Domestic Assassin

I think they've finished filming season 3. (Not positive, but I remember an article in July saying they were almost done).

YAY!!!!! I feel like I've been waiting for this forever!

I'm pretty sick of serial killer shows, but the cast and The Americans showrunners make me want to check it out anyway. I've also seen two positive reviews so far, so I'm starting to look forward to it.

They had me at HI McDunnough Penitentiary. 🤣

I have seen Seinfeld, and I thought it was fine but I do think it's overrated. On the same track, I loathe Curb Your Enthusiasm with the white hot intensity of a thousand bursting suns. I have tried to watch it with an open mind twice, and ended up so irrationally angry I couldn't finish the episodes. So yeah, that one isn't for me. Maybe I just happened to catch the two most aggravating episodes. But that would be my number one most overrated show.

I'm 100% convinced Renee is not a spy. Perfectly content to die on this hill. When Elizabeth asked Philip why the idea of it bothered him so much and he responded "I don't want Stan to be like Martha" with seemingly no awareness that he is the one who is essentially Martha-ing Stan, I've been convinced he is just projecting his own guilt onto Renee. Sure, there are an awful lot of coincidences that lean to Renee being a spy, but ultimately it just seems like an absurd waste of resources for too little gain. It's not like Stan could be as easily manipulated into providing information unknowingly like Martha. I doubt that she'd get that much more out of Stan than Philip and Elizabeth do. Especially after Stan left Counterintelligence, I doubt she'd hang around 3 years just to eventually get into FBI HR. HR people don't have to be married to FBI employees to get hired, but even if they did, why Stan and not any other agent? I also don't find the argument that she's really spying on Philip and Elizabeth convincing, and the Mossad theory is just ridiculous. But ultimately, I just find it a more interesting story if she isn't a spy.

Yes, I think they screwed up on Henry's birthday there. That flashback with Zukov is dated 1971, Elizabeth was not showing and not dressed for winter. And it always did confuse me that Henry had an outdoor birthday party and they went to a carnival that weekend in the middle of January? Is the weather really that mild in January in the DC area? But I know Martha confirmed all of that happened in January in a later episode.

Kind of off on a tangent, but this is actually the one plot hole I can't figure out. He had just married Martha. How the hell did he manage that and the kids when Elizabeth was away for 3 months? He didn't just disappear on her during that time. And the two nights a week arrangement seemed to be established after Elizabeth returned (when P & E were telling Henry that he would need to do more travelling due to increased competition in the travel business). Can anyone make sense of that? I know they established that they used babysitters when they were working late, but having a babysitter stay all night on a regular basis for those three months seems unlikely.

I think the John Denver wig got the most use. I can think of two times they each wore it. I love playing spot the wig in re-watches. I think this wig is my favorite.

In season 6 in Chicago she had a bruise on her cheek that had some people questioning if she might have AIDS when it was originally airing. It was only there when she was in Chicago, so I'm convinced it was meant to be part of the disguise. Also in the scene when she's acting as a tourist on a tour of the State Department I remember some behind the scenes info that she was wearing some dental device that kind of distorted her mouth area. But her disguises were rarely that elaborate.

Just a warning in case you haven't heard, The Americans will not be available on Prime after July 29th. It's moving to Hulu.

Yay! Though I was hoping Phil Dunster would get a nomination this year.

One that always annoys me is someone "broke their silence." Bite me. Someone released a statement. Someone commented on something.

Not in the documentary. She talked about it in her memoir.

Two from season 3: Carpe Museum (While acting as a parent chaperone on the school's trip to the museum, Bob has a father- daughter bonding moment with Louise.) Mother Daughter Laser Razor (Linda forces Louise to attend a mother-daughter seminar in the hope of improving their relationship; Tina asks Bob to teach her to shave her legs.)

RIP Vangelis https://variety.com/2022/music/news/vangelis-dead-chariots-of-fire-blade-runner-1235272061/

Sometimes people that deep into depression are convinced they are doing their children a favor, that their very existence is doing their children (and everyone else in their lives) more harm than good. They are not thinking rationally.

I tried to watch Curb Your Enthusiasm twice, and hated it with the white hot intensity of a thousand bursting suns. I usually don't get that angry at a tv show, but this one infuriated me. Just seemed to be a half hour of Larry David droning on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about the piddliest of piddly shit. In short, I guess it's just not for me.

Per Tony Ortega (who's been reporting on Scientology for years) the Smiths have been out of it since 2015. https://tonyortega.org/2022/03/28/no-will-smith-was-not-high-on-scientology-when-he-slugged-chris-rock-at-the-oscars/

Aw damnit, Howard Hesseman died. I loved Dr. Johnny Fever! BOOGER!!! https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/howard-hesseman-dead-wkrp-cincinnati-1235084085/

I remember a podcast interview with the showrunners (with Emily Van Der Werff maybe?) suggesting a prequel series "Better Summon Stavos"!

I don't think Stavos was ever management. I read it as just as Elizabeth was floundering as a spy working alone, Philip also needed Elizabeth at the travel agency for it to run successfully. Their strengths and weaknesses complimented each other in both endeavors, and they were both necessary checks on the others' excesses. But I agree that it seems unlikely to me that they (Elizabeth especially) would enthusiastically embrace capitalism after the fall of the Soviet Union and become successful businesspeople as I've seen so many people theorize.

RIP Michael Nesmith https://consequence.net/2021/12/michael-nesmith-monkees-dead/

I don't think the HBO series and the classic series are meant to be connected. The HBO series is set in the decade the first books were published.

I'm open to the idea of a Nate redemption arc if they can make it work, but not at the expense of other storylines. I think it would take so much to make a redemption believable, but with him working for another team I don't think they have the time. I'd much rather they spend the time on all the other characters I care about, especially Keeley who will also be working elsewhere next season.