S04.E11: Dinner for Seven

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Elizabeth completes the last steps of a very personal operation... but at what cost?

[Umbelina]

Preview

Any idea who said "So what do you do Stan?" Holy crap, is that the Pastor and his wife having dinner with Stan?

ETA, it had to be the Pastor that asked and Henry that answered.  7 people.  Jennings, Pastor/wife, and Stan.  Wow.

Edited May 19, 2016 by Umbelina

[RedHawk]

The dinner promises to be a total laff riot. Maybe Gabriel and Claudia will drop by for coffee and dessert.

[crgirl412]

What is Elizabeth's angle with Tim in his office??  Is this real or part of the plan?? 

[ToniG]

Knowing Elizabeth, I'm sure it's not real.  I don't see her trusting him at all, though I guess it's possible that the situation with Young-Hee caused her to reach out. 

Edited May 26, 2016 by ToniG

[crgirl412]

5 hours ago, RedHawk said:

The dinner promises to be a total laff riot. Maybe Gabriel and Claudia will drop by for coffee and dessert.

It felt like an SNL skit when Tim found out Stan worked for the FBI.  The smile, the glancing around, the bad wig.....

[ToniG]

Oh, god - another Paige drama.

[Umbelina]

Poor Mail Robot, your days are numbered...

Poor Don, but so happy the con job made sense!  That was well done and none of us guessed it, as hard as we tried.

I'm not sure what to make with the two talks with the Pastor, I need to watch it again.

Wow, at that ending!  Yes, Paige, now try to believe your mother never hurts anyone in her line of work, those skills?  Just something she picked up at the YMCA.

Edited May 26, 2016 by Umbelina

[AimingforYoko]

Those muggers learned what Hugh Glass learned, never get between a mama bear and her cubs.

It's always fascinating to watch actors playing someone who's acting. Both Elizabeth and Philip played the fake outrage very convincingly, but it made me kind of hate them for destroying a good man.

[DrSpaceman73]

Yes that pretty much ends any pretense that her parents are kinder, gentler spies out there looking out for the common good and ......well whatever the Russian equivelant of truth, justice and the American way is or was.  

 

I was underwhelmed by the dinner.  Not much came of it.  In fact I am pretty underwhelmed by the entire Pastor Tim storyline this season

 

At least we know the plan now with Don.  

Not sure what to make with Stan meeting with Oleg either.  

[TimWil]

At first I wondered why there wasn't an announcement like there used to be on the daytime soaps-"The role of Claudia is now being played by Marceline Hugot"-but then I realized that this was the woman in her 50s with computer skills from Moscow who was mentioned by Tatiana in her post-coital discussion with Oleg in last week's episode. And I apologize for this run-on sentence.

Edited May 26, 2016 by TimWil

[sistermagpie]

20 minutes ago, ToniG said:

Knowing Elizabeth, I'm sure it's not real.  I don't see her trusting him at all, though I guess it's possible that the situation with Young-Hee caused her to reach out. 

She's hitting his ego hard, crediting him for bringing their family together, just like he wanted. Maybe using her real feelings or not. But the whole "I'm so vulnerable, but I feel safe with you" is obviously something he'd love. Maybe she might play Philip as the heavy, since it seems like Tim would like that too.

[Primetimer]

They also celebrate Pastor Groovyhair's safe return by bringing together disparate members of the community at a (fairly awkward) dinner party. За здоровье!

View the full article

[crgirl412]

3 minutes ago, TimWil said:

At first I wondered why there wasn't an announcement like there used to be on the daytime soaps-"The role of Claudia is now being played by Marceline Hugot"-but then I realized that this was the woman in her 50s with computer skills who was mentioned by Tatiana in last week's episode.

For awhile I thought it was the phone lady in fat suite, prosthetic face and bad wig and they finally let her out of her apartment!

[hellmouse]

All I kept thinking in the first scene was that it was the start of the redemption of Pastor Tim - he admitted he was stupid for getting lost and his hair looked better!

I do think Elizabeth is working him. She and Philip know that Paige is not really able to handle either Tim or Alice, so it makes sense to have one of them do it. Tim's visit to them provided an opening - he may be ripe for handling especially if Elizabeth seems in need of spiritual guidance. But I think that everything she is asking him is actually very real to her. She'd probably ask it all anyway, but she truly is searching for guidance so I think she's interested in his answers. 

Edited May 26, 2016 by hellmouse

[Dev F]

12 minutes ago, Umbelina said:

I'm not sure what to make with the two talks with the Pastor, I need to watch it again.

My read was that initially she was working him in the hopes that he would volunteer to turn over the tape, but that eventually it segued into a halfway genuine attempt to find some comfort over her rough, rough situation with Young Hee. That's why it seemed so meaningful that she ultimately told Paige that maybe it was okay for them to keep the tape -- she was basically entertaining the idea of faith for the first time, that maybe it's okay to put your life in the hands of this powerful and dangerous thing outside your own control that may or may not exist.

Edited May 26, 2016 by Dev F

[Tetraneutron]

2 minutes ago, TimWil said:

At first I wondered why there wasn't an announcement like there used to be on the daytime soaps-"The role of Claudia is now being played by Marceline Hugot"-but then I realized that this was the woman in her 50s with computer skills who was mentioned by Tatiana in last week's episode.

I know. I didn't click on that until I saw her using the computer. I love how the show set that up. But that makes Tatiana's secret kind of lame, right? She's just a bioweapons operative?

I'm actually kind of disappointed in the whole Don plan, now that we know what it is. All that, just for a few minutes of unsupervised time in his office? Doesn't it seem needlessly elaborate? Not to mention all the ways it could have gone wrong. Don could have told YoungHee, he could have refused to give "John" the money, and a million other things. And it seemed like there would be easier way for P or E to sneak into Don's office. We've seen them do it a million times. Although I do love how after all that, they didn't even get the codes. 

Add me to the list of people who think Elizabeth is completely playing Pastor Tim. Make him feel important so she can manipulate him. But I bet the fallout is Paige pulls away from him and doesn't feel the same way about him. If his role in her life is as a parental figure, that doesn't last when he's just as manipulated by P and E as everyone else. I do wonder if Paige seeing Elizabeth go all badass like that makes her rethink which side of the Cold War she's on. 

[hellmouse]

I thought that she told Paige it was okay for them to keep the tape because she doesn't think there is a tape, but she doesn't want to tell Paige that they have bugged Pastor Tim's office and/or phone.

[AGuyToo]

Wow, the Young-Hee plan was convoluted. Befriend a woman at Mary Kay, work on her for more than half a year, find some way of getting her husband alone, trick him into believe you and he had sex on that occasion, tell him you're pregnant with the hope that he won't ask questions and the expectation that he'll ask for an abortion but feel guilty about it, send your "family" to his workplace with a bill, assume he'll volunteer to go to the bank right there and then to get the money, hope that he'll be sufficiently unnerved and building security sufficiently lax that your "parents" will be able to explore for the codes unimpeded, guess that the room he led them to would just happen to have computer or paper copies of the needed codes, and assume no one will walk into that room at an inopportune moment to offer them coffee or just check on how they're doing. What a fantastic plan!

No wonder the Soviet Union failed.

Edited May 26, 2016 by AGuyToo

[ToniG]

13 minutes ago, Umbelina said:

Wow, at that ending!  Yes, Paige, now try to believe your mother never hurts anyone in her line of work, those skills?  Just something she picked up at the YMCA.

I think, in Paige's place, I'd be happy that my mom was able to protect us from those guys. But, of course, it's Paige.  Maybe they can figure out a way to eliminate Pastor and Mrs. Groovyhair and Paige, too.

[shura]

12 minutes ago, ToniG said:

Oh, god - another Paige drama.

I know! I am not looking forward to that. I just had to laugh at the previews where she says (not a spoiler) "Do you guys trust me or not?" Well, honey, tell us one thing that says we should, and we'll tell you one thing that says we shouldn't, and we'll see who wins...

12 minutes ago, Umbelina said:

Wow, at that ending!  Yes, Paige, now try to believe your mother never hurts anyone in her line of work, those skills?  Just something she picked up at the YMCA.

Well, they ARE spies, they've had the training. Doesn't mean they use it every day, necessarily. Shut up, Paige.

1 minute ago, AGuyToo said:

Wow, the Young-Hee plan was convoluted. Befriend a woman at Mary Kay, work on her for more than half a year, find some way of getting her husband alone, trick him into believe they had sex on that occasion, tell him she's pregnant with hope that he won't ask questions and the expectation that he'll ask for an abortion but feel guilty about it, send your "family" to his workplace with a bill, assume he'll volunteer to go to the bank right there and then to get the money, hope that he'll be sufficiently unnerved and building security sufficiently lax that your "parents" will be able to explore for the codes unimpeded, guess that the room he led them to would just happen to have computer or paper copies of the needed code, and assume no one walks into that room at an inopportune moment to offer them coffee or just check on how they're doing. What a fantastic plan!

Agreed. It wasn't terrible, but there were so many places it could have gone wrong. I wonder what their backup plan was. They must have had one, right?

[gwhh]

I like how Elizabeth shows up at pastor Tim office and is like just here to pick up Paige.  You could almost hear her mentally add to that "not here to murder you and your nosey wife with your own religious symbols." 

I am sure no one at dinner other than Henry and Stan enjoyed it! 

That food panty part took me back.  My uncle church use to hold food drives and picks ups in this old factory building that some member of his church owned and let them use for free.  It was basically a condemned building he could not sell and the city did not want.  Me and my mother would go drop off food she collected from people she worked with.  We always joked our car was gone as soon as we turned our back on it.    It was in a part of town so bad.  Even in middle of the day!  The police went around in pairs to be safe.

I like how Paige was working mom to let her drive AFTER giving her the info from Stan son about Martha! 

I do hope Elizabeth is running a game on Pastor grooveryhair about got and being conflicted in her mission!!

What did Elizabeth hand that one mugger and than take back off of her after she stabbed him? 

Edited May 26, 2016 by gwhh

[Shriekingeel]

So Killizabeth got a kill in; she was really overdue, especially with the 7-month time jump. 

Stan is so dim. "But how could they have known Gaad was in Thailand? How? How?" The conversation with Oleg made no sense at all. The whole episode was full of pointless conversations like that. 

[Dev F]

11 minutes ago, Tetraneutron said:

I'm actually kind of disappointed in the whole Don plan, now that we know what it is. All that, just for a few minutes of unsupervised time in his office? Doesn't it seem needlessly elaborate? Not to mention all the ways it could have gone wrong. Don could have told YoungHee, he could have refused to give "John" the money, and a million other things.

It was a risk, surely, but not a blind one. It was, I realize now, carefully tailored to the subject -- specifically, the fact that Don is culturally very Korean and would likely be extremely sensitive to the notion of bringing shame to himself and his family. The operation rested -- successfully, as it turned out -- on him choosing the most private and least confrontational answer to every obstacle presented.

Edited May 26, 2016 by Dev F

[benteen]

Good episode.

I thought Elizabeth was trying to seduce Tim.  I think she is working him while trying to resolve her own feelings of guilt about Young-Hee. 

Speaking of which, that Don mission really was a clusterfuck.  Isn't Young-Hee likely to report her as a missing person?  It was worth the trip to Don's office though to see Philip in a white trash wig and Gabriel in the field.

I knew someone would try to attack Elizabeth when they were taking that long walk to the parking lot.

I like that the mail robot thing is coming back into play.

[RedHawk]

19 minutes ago, crgirl412 said:

For awhile I thought it was the phone lady in fat suite, prosthetic face and bad wig and they finally let her out of her apartment!

The woman in the apartment sounded so happy when Elizabeth called in for Patty's messages. She must be the loneliest KGB agent in the world.

[madam magpie]

I don't think this was the specific plan for Don all along. I think they came up with it on the fly because Elizabeth wasn't making progress. The fake pregnancy gave them an in. I thought it was great, especially since it went down in a way that the audience didn't see coming.

Elizabeth is TOTALLY playing Groovyhair. (She better be!) This ain't the crap of Homeland. Elizabeth knows what her job is, and she's good at it. 

The mugger scene was fantastic! I know Paige is a killjoy and all, but if I'd found out at 15 that my mom could do that, I'd have been thrilled and respected her in a whole new way. Go, Mama, go!

[gwhh]

That line was on the Simpsons TV show also!!

I see the Americans have been approved for 2 more seasons!

I hope the mail robot gets a better contract for the last two.  I bet he was just working for scale in seasons 1 and 2!!

Since they are stealing lines from the Simpson maybe the couch can come over to for a brief appearances 

I knew that line was from the Simpsons also!

Edited May 26, 2016 by gwhh

[ToniG]

9 minutes ago, gwhh said:

 What did Elizabeth hand that one mugger and than take back off of her after she stabbed him? 

She gave him her wallet, then took it back.

[RedHawk]

Mail Robot will be heard!

Loved that it got a quick cameo.

Edited May 26, 2016 by RedHawk

[sistermagpie]

12 minutes ago, Dev F said:

My read was that initially she was working him in the hopes that he would volunteer to turn over the tape, but that eventually it segued into a halfway genuine attempt to find some comfort over her rough, rough situation with Young Hee. That's why it seemed so meaningful that she ultimately told Paige that maybe it was okay for them to keep the tape -- she was basically entertaining the idea of faith for the first time, that maybe it's okay to put your life in the hands of this powerful and dangerous thing outside your own control that may or may not exist.

But her conversation at the end was just so straight out of one of those stories religious people tell about atheists. She's asking the pastor how to deal with a problem she can't stop thinking about if she can't pray to God? She's totally setting herself up missing something in her life...guess what she's missing? Plus Tim gave them that opening when he worried about them as parents.

Notice I think it was Elizabeth who introduced Pastor Tim as Paige's pastor and then corrected it to "our pastor." I think this ought to be a whole thing they've discussed.

Also, I think Elizabeth's got a lot more experience than Tim putting her life in the hands of something outside her control that may or may not ever exist--she's not only handed her life over to the Centre but she knows her life's been in his hands since she decided to let him live for Paige's sake.

9 minutes ago, shura said:

Agreed. It wasn't terrible, but there were so many places it could have gone wrong. I wonder what their backup plan was. They must have had one, right?

I think they hoped to find something more straightforward but had to stick with this one. If it didn't work I guess she could have bugged out, but she did set all this up from the start with talk of her family and brother etc.

[shura]

23 minutes ago, Dev F said:

That's why it seemed so meaningful that she ultimately told Paige that maybe it was okay for them to keep the tape -- she was basically entertaining the idea of faith for the first time, that maybe it's okay to put your life in the hands of this powerful and dangerous thing outside your own control that may or may not exist.

Or she simply realized that it doesn't matter one bit whether they get the tape or not, since the Tims can make another tape any time.

14 minutes ago, Shriekingeel said:

Stan is so dim. "But how could they have known Gaad was in Thailand? How? How?" The conversation with Oleg made no sense at all.

If I were Stan, I'd probably suspect that one of Gaad's wife's girlfriends was a KGB informant and that's how the word got out. As far as Stan's plan for Oleg, my guess is, he is trying to make Oleg feel that he, Stan, has no plan, not trying to recruit Oleg or anything, so if Oleg wants to do something for the US on his own, he is welcome to do it, but it's not at all what Stan is trying to get him to do...

6 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

I think they hoped to find something more straightforward but had to stick with this one. If it didn't work I guess she could have bugged out, but she did set all this up from the start with talk of her family and brother etc.

No, I meant the backup plan for the situation where Don does not leave "Patty's parents" alone in his office. Go back, regroup, and think of something else? Or just tell the Center that it didn't work out?

[hellmouse]

It seems really bad that the other mugger got away. He saw both Elizabeth and Paige. I don't think he's going to the police, but if he did, it would be very bad for Elizabeth. 

I think Paige would be impressed with how bad-ass Elizabeth was, except for the fact that she killed him. She didn't just punch him. But Paige had to find out about this at some point. They can certainly explain it as training they've had, and Elizabeth's protective instincts kicking in, but I don't think Paige will be convinced. 

[Umbelina]

24 minutes ago, shura said:

I know! I am not looking forward to that. I just had to laugh at the previews where she says (not a spoiler) "Do you guys trust me or not?" Well, honey, tell us one thing that says we should, and we'll tell you one thing that says we shouldn't, and we'll see who wins...

Well, they ARE spies, they've had the training. Doesn't mean they use it every day, necessarily. Shut up, Paige.

Agreed. It wasn't terrible, but there were so many places it could have gone wrong. I wonder what their backup plan was. They must have had one, right?

Well, Paige just saw a man die, bleeding out all over the ground, after a scary threat to her virtue and possibly life.  I'll cut her some slack on that one.

 

28 minutes ago, AGuyToo said:

Wow, the Young-Hee plan was convoluted. Befriend a woman at Mary Kay, work on her for more than half a year, find some way of getting her husband alone, trick him into believe you and he had sex on that occasion, tell him you're pregnant with the hope that he won't ask questions and the expectation that he'll ask for an abortion but feel guilty about it, send your "family" to his workplace with a bill, assume he'll volunteer to go to the bank right there and then to get the money, hope that he'll be sufficiently unnerved and building security sufficiently lax that your "parents" will be able to explore for the codes unimpeded, guess that the room he led them to would just happen to have computer or paper copies of the needed codes, and assume no one will walk into that room at an inopportune moment to offer them coffee or just check on how they're doing. What a fantastic plan!

No wonder the Soviet Union failed.

Operations like this can take years, theirs or ours.  It's likely his office would be the place to talk about something extremely private that he didn't want others to overhear, and he's a scientist so having a computer there is simple logic.  Of course they didn't know if they would be left alone, but what other play did they have?  This wasn't THE plan, she got the babysitting gig and searched his house, she got to know them to find a plan that would work, which leads to this:

19 minutes ago, Dev F said:

It was a risk, surely, but not a blind one. It was, I realize now, carefully tailored to the subject -- specifically, the fact that Don is culturally very Korean and would likely be extremely sensitive to the notion of bringing shame to himself and his family. The operation rested -- successfully, as it turned out -- on him choosing the most private and least confrontational answer to every obstacle presented.

Yeah, I thought it was a good job trying to get information from a difficult to access asset.  And HE was the most likely of the bunch.  This is a very high security facility, and they needed it to be low key, no murders and Symtech for this op, because they still need William's cover protected.  Remember they are just trying to get William access codes here.  So traditional break ins wouldn't work.

16 minutes ago, benteen said:

Good episode.

I thought Elizabeth was trying to seduce Tim.  I think she is working him while trying to resolve her own feelings of guilt about Young-Hee. 

Speaking of which, that Don mission really was a clusterfuck.  Isn't Young-Hee likely to report her as a missing person?  It was worth the trip to Don's office though to see Philip in a white trash wig and Gabriel in the field.

I knew someone would try to attack Elizabeth when they were taking that long walk to the parking lot.

I like that the mail robot thing is coming back into play.

Man, it felt seductive to me as well!

Maybe Liz just meant what she said, "better they feel safe" and keep the tape.  She's working them another way now.

[RedHawk]

On second watch, the switchboard lady in the apartment says, "Oh. Hi." when Elizabeth gives the codename for picking up Patty's messages. She's obviously heard the message and how upset Patty sounds and feels sad for Patty and also knows how the message might affect Elizabeth. That lady seems to be very concerned for Philip and Elizabeth, although overly empathetic in some ways. 

When Paige asked Elizabeth if her connection with Pastor Tim would be "forever" it finally brought up what I've been waiting for. Paige's former interest in the church and love for Tim and Alice has been destroyed by the enforced closeness. She sounded so unenthusiastic about her two nights a week doing volunteer work at the food pantry. A normal teenager might "grow out of" a religious phase but Paige is stuck maintaining a semi-false relationship she's finding tiresome and stressful where once it was so uplifting and comforting.

Edited May 26, 2016 by RedHawk

[RedHawk]

11 minutes ago, hellmouse said:

It seems really bad that the other mugger got away. He saw both Elizabeth and Paige. I don't think he's going to the police, but if he did, it would be very bad for Elizabeth. 

I think Paige would be impressed with how bad-ass Elizabeth was, except for the fact that she killed him. She didn't just punch him. But Paige had to find out about this at some point. They can certainly explain it as training they've had, and Elizabeth's protective instincts kicking in, but I don't think Paige will be convinced. 

Perhaps the guy who ran away will be questioned by the police as the last person seen with the guy who was killed. They might try to say he was the murderer and he'll tell them a "crazy" story about a tiny woman who punched him and then used his buddy's own knife to kill him.

[benteen]

That mugger did see Elizabeth without a wig on.

[hellmouse]

Just now, RedHawk said:

Perhaps the guy who ran away will be questioned by the police as the last person seen with the guy who was killed. They might try to say he was the murderer and he'll tell them a "crazy" story about a tiny woman who punched him and then used his buddy's own knife to kill him.

It really seems like a bad move to kill him. Won't Pastor Tim hear about a murder near the food bank? Will Paige have to pretend she didn't know about it? Or was a murder in that area commonplace enough that it wouldn't attract notice?

[RedHawk]

The acting on this show is of such high caliber! Until tonight, however, I thought the guy who plays Pastor Tim was a mediocre actor and that was one of the (many) reasons I couldn't enjoy the character, like him or not. But tonight I finally felt like he was doing a good acting job in Tim's conversations with Elizabeth, especially at the food pantry. As someone said, his hair even looked better. Maybe the writers have turned his character from their original intentions and want to make us like him more?

[madam magpie]

Maybe Elizabeth can get the KGB to clean up the mugger. She didn't have much choice but to fight him. I do think that Paige being there is the most worrisome part, though. She blabs.

2 minutes ago, RedHawk said:

The acting on this show is of such high caliber! Until tonight, however, I thought the guy who plays Pastor Tim was a mediocre actor and that was one of the (many) reasons I couldn't enjoy the character, like him or not. But tonight I finally felt like he was doing a good acting job in Tim's conversations with Elizabeth, especially at the food pantry. As someone said, his hair even looked better. Maybe the writers have turned his character from their original intentions and want to make us like him more?

Not possible.

Edited May 26, 2016 by madam magpie

[SailorGirl]

So, based on my name, I think you all get I sail. Wednesday nights are our local fun race night. I DVR The Americans so I can watch when I get home after racing. But one of the things that makes this show so amazing is that when I get home after racing, which can be quite the emotional roller coaster, before watching my DVR, I have to read the weekly recap forum to decide if I can handle watching it tonight or wait another night.  And I'm also very selective about which shows I actually invest time and energy on, and offer my "reason number XXX why this show is awesome".  So tonight's reason number 1,027 why "The Americans" is awesome is because after an intense night of racing and a scan of the episode recap, I've decided that my emotions just can't take it tonight. Other than Orphan Black, what other show can do this? 

[RedHawk]

Just now, madam magpie said:

Maybe Elizabeth can get the KGB to clean up the mugger. She didn't have much choice but to fight him. 

Ah, I forgot they always have that cleanup crew on call. Perhaps she did that... would have been the best move. Just disappear the body. His partner isn't going to the police about it.

[crashdown]

Quote

The conversation with Oleg made no sense at all. The whole episode was full of pointless conversations like that. 

Actually, I think that the pointless conversations are precisely the point--they're little moments of unexpected connection, and I think one of the overarching themes of the show is that, in the end, that's all any of us have.  It's those moments that give everything meaning, not abstract cosmic dramas between God and Satan, or between the United States and the Soviet Union.  Stan was talking to Oleg the person, not Oleg the Evil Soviet.  And sure, Elizabeth was working Pastor Tim, but on some level she was also letting him in just a tiny little bit and listening to what he had to say (working an asset, after all, is like acting--it goes best if you have some genuine feeling and experiences from which to draw).  Pastor Tim wasn't the idiot in this episode--he was actually the truth-teller: ultimately, what matters is how we treat one another, not the causes or philosophies to which we adhere.  Elizabeth heard that, really heard it, and I fully expect that she's going to go to Young Hee before the end of the season and try to make things right. How she chooses to do that, and what version of the truth she'll be telling her, will be very, very interesting indeed.  

[shura]

18 minutes ago, hellmouse said:

I think Paige would be impressed with how bad-ass Elizabeth was, except for the fact that she killed him. She didn't just punch him. But Paige had to find out about this at some point. They can certainly explain it as training they've had, and Elizabeth's protective instincts kicking in, but I don't think Paige will be convinced.

I sincerely hope the show will have Paige acknowledge that Elizabeth saved her/them and not just have her be indignant about having been misled once again about the nature of their work.

Some random thoughts:

Why did Elizabeth assume this operation will destroy Young Hee? It doesn't have to be this way. Patty disappears, Don pulls his shit together eventually, and they live on. Young Hee doesn't have to know the details.

Henry is becoming annoying and needs to learn some boundaries. Who invites a guest to his parents' party without checking with them first? And I wondered if the Jenningses had secret trapdoors under Stan's, Tim's and Alice's chairs around the dinner table, and Philip kept his itchy finger on the button during the "What do you do, Stan?" conversation.

I was truly impressed when Tim told Elizabeth that believing in God doesn't matter, it's how you treat people that's important.This is the whole point of Christianity, the "do unto other as you'd have them do unto you" thing. You certainly don't have to believe in God to live by that rule.

[RedHawk]

For an FBI agent, Stan really couldn't read the signals that no one except Henry wanted him to join the dinner party. When is he going to realize that his lonely ass owes the Jennings family a meal or two? And not pizza on his couch -- Steak and Ale!

I love how Stan so often is a man of his time. He made a pregnant-lady comment that today almost no man over 20 would dare to utter. Doesn't matter if her belly is out to there, you don't assume she's pregnant!

Edited May 26, 2016 by RedHawk

[RedHawk]

Paige is indeed a blabbing blabber who blabs, but she didn't invite Stan on in to dinner! I never wanted to see thought bubbles over Philip and Elizabeth's heads more than during that meal. Couldn't the show have given us just one minute of their post-dinner conversation when they were finally alone in their bedroom that night?

[snarktini]

3 minutes ago, crashdown said:

And sure, Elizabeth was working Pastor Tim, but on some level she was also letting him in just a tiny little bit and listening to what he had to say (working an asset, after all, is like acting--it goes best if you have some genuine feeling and experiences from which to draw).  

Yes, this exactly. The best lies have an element of truth. I do not have the slightest hesitation she is 100% playing Tim. But if she's using her own emotions and working through them in the process, it fuels her authenticity.

1 minute ago, shura said:

Why did Elizabeth assume this operation will destroy Young Hee? It doesn't have to be this way. Patty disappears, Don pulls his shit together eventually, and they live on. Young Hee doesn't have to know the details.

My guess is she fears -- and I agree -- that Don actually will not actually pull his shit together. Even if she never finds out, his sense of shame about the the affair and now of her death, will cause him to pull away even more. It may not fully destroy them, but it could damage their marriage and family on a fundamental level.

1 minute ago, RedHawk said:

For an FBI agent, Stan really couldn't read the signals that no one except Henry wanted him to join the dinner party. When is he going to realize the his lonely ass owes the Jennings family a meal or two? And not pizza on his couch -- Steak and Ale!

Not sure why Philip didn't subtly say, hey, man, save yourself from a boring dinner with the hippie pastor! (Emphasis on the leftie do-gooder bit.) I am sure he simply didn't want to draw attention and they were all acting on the fly. Oh, Stan. 

Will say I was surprised to hear Philip voice concern that the KGB could have found out about Gaad going to Thailand from him. Last week, there was a lot of speculation about this, and I thought it was silly to think that Philip would have been a likely source of that intel or that Stan could put that together. I was wrong! 

[Conan Troutman]

1 hour ago, gwhh said:

I like how Paige was working mom to let her drive AFTER giving her the info from Stan son about Martha! 

What did Elizabeth hand that one mugger and than take back off of her after she stabbed him? 

Yeah, that was a great move. Paige is certainly learning. 

That was just her purse. 

 

Another really good episode, although the dinner was a bit of a letdown (just that one scene, really?). I wonder if there are some scenes lying on the editing floor - the episode was a bit on the short side anyway, so maybe they just needed to save time?

Paige was appropriately terrified when Elizabeth just killed the shit out of the mugger. I'm sure she's glad that Elizabeth saved them, but usually you'd expect someone who knows a thing or two about self defense to simply dispatch the attacker and immobilize him, not flat out stab him in the throat.  

[hellmouse]

11 minutes ago, RedHawk said:

For an FBI agent, Stan really couldn't read the signals that no one except Henry wanted him to join the dinner party. When is he going to realize that his lonely ass owes the Jennings family a meal or two? And not pizza on his couch -- Steak and Ale!

I love how Stan so often is a man of his time. He made a pregnant-lady comment that today almost no man over 20 would dare to utter. Doesn't matter if her belly is out to there, you don't assume she's pregnant!

It all kind of reinforced his role at that dinner as being the friend Henry invited to join. He seemed socially inept for an adult. Of course, he is a mess right now, so it makes sense. 
I think that his conversation with Oleg was the first step for Stan to start getting to a better place in his life, which should make him more clued in.

[RedHawk]

I liked the juxtaposition of Stan the FBI man dining with Pastor Tim and church wife Alice. Stan was almost obviously shaking his head in disbelief and Tim was as well, although for very different reasons. Although Stan knew Paige was going to be baptised, he probably forgot about it since he isn't religious himself and knows Philip and Elizabeth aren't as well. He seemed sort of flabbergasted to have to chat with a minister.