need for violence - he would have done so, was prepared to do it the moment he spotted Tim through the window and went into Tim's office anyway (that time of thinking before the planned violence again, and if Tim had said the wrong thing in their conversation would have done it.
Paige would find KGB!Elizabeth more familiar, imo, than KGB!Philip.
Yes, not least because Elizabeth is giving her edited versions of her actual past (probably has since years), so she'd have some idea of how her mother became the way she was, whereas before the s2 crisis presumably whatever Philip told her about his childhood and youth had nothing to do with Mischa. I'm also remembering the pilot and Philip apologizing to Paige for only verbally reprimanding the guy at the mall, and Paige immediately reassures him she didn't expect him to do anything else. The idea of Philip and the capacity for violence, let alone killing, just wouldn't compute. And then, on a more harmless level, there is the whole "my parents are sexual beings" moment from 2.01 which shocked her; even with the guess that maybe one of them was having an affair in s1, I don't think her wildest dreams she'd assume they have sex with a variety of strangers on a regular basis. It wouldn't compute, anymore than the physical violence for Philip.
It is really interesting that the two of them clearly decided to always be united with the kids. I wonder if that came somewhat naturally out of their spywork. They always put aside personal differences when they work and especially in the beginning the kids might have been part of that work. They have to work together to cover for each other and their secret lives, so it's practical to work together. But at the same time they both seem to see this as important as parents as well.
It probably flowed from one to the other at the start, like you said. And then, they learned being parents together, they had to figure out what every day rules to follow, there was no one to advise them. Not letting the spy work impact their children's lives, not to let Paige and Henry find out, seems to have been an early vow, perhaps the first intimate agreement they were able to make with each other (and neither of them was prompted by their superiors for it), which is why the sudden divergence at the end of s2 is so devastating.
That's a great analogy with Breaking Bad and Walt's manipulation there. That's something that didn't occur to either parent on The Americans when they were separated since they both seemed to want the same things for the kids. But it's harder when the two of them have a different goal in mind. They're in direct competition for the first time, but they also both still believe it's important not to set the kids against the other.
Of course, Walt had an active agenda of wanting not solely his son but also his wife back at his conditions and with him in control. While Philip and Elizabeth in s1 at different points did want each other back - and always wanted the children, of course -, they didn't have that type of emotional power play Walt was engaged in with Skyler. I think if Elizabeth hadn't asked him to come back, Philip would not have tried to persuade her, no matter how much he wanted to. He needed the knowledge she really wanted him there, not in a vaguely hinted but explicit way.
The s3 situation, of course, will be very different because the nature of their disagreement is. But based on the previous two seasons, I can't see either Philip or Elizabeth using the children as weapons against each other. (Of course, the fact that Elizabeth sees bringing Paige in not the way Philip sees it, which is making Paige a weapon, is part of the problem, but there's still a difference.)
Re: Safe House
Date: 2014-11-08 07:05 pm (UTC)That won't even be just from talking, either, I suspect, because stuff's going to happen that will make them think about it further. Philip's apparent plan to just ignore what the KGB is telling them is obviously a non-starter. Eventually something's going to happen and in that case Elizabeth is actually right that it *is* better coming from them rather than the KGB itself. So I think Philip is going to start to see that--he just has to.
Likewise I think Elizabeth is going to have to see that bringing Paige in *is* a betrayal of sorts, and is making Paige a kind of sacrifice. She belongs to the cause--not her parents and not herself. We've seen Elizabeth feel strongly about this sort of thing only to change her mind when faced with the reality, like when she decided not to give Jared the letter from his mother. (Of course, she regretted that choice and it's going to effect how she thinks now.)
I'm also remembering the pilot and Philip apologizing to Paige for only verbally reprimanding the guy at the mall, and Paige immediately reassures him she didn't expect him to do anything else.
I love that moment. And I think it's clearly there for that purpose, among other things. We're not just seeing how Philip, in disguise, has to hold himself back from doing what he wants to do, and that he saves it for later, but it's such an easy way of reminding us how Paige would see her dad. He's exactly not the kind of guy that would ever get into a fight and doesn't even know how to deal with a creep like this.
The other really juicy thing about this disagreement is that it seems like one that would necessarily make both P&E think about how they relate to their job, which would naturally also go back to how they got into it and why. It just seems almost impossible for them to talk about this without needing to bring their own pasts into it, even if we already know the facts. For instance, we know about Elizabeth's home situation and her father, but I don't think she's given much thought to what she personally gets out of the cause at all. (The show runners have always emphasized that these characters are not self-aware.) So it might be very new for her to think about why she was so driven. I suspect both of them were motivated by the feeling of doing good in the world, but the ways they saw that good seem slightly different.
Only You
Date: 2014-11-07 09:01 pm (UTC)Morever, this is the first episode that gives the audience, if not necessarily P & E, a clue that Claudia, ruthless as she is, still actually does have their interests at heart as opposed to scheming against them, both in her scene with Gregory ("I'm a guard dog" is such a succinct Claudia way of putting it, and note that Gregory is impressed by the ruthless smartness of her framing him for Amador), and in her scene with Philip where she says she doesn't want Elizabeth having to be the one to kill Gregory. Watching this this time around, I suddenly recalled that Claudia few episodes earlier before things went sour between them mentioned to Elizabeth what happened to the West German agent she ran. Claudia really does identify with Elizabeth here.
And then there's both Elizabeth's decision to take Gregory at his word one last time (which is putting personal faith in someone above putting the state first, note), and Philip putting her plea above both his own instinct and Claudia's request/order (it was something in between, I'd say) in a way that must have cut to the core. The emotional intensity just would not have been there had this plot line ended with Gregory on a plane/ship back to the USSR.
Meanwhile, on the Stan side of things: while Gaad tells Stan he has nothing to be sorry for, the scene with Sandra shows that Stan is deeply unsettled by the murder he's just committed. (Which shows he's not a sociopath.) And of course what Nina says about Vlad hammers home the humanity of his victim. Though in that scene Stan is actually a better liar than most of the times on this show. Can't decide whether Nina already suspects he himself killed Vlad, but she definitely is aware that he won't, despite what he promises, tell her who did.
And then there's the golden drunken-Stan-shows-up-at-Philip's-motel scene. Which is one of the few times where I think Philip genuinely has no idea how to react - as a spy or as a human being. I don't think he feels guilty about being the one who caused Amador's death to begin with, btw (whereas Stan despite doing a good job at lying to Nina about killing Vlad does feel guilty), and note that he only pretends to drink beer as well, but he's definitely not thinking "how can I use this to find out what the FBI is up to?" (which he's defensive about the next day with Elizabeth, who isn't in a mood for teasing due to the Gregory situation and thus just just says tersely "well, you're the one who wanted to be his friend). I can't help but with Stan would have actually taken him up at the offer of staying the night, but that would probably have been too fanfiction-esque. :) Something I took special notice of this time: Stan saying that Amador didn't have any secrets because he wasn't married, and then adding: "Nobody who is married can ever not have secrets." Pause, looks directly at Philip. "Can they, Philip?" Philip: "No."
Which makes me think that the awareness that the Jennings have marriage problems is what made Stan give himself the emotional liberty to do the many FBI equivalent of crying on Philip's shoulder. I mean, I noticed this in the s2 scene where he confesses having an affair to Philip, but it's here as well - as long as P & E appeared to be the perfect couple next door and Philip seemed to have a carefree life, I don't think Stan would have been able to show himself vulnerable this way to Philip, despite feeling drawn to him. But Philip being obviously in a bad situation himself at this point removes that restraint. While of course Philip's reply is one of those times where he can say something truthful to Stan and mean it.
Re: Only You
Date: 2014-11-07 09:55 pm (UTC)But still, I always feel with Gregory that he started off in the heat of the 60s with a lot of stuff going on, and now he's running this shadow operation on his own and he just seems like a remnant of the past even while he's an important part of the present. There's a sense almost that his life almost stays paused until Elizabeth drops back in, especially with little moments like when Elizabeth says she's trying to cut down on smoking pot, which she obviously enjoyed in the past and was a lead-up to sex, along with more heavy handed things like Gregory's biggest emotional moment being the night Elizabeth came to him before Paige was born. That would have been not that long after the two of them met, yet also would have been the last moment Elizabeth was really the woman who wasn't part of a family with Philip.
It seems obvious to me as a viewer--and maybe to Philip as well--that one of the reasons Gregory can't go to Moscow is that he just doesn't really have the enthusiasm and determination to start a new life there. Not only is it a place he never had any interest in being, but he doesn't see a point to making a life there. This is possibly one of the ways he's exactly the opposite of Philip, who would die for those he cares about, but has no desire to do so. "Survival mode" is his default setting. Zhukov says that Elizabeth would never surrender, but that's true of Philip in other ways as well.
All of which continues to be fascinating when you consider what's coming for the Soviet Union.
I totally agree on Stan's feeling okay talking to Philip in large part because Philip's stuck in that hotel room. There's no way Stan didn't actually like Philip more when he got kicked out (or left) his house. I think among other things he likes about Philip probably is his reticence. The guy's got to seem like a mystery to him even as a neighbor. That's probably got so many reasons to appeal to him, that this guy who seems to make it work has his own dark secrets, so Stan's not the only one. Plus he's just an interesting puzzle.
Re: Only You
Date: 2014-11-08 06:54 am (UTC)Yes. None of his crew knows the truth about him, it seems. If he had significant relationships going on other than Elizabeth and outside his crew, we see no sign of them. I had the impression that somehow, he always expected Elizabeth to say someday "okay, the assignment with Philip is over, let's move together!"
(It occurs to me that technically, had Amador not happened, she could have in the sense that, as Philip points out, by the early 80s it's not necessary for them to be married anymore in order for their cover to work. However, even though it's not the 1960s anymore, supposed white suburban mom and travel agency co owner Elizabeth Jennings moving together with black supposed drug operations runner Gregory would bring her much unwanted attention.)
It seems obvious to me as a viewer--and maybe to Philip as well--that one of the reasons Gregory can't go to Moscow is that he just doesn't really have the enthusiasm and determination to start a new life there. Not only is it a place he never had any interest in being, but he doesn't see a point to making a life there.
Yes, and good point this contrasts to Philip's adaptability. (Which is why Philip is so qualified for his job, of course.) Just the other day I read about possibly the most famous case of East German spies in West Germany, Günter Guillaume, who was Chancellor Willy Brandt's attache, and his wife Christel. Like P & E, they were assigned as a husband and wife time (unlike P & E., they fell out of instead of in love, if they ever were, and Christel wanted to get divorced but the Stasi wouldn't let her), and originally Christel was seen as the star among the two, but then Günter G. got the unexpected promotion into Willy Brandt's staff. Re: Christel Guillaume: Her life, she said, had been a series of uprootings. She had been taken out of her own country and dumped in the West to life a life of fiction. Then dumped in prison, where she seved over five years of the eight to which she was sentenced, during which time she lost contact with her son Pierre. Then she was dumped back in the GDR, and, as soon as her husband was also exchanged and arrived to join her six months later, dumped by him. Then dumped again, by the collapse of the GDR, in yet another new and alien society. At the end of the interview she sat in silence for some moments, thinking back over it all. Ein verpfuschtes Leben, she said eventually - 'a botched life'.
When the Soviet Union collapses, I'm not sure how Elizabeth will cope, either, whereas Philip will adapt. (Though he may have a crisis for somewhat different reasons - I mean, he's not sure all his killings are worth it as it is right now, what once it turns out that all he did was basically for nothing?)
Re: Only You
Date: 2014-11-08 04:43 pm (UTC)I think so too--even if he'd never admit it to himself. There was a probably a point where he started keeping that in the back of his mind because the alternative would be to see himself as just not that central to her life. He seems to obviously be expecting her to come back to him after she breaks up with him--there's no scenes with the two of them that he doesn't seem waiting to turn into a love scene (which she gives him in the end). He gets the ending he wants, even giving her advice on how to love someone else (like him) after he's gone.
Love those details about Cristel Guillaume. I was thinking re: the demise of the USSR that on one hand it would probably another one of those situations where because it would be more devastating for Elizabeth, her feelings would take precedent. Philip might end up flipping into the mode where he just tries to make her feel better, and so ignore his own feelings that would probably be more conflicted.
That made me think about how in some ways the reason Philip would probably be more able to handle it and makes him so adaptable etc. is his greater interest/empathy about different people. He seems to spend more time understanding people from their own pov, and when you understand it's easier to forgive. So I can see him being more understanding about how everything he worked for could turn out to have been for nothing, and how so many people like him could have been duped. Not that this makes it easy to brush off, but it seems like he's already struggling with the idea that this could all be for nothing.
I feel like although it's never been explicitly stated that he also gets that the reason he has the views he has is because he was raised the way he was. He has imagined being a person who believes other things. I imagine he has given a lot of thought to who "Philip Jennings" is based on his fictional background, and he doesn't dislike that guy. He's probably his favorite personality. On some level he may always be working on escape plans of one type or another.
That's probably even more true now that the KGB wants Paige. For Elizabeth the solution is to embrace it all. It's just obviously good for her in many ways that Paige could be brought in. But Philip's now actively seeing the KGB as his enemy, and that means he's got to be conflicted about them falling.
Re: Only You
Date: 2014-11-08 05:51 pm (UTC)Although: Assuming the show runs long enough to cover 1989 and aftermath(or makes a time jump of years between seasons instead of going with the year/season thing), and depending on the state of the P/E relationship at that point: the fall of the wall and the ensuing collapse of the Soviet Union did not come out of nowhere. They were preceded by years of Glasnost and Perestroika. So both Elizabeth and Philip would follow the news (along with presumably getting news through other channels as well) for years and have a certain amount of preparation. (I wouldn't presume to guess what their opinion on Gorbachev will be. Though perhaps Elizabeth wonders whether he could be an American illegal?*g*) Christel Guillaume was isolated and in prison for most of the key Gorbachev years, which enhanced the shock - if P & E are stll free, they'd perceive it differently, and we simply haven't had a chance yet to watch how they respond to long term political developments.
While Philip has a track record of shutting down and focusing on Elizabeth in a crisis, and while losing the Cause is going to be harder on her, I think we've also seen, in s2, that needing to help/support someone else can actually help her dealing with her issues: in early s2 she still feels the aftereffects from getting shot, but needing to talk Consuelo through her crisis helps her, and later there's Philip himself and the way killing increasingly affects him, resulting in her trying to be there and be comforting and supporting (and taking over killing missions now and then) the way he was for her. I'm also thinking of how after their disastrous roleplay (not!) attempt, for all that she was triggered at the moment, it was Elizabeth who rallied faster and made the first overture which clarified she didn't blame Philip. So who knows, maybe the show will surprise us and flip their expected roles around?
Btw, when watching the Only You opening scene when Elizabeth drives Philip back to the hotel after the whole Amador fiasco, I noticed she's giving him a variation of the "don't beat yourself up, don't blame yourself" speech from s2 already. Now in that case I think it's less the fact Amador died and more how it happened (i.e. because things got disastrously out of hand) and the consequences this might have), but it implies Elizabeth is aware already that Philip could go there mentally and emotionally and even at a time where she wants them not to be husband and wife, she sees it as her responsibility to help.
Re: Only You
Date: 2014-11-08 07:00 pm (UTC)