Inquisitionist

Photo of BD in her wedding dress with Davis.

Getting very excited for the new season!

And apparently I missed that line! Which scene was it? The character isn't credited on IMDb, yet. BTW, the episode was directed by Helen Hunt, whose Oscar I would have awarded to any of the other four nominees that year.

Oh, no offense taken at all. I just find myself scratching my head more and more these days about what passes for funny. Don't get me started on musical guests. I can't recall that last one I didn't fast-forward through.

As a certified oldster, I enjoyed last night's show a lot.

This season has 13 episodes, just like every prior season. Next year, the final season is scheduled to have only 10 episode. But I also have been finding the pace of the storytelling a bit perplexing this season. Last season was so tight and compelling, but this is feeling a bit more like season 3, where I felt the Kimmie and Zinaida storylines dragged at times. The lack of a Rezidentura and the losses of Martha and Nina may be taking a toll.

She did keep her body in great shape, but I've just never understood the appeal of that face.

Actually, it was in the episode description posted at the top of this thread. If you manage to avoid even those, I applaud you!

It seems odd to me from a story-telling perspective to have Gaad exit the show's universe in that way without any follow up. What's the point? To show that unsolvable things happen? I know that's true in the real world, but it's not satisfying in fiction.

I know Frank Gaad had already retired from the FBI when he was killed in Thailand or wherever late last season, but has anyone at the FBI even indicated that an investigation of his death is occurring? His quick and highly suspicious demise feels like an odd loose thread for the series. Are we never going to learn anything more about who killed him and what they wanted?

Maybe the show doesn't want to be a "how to" guide for breaking and entering? ;-)

"shattering" was a promo/preview word, but wasn't used in the episode. It seems to have referred to E&P learning that the Iowa green house they had stalked was not being used to develop midges to destroy the Russian wheat crop, but rather to develop wheat strains that would resist pests. Hence, the "shattering" news that their operation, which resulted in killing yet another innocent bystander, was based on a false premise.

It follows a long tradition. See Robin Williams as Reagan.

I won't say it's just you, but I don't agree with that assessment.

But in what way was it a "feud"? Leigh was bi-polar, something that wasn't recognized medically at the time, I think. She and Olivier both struggled with the fall-out of her condition, but it's not like they ever hated each other, as far as I know.

But were all the scenes of Misha's struggle to reach America necessary to make that particular point? It felt very flat to me that after all that, Misha would complacently return to Russia, where he's been in danger before and could be again. If this turns out to be the end of his story, it will not have worked for me. But I doubt it's the end.

I didn't find the podcast, but I did find this. I must not have been watching the show much that season, as I don't really remember Watkins at all, but some of the attitudes dissected in this article are infuriating. Of course, Shales has always been a doofus.

That's a good way of putting it. In the early episodes, they did not seem like a couple who had been together as long as they're later revealed to have been. I'm eternally grateful that my immigrant parents (perhaps by chance) gave me a name that has an Anglo/English version. The only Renata I've ever known was an immigrant child whose parents gave all 5 kids non-translatable names -- and in the 1960s, this was not necessarily a good thing. Please tell me there is a kid somewhere with the guts to write: "The bear spent the weekend in our closet because it is a pile of inert material and not an actual animate being. Also, it likely has cooties from the other kids who dragged it all over creation." Oh, for the love of Pete, cut those kids' bangs already! There are pretentious names and then there's pretentious hair.

Check the "real life" threads for more info... or wait until next week! ;-)

I have felt that way ever since she was nominated for Tootsie and Frances in the same year. I didn't see much difference between those two performances.

I thought that in both cases they could not leave any evidence that they had been there at all, as that would raise suspicions that could lead back to the KGB. Hence, having Lois Smith's character essentially kill herself with her medication and removing the body of scientist guy.

It may have just started to click and get interesting for him when he started algebra. It's been known to happen!

Above was written in response to my comment that "We've already seen that Philip killed a young classmate as a boy himself. Good lord, how much more traumatic does it get than that?" I see your point about the difference in memory styles, controlled versus intrusive. I'm just wondering what event could be more horrible than having killed a person. I guess there are such things, such as watching a loved one be tortured. Ugh, I'm not sure I could deal with that kind of flashback.

I noticed that as well! Most of the time, I don't find Philip/Matthew Rhys particularly good-looking, but I thought he looked verrrrry good in that shot. What sistermagpie said. :-)

I agree with all of your criticisms, DisneyBoy, and could add more (e.g., how was it possible that Blanche had no regular visitors except Elvira, that house maid?), and yet there was something about the performances and the filming style that I found captivating.