S05.E01: Amber Waves

[Chaos Theory]

Tuan is this seasons Kimmy.  A mirror into what it would be like for P&E to send "their child" on missions.  As Paige continues to get her toes wet in the spy game Tuan will go full on spy kid and well bad bad things. He will be a mirror into both how P&E really feel about Paige being an asset and the best and worst case scenarios of her becoming one.

Edited March 8, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[DrSpaceman73]

40 minutes ago, Ina123 said:

I'm just now remembering that when Gabriel showed them the map he mentioned that William had one more job, (or did I misunderstand). What was the "one more job? Supply them with a piece of his flesh? Did they want the piece of flesh to re-create the virus?

Yes, Assume so. 

[Eulipian 5k]

I have to say, Phillip & Elisabeth are TV's BEST married couple. They are a delight to finally have back on the ole DVR.

I noticed how Stan insisted on referring to his wife (Susan?) in the past tense while Phillip referred to her in the present text.

[Ina123]

Perhaps Phillip is still attending est with Sandra.

[sistermagpie]

10 hours ago, vb68 said:

Philip and Elizabeth might very well overplay their hand in regard to Paige and Matthew.

 

I don't think there's anything else they can do. Paige, true to form, is running headlong into the thing that will make things worst for her. She radiates anxiety all the time and it's going to be noticed. Of course it's not so easy as just finding another boy since there's a reason she's drawn to Matthew, but it's either tell her her survival instincts should make her feel *less* safe with Matthew, or else demand a debriefing every time she sees him to make sure she's not slipping.

10 hours ago, vb68 said:

Surprised Pasha's dad made it through the episode.

 

I don't see why--he's presumably the whole target of their mission.

9 hours ago, Knuckles said:

 

I will miss William, he was so wonderfully snarky, but I guess he now has a friend, for eternity. And Hans, ever the eager protege, bites it. Too bad.

What has happened to their son, Henry? Is he off the show? Now it seems that Paige is an only child. And since she knows her parents are Russian spies, has she never questioned that her parents spend so much time hanging out with Stan, an FBI agent? Has she ever asked if they are using him? Seems like it might be a natural question.

 

Henry was in the episode and mentioned later. She has asked about their relationship with Stan, whether they're really friends. They said they were.

Btw, note that Stan's first line about Henry was to ask where he'd been lately--he's not over there all the time anymore. I think we're going to find out Henry's discovered some new thing of his own that he's not telling anyone about, because that's his personality (like his father's). I also like the idea of Henry phasing out of being completely into Stan. He obviously still likes him--in fact, he seems to put on a whole "personality I have with Stan" act whenever he sees him--again, he's a natural!--but the show's been really realistic the way it shows teenagers going through phases. If Paige hadn't handcuffed herself to Pastor Tim at the moment she started drifting away (iow, if she was a normal teen in a normal teen situation) she probably would be out of that phase by now.

8 hours ago, zibnchy said:

But I have to say, if my job was to cut a piece off a dead guy who died of lassa fever I'd want a goddamn biohazard su

If it were my job to dispose of that body I'd have cremated it.

8 hours ago, PinkRibbons said:

Honestly I'm surprised Elizabeth and Philip aren't compulsive food hoarders after their childhoods.

I've thought this a lot. Since it's not like the show hasn't explicitly made this part of their personalities. I'd think this would have to be something that they wouldn't be able to shake. They could even just have a throwaway line about how they always have a lot of food.

8 hours ago, Dev F said:

Am I crazy, or did one of the scenes featured in the trailers get redubbed in the actual episode? During the scene where Elizabeth tells Paige to make a fist, the trailer has her insist "Thumb in, always.

Yes, it was a relief!

8 hours ago, Alex Kamal said:

I really hope the Vietnamese kid fails in whatever he is trying to do with their son.

I assume he's just trying to hook up P&E with his parents. But he'll no doubt be trying to influence him to be loyal to the USSR as well just as a point of principle!

7 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I'm curious to see where the Misha Jr story is going, but how are he and Philip going to communicate when they meet up? I love Matthew Rhys, but the one time he tried to speak Russian on this show, it was bad.

 

His mother spoke perfect English (and bad Russian--though it had improved, of course, in her voiceover!). No reason they can't just say he speaks English. The actor emigrated to Canada at 13 and speaks it perfectly.

Btw, still wanted to punch Irina just hearing her stupid voice. She always believed Philip was a good man. Well, yeah, if he wasn't she wouldn't have been able to thoroughly mess with him periodically throughout their lives. I'm so glad that they told us right away that the Centre is onto him. The idea of him wandering around looking for "a travel agent" in "America" who's really a Russian spy is just annoying (even if he could probably narrow it down to DC). 

The opening made me laugh out loud--that was fantastic. Not surprising the show decided to hook the Jennings up with a Soviet malcontent who can rant at them. But I also like that his wife and son are less extreme. They're more like Philip, I think. It doesn't have to be 100% one or the other. They love the country and its flaws and kind of huddle together as they struggle to adapt. I'll bet Elizabeth hooks her up with some help there.

I love the idea of Oleg cleaning up Moscow, but also that he can't escape what he did. When they cut a piece out of William's arm I thought they ought to send it straight to Oleg "with love, from William!" He didn't prevent the virus from getting to the USSR and two agents died. And now he's compromised. But then, he's already potentially in a difficult situation with this investigation. Wonder if he and his father are going to clash. Seems like this ought to be a season where we get some father/son stuff. We've got Henry finally getting a storyline (I think it's safe to assume), Mischa Jr. on his quest, a new Jennings son and Pasha, plus Paige and Matthew and Oleg and his father. Philip and Elizabeth have always seemed very mother-focused by default having grown up with single mothers.

So that soup that was hot water with onions...is that the one Philip told Paige he liked? I like the idea that the reason he paused when she asked if his mother was a good cook was because they just didn't have enough access to food for him to really tell or consider it.

I noticed how Stan insisted on referring to his wife (Susan?) in the past tense while Phillip referred to her in the present text.

Totally noticed that. It was really blatantly written and so weird. I even said, to know one, "IS, Stan. She's not dead." Also I assume that was a weak joke on Stan's part to ask if Philip remembered her, having nearly beaten him up over her.

[sugarbaker design]

3 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

If it were my job to dispose of that body I'd have cremated it.

Wasn't there a big sticker on William's body bag that said DO NOT BURN!

4 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

Honestly I'm surprised Elizabeth and Philip aren't compulsive food hoarders after their childhoods.

Isn't their house, its decor and how its set up part of their cover?  It should reflect E&P the suburban travel agents lives, not E&P the Russian spies lives.

[scartact]

So glad the show is back!

Some thoughts:

Tuan lightweight made me think of Mischa. I'm not sure why, because the comparison of Tuan being a mirror of what would happen if Paige (/Henry?) were to go full spy mode makes sense to me. That scene where Tuan has a hard stance about how they (USSR? Philip & Elizabeth?) should have put a bullet in Alexei's head was interesting. I wonder if Tuan will also be paralleled in some way to Elizabeth.

It was interesting to see all these different families in the episode, from Tuan and the Eckerts, to Stan, Matthew, Paige, and Henry, to Pasha's family (didn't catch their last name), and even Oleg and his parents! It seems like the Jennings were the only ones not portrayed fully together, even to have a meal, which was interesting in itself and for me there were a subtle highlighting of the tensions amongst different families (and "families").

I also found that conversation Philip and Elizabeth had after their dinner with Pasha and his family really interesting, when they reflect on food shortages (what a running theme). They both focus on their mother's respective actions during that time period and the question Elizabeth poses of when is the right time to go home and Philip's nonresponse. Very interesting things and I wonder how these thoughts will continue to come up in the future.

Elizabeth teaching Paige to fight by bullying her was almost lightweight cathartic after all that's gone on with Paige these last few seasons! Not much thought yet in the direction of Paige's storyline. Speaking of progeny, was impressed that I actually didn't feel irritation over Mischa Jr. I thought this storyline would be kinda tiring, but for now I'm just curious about when the thread of that plot will meet up with what's going on in the US.

I know the hole digging felt long to some folks, but I was really engaged in it. I had so many questions, but the sheer physical labor of the activity was really well-drawn. I'm always impressed by how the show procures an incredible amount of tension in the strangest of premises (as someone upthread mentioned earlier!). It made me think about how Liz & Phil's work could be paralleled with the labor of, say, farm workers, and how their anonymity almost resembles that collectivity. It was almost hard to keep track of who was who. Was surprised Han was killed, but I definitely knew the moment Liz was tender with him and told him it's okay that he was definitely a goner. The moment of William's body reveal also made me think about so much of the futility of all this KGB spying and how his sacrifice for the Jennings, and also on some level his reluctance to be successful in bringing bio weapons back to the USSR, will be all for naught when the Soviet Union falls.

[DoubleUTeeEff]

7 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

So that soup that was hot water with onions...is that the one Philip told Paige he liked? I like the idea that the reason he paused when she asked if his mother was a good cook was because they just didn't have enough access to food for him to really tell or consider it.

I thought it was borscht but maybe I'm making assumptions.  Remember when the lady who answered the phones made him borscht when Martha was missing?  He told her he hadn't had it in awhile or something similar.

3 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

Wasn't there a big sticker on William's body bag that said DO NOT BURN!

Yes!  I noticed that and thought well, I guess there is some reason it would be a bad idea to burn a person with the disease William died of.

Also, I am so dumb.  I figured out they wanted William for a sample but imagined they would take his whole body, like they did with the rat.  Then when they cut a chunk out of him, I thought of course they would only take a small portion!  Imagine them carting his whole body around.

[attica]

I found myself wondering what the SAG-AFTRA rate is for using your likeness for a lassa-virused, decomposing-body dummy. Dylan Baker, call your agent!

Hearing "America the Beautiful" in Russian kind of made me nervous. I was picturing Putin singing it, rubbing his hands together in glee.

[DoubleUTeeEff]

2 hours ago, operalover said:

Why was William's body not decomposed?

It was definitely decomposing considering how much the people digging him up coughed and choked when they opened his coffin.

[dubbel zout]

51 minutes ago, DoubleUTeeEff said:

58 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

Wasn't there a big sticker on William's body bag that said DO NOT BURN!

Yes!  I noticed that and thought well, I guess there is some reason it would be a bad idea to burn a person with the disease William died of.

Someone has to deal with the ashes, and they probably don't know how contagious the disease is. There might be some sort of half-life that keeps it active. 

And yeah, a lame paper mask and some lightweight rubber gloves would not be enough protection to convince me to dig up William's body.

Edited March 8, 2017 by dubbel zout
correct verbs are useful

[Tetraneutron]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I have little patience for Paige.  I really wish she would get with the program or stop the whining.  Nothing they do for her is going to be enough.  She's a malcontent, imo, boring.  I still think my idea that they submit her to a psychiatrist to induce amnesia of all she has learned about her parent's true identity would be best about now.  

I don't get this. How is Paige whining? One thing she has never done is whine. She does everything her parents asked her to even though it means betraying her country and going against everything she believes in and not caring that her parents are savage murderers who put both her and her brother in danger every day. And you want her to what - cheerfully accept that her parents are Soviet spies, her entire life is a lie and she should be fine with that? There's a real sense among fans that Paige is some bratty teenager cliche wanting to go to the mall. And she's never been written like that at all. 

Also, outside your cheesier soap operas you can't induce amnesia. This isn't a cheesy soap opera. 

 

What surprises me is P and E see more danger for Paige dating Matthew and spending tons of time with Stan than they see benefit of Paige having an in with the Beemans they can exploit in a million ways. Also, they never cared that Henry hung out with the Beemans. Is it different because Paige has her first (pretty casual, it looks like) boyfriend?

2 hours ago, ChromaKelly said:

Pasha's dad is so dead. I could tell Phillip was dying to speak freely with him. I am wondering if it would be plausible for a recently emigrated Soviet to be working in any government agency? Even something like the Dept of Agriculture. So, Tuan is 21 Jump Street-ing. I do wonder how old he really is. That's a nice house to use just for a fake family. I feel for the the Pasha family. This is not going to end well.
 

Yeah, I'm excited for this storyline. We haven't seen much of Soviet defectors. Baklanov was only a defector for one episode and his story was more about him being a scientist and a Jew .(And of course Zinaida was faking it). I'm not sure what the goal is, here. But it seems like they're working the wife and kid (who still like the USSR) than the dad, who hates it. Even though the dad has an agriculture job and that scene with Oleg shows Soviet food production is going to be an issue this season. 

I don't think Elizabeth would get her nose out of joint about Misha. She already knows about him, wouldn't consider him a threat to her marriage or family, and frankly this show is too well-written to go the easy route of unfounded jealousy causing tension in a marriage. I expect the drama comes from Misha blowing their cover. 

[Chaos Theory]

Mischa is a threat only because he would be a threat to P&E's cover.  Elizabeth might be vaguely jealous only because Mischa's mother was the only other woman Philip has ever really been in love with.  He would be a bright and shiny reminder of what could have been for Philip. Add to that he comes with a clear picture of what Russia looks like and not the rose colored dream Elizabeth thinks they are making it.  That could put a big wrench in things especially with Philip not wanting Paige anywhere near their spying.

Edited March 8, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[sistermagpie]

26 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

Isn't their house, its decor and how its set up part of their cover?  It should reflect E&P the suburban travel agents lives, not E&P the Russian spies lives.

Sure, but that's still something they might do under that cover. You can be a suburban person and still have food in the house--or not even realize that what you're doing is weird. You just want to make sure you don't run out.

6 minutes ago, Tetraneutron said:

What surprises me is P and E see more danger for Paige dating Matthew and spending tons of time with Stan than they see benefit of Paige having an in with the Beemans they can exploit in a million ways. Also, they never cared that Henry hung out with the Beemans. Is it different because Paige has her first (pretty casual, it looks like) boyfriend?

It's because Paige knows they're spies. Henry, they think, has nothing to let slip. (Although they could be wrong about that.) Paige obviously always has something worrying her, and she wants to talk about it. If she talks to Matthew he might say something to Stan--even if she doesn't tell him the truth. 

7 minutes ago, Tetraneutron said:

I don't think Elizabeth would get her nose out of joint about Misha. She already knows about him, wouldn't consider him a threat to her marriage or family, and frankly this show is too well-written to go the easy route of unfounded jealousy causing tension in a marriage. I expect the drama comes from Misha blowing their cover. 

Yes, or also Elizabeth being somehow expected to keep something secret from Philip about it or something. Like if she's on the lookout for him but they don't trust Philip to do the right thing (whatever that is) about it. 

[misstwpherecool]

What was Parsha's dad again?

The boy spy is like the son of the Atlanta couple. Will the new kid on the block be able to show restraint? They take time to mention the lights and surveillance a block away-future epi material?

Was Elizabeth really worried about a bio threat or a potential witness getting caught/noticed  with a disease that would of been traced backed to William/Ft Dietrich? But they did ask how bad the disease was before. What did Hans cut his hand on?

At first I thought the dig might have been for buried waste for intelligence reasons. A dig like that is going to show freshly disturbed dirt(what's the time frame from William's capture to this epi?) That was a big crew they had for the dig. It was nice to see that P&E aren't the only capable people(sort of like the cop shows where only on detective seems to solve crime)

They showed Stan but I wanted to see more  FBI goings on. Didn't they finally get some leads last year with the robot cleaning company?

Edited March 8, 2017 by misstwpherecool

[kokapetl]

10 hours ago, zibnchy said:

I know why this show is the best. I'm sitting here a couple hours later brooding about the fact that Hans is dead. Hans is, at best, a tertiary character but I care that he's dead. And I care that Elizabeth has the sads for having to kill him. And how she told him to look at the flowers before she corked him.

Ice Cold Elizabeth is terrifying. I love the character so much.

At first I thought they were digging William up to steal his body to ship back to the homeland for a hero celebration or something. Then I remembered what killed William. But I have to say, if my job was to cut a piece off a dead guy who died of lassa fever I'd want a goddamn biohazard suit. And something other than a baggie to put the slice in.

They didn't even fold back the opening of the ziploc plastic bag, so gunk got on the unsealed part. Surgical masks also aren't designed to protect the wearer. And if the odor got to them, the virus could have done the same.  

Could 5 people manually excavate 8 cubic metres of compacted soil in a couple of hours?

Edited March 8, 2017 by Kokapetl

[benteen]

On the subject of Elizabeth looking uncomfortable with Tuan, I think it's consistent.  She's a true believer and very much committed to the cause but even she has limits (that guy who was lit on fire last season) and doesn't have much patience for loose cannons as operatives. 

[sistermagpie]

9 minutes ago, Eulipian 5k said:

I noticed how Stan insisted on referring to his wife (Susan?) in the past tense while Phillip referred to her in the present text.

He works in agriculture, talking to the US government about the Soviet system (and how it sucks).

5 minutes ago, misstwpherecool said:

s Elizabeth really worried about a bio threat or a potential witness getting caught/noticed  with a disease that would of been traced backed to William/Ft Dietrich?

I think she was obviously worried about the spread of the disease--and Hans suffering from it. If he was just wandering around with the disease the hospital might not diagnose it correctly and it could start an epidemic.

6 minutes ago, benteen said:

On the subject of Elizabeth looking uncomfortable with Tuan, I think it's consistent.  She's a true believer and very much committed to the cause but even she has limits (that guy who was lit on fire last season) and doesn't have much patience for loose cannons as operatives. 

It's a great little character note, because it's like when she sees her "ideal self" reflected back at her it's not one she likes. She doesn't really want Paige to be like that. 

[SunnyBeBe]

9 minutes ago, Tetraneutron said:

I don't get this. How is Paige whining? One thing she has never done is whine. She does everything her parents asked her to even though it means betraying her country and going against everything she believes in and not caring that her parents are savage murderers who put both her and her brother in danger every day. And you want her to what - cheerfully accept that her parents are Soviet spies, her entire life is a lie and she should be fine with that? There's a real sense among fans that Paige is some bratty teenager cliche wanting to go to the mall. And she's never been written like that at all. 

Also, outside your cheesier soap operas you can't induce amnesia. This isn't a cheesy soap opera. 

 

What surprises me is P and E see more danger for Paige dating Matthew and spending tons of time with Stan than they see benefit of Paige having an in with the Beemans they can exploit in a million ways. Also, they never cared that Henry hung out with the Beemans. Is it different because Paige has her first (pretty casual, it looks like) boyfriend?

Yeah, I'm excited for this storyline. We haven't seen much of Soviet defectors. Baklanov was only a defector for one episode and his story was more about him being a scientist and a Jew .(And of course Zinaida was faking it). I'm not sure what the goal is, here. But it seems like they're working the wife and kid (who still like the USSR) than the dad, who hates it. Even though the dad has an agriculture job and that scene with Oleg shows Soviet food production is going to be an issue this season. 

I don't think Elizabeth would get her nose out of joint about Misha. She already knows about him, wouldn't consider him a threat to her marriage or family, and frankly this show is too well-written to go the easy route of unfounded jealousy causing tension in a marriage. I expect the drama comes from Misha blowing their cover. 

I suppose I see Paige as whining, because she's always unhappy, no matter what. She was initially nosy, curious, demanding that she know the truth, even though she couldn't handle the truth.  Then she gets the truth and is unhappy, betrays her parents to Pastor Tim, (by the way where is Pastor Tim?)  and puts their family in great peril. I don't consider this helping the family.  I don't deny that P & E do put them in danger, but, that's the nature of their jobs and shame on them.  So after she's unhappy with knowing the truth, because it's so terrible for her, SHE STILL demands to know what her parents are up to.  If it's that painful, stop asking details that will give you MORE reason to be in pain.  I'm really so tired of her. 

[qtpye]

3 hours ago, Ina123 said:

OK, I'm stereotyping, but, to me, Asians turn out to be older than they look. I have no doubt Tuan is much older than high school and very well trained.

Tuan might be older then Gabriel.

There is a classic Looney Tunes cartoon where Bugs Bunny is taking care of what he thinks is an innocent baby, but is actually notorious gangster Baby Face Finster.  He hilariously finds this out when he accidentally sees "the baby" shaving and smoking a cigar.

I feel like we are going to see Tuan do something that is going to make us realize he is waaay older then he looks and acts.

In the first season I thought Stan was going to be a pretty awesome character.  Now he breaking open a six pack of Miller Lights because he handed a shapely lady in a purple leotard a paper cup.  This and having no life outside of Phil and Elizabeth's family is really making him look pathetic.

Edited March 8, 2017 by qtpye

[Tetraneutron]

8 minutes ago, misstwpherecool said:

What was Parsha's dad again?

Consultant to the USDA. I'm not an expert, but during the Cold War there must have been a ton of hurdles to clear before Soviet citizens (defectors?) could immigrate to the US and especially work for the federal government. I wonder what his deal is. 

Also, I want  to see more of Tuan. I wonder if his extreme views will end up going too far. Someone upthread said the character's a way to show what could happen to Paige if she goes deeper into becoming a spy and that's probably true but I also wonder if he won't be a vehicle to soften Elizabeth and make her realize the way she's hurting her family. Already it seems this season they're writing her softer although of course it's still early. 

[Auntie Anxiety]

Thank you all for straightening some things out for me. I didn't realize that that was William's body; to me it looked like a female.

Henry looked so grown up. How much longer can they expect him to be clueless?

[SunnyBeBe]

P, E and Tuan were talking about seeing a car watching the Russian family's house.  Who's watching them and why?  FBI or Soviets? 

[sistermagpie]

8 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I suppose I see Paige as whining, because she's always unhappy, no matter what.

Also I think when people use the term whining they literally do mean how she talks. So it's not just that she's complaining, it's her voice when she complains.

[dubbel zout]

24 minutes ago, Kokapetl said:

Could 5 people manually excavate 8 cubic metres of compacted soil in a couple of hours?

I wondered about that, too, and then hand waved it. I also wondered why they put the dirt on tarps. There was so much of it at the end that they didn't seem to be that useful.

26 minutes ago, benteen said:

doesn't have much patience for loose cannons as operatives. 

I think this is the bigger issue with Tuan. Elizabeth doesn't want someone going rogue and messing up the mission.

16 minutes ago, qtpye said:

I feel like we are going to see Tuan do something that is going to make us realize he is waaay older then he looks and acts.

I think it's pretty clear Tuan is no high schooler. He might be a lot older than viewers think, but it shouldn't be a surprise he's not 17.

[shura]

1 hour ago, sistermagpie said:

Btw, note that Stan's first line about Henry was to ask where he'd been lately--he's not over there all the time anymore. I think we're going to find out Henry's discovered some new thing of his own that he's not telling anyone about, because that's his personality (like his father's).

Well, his sister and Matthew are openly busy there, Stan or no Stan, it appears. Maybe Henry just doesn't want to be around that.

54 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

Someone has to deal with the ashes, and they probably don't know how contagious the disease. There might be some sort of half-life that keeps it active. 

I don't think that's how bio agents work. You should be able to burn it and then decontaminate the ashes with an oxidant. People dealing with bioweapons would know that. If you bury the live virus, at least build a concrete sarcophagus around the body or something.

Edited March 8, 2017 by shura

[Ina123]

12 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

P, E and Tuan were talking about seeing a car watching the Russian family's house.  Who's watching them and why?  FBI or Soviets? 

They walked right by the car with the guy in it. He was on the opposite side of the street, or camera side.

[sugarbaker design]

13 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Who's watching them and why?  FBI or Soviets? 

Since P, E and T are concerned about it, I would imagine it's us, meaning American agents.  And they're probably watching in case some Russian spies are hoping to turn or kidnap the defector.

[Ina123]

In the trailer or promo Phillip is saying something like, "they are putting poison in the Russian wheat." Shades of info they get from Pasha's father? But later he says, "we were wrong." Who knows if it was meant about the wheat. I'm looking forward to a great season.

 

More Henry.

Edited March 8, 2017 by Ina123

[sistermagpie]

7 minutes ago, shura said:

Well, his sister and Matthew are openly busy there, Stan or no Stan, it appears. Maybe Henry just doesn't want to be around that.

But that itself would be important--Stan was *Henry's* friend and now Paige, who's constantly pulling her parents away to pay attention to  her, has taken over that house and Matthew as well. 

Edited March 8, 2017 by sistermagpie

[maraleia]

9 hours ago, Bannon said:

Hopefully, all the Stan face time is not an indicator that the character is going to get as many scenes as he did prior to season 4. He remains the major character who is most poorly drawn, and I don't think he is salvageable .

It looks like season 5 will encompass Chernenko's  12 months in office, and start season 5 just as Gorbachev takes power. The timeline is a bit off, however: Tonight's episode takes place during the '84 Olympics, but they were in February, and in tonight's episode had Chernenko in power already, and he didn't actually take the office until April, and was dead 11 months later.

From wiki- Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko was a Soviet politician and the fifth General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He led the Soviet Union from 13 February 1984 until his death thirteen months later, on 10 March 1985.

The Winter Olympics went from Feb. 9-19.

So the timeline works out. Fields and Weisberg are sticklers for this part of the story to be exact.

I do believe your theory about where they will finish the season is correct because they have to show Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika programs and how they effect the Jennings' and their work.

Edited March 8, 2017 by maraleia

[Ina123]

36 minutes ago, Kokapetl said:

Could 5 people manually excavate 8 cubic metres of compacted soil in a couple of hours?

Was it a couple of hours or all night?

[sistermagpie]

1 minute ago, maraleia said:

I do believe your theory about where they will finish the season is correct because they have to show Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika programs and how they effect the Jennings' and their work.

Why do they have to show that? They don't particularly have to show anything.

[kokapetl]

1 minute ago, Ina123 said:

Was it a couple of hours or all night?

I don't know, but keep in mind they also had to manually put that 8 cubic metres of soil back in the hole. 

[SunnyBeBe]

10 minutes ago, Ina123 said:

They walked right by the car with the guy in it. He was on the opposite side of the street, or camera side.

True.  I remember now. But, you know, what someone said upthread is right about P&E being checked out by FBI as visitors into the Russian home. A check would reveal that they aren't from Michigan and don't work at airlines.  Hmm.....

[Ina123]

3 minutes ago, maraleia said:

I do believe your theory about where they will finish the season is correct because they have to show Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika programs and how they effect the Jennings' and their work.

Didn't we hear that the show had been given the ok for two more seasons with this being one? Maybe Gorby will be in next season. Yeah, they don't have to go into his time period but I bet they do.

[sistermagpie]

1 minute ago, SunnyBeBe said:

 I remember now. But, you know, what someone said upthread is right about P&E being checked out by FBI as visitors into the Russian home. A check would reveal that they aren't from Michigan and don't work at airlines.  Hmm.....

Didn't they just mean the guy checked them out, like, watched them? I don't know that they'd be doing deep background checks on everybody on the block.

[Blakeston]

4 hours ago, SWLinPHX said:

Don't forget the innocent college student Hans so suddenly and savagely murdered in that library/book archive a couple seasons ago.

The guy Hans killed was anything but innocent. He was a stooge spying for South Africa's Apartheid government, and he was part of a plan to bomb some Americans, and blame it on an anti-Apartheid student group.

[Tetraneutron]

We're still years away from when Gorbachev takes over. While major time jumps are possible, I don't think it's likely since you can't do that believably with child actors. Even though the kid playing Henry grew up a lot in the offseason. 

Although certain real-world recent events has changed the show from one where the protagonists are devoting their whole lives to a country and a system that gets roundly defeated to one that gets defeated for awhile and then does end up inflitrating the American government. That makes the dramatic irony a bit different. 

[SunnyBeBe]

I don't know.  If the FBI is watching the Russian family,. I suppose that they are curious about him for some reason OR they are just following up on some protocol with this man.  Maybe, he's former scientist or left with some unfinished business, but, whatever it is, I'd be concerned that with visits and son getting close to their son, their identification would come up and they'd run some checks.  Probably, they have driver license with their fake address, school records and fake adoption papers for Tuan, fake social security numbers for the family from Michigan, but, their jobs or lack thereof, would immediately send up a red flag.  Pardon the pun. lol 

Edited March 8, 2017 by SunnyBeBe

[qtpye]

16 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

I think it's pretty clear Tuan is no high schooler. He might be a lot older than viewers think, but it shouldn't be a surprise he's not 17.

I think it is obvious to the audience, but maybe something that blows his cover or visually shocking in some way.  Or Phil and Elizabeth assume he is an adult, but later find out he is actually 15 years old and the Centre was lying to them.  It will also show them the KGB has no issues with putting kids in harms way to serve their purposes (which is probably correct).

[sistermagpie]

Oh, btw, did Gabriel confirm that when he told P&E to go home he was doing it *without* permission from the Centre? Like he's starting to take a page out of Philip's book after telling him he was being childish? 

Love those two.

[maraleia]

11 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

Why do they have to show that? They don't particularly have to show anything.

Because it changed how the US government related to the Soviet Union. Gorbachev was a game-changer.

[sistermagpie]

1 minute ago, maraleia said:

Because it changed how the US government related to the Soviet Union. Gorbachev was a game-changer.

Yes, but that doesn't mean it has to be part of the show. The show's about the Jennings, not the history of the Cold War.

 

2 minutes ago, qtpye said:

It will also show them the KGB has no issues with putting kids in harms way to serve their purposes (which is probably correct).

They already know this. They were recruited at 16 or so and Kimmie was 15 and they're pressuring Philip to sleep with her. The reason he wouldn't be 16 isn't that the Centre protects teenagers but that they wouldn't trust him to be in the field that way yet, imo.

[Sarah 103]

12 hours ago, vb68 said:

So excited and glad the show is back!

Surprised Pasha's dad made it through the episode.

I'm not. He is going to be a season long story-arc/character

10 hours ago, PinkRibbons said:

I could have done with about five minutes less of digging.

Me too! I felt the scene went on too long.

6 hours ago, shura said:

What's the story of this Department of Agriculture consultant guy? He didn't seem like a defector, was he allowed to emigrate with his family somehow? I wonder how. Not that I think it's implausible, I just want to know the details.

I don't know exactly how this works, but if ambassadors can bring their families, then maybe people who doing other types of government work can as well. It seems like he is a memeber of the Soviet counterpart to our Department of Agriculture.

3 hours ago, ChromaKelly said:

Oleg looks hotter for some reason. I hope his in-country storyline doesn't drag like Nina's did, only to end with a bullet in the head. I would like an update on Martha.

Oleg looks great. I'm not sure if he looks better than usual, but I am thrilled we got to see him. I'm totally okay with a season of Oleg in the USSR. As long as we get to see him on a regular basis, and not always in a suit. He looks great in 1980s casual wear.

1 hour ago, sistermagpie said:

So that soup that was hot water with onions...is that the one Philip told Paige he liked? I like the idea that the reason he paused when she asked if his mother was a good cook was because they just didn't have enough access to food for him to really tell or consider it.

I hadn't thought of that but it makes perfect sense. What a great catch. I love being able to talk about this show with smart fans.

[qtpye]

1 minute ago, sistermagpie said:

They already know this. They were recruited at 16 or so and Kimmie was 15 and they're pressuring Philip to sleep with her. The reason he wouldn't be 16 isn't that the Centre protects teenagers but that they wouldn't trust him to be in the field that way yet, imo.

Good God, it makes me think we will come home to a dead executed Tuan, before the Jennings realize how expendable everyone is to this system, or E already know and does not care, because it is for the greater good.

[attica]

28 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

I think it's pretty clear Tuan is no high schooler.

There is no mission on earth so vital that would induce me to go back to high school. ::shudders::

[dubbel zout]

11 minutes ago, qtpye said:

find out he is actually 15 years old and the Centre was lying to them

I know you're exaggerating, but I highly doubt this. No 15-year-old is equipped to do what Tuan is doing. I think Tuan is at minimum in his mid-twenties.

3 minutes ago, attica said:

There is no mission on earth so vital that would induce me to go back to high school. ::shudders::

SO MUCH THIS.

[kokapetl]

Would the child of a Soviet Agricultural attaché attend an American public school? And would such a sweet diplomatic post be given to someone with such barely disguised hatred for the motherland?

[qtpye]

6 minutes ago, Kokapetl said:

Would the child of a Soviet Agricultural attaché attend an American public school? And would such a sweet diplomatic post be given to someone with such barely disguised hatred for the motherland?

Yeah, how did this guy get such a sweet gig?  I felt sorry for the kid, it was obvious he felt like a stranger in enemy lands.  I like the added touch of how he was dressed in a very seventies look, which would be very out of style by 1984.  Of course, his look was not near as bad as Stan's son.