Question of the week #58

[treonb]

Philip seems to be progressively less and less able to cope with the life that he chose, and more and more unstable as a result. It's both apparent to the viewer and commented on once in a while on the show. What are the things that have happened that have made him feel that strain in a way he hadn't before--and why those things, at those times?

You can expect spoilers for the entire first three 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

[jae]

In either episode 2 or episode 4 of season one (or possibly both, at separate times?), Philip and Elizabeth talk explicitly about how now that the Cold War is ramping up, they're being asked to do harder and darker things. This suggests that while they were certainly carrying out various spy duties prior to where we first see them in season one, those duties didn't require nearly as much killing. So I think that's the first thing that changed--the job itself changed.

Once that got set in motion, I think it still took a while for the sheer amount of killing to catch up with him. It's pretty clear that the soldier he killed in "Martial Eagle" was a turning point for him, though. He hasn't been quite the same since.

-J

[lovingboth]

Wasn't it the truck driver's death in ME that was the big one for him? The soldiers were in uniform, actively training enemies of the cause, whereas the driver was an 'innocent' who he tried not to kill.

[sistermagpie]

I think the army cook was bad for him, the one whose cries led to the soldiers. He seemed a little shell shocked after killing all 3, not even noticing he was covered in blood. But the truck driver really put him over the edge. Even when he tried not to kill he killed.

[jae]

I honestly think it was both. But if you look at his reaction to slitting the soldier's throat, you can tell that this is the point where he really starts to unravel. By the time he discovers the truck driver frozen dead where they left him, he's actually already more numb.

-J