Secondary and Tertiary Characters, and Guest Stars

[Tara Ariano]

And his mole!

[Domestic Assassin]

So, is John Boy leaving the show?  I noticed he's still listed in the guest credits, not the main credits.

[Hal25]

I sure hope not. I am fond of Agent Gaad and hope they keep him around. We don't have that many people on the FBI side who the audience can really connect with and see as human. There's Stan, who is kind of a dark character lately, Martha who I don't particularly care for as a character, and Gaad.

[Kierstyn]

"I've been layered" - such a great line, and such an eloquent word for the shifty office-politics crap that he was subjected to.  Had any of you heard that phrasing before?  I thought I was a veteran of crappy corporate politics, but that one was new to me.

[dr pepper]

Local boss of all the spies, sometimes buffer between the demands of the Center and the reality of  the field.

 

How do you see him?

[PinkRibbons]

This was an incredibly difficult thread to title because the whole point of Tatiana right now is that she's a mystery. Looks like she'll be quite an important character coming up though, since they just posted a video about her:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDDx4mkjcWg

 

Think she might be handling Zinaida?

[Umbelina]

I think that's a very good guess.

[Dev F]

Is the idea that she's the officer who took over Arkady's original role when he became the rezident? They both seem to be relatively autonomous figures supervising the spies in the field and reporting back to the rezident -- though it's not clear to me whether a defector like Zinaida would be handled by the same staff who handle deep-cover illegals like the Jenningses.

Edited February 27, 2015 by Dev F

[sistermagpie]

In all fairness, part of the reason I thought Stan brought that up was not "because he's hateful" , but because he was aware, "Jeez, I'm not reacting to this guy like this because of his race....am I?"  and that's part of why he might have floated that out there to Phillip. 

 

 

 

Yes, I though that was very possibly part of it, which was good on Stan's part that he's considering it. Aderholdt really has done a number on Stan just by being himself. He's a new guy in the office who's really good at his job-he's got more experience and talent working with spy stuff, it seems, than anybody we've seen so far and that's going to threaten Stan a little. He asked him about his undercover work in a way that was relative to his (Aderholdt's) interests, which is spying and how spies work. So he specifically asked him how he fooled the white supremists, which is a sensitive subject for Stan. (Plus while Aderholt himself wasn't being accusatory that we saw, as a former fake-white-supremist Stan was probably very aware that this question was being asked to him by a black man.) Then he accidentally shows Stan that he's being naive about Nina.

 

All of these things believably make Stan feel like this guy is...not out to get him, but is knocking him off balance. Enough that he wants to talk it out with Philip. Because his issues with him are so formless I think it makes sense that he'd want to give a whole picture of the guy, and in the FBI at this time he's the only non-white person in their office, which makes him stand out to everyone. If Stan's really trying to understand where this guy is coming from, what makes him tick, he really should take his race and background into account. Not because it explains him or defines him, but just you can't try to step into this guys' shoes while being afraid to acknowledge that he's navigating the world from a different place than Stan is. And the fact that Stan spent years with white supremists--and that the show right now is dealing with the Civil Rights movement and Apartheid--makes him even less likely to pretend he lives in a colorblind world.

 

The show, though, is making him a very specific guy not just defined by race. This episode gave him that great monologue about his background, including his dog Snuffy, and his father being a janitor. And it also gave him a specific pov on how he navigated being the only non-white guy in the office at the moment. Not all men in his position would view the world the same way, and this is his way. 

 

It actually makes him a great counterpoint to some of the other characters, in fact, because this show is always showing people relating to things different ways. Aderholt seems in this ep to be someone who is very patriotic and while he's probably just as aware as anyone else of the flaws of the US he sees himself as an American who is part of the group. As he put it "I'm not a victim." In an ep that included Ncgobo's version of not being a victim under Apartheid and references to Gregory, this is a different person with a different perspective. He's working with the system.

[crgirl412]

I'm glad there's a thread now for Aderholt!  In just a few scenes, he's really been able to do a lot.  The actor who plays him does it with subtlety combined with high intelligence and a stealth way to get into people's head.  He and Henry would be a spy dream team compared to Stan and Gaad. 

Edited March 22, 2015 by crgirl412

[RedHawk]

He and Henry would be a spy dream team compared to Stan and Beeman.

 

 

I think you meant Stan and Gaad, but still, I laughed out loud at this one!

[crgirl412]

crgirl412:

He and Henry would be a spy dream team compared to Stan and Beeman.

 

I think you meant Stan and Gaad, but still, I laughed out loud at this one!

YES!!!  That's who I meant!  Ooooooops!!!  I'm going to edit it! 

Edited March 22, 2015 by crgirl412

[Inquisitionist]

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?

[Umbelina]

2 hours ago, Inquisitionist said:

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?

Since it happened in Thailand, I really doubt they could do much investigating.  By the time they knew the local police had probably already been there, if there were security tapes (doubtful) they would have asked for them, etc.

We did see Dr. Taub (the guy in charge of the FBI office then) get Arkady thrown out of the US, and mention Gaad's murder at the table I think. 

[caitmcg]

4 hours ago, Inquisitionist said:

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?

As I recall, Stan suggested the CIA ought to be looking into that, rather than trying to use him as leverage to turn Oleg in Moscow, so it seems there's nothing going on that he's aware of, anyway.

[Inquisitionist]

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.

[caitmcg]

I hear that, but while I don't know if they'll actually follow up and provide that resolution, the mention by Stan this season at least means the show hasn't forgotten about Gaad's murder. And this is a show that plays a long game.

[Nash]

Given that there was - allegedly - an understanding not to actively kill each other's officers, the FBI would probably react very carefully to Gaad's death and would want to be sure it wasn't a robbery gone wrong before chopping KGB in retaliation.

That said, it would have cast ripples and I'd have thought that his old team would be hungry for news as to the latest theory ("Ed says he heard from some guy who heard that it was the Stasi, Gaad pissed them off in 77"). 

[BradandJanet]

Just read that Ruthie Ann Miles, the Avon friend, was in a pedestrian accident that injured her and killed her four-year-old daughter and the one-year-old son of a friend. They were all hit crossing a street in New York. Very sad news. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ruthie Ann Miles hospitalized after car crash that killed her four year old daughter

According to another article, Ruthie is seven months pregnant with her second child. The driver claims she was having a seizure when she ran a red light, hitting five people total before crashing into a row of parked cars. Her friend’s one year old son was also killed. He was in his stroller which was dragged down the block by the car that struck them.

A GoFundMe campaign for Ruthie Ann and her family has been set up if you want to donate. 

ETA: According to this article, the driver has been cited four times in the last two years for running red lights. She has also been cited four times in the last two years for speeding in school zones. This article has video footage of the car going through the intersection just before it hits them. It's just a snippet but according to the news station, the footage "shows a white Volvo stopped at the intersection. Then the sedan creeps forward, missing pedestrians crossing on the near side of the road and a car that had the right-of-way. It then appears to speed up somewhat as it slams into the man, women and children in the crosswalk across the intersection." One of the witnesses said that the driver looked both ways before blowing through the red light.

ETA2: A GoFundMe campaign for Lauren Lew has been set up (she is the mother of the one year old boy who was killed).

Edited March 7, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo
Added links

[jjj]

11 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

 This article has video footage of the car going through the intersection just before it hits them. It's just a snippet but according to the news station, the footage "shows a white Volvo stopped at the intersection.

 

Thank you for including these links. I only realized this morning that Ruthie Ann Miles was in "The Americans," one of the few characters  who captured our hearts -- and Elizabeth's. What a tragedy. 

Edited March 7, 2018 by jjj

[BW Manilowe]

According to this, from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser: Tragedy, Death, Heartbreak on Brooklyn Street, where the story is apparently also a big local news story although it occurred on the other side of the country & on the opposite coast from Honolulu, the woman who was driving the car apparently did tell the police she was suffering from heart problems, seizures, & multiple sclerosis.

As of yesterday, her license has been suspended while the police investigate whether or not she should've even been driving. The article also says that the numerous traffic violations incurred over the last 2 years, for speeding in school zones & running red lights, are charged to the vehicle involved, not the driver. So, for all intents & purposes, the driver involved has a clean driving record.

This is also a big local news story in Hawaii because Ruthie Ann (Miles) Blumenstein graduated from Honolulu's/O'ahu's Kaimuki High School in 2001, before going to graduate school in NYC, & apparently still makes frequent trips back to Honolulu to visit family & friends, & because her injured friend's father also lives on Oʻahu (he is reported as having flown from Honolulu to NYC after the accident, to be with his daughter). 

Edited March 7, 2018 by BW Manilowe
To add missing punctuation and space and reword a little bit.

[BW Manilowe]

I posted an update on the medical condition of Ruthie Ann Miles, among other things related to the hit & run which killed her daughter & the son of a friend; left Ms. Miles, who's 7 months pregnant, initially critically injured; & left her friend & another, unrelated, male victim less seriously injured in the Media thread.

Among the highlights: Ms. Miles has been transferred from the ICU & is "healing"; the family, or someone on their behalf, posted to Facebook that (thankfully) Ms. Miles' unborn baby is "safe".

Her friend & the mother of the other child killed in the event is still hospitalized, & in stable condition. The driver involved still hasn't been charged, but she faces possible manslaughter charges according to the New York Daily News.

NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio said the driver involved should be jailed & he wishes she was under arrest right now. He further said that what happened to the children was "terrifying", & it should never happen again.

In the interest of full disclosure, DeBlasio & his family live in the same neighborhood (Park Slope, Brooklyn), not far from where the incident occurred, & Mayor DeBlasio & his family have also used the crosswalk involved--so this situation may be/probably is much closer to home, & is more emotional, for the Mayor than other, similar, incidents in NYC. What's less clear is how much of a personal relationship he & his family already may have had with the families of Ms. Miles & her friend, given that they're all from the same neighborhood. I would think Mayor DeBlasio has at least met Ms. Miles in their current professional capacities, as the current NYC Mayor & a Tony Award-winning Broadway actress.

The article says the GoFundMe account opened to help cover the bills, expenses, & other costs incurred by Ruthie Ann Miles in connection with this tragedy has more than reached the original $5000 goal set when the account was started; at the time the linked article was posted online, more than $390,000 had been donated. As perhaps expected, a number of account donors are from the Broadway & Hollywood communities; among the celebrity donors was Keri Russell.