shura

Successkimo, eh? Sure, that's a career.

I was thinking how unreliable a method the KGB was using there to transport things secretly across borders. Why not hand it over (through intermediaries, of course) to the Rezidentura people so they could send it in diplomatic mail? A less than willing courier like that pilot can crack at any moment and either go to the authorities or simply drop whatever he is asked to carry into the trash. Whatever they are using to coerce him only works until it doesn't. I did like how his leaving the tin on the bus seat was an act of defiance. He didn't have to leave it for Philip to find, but he chose to basically tell him "screw you", knowing full well that he is toast as soon as he gets back to Prague, unless he made a decision to never return back home. Either way, it's probably not good for his family if he has one. Also interesting how we had two failed attempts to smuggle things across the Iron Curtain in this episode. I kind of like the idea that Nina failed on purpose (although I am not sure why she'd do that), but she must have known that she is putting her husband on the chopping block with this. I am not sure she'd do that to him. They really seemed like good friends in their meeting, people who really care about one another. I don't know who is writing Russian dialogue on this show, but it was phenomenal, very natural. Both actors were great there.

It could simply mean that Elizabeth hadn't dared to hope her stoic mother would send a message like that, that's all. I wonder how Stan could know about Oleg's brother. Were they (and "they" would have to be the CIA, not the FBI) watching him in Afghanistan because they were hoping to get some leverage on Oleg?

Even if it went down like that (which is super unrealistic, if you ask me), Philip's part of the operation was just sending his wife and daughter on a trip to West Berlin. This doesn't have to be sloppy at all - they fly in, check into the hotel and stay there. Nobody would be watching them. And when the KGB did get involved and brought the mother, I assume they would have looked over everything and tidied up where necessary with all the receipts and ticket stubs you want. At that point it was no longer run by Philip alone.

Philip must have had support. Someone transported Elizabeth's bedridden mother from the USSR to East Germany, on to West Berlin and back, and all of this was organized on a short notice. There is no way this could have been done without the KGB being involved. I think Philip went over Gabriel's head somehow, and that was the reason Gabriel was pissed, not that Philip had gone it alone and put KGB interests in jeopardy.

Or Stan found his "Mrs. Beeman" picture and there is no Henry anymore.

I don't know if he is, necessarily, but all right. What would you pick, your parents or your country and your way of life? That scene where Paige is waiting out the Pledge of Allegiance - what does it mean? Is she ready to turn on her country because she doesn't want to lose her parents?

"Thank you, Lord, for smiting little so-and-so with influenza. May he recover after the playoffs." Yep, been there. There was a kid on my son's team who had no idea what he was doing. When he saw the ball close enough, he'd just kick it (we are talking soccer here). It didn't matter to him which way the ball would fly or whether he was kicking it from under the foot of his teammate who was about to score. Honestly, sometimes we were like "All right, Aidan's not here today, we've got a chance... Oh crap, there he is." Is this the third episode in a row with blatant product placement? Or are we not counting Chipotle?

This only makes sense to me if he doesn't believe Paige and is looking for proof that she is wrong (which, in turn, would mean that he is not planning to contact the FBI). Because if he believes her and thinks they may indeed be Russian spies, then he is completely nuts if he is not calling the FBI right away. If it were me, I'd call and let them deal with it. I'd certainly not be thinking "before I get trained professionals involved, I better investigate these scary people myself to get more proof. Where are my stakeout clothes?" It's not weaponized. Henry would have to open the vial and snort its contents or rub it on his skin to get infected.

I see. Well, I hope Stan is more analytical and evidence-oriented in his FBI work than he was here. He knows that Sandra and Philip were friends before his marriage fell apart. He knows all of them went to EST at one time or another and they just might have bumped into each other there again. He knows Sandra has that Arthur guy in her life. He shouldn't rush to judgement and start beating up people and ending friendships just because his girlfriend thinks she saw something. Love, I suppose. At least he was considerate enough not to accuse Philip in front of his wife. I have to say, I kind of liked Pastor Tim's idea of getting together with Paige's Soviet spy parents and just talking things out. Clueless and naive, sure. But it fits him. He is the kind of guy who just might think that, God willing, everything can be talked out, and that he is just the person to facilitate it. Philip looked like something from a Tolstoy novel with that beard. Way to blend in.

How does this work again? This Tori person thinks that telling Stan about his ex-wife and Philip is going to be good for her and Stan? It didn't look like a ploy to distance Stan from Sandra, she seemed really concerned when she saw Philip and Sandra together. I don't know if the KGB knows, but I don't see why it would stop them from recruiting him.

So the greeter with a hook was some kind of serial killer, right? I had to reset my receiver in the middle of the episode and missed the resolution of someone's clue falling down the mountain. What happened there? Did they have to go down and get the clue? Was it as dramatic as the pre-commercial setup made it out to be? The person whose cheese ran away?

I used to work for a private company and we had an agreement with Caltech and could use some of their facilities as needed. I'm sure they would easily accommodate NASA employees. I'm a bit confused though. Why would a federal employee be disqualified from having any financial reward from his invention that was not created at his federal workplace during his working hours? It seems questionable to me.

So let me understand - they were ready to go, knew they were leaving, were saying goodbyes to their families, but the thing that made Cole cry was the unexpected curve ball of not being able to go to a common starting point in the US? The first episode certainly made it appear (to me) as if they'd just got a little bigger surprise than that, like maybe learning that the race was starting right then and there (which would mean, among other things, that they had no more time to spend on preparation). Ah, the wonders of editing. As for knowing the flags, I don't really expect the racers to memorize them in preparation for the race, even though it might possibly be useful knowledge (as this episode demonstrated) that doesn't actually take that much time and effort to acquire. I'm just surprised that the racers seemed to know so little about flags of different countries that they had to waste so much time running back and forth to check what the flags look like.

Or know your flags, in which case you don't even need anyone's help and certainly don't need to waste time running around. It's not that hard. If you don't know them, it's probably a good idea to study up on something like that before going on a race around the world. As yes, I forgot, it was a total surprise for them all that they are going on TAR. Had to leave as soon as they learned about it...

So did she ask to team up with someone and was refused? Or did she show up all entitled, never asked and got upset that she is not included? I didn't catch exactly how it happened.

No, but Tyler's proposal to go back and make another one wouldn't make it any more of a souvenir. It would still produce just a Swiss Army knife they didn't make on the Race (although yes, it would still be cooler than a store-bought piece). I am wondering now, is that place open for tourists who can go in and make their own knife or was it just for TAR?

Oh, I don't think the production had much to worry about with most of these people. The no math rule was probably put in there as a safety measure to prevent undue mental strain. Don't want these emerging stars to hurt themselves. They know they could buy one, right? Also, can't they use normal amounts of exclamation points?

I'm right there with you. When she showed up last at the United Nations palace, did the one doing the challenge even ask for help from the other teams? Or did she simply expect them to rush to help her and was appalled when that didn't happen? She seemed to be going on and on about how she's the victim and no one wants to help her as if it was somehow their responsibility or good manners or something. I did, however, enjoy very much how she said at the mat "There is no one I'd rather do the Race with" in a voice that unmistakably said "I am so bored right now." Regarding the UN flag challenge, it was just a matter of identifying the flags of the ten countries highlighted on the map that nobody recognized as a map, right? There was no requirement to do anything with the actual flags and poles, was there? I was confused why everybody started running to the flagpoles at some point. Last, did they even explain the Broken Chair in the episode? I missed it completely if they did, had to look it up.

That thing is Colombia's national sport? I mean, it looked like fun and all, but national sport? There must be drinking involved. How come I have no recollection of Burnie and Ashley? Not their faces, not what they have done on the race, not even their names. Zero. And this is the third episode. The greeter was gorgeous. They always have the most beautiful female greeters in South America.

Yes, absolutely. That's what I meant. Who's to say the HR lady has not been seeing Sheldon at work every day? We could use this reasoning to explain having absolutely any character at Sheldon's party. It's no different than "he/she was there because the writers wanted it so." Which I have no problem with, mind you.

I'm not so sure this works as a serious explanation (not that I'm looking for one). If Sheldon is like us and hasn't seen her in years, then seeing her actually breaks his routine. And if we are supposed to think that they've been hanging out constantly off-screen, then the show might as well have brought absolutely any random person. Why not Raj's father or the HR lady from Caltech?

It is different, sure. But I don't think it's a good reflection on Bow that she is sincerely convinced her sixteen(?)-year-old daughter is a shallow bimbo and then is pleasantly shocked when Zoe shows depth. This is really not the first sign of Zoe being a good, thoughtful person we've ever seen. And Bow is acting like she's never seen those signs before? It's not good.

I'd say if they are still sharing a room when they start bringing dates home, that's probably too old, no? My son is friends with a pair of boy/girl twins (well, more with the boy half of the pair at this point), so I know them and their family pretty well. They just got moved into separate rooms, at the age of seven, but not really because of any age-related reason or because it was becoming less than appropriate to share a room. It's just that their sleeping habits became different enough to start creating problems - the boy is an early to bed, early to rise kind of person, and the girl is a total night owl. There is no issue with treating them as separate people, these two could not be more different in their temperament or interests. They would not even hear of being in the same class when it was time to get enrolled in kindergarten, they basically jumped at the first chance of being separated and have been ever since. The funniest thing is (and I've heard it from other people who have boy/girl twins, too), when people see them with their parents somewhere and learn that they are twins, the parents get asked almost invariably "Are they identical?" They (the parents) say they used to try to point it out politely that one twin is a girl and the other isn't, but that never helped. So now they simply nod and go "Yes, they are."

That would explain it. Maybe she mistook the ziploc for a fish.