Episode discussion post: "Baggage"
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theamericansAired:
4 February 2015 in the U.S. and Canada
This is a discussion post for episode 302 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 three, episode two.)
Original promo trailer
Episode recaps
From Hitfix
From The AV Club
From The Atlantic
From the LA Times
From Slant Magazine
From IGN
From TV.com
From Sound on Sight
From Geeks of Doom
From TVEquals
From examiner.com
From TV Ate My Wardrobe
From the International Business Times
From Uproxx
From MovieNewsGuide
From MStarz
From Starpulse
From Romance at Random
From SpoilerTV
4 February 2015 in the U.S. and Canada
This is a discussion post for episode 302 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 three, episode two.)
Original promo trailer
Episode recaps
From Hitfix
From The AV Club
From The Atlantic
From the LA Times
From Slant Magazine
From IGN
From TV.com
From Sound on Sight
From Geeks of Doom
From TVEquals
From examiner.com
From TV Ate My Wardrobe
From the International Business Times
From Uproxx
From MovieNewsGuide
From MStarz
From Starpulse
From Romance at Random
From SpoilerTV
General episode review
Date: 2015-02-05 09:19 am (UTC)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 also liked that Sandra still would not go back to him, which otherwise would have been the solution an ordinary US show. I ask myself whether he lied to Oleg about loving Nina just to try to get out of the situation. What do you think? Does he really love Sandra or is that just out of old habit? Of course, it is possible he loves them both.
Paige's comments about her parents' love life are subtle, but hit a nerve with Elizabeth. In season 1 she wouldn't have been so quick to defend Philip...
Now I know that Gillian Alexy is a trained ballet dancer, but she is not that bendy! Joking aside, that scene was rather gruesome. I wonder if they completely disposed of her body or if it will appear in a future episode. Did they deliberately leave her rings on for easier identification?
The introduction of the Zenaida character was interesting in all its somewhat overbearing symbolism. The chocolate, to show how deprived Russians were of luxurious items like that. Her apparent awe of finally being free, but Stan's comment that it most definitely wasn't over just because of that. Gaad's off-hand comment about "what's-her-name" and to keep her alive can only mean that she will be killed.
I'm intrigued by the tooth issue. That was one of the first things they said to look for after the attack on Gaad and his companion agent. Since it's not going away I'm guessing it will be a thing that Stan may pick up on eventually.
I did think it was a little odd for Philip to offer Elizabeth the option of going home to see her mother. Or to get her mother to the US? It was like a parallel to the Zenaida story. How many people were actually willing to travel back to the USSR, regardless of how patriotic they were? After all, the West offered a lot more choices and luxuries.
Nina in prison was grim. The introduction of "Belgian Evie" was nothing but suspicious. Well, ok, maybe also a little sad, if it was true. But I'm thinking that Nina is skilled enough to know not to trust anyone. Interestingly, she did trust Oleg's father. And I wonder why he came to see her after all...
So, the end, what to make of it? That exaggerated slow-motion sitting up in the chair that Matthew Rhys did was a little bit of over-acting soap opera-ish, I thought. I get that he now finally (?) understands how deeply Elizabeth believes turning Paige into a KGB agent is potentially a good thing. Presumably, the newspaper reading scene was to show that Elizabeth is grooming her into being interested about politics. At the same time, when Elizabeth went to see Gabriel again, I got the feeling she was saying to him it might not be so easy with the trust issue, since Paige is a teenager in the US, ie much freer in her thinking that E had ever been. And Paige isn't necessarily going to think of the USSR as her country, the way Elizabeth did when she was called.
no subject
Date: 2015-02-05 09:23 am (UTC)That silent sequence where Philip and Elizabeth dispose of Annalise's body and have to break her bones in order to fit her into the suitcase was upsetting even to yours truly, who is a Dexter and Breaking Bad veteran when it comes to body disposal. And note Elizabeth , ever the professional, takes a picture of Yousaf the moment he joins the bone breaking and thus touches Annalise's dead body as well. BTW, I appreciated that Philip didn't waste time to say something obvious like "we're blackmailing you now" to Yousaf, or tried to sell him on Scott being "Swedish Intelligence", but got to the point immediately, Yousaf not being stupid.
Continuing the theme of the Russian/Afghan war as a current day events parallel:/foreshadowing Sinaida (spelling?) the defector talking about Soviet leadership and invading a foreign country, telling its people what to do, plus Yousaf bringing up with the CIA group that their money goes to the hardcore religious fundamentalists.
Nina in a Soviet prison: in genre tv, a new sympathetic cell mate ALWAYS is a plant, so I'm not surprised that Nina, who is genre savvy, does not take to the apparant Belgian girl. Otoh the visit from Oleg's father was a surprise. Because having declined to help Nina as related by Oleg in the previous episode, I hadn't imagined he'd bother meeting her, which seems pointless and compromising from his pov... unless he is considering helping her after all. BTW, Nina asking him to tell Oleg she didn't pretend with him still doesn't clear up the question of Nina's feelings, because what would she tell her one possible way out of prison? "I totally pretended with your boy"?
Meanwhile in the US, Oleg is upset enough about Nina to almost shoot Stan. Which is treated genre atypically but all the more character intense because while Stan does the requisite tough "Then shoot me" agent thing, what the episode dwells upon is the aftermath; just how badly shaken he is when the awarenesss he could have died sinks in, how the phonecall presents him with his wife and son now being part of a new family with "Arthur", and how even the visit to Sandra, when he finally does what she begged him to do back in season 1, share with her what's going on with him, underlines that while she's glad he's alive, she's not willling to go back to him because of this.
Paige going back to her old suspicion that one of her parents is having an affair as an explanation for all the oddness in their lives isn't suprising, but her bringing it up to Elizabeth is (result of their new closeness?). And her response once Elizabeth tried to dissuade her: "You're looking out for each other - more than for us". She doesn't say it angrily (which she would have done last season) but matter of factly. It's shocking to Elizabeth, since both she and Phlip see each other as looking out for their children first. Is it true? I'd say in a pinch P & E would choose the kids above each other, when it came to it, and of course their differing views on what's good for the kids are key to the season, but in terms of the every day life Paige is able to observe it's of course true that they cover for each other and share secrets they don't share with their children.
The flashback to Nadesha's childhood with the revelation that Elizabeth's father wasn't a Soviet hero but, according to her mother, a deserter, gives Elizabeth's devotion to the cause yet another layer. When she tells Philip at the end of the episode that her mother "didn't blink" when young Nadeshda told her at age 16 she'd been chosen for a life in the KGB there's an ambiguity there, too; is she telling it to Philip to explain her own reaction re: Paige or because part of her wishes that her mother had blinked? Oleg's father tells Nina parents keep getting dissapointed by their children, which isn't how P & E see their own children, but Elizabeth not wanting to be a dissappointment to her mother (or Mother Russia) certainly was always part of her.
Meanwhile, Philip frustratingly yet in character doesn't take the cue to provide backstory of his own. We really do know more about Oleg's background by now than about his.
Re: General episode review
Date: 2015-02-05 09:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-05 09:53 am (UTC)Do you mean Ukraine? (Sorry if I'm projecting. The world kinda revolves around Ukraine for Russian families atm lol.)
Really random thoughts right after watching...
Date: 2015-02-05 10:01 am (UTC)I wonder what's up with the Belgium girl. (I don't think you can legally hold aliens...I mean for a while, but only until they get deported? Hah. Just realized I've never thought about this.
Stan breaks my heart. He does that a lot lately. The scene with Oleg was intense.
(Side note: they keep not subbing the tapes. Nothing super important on this one. (Although the tidbit about Gabrielle bringing Elizabeth's mom "good meet" and tea -- I don't remember if she said herbal or Chamomile - was interesting.)
Ooh now we know who Oleg's daddy is.
(side note: strange translation of one of Nina's lines. In English it's subbed as "tell him I wasn't pretending with him" but in Russian she says "tell him that I never betrayed him." That's a pretty big difference in meaning. I think the one they meant was the English version, but I don't understand why it's miss-translated. The word for "pretending" in Russian would fit here just fine.)
Russian or US chocolate
Date: 2015-02-05 10:01 am (UTC)"It's funny you should ask, because many hours of conversation went into that. We talked about all sorts of candy bars, and finally the idea that she could pull this away from her mouth and have the caramel kind of pull away with it was the visual that we wanted to go with… this woman sort of falling into this American luxury deliciousness that would be something that she couldn't ever even imagine having back in the Soviet Union."
So, either they didn't do their research properly on Russian chocolate or...I don't know. I remember loving Milky Way too, because it was different to other chocolate bars we had in Sweden. (I was born in 1970, so I remember most of the things happening on the show.)
Zenaida and foreign citizens
Date: 2015-02-05 10:08 am (UTC)She wasn't gagged. She had a breathing mask on, because in the baggage area of a plane there is no oxygen.
I wonder what's up with the Belgium girl. (I don't think you can legally hold aliens...I mean for a while, but only until they get deported? Hah. Just realized I've never thought about this.
They've definitely held foreign citizens. It was probably fairly easy to have someone just disappear, especially if it was in fact a real Western spy. No Western country would ask about a person like that, because then they would risk exposing both the spy and their own politics.
Philip's mysterious background
Date: 2015-02-05 10:11 am (UTC)THIS SO MUCH!
Honestly, it's almost getting a little silly they way we're never told about Misha/Philip. What is he hiding? And indeed, why does Elizabeth never ask, given how much she has revealed about her own family background to Philip?
no subject
Date: 2015-02-05 11:06 am (UTC)Re: Philip's mysterious background
Date: 2015-02-05 11:09 am (UTC)On a Doylist level, I think the writers enjoy teasing the audience way too much. :)
Jae's thoughts on second watch
Date: 2015-02-05 02:38 pm (UTC)• This is the second time we've seen a character on a toilet in this show (and both were in a suboptimal situation)! I feel like this should be a trivia question on a game show at some point: "which two characters on The Americans were seen during the biological process of excretion?"
• I loved the line "Paige, don't worry, your dad is not having an affair." He just has another wife--and it's fine with me, honest. Most of the time, anyway.
• I was shocked when Philip-as-Scott actually came right out and told Yousaf that he was KGB-affiliated. He must have done a quick calculation and figured he had a better chance of getting what he needed out of Yousaf if he told the truth on that front? I'm still not sure exactly where Philip is planning on going with this surprise new agent of his, but something tells me it's going to be an interesting ride.
• As a couple of others noted, the notion of coming to the U.S. in a box is pretty hardcore. I wonder how accurate that is--is that something Joe Weisberg dreamed up, or something that actually happened?
• I was spoiled in advance that the hardest-to-stomach part about the suitcase scene would be the sounds, and let me just say that I'm so glad I was. It helped me stay with the characters more rather than just getting grossed out and distancing myself.
• So exciting to see Katja Herbers--my favourite thing about my second-favourite currently airing show--on my very favourite show! I loved her thicker accent (she actually has almost no trace of a Dutch accent in English in real life) and the Belgian particulars she added. I kind of want to hear her character speak Dutch now, though. :)
• A number of things in this episode suggest that Elizabeth is really struggling with how Philip is reacting to the Paige thing, and really feels that it's driving them apart rather than just a spat they're having. First, the fact that she doesn't tell him about the memory she had of her mother referring to her father as a deserter. Second, the fact that she tells Gabriel that the two of them were different from the last time he saw them, rather than are. And then the fact that in the final scene, she broaches the subject with him while at the office, like it's something she wants to fix but doesn't know how to.
• This isn't about the show directly, but it felt like the very definition of irony when a Canadian Forces ad aired during this episode, which dealt so heavily with the fallout from the Soviet war in Afghanistan....
• The Stan and Oleg scene was so fantastic. Terrific acting all around. And I too got a little "aww!" at Stan's answering maching message--he was just so at a loss what to say, but he had to say something ("and Arthur, I guess"). And later, seeing him crying, with Sandra--it's all really touching. At the same time, though, I have to cheer Sandra on for making him work for it a bit.
• I think we've talked before on this comm about the fact that the real-life illegals actually were sent back to the Soviet Union sometimes, but it was good to get confirmation that this is considered out of the ordinary in this show's version of real-life events. I actually really like that tweak: it's far more poignant if they never see the motherland again until their time in the field is up.
• Any thoughts on why Stan didn't tell the defector that they had in fact personally dealt with another defector who'd gotten killed on U.S. soil? Is that confidential, or was he trying not to scare her?
Russian chocolate
Date: 2015-02-05 02:42 pm (UTC)-J
Re: Philip's mysterious background
Date: 2015-02-05 02:44 pm (UTC)-J
Re: Philip's mysterious background
Date: 2015-02-05 03:14 pm (UTC)Re: Philip's mysterious background
Date: 2015-02-05 03:17 pm (UTC)-J
Re: Jae's thoughts on second watch
Date: 2015-02-05 03:20 pm (UTC)I think he must have been trying not to scare her. "Don't worry, you're safe, it's just this other guy we couldn't keep safe" is not reassuring.
re: Elizabeth, I think when she says to Philip the thing with Paige won't go away, she is aware this also applies to Philip's pov. Earlier, she may have hoped he'd change his mind, but by now it's obvious this is really deep set within him, and if there is compromise, it's not going to be Philip agreeing the spy life could in any way be good for Paige.
Another thing about the "deserter" reveal: it also adds to Elizabeth's reaction in the pilot when Philip considers defection. And to her hesitation when Lucia asked her who her father had been - Elizabeth let several moments pass before replying "he was a worker" back then.
Katja Herbers is so not!Helen as the Belgian!
Some thoughts
Date: 2015-02-05 03:59 pm (UTC)- Stan and Sandra were heartbreaking. I think that was the best acting Noah has done on the show. I appreciated all of it. It's really nice the show subtly weaved it into the S1 discussion of Sandra asking Stan to confide in her and talk to her about what he was going through. Also great that the show has been able to rely on that subtle recognition from its audience. I kinda hope they don't get back together on the show. I can't tell which way it's going to go yet but those scenes were just so good.
- That suitcase scene was disgusting but very bad-ass and memorable. I can handle it when I'm watching it but thinking about it afterwards (aka now) is making me squirm.
- I feel like most of the time, a lot of the geopolitical discussion goes over my head. I really know not a lot about the Afghan war. The press conference scene where she talks about the Soviet Union controlling the fate of another country pretty obvious but there is tons of subtle stuff I know I miss which is a shame. It doesn't impact my enjoyment of the show but the thought does pop up every episode. One day I will get educated and rewatch this show and hopefully add a few extra layers of understanding.
- Gabriel is great. Such a good fit for the show.
- I liked Jae's comment about how poignant it is that illegals left and never returned. It's so sad to think of someone, especially a young person, leaving their homeland that they love so much knowing that they'll never see it again. I like that Philip offers a glimmer of hope trying to comfort E but her face is pure "what on earth are you talking about?!"
- After that final scene I just wanted more. Can we have 2hr episodes every week lol .
- The dramatic pause/silence at the end was good and so juxtaposing of Elizabeth's starting comment that they had to talk about it because this issue wasn't something that was going to go away. I'm not too sure either what Elizabeth's story was conveying. The way I took it was that Elizabeth remembering that her mother without hesitation told Elizabeth to go serve her country resonates because she would do the exact same should Paige be willing to serve the USSR.
- I really love the bathroom scene when P responds "for my daughter, yes" to E's question of whether he wants a guarantee that life will be easy. Elizabeth's own mother wanted her daughter's life to mean something, maybe even make up for the mistakes of E's father who shirked his responsibility to his country and family. E wants Paige to feel the same sense of purpose and meaning she does and Philip wants to save her from the struggles he knows to well and for her to have freedom and control over her own choices. Everything is just so damn good already this season.
Deserter Reveal
Date: 2015-02-05 04:01 pm (UTC)Different Soviet defectors and the FBI
Date: 2015-02-05 04:18 pm (UTC)The thing that has me shying away from that interpretation is that he was actually TRYING to scare her a little. She was all: "it's over, they won't try to kill me here," and Stan was like: "its NOT over, though." Maybe he thought saying something would scare her TOO much, though? I don't know! :)
-J
QR's Usual Rambliew
Date: 2015-02-05 04:22 pm (UTC)- Yousaf's in over his head and Philip's in the perfect place to take advantage of it. Sonny, you acted impulsively and now you're in a hole so deep you can't dig out of it.
- Elizabeth and Paige! Quite the change from "get up in the middle of the night and clean the fridge, missy!"
- Paige still thinks her parents are having affairs! But she also likes knowing her parents make a good team, after Elizabeth reassures her.
- Rene Auberjonois as a guest! :D ODOOOOOOOOO.
- Srs FBI guys are very srs.
- WHOA. Holy defector box! :O
- Grisly scene is grisly. I'm not sure it was necessary or useful for the show to reveal this aspect of getting bodies into suitcases, even if it means blackmail material on dear Yousaf.
- Hmm. Looks like the KGB is trying the standard old trick where the "newbie prisoner" makes a connection with the old hand, and so tricks them into revealing something they can use. Although there really isn't much of a need for it here; the KGB already know all they need to know about Nina's activities, which honestly, would be illegal under just about any country's laws (betraying oath of office, attempting to defect to the enemy, et cetera).
- Aside: No Foreign Minister post for Nina, whose career is decidedly NOT on fast track now. :(
- The past! But is it real or a mixture of reality and fantasy? English shows up in the dream, so I suspect maybe part fantasy. It is true that Elizabeth grew up with her mother without a father, though.
- USA and Canada Institute lady defected over Afghanistan. Hmm!
- It's a little weird seeing the guy who plays Jackson Davis in Revolution being one of the middle-management good guys here :P
- Yousaf mooning over the woman he killed. :\
- Well, helloooooooooo Oleg. He's being a bit of a cowboy here, and I can't tell if it's a charade or if it's the real deal unsanctioned mission kinda thingy.
- :D For once, Stan is not the butt monkey.
- Ouch! Elizabeth's still healing. And Phil is being a bit snarky and pushy about the CIA Afghan group thingo.
- And Elizabeth decides to be snarky back!
- Philip has a point. The spy game might seem fun to a teenager, but the instant shit gets real she's going to find a whole new eldritch level of horror to the job.
- Given that food in American prisons is considered shitty enough I can't imagine that any of that food Nina ate (in a Soviet prison) actually tasted like anything.
- When I was Paige's age I read the paper, too XD
- Holy crap shit is gonna get real with this CIA thing. :O
- At least in the bar the CIA guys will be distracted by the waitresses with nice knockers. :P And holy list of beers, Batman. :P Elizabeth's smile was so fake. :P
- Yousaf is mixing some reality with the baited hook. The CIA was throwing money around along with the ISI and in the process helping along not just the usual freedom-fighter type, but also the more radicalized people who would end up not taking kindly to anyone else's way of doing things, even other Afghanis'.
- *gigglesnorts* at the cynical Soviets snarking about Reagan. I imagine it's not so different the world over when leaders show up where they're not necessarily invited. :P
- Lady's name is Tatiana. She appears to be some kind of foreign policy expert type. "Propaganda is more important, etc" - true, but I can't help but get the feeling she's unintentionally referring to the USSR's tendency to substitute sloganeering in place of addressing the fundamental problems within their country.
- Defector lady is about to find out she's a new kind of prisoner. Alas. :| IMDb gives her name as Zinaida Preobrazhenskaya, and I kept thinking I've seen her before, and then it clicked. XD She was in "Motive", playing a Bosnian Serb who'd sneaked out of the former Yugoslavia just after the civil war there and who was wanted for the crime of refusing medical assistance to Bosnian Muslims injured in a battle.
- Nina is let out of the shitty prison cell for a bit :O And she sees the Minister of Railways, Igor Pavlovich - Oleg's old man!
- It's interesting how the buried Soviet past of the Jenningses is nonetheless continuing to inform them in the present day.
Re: General episode review
Date: 2015-02-05 04:23 pm (UTC)Re: Jae's thoughts on second watch
Date: 2015-02-05 04:28 pm (UTC)Re: Jae's thoughts on second watch
Date: 2015-02-05 04:30 pm (UTC)Re: Stan's scenes
Date: 2015-02-05 04:41 pm (UTC)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.
While watching thoughts
Date: 2015-02-05 04:47 pm (UTC)toiletbucket: it says an awful lot in a single image. I'm surprised the window is so large though. Ditto the cell.Elizabeth's still going ouch, note.
Ha, what a question from Paige. Philip isn't having an affair... he's having several, of course.
Diplomatic bag time?
Wouldn't it have been easier to arrange the body earlier? Ha at the photo! Elizabeth's not very disguised, is she?
Given what Nina knows, why stick someone like that in with her? Even if she's not going to see the West in a very long time - killing Belgians has consequences - she can find out stuff she shouldn't.
I'm also wondering why the FBI would take someone they cannot completely trust to the office.
Ha at the flashback... at this stage in the series. Clunk. Ha too at her lie.
A bit early to have a press conference! Step one, be sure what she's going to say. Step two, set up something with a lot fewer journalists in a lot less stressful arrangement.
Oooh. No, I didn't expect it. (I'd have stuck some of this in a promo - presumably they did.) Oleg's putting himself at big risk doing this, mentally as well as physically.
A very good argument between Philip and Elizabeth. Pity there wasn't more of it.
I like Stan's awful call, which just gets worse and worse. And when he sees her, yes, he should be talking to someone else. And not trying to kiss her. Is this the point when he sees that it's over over?
He is lucky to be alive. If it could have been done silently, it would have been better for Elizabeth to have killed them both.
Two of them on this job, note. (How good are the driving scenes in terms of not having anything since the 80s visible?)
Another good argument between the two of them.
Must be a very high ISO film! That's not a very large lens to let lots of light in.
He is right about the policy of course.
This is clearly the 'Philip and Elizabeth have arguments' episode.
Yes, why ask Oleg?
Nina may be in prison, but at least she has access to shampoo...
This conversation is a setup for Philip talking more about his background at some point.