MisterBluxom

As I understand, Gabriel had been working the priest for a very long time. If I had to guess, I would guess that means he was working the priest as an agent. The priest would then be involved with violence and could very well have taken care of problems for the Centre. So, if push comes to shove, the priest could take an active role in getting Pastor Dim to join some religious org in a far away country and then arranging for Dim to disappear. That would seem to be a very clean way to get rid of Dim and leave little in the way of suspicion. The sudden appearance of the priest seemed like quite a bizarre development and I can't help but wonder why he has appeared on the scene if not to solve the problem with the Christian minister. I just hope they don't allow this thing to drag on for much longer. If they are going to whack PT, I wish they would just do it and reserve the rest of the airtime for more interesting developments. What else is there to be said about wheat? About EST? About any of the other long and boring sub-plots that have been dragging us down all season? Is there any chance they could not have known she would develop in this way when they first hired her at a much younger age? I'm not disagreeing with you. But for a very long time, I have had a great deal of respect and admiration for these two Show Runners. I'd just like to hope the problems with the show this season have been caused by something that was out of their control. Any chance that could be true?

For anyone who had not seen "One False Move", I'd like to recommend it. I believe it was actually written and directed by BBT. For a first time, it was really terrific. Very exciting film! Oh my. I must agree. Also, I wonder just where this is coming from. Could it be that one of the show runners has some kind of psychological fixation? If so, I really wish they would indulge that elsewhere and allow us to indulge our "peculiarities" elsewhere as well.

I am saddened when I think of BBT because I think he is one of the very best American actors ever and it seems to me he was overlooked for much of his early career. He has only recently (relatively speaking) been recognized as being a true great and getting some great roles. Of course, many people will disagree with me about this. I know that I have a somewhat warped perspective when it comes to BBT. I suppose I have some bad feelings towards his first wife (Angelina Jolie). I never understood their bizarre relationship and I've always felt that his being held back was somehow because of her. Then it seems she just dumped him to move on to some other movie star who left some poor girl heartbroken and now she has .... Oh well. This is all just my silly fantasy. I have no right and no reason to feel this way. I just really love BBT's work and I wish he had been recognized at a much younger age so that we all could have a much larger collection of his life's work. I hope he maintains his star status into his old age so that we will be able to enjoy his work for many years to come.

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner? Just j/k Heh Heh :)

Very well said.

I thought it might be somehow related to the toilet bowl in the previous episode where the first murder victim saw the name "Stusskey" (spelling?) and changed his last name to that. Lots of scenes happening in or around toilet bowls. I'm loving this season. I loved all three. But this one seems to have many elements of "Alice in Wonderland". Fargo is tied with The Americans for my most favorite TV show ever. We saw a similar relationship between Molly and the idiot chief in Season One. Remember? I think it helps the audience recognize how clever a secondary officer is when their boss is not nearly as "on the ball". It makes the new chief stand out as the "best" chief. Just my opinion, of course.

That is very kind of you and I really appreciate your saying so. Unfortunately, there are an awful lot of people who would disagree with you. But I better not go into that here. Heh. Heh. I hope that is true as well and I'd be quite shocked if Oleg ever got a bullet. Why? Because the showrunners would then be seen as very "unoriginal". They have already shocked us with Nina getting a bullet. Repeating that sequence would take a very large part of the bloom off the rose. Sorry for such a terrible cliche. I just mean it would be repetitive and I think the writers and showrunners are much better than that and would want to come up with something more original. But, what do you think about that?

You may be right. But those spies sure are awfully darn clever. They manage to fool some of the brightest people in the world and they get away with it. So ... maybe they can get away with it if they have a good backup story? Like maybe they were kidnapped by the CIA and it is the CIA who is managing this entire deception? At the very least, that could throw some significant shade on the entire operation - such that people just might believe this "fake news"? OMG! What if it was actually the KGB that invented the concept of "fake news"? What a kick in the head that would be. Don't you think?

Maybe this plot line finally answers the question: What do the people who take phoney phone calls and give out phoney messages do when they are just sitting around and waiting for their phones to ring? What do they do? They invent phoney lives for people like Pastor Tim and his family who have been murdered the second they moved out of their city and then, every week or month (as required), they send and receive phone messages and/or letters so that people like Paige think the murder victims are still alive and living happy lives - happily ever after. Some of these message takers may even learn how to be ventriloquists so that they can imitate various voices and leave messages for people like Paige who have been duped. In that way, Paige can be led to believe the Pastor is alive and well in some happy South American village together with his wife and kids and they are all happily mentoring a flock of Native South American Indians in the ways of their Lord and Savior - Jesus Christ - and they are all living happily ever after - just like Jack and his Beanstalk. They all have plenty of room to run around and laugh and play in their happy, happy village. But, the truth is that they were whacked the second that they left town on their way to their pretend life on the farm. The same kind of fate awaits Pasha's mother. The second that she and Pasha leave the USA to return to Russia (where they believe no harm will come to them), they will both be whacked and buried in some "extra deep" grave and forever more a few of the Centre's expert ventriloquists will send messages that sound remarkably like them to people who have been left back home. In that way, people like Tuan (maybe) and some of the mother's students will always believe that something really nice happened to them thanks to the benevolent government of the People's Republic of the Soviet Union. What a bunch of swells! What a wunnerful place to raise a family and then to retire in luxury (or at least the Russian version of luxury). J/K (the preceding post has been one of my weaker attempts to bring some humor to this board). I'm sorry that I'm just not very good at it. But remember the scene in this week's episode where Tatiana promised Pasha's mom that nothing bad would ever happen to her family if she returned to Russia (because the Russian government is happy to welcome defectors back)? Well, that just got me really angry and I just needed to write some kind of response.

Tantric sex. I have heard a lot about that. But I'd really like to hear from someone in this forum who could tell us if it's real or just a hoax. Oh, you are not alone. Many people have expressed this same opinion. I just don't understand why the showrunners have let this situation continue to slide for so long. What is wrong with them?

I definitely feel compassion for you. I understand why you are unhappy and I must admit I am unhappy too. You have a good spirit for sticking with it and I ain't kidding!

Thank you Sistermagpie.

You know, we've seen other shows end that never just answer the central question. I think we might just have to prepare ourselves for something similar here. It may be possible this show will end and we just won't ever find out if they get caught. In a way, that might be a reasonable ending since many spies working in another country just never do get caught. They just kind of disappear from sight and no one knows what happened to them. Given that is true, then P & E just might disappear into the woodwork. I bet many people will feel outraged if that should happen. But I think we just might have to prepare ourselves for that eventuality.

This is so embarrassing for me because this is my favorite TV show of them all. My face is red. I just watched the end of Season 3 Episode 13 and Paige is on the phone talking to PT and she tells him, "They're not who they say they are. They are Russians." I didn't watch the entire episode. But I did listen to that conversation and I did not hear Paige tell PT that Phillip & Elizabeth are spies. If someone did tell him that P &T are spies, it must have happened in some other conversation. If anyone knows exactly what he was told and who told him, I sure would appreciate knowing when and where that happened.

But .. but .. but .. my recollection is not exactly crystal clear. But I don't believe he was ever told they were "sleeper spies". In fact, I don't believe he was ever told they were spies of any kind. My recollection is that he was told they "work for a foreign government" and that could include all kinds of things. For example ... oh dear ... I better stop here before I get into some serious trouble because I truly just do not remember exactly what he was told. I must retract my previous statements if indeed he was ever told they murdered people or that they actively engaged in treason against the USA. Treason would definitely consist of working as spies for the USSR. I sure do hope he was never told they worked as spies. But I just don't remember. Maybe I will try to go back and find out the exact wording of what Paige told him. After all, when talking to a priest or a lawyer and being promised "legal confidentiality", I'm pretty sure that does not include any confessions of murder or treason. If you are talking with a priest or a lawyer and you are told that you have "client confidentiality", and then you tell the lawyer or the priest that you are planning to murder someone or engage in acts of treason against your country, I think it's pretty clear they should and they will turn you in for that. If I previously posted remarks that said Pastor Tim would be wrong for turning in the Jennings after he was informed they had done either of those two things, then I must retract those statements and apologize.

Oh dear. Please excuse me. I really can't stand it when I come up with an idea that I think is original and then I see someone else posting that same idea and claiming it was their idea. If I did that to you, then I must apologize to you intensely and profusely. I do hope you will accept my apology. It was definitely not intentional.

Well SUNNY, I'm guessing that we stand alone in this. But wouldn't it be something if it came to pass that way? I am salivating at the thought. I will keeping a sharp eye out and looking for any further developments in this direction. I guess there isn't very much time to go. But, it sure would be fantastic if anything along these lines came to pass. Here's hoping!

Well, if you were a member of the flock belonging to Pastor Dim and you found out that he had turned in P & E, how would you feel about that? Supposing that you believed in all the background to the Church and the relationship between the Pastor and the Parishoners, how would that impact your belief system? Do you think that you would carry on just like before and that you would accept the Bastard Dim as your good friend and pastor and someone you could rely on and respect and trust? Personally, I think that I would have gone out to a bake shop and purchased a big old Lemon Pie and taken it to church and walked up to Bastard Dim during his sermon and tossed it right into his squinty little face. How's about you? Obviously, you can tell that I have no respect for the entire setup. But I think it would be wrong for me to carry on and talk about how terrible all religions may be because so many people do believe and respect the priests and pastors and it would be wrong for me to carry on and engage in a bunch of name calling. The members of this board who are "true believers" really do deserve better than that.

It just might be possible (although very unlikely) that the stuff in Moscow may be a setup for us for a big and important surprise. There are any number of surprises that could happen. 1) Oleg's father could be guilty of participating in some scam with the food. It just might be him the KGB is investigating and not Oleg. It could have been arranged for Oleg to join the KGB - not because someone wanted him to work for them - but because someone figured it would be a better way to keep a close eye on him in order to bust his father. 2) Even more likely ... Oleg's mother could be carrying a grudge and/or involved in some plot with some other people who have been imprisoned and have remained in prison in the past to "stick it to the Commie" (similar to "stick it to the man") and they may be planning to do something to get even with the bastards who imprisoned them and (probably) tortured them as well. The more I think of it, the more likely this may be a real possibility (going after his mother instead of his father). Why? If I was Oleg's mother and I had been imprisoned and tortured by a bunch of Commie creeps, I would never forget and I would never forgive. What about you? Would you ever forgive? Would you ever come around to the POV that they were right and you were wrong? Would you ever decide that you had learned your lesson and the time was now right for you to kiss their (collective) asses? Well ... I dunno ... but if it was me, I think the answer would be ... "NYET!!!" and ... Fuck 'em! as well. I would be livid as well! Livid as Hell! I would just be out of my mind angry! I would be willing to give up my life just to get even with those creeps. I wonder if anyone here has any specific ideas about any of the following questions: 1) What is it that Oleg's mother could have done during or after WW2 to get herself imprisoned and tortured? How would Oleg's father have fit in? (He probably could not have participated if he then became a Transportation Minister. Or could he?) 2) Would she have deserved prison and/or torture for any of the possible reasons above? 3) What kind of plot could she have been secretly working on during all the years after the war and with whom would she be working and how much damage could they possibly do to the sitting Russian Government? 4) If she gets caught (which almost certainly will happen), what would it mean for Oleg and his dad? And, who else from Oleg's past would find out about this and how would it impact Philip and Elizabeth? 5) If I was Oleg's mom, I would have carried around a real serious plot to get even with the bastard Commies for messing up my life and my marriage and the death of my younger son would be a real big problem. I would want vengence with t a capital "V". How about you? Anyway, I am not through my questions. Not by any means. But I don't know where to go from here. I'd love to hear from you. Do you think there might possibly be anything to my ruminations? Or am I just disappointed by a lack of action this season and clutching at straws? Am I just trying to generate some action - or engaging in some revenge fantasy? I truly would love to know.

I can certainly appreciate your sentiments. But I'm not so sure the events this season have been poorly planned. After all, it may turn out in future episodes that events that seem foolish or a waste of time can take on some important meaning in the future. The odds are slim. But you just never know. Also, I'm willing to take a charitable POV. This show has given me so much enjoyment over the years that I am willing to be patient and let the showrunners take their time. With any luck, they may well arrange to have something happen that will make me happy later on. I may be expressing a foolish POV here, but there is just something wonderful about the love that P & E share. Even though they have done very terrible things and have murdered innocent people. They have also shown me an awful lot about the value of love and marriage and the value of sticking a marriage out. I've never been married. But I get a definite feeling from this show that people who are willing to give a marriage a chance and don't rush into divorce as soon as things may seem to go badly ... Well, those people can be rewarded in the future as they grow old. A loving marriage can pay off with a great deal of happiness in later years. At least, I hope that may be true and I hope there may be a chance for me down the road to find someone and to fall in love and get married. As hokey as that may sound, I still believe in the concept and I hope it may happen for me. I'm willing to sit by and wait and hope for the best. In the meantime, I think I'll just go and have a good cry.

I admire you. It takes a superior intellect to be able to look at more than one side of an issue. Specifically - to look at how Paige reacts after reading PT's diary. Then, to consider how she would react if someone were to do the same thing to her. Finally, to be able to modify our "kneejerk" reactions so that we don't just react to a single side of the issue but to consider both sides and in that light, to examine just what kind of an idea it would be to act on our first impulses. Often, it can be a terrible idea to react to our first (or "kneejerk") reaction because it usually turns out to be a very bad thing to do - to act on an impulse without thinking very much at all about it. Often foolish and often a distortion of our real opinions. If we just think things over for a bit (just count to ten as it were), we might decide on a very different reaction. In particular, I think Paige should draw two conclusions. First, she should realize that what he writes in his diary must be heavily discounted. I know that what I often write in my diary or what I post on this forum in quick reaction to something that someone has written that made me angry can often get me into trouble or just make me look like a fool. Second, she should realize that if she wants to keep a diary, she must make it much more secure so that no one can open it and read it. The most important lesson may be that what we write in our diaries can often be a distorted view and can easily get us into big trouble. In fact, it may be true that keeping a diary might just be a very dangerous thing to do. I have found that some very important insights can be gained when I have tried to do similar exercises - especially when something bothers me very much. By looking at both sides, I find that I'm often able to realize just how foolish I have behaved and that has stopped me from doing some really terrible actions. I wish you were here so I could give you a big smile. As I said, I give you much respect for being able to do that. It takes a superior being to do that and so few people ever seem willing to try. I applaud you. I would give you a "like" except that I've come to believe that big corporations use the information recorded in "likes" to profit themselves by selling that info to other corporations who use it to target advertising to the people who "like" things. But I don't want to go off topic here. Let me just say that I wish they had 3 levels of like - for example - "like a little bit" - "like a medium amount" - "like a whole lot". Then I could give you a high rating. But as it stands, all I can say is: "SUNNYBEBE - Well Done!"

IrishPirate and PinkRibbons - thank you very much for that info.

The priest spoke of Isaac & Rebecca. I don't recall ever hearing of any Rebecca. Who is Rebecca? P.S. Elizabeth looked amazingly gorgeous in two scenes tonight. It was primarily due to her wardrobe. The top she wore in the opening scene with Tuan was beautiful. Same goes for the top she wore in the first scene with Paige. I have never seen her wear any clothes before that made her look so beautiful. I'd love to know the brand name of those tops. They were just amazing.

I have tried to follow Sarah's motives and logic, but I usually just can't figure out how or why she comes to the decisions that she does. Maybe I just don't understand law enforcement officers very well. Most of the time, I just don't understand her thinking.

I think you are very much right on the money. Most of the reason(s) behind that "show" was to give the audience a form of entertainment. IRL? I doubt it would ever go to that tribunal. The only reason the writers might give was that the purpose behind that hearing was mostly about the practice of law and not about bringing any crimes to justice. But you never can tell what they might come up with.