I think for me, Noah Emmerich made the deepest impression this episode and he literally brought me to tears with that phone call from the phone booth after his interception with Oleg.
I totally agree, the writing and acting were spot-on!! The weird, awkward-sounding, rambling message to his son--even down to, "Hi Sandra, also, and Arthur, I guess"--was so apropos. The gawky message showed just how out-of-touch Stan was with communicating and opening himself up to his family. Plus, almost getting shot in the back probably factored into his disjointed phone message, too! Kudos to the J's and Noah Emmerich!
At first, my cynical side thought Stan's breakdown in front of Sandra was just a ploy to get her back--similar to what he did by attending the EST meetings. However, I can't imagine any man wanting to go in the middle of the night to his estranged wife's boyfriend's house. Most men I know try everything to avoid such awkward encounters, save for visiting kids or beating up the new boyfriend! I think Stan genuinely needed Sandra that night. Watching Stan break down was like watching a gentle giant (both figuratively and literally, as Noah Emmerich is definitely over 6 ft tall!). Here's a man who has bottled up every emotion for years--always acting like the "big, tough-guy-hero"--and finally, he deflates and sobs. Additionally, it's interesting to compare how Stan and Philip reacted to releasing bottled-up emotions: Philip exploded in anger at Paige, while Stan broke down crying.
Re: Stan's scenes
I totally agree, the writing and acting were spot-on!! The weird, awkward-sounding, rambling message to his son--even down to, "Hi Sandra, also, and Arthur, I guess"--was so apropos. The gawky message showed just how out-of-touch Stan was with communicating and opening himself up to his family. Plus, almost getting shot in the back probably factored into his disjointed phone message, too! Kudos to the J's and Noah Emmerich!
At first, my cynical side thought Stan's breakdown in front of Sandra was just a ploy to get her back--similar to what he did by attending the EST meetings. However, I can't imagine any man wanting to go in the middle of the night to his estranged wife's boyfriend's house. Most men I know try everything to avoid such awkward encounters, save for visiting kids or beating up the new boyfriend! I think Stan genuinely needed Sandra that night. Watching Stan break down was like watching a gentle giant (both figuratively and literally, as Noah Emmerich is definitely over 6 ft tall!). Here's a man who has bottled up every emotion for years--always acting like the "big, tough-guy-hero"--and finally, he deflates and sobs. Additionally, it's interesting to compare how Stan and Philip reacted to releasing bottled-up emotions: Philip exploded in anger at Paige, while Stan broke down crying.