rachelee

One of the things I like about this show is that it paints all characters as human and doesn't use black and white, broad strokes to define them. So I find myself at varying points liking and rooting for each of them - this includes the USSR and the US in general - because each of them has a point of view that is defendable to an extent and none of the characters are irrational. I think to call Elizabeth a sociopath is to pigeon-hole her without a nuanced understanding of her background and the situation she's in, despite the show's overwhelming attempt to bring context to that. Having said that, it's not fair either to call Philip a wuss or to decide that Paige is a brat (even though I wanted to punch her when she ratted out her parents to Pastor Tim). To me, this is what sets this TV show apart from most other TV shows. The fact that I am compelled to care about everyone in this show is what brings me back week after week. It's a phenomenal show and this episode was jaw-droppingly good. ETA: Amen to the above. I cannot imagine the daily stress that Elizabeth and Philip must be under knowing that there are two people on the planet who know of their true identities who are not also a part of their mission. All it takes is one moment of conscience and Pastor Tim or Alice pick up the phone and dial the FBI. Most of us have things that stress us on a daily basis; this is the kind of stress that will fray a person's emotional stability pretty quickly, as we've started to see.

It's been a while since I saw the last few episodes (and the first ones for that matter) but, if I remember correctly, before Dorothy gets married she says something to the effect of "It's been a great seven years." And, yes, that's how long the show had been running. But when the show first came on, they'd been living together for a few years already but Sophia was just coming to live with them (Shady Pines burned down) and Blanche was on the verge of being married. I was also confused about the fact that even though each of the ladies was from somewhere else, they all wound up in Miami. It seemed at times that Blanche raised her family there but I could never figure out how Dorothy and Rose came to live there. Rose and Charlie didn't live in Miami because when the girls mistakenly thought Blanche had slept with Charlie (due to a double exposed photograph from an old camera of Rose's that made it appear Blanche and Charlie were in bed together), they assumed that Blanche met him because he was a traveling salesman who traveled to Miami. So clearly Rose and Charlie still lived in St. Olaf when they were raising their kids. Also, none of them have children or family who live in Miami (except Sophia). When Dorothy's friend from college came to visit, she had a party and invited people who knew Trudy. So does that mean Dorothy went to college in Florida? It's all very muddy. Ah, who cares? I adore this show.