S05.E04: What's the Matter with Kansas?

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

Not only that, it would be really stupid for E to do that, what with the Pastor's wife being aware of the Soviet connection (frankly, I can barely suspend disbelief of that, in and of itself). The risk would be just incredible, and for what purpose? I'm critical of this show (mostly because  I think there are elements which are terrific, and the potential isn't being fulfilled), but I don't think the writers would make a misstep that large.

I could see them having Paige try to pull something like that because she's young and stupid and doesn't yet have the maturity to think things through. Elizabeth and Phillip have given her just enough rope to hang them all by trying to bring her slowly into the family spy business.

[Cosmosgravitation]

I think it's possible Henry could have a modem.  Maybe his teacher got it for him or maybe the computer came with a modem.   Henry could just tell his family he's "using the phone" and they might not realize he's using a modem.  Paige and his parents are gone often enough he could just be doing it when they're not home anyway.  Whatever he's up to, they clearly haven't shown us (the audience) yet.

I don't think Henry has been recruited by the KGB, I think it's fitting that the KGB overlooked him in favor of Paige, just like Phillip and Elizabeth did.  If anyone has contacted him it's probably the CIA or NSA, and then only in a "think about eventually working for us" capacity.  Most likely his math teacher just wants to put him in an advanced class and it'll be the new excuse for him not being home.

On Stan's girlfriend, there are three primary possibilities:

1) She is KGB

2) She's an operative for a different agency, possibly the CIA or FBI

3) She's a red herring.  Even with the preview of her asking Stan about his job, that's something plenty of normal people would do.

I think #2 is most likely, followed closely by #3.  The KGB putting more resources on Stan when they already have Phillip and Elizabeth close to him just seems like overkill, especially since they seem stretched thin in other ways.  I do find it interesting that Phillip approached his mark the same way she approached Stan - at a gym.  Although Stan's girlfriend played it much more cool since she didn't even talk to Stan the first time.  

Edited March 30, 2017 by Cosmosgravitation

[Kathemy]

2 hours ago, Umbelina said:

We don't really know if there is a modem, and besides, even if there isn't one at the house, it doesn't mean there isn't one at school, or a friend's.  Henry could have installed one in the house as well, the parents show-story is that they are pretty clueless about computers.

He installed an extra physical phone line without them noticing? :D

Edited March 30, 2017 by Kathemy

[tennisgurl]

OK, why is it that all of Philips disguises when he's trying to seduce people make me look so damn homely? Philip is a really handsome guy, there has to be better way to disguise him without making him look so...meh. At least Elizabeth gets to look nice when she's trying to sleep with people.

Philip was so not giving it his all with that Kansas lady. Not only does he need to travel all the time, he is probably still reeling from the Martha debacle, and that's making him less inclined to start this kind of mission. Plus, he's just over this whole thing in general. While Elizabeth is still all "these people are going to hurt our people! No way is there another explanation!", while Philip is clearly questioning this whole thing. I'm thinking this will just turn out to be an utter fail, the Center is giving them bad information, and that just adds more strain to Philip. Maybe he can justify killing random people for The Cause, but he might not be thrilled to find out he killed people for a stupid mistake, and his government passing the buck.

Whenever Oleg is on screen, I have such a mix of emotions. On the one hand, he's my favorite character and I love seeing him and his awesome suits (I don't totally know where his plot is going, but I'm interested), but on the other hand, I always get SUPER nervous when he shows up, because I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I hate that he thinks Stan betrayed him. Maybe Stan is trying to help him partially to cover himself, but I really do think he respects Oleg and hates the idea of him getting killed over trying to help people. Maybe Stan is trying so hard to help Oleg not only because he just likes the guy, but also because he feels guilty about Vlad, and he's trying to make up for it? His poor mom. I felt so sad when she started crying when he told her he was in trouble. She knows what is probably going to happen to him, and so soon after losing her other son. She's a tough lady, clearly, but that's still just awful. Please let Oleg get out of this alright!

I totally think Henry is going to be the one who ends up causing them trouble. Whoops!

[Umbelina]

4 minutes ago, Kathemy said:

He installed an extra physical phone line without them noticing? :D

Or just a splitter, which I seriously doubt they would notice.  OR, since he's always "out" he's at a friends or, did they have connected arcades for video games back then?  I'd assume he would become connected via a game at first.

Again, just throwing the chat possibility out there, but a computer nerd was valuable to many places, I still be that's what the teacher wants to discuss.

Yeah, Philip has very few attractive disguises, that black Beatles hair cut punk look wasn't bad.  ITA about this being a bad intel op, I've been saying that for 3 weeks now, and it will piss off Philip, not positive about Elizabeth though, but on some level it should at least bother her.

[MisterBluxom]

4 hours ago, Erin9 said:

Things are slowly heating up. 

I felt the need to make a comment here. When you said "Things are slowly heating up.", I have to agree but the word "slowly" just gets kind of stuck in my craw. (Is craw really a real word?)  Slow is just not the word. I think that a better phrase to describe this  would be  "at a glacial pace" because it's going so incredibly slowly.  Why is it going so slowly?  Can anyone imagine there is some kind of problem?

After thinking it over a bit, I must admit there are so many sub-plots and we saw so many of them progress so very slowly, it's just incredible for this show. I've never seen anything quite like this before.  Never seen so many sub-plots where each of them made such a teeny tiny progress.

I still love this show. It's most definitely my most favorite of them all. But it's so puzzling - I cant imagine where things are going or how they will ever get there or how long they might take.

My state of mind may have something to do with the President of NK threatening to destroy America in a massive nuclear firestorm because some US senator called him a "fat kid". Back in the 80s, I don't think our KGB agents ever had to deal with anything like that. But I best change the subject lest I will be going "off topic". It just puzzles me how such a thing could have ever transpired in the 1980s.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3203473/senator-john-mccain-king-jong-un-north-korea-war-crazy-fat-kid/

Back to the wheat midgets. How in the world will our heroes ever imagine they will be able to counter any moves made by the USA to destroy the Russian grain harvest?  Will they try to poison the insects?  Can you imagine the story from the 1963 film Dr. Strangelove where they talked about the "missile gap.  Does anyone think we might soon see a "Midget Gap"?

I can imagine some wonderful one-liners.

"Our midges will crush your midges!"

"It is a well known fact that Soviet midges are the strongest midges in the world!

I would hope that Costa Ronin will be given most of these lines. He certainly deserves them.

Edited March 30, 2017 by MissBluxom

[Kathemy]

12 minutes ago, Umbelina said:

OR, since he's always "out" he's at a friends or, did they have connected arcades for video games back then?  I'd assume he would become connected via a game at first.

No, they didn't. There were some text mode adventure games in the early 80s run on VAX machines and the likes where you could theoretically encounter someone else inhabiting the same world as you. Normally these were run terminal style.

There's a huge leap between playing a game on a home computer and engaging in prototype "online gaming" in the early 80's. Real time online gaming hardly existed before arpanet.

[tennisgurl]

10 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

I have a hypothetical spin-off in my head. It will take place after this series ends. Oleg and Stan team up to fight international crime, sort of like a 1980s version of Man From U.N.C.L.E. 

YES! I want this right NOW! I will give money to this Kickstarter NOW!

"Think they'll fire us?" Philip has such a great, dry sense of humor. Its much needed with all the constant drama on this show.

Looks like Mischa Jr. has made it! Wont this be an awkward family reunion?

[benteen]

3 hours ago, Paloma said:

What convinced me that Stan's girlfriend is some kind of spy was how she went on about Pittsburgh after hearing that's where Phillip was from. It felt like she was trying to trip him up in a "do you know this person or place" way. But maybe I'm just paranoid because she is Laurie Holden.

Yeah, she really sounded like she was "fishing" there when she on hearing Pittsburgh. 

[crgirl412]

8 minutes ago, benteen said:

Yeah, she really sounded like she was "fishing" there when she on hearing Pittsburgh. 

I want to ask J & J how they randomly picked Pittsburgh and Ross Township.  

[Clanstarling]

10 hours ago, Bannon said:

A very large percentage of the American weapons industry, especially aerospace, was and is located in Southern California. There are a lot of reasons to have agents on the West Coast.

Not to mention, in the 80s, the San Francisco Bay Area (particularly the south bay) was full of defense contractors, Lockheed-Martin and Lawrence Livermore Labs to name a couple of biggies. If I recall correctly, the Soviet Consulate was in San Francisco in the 80's (currently the Russian Consulate)

[Pickles]

I wonder if Elizabeth ever worries about her wig slipping or coming off during her makeout/sex scenes with strangers? 

[TaurusRose]

I wonder if this season is going to get better and I'm going to be thrilled.

Edited March 30, 2017 by taurusrose

[Umbelina]

https://player.fm/series/the-americans-podcast 

Keri and Mathew are on this week's podcast, and you guys definitely nailed that the Jennings are over honey trapping.  Fields is on too.

[shura]

1 hour ago, MissBluxom said:

"It is a well known fact that Soviet midges are the strongest midges in the world!

Which, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, inspires Kazakhstan's "all other countries have inferior potassium"?

[MisterBluxom]

27 minutes ago, Pickles said:

I wonder if Elizabeth ever worries about her wig slipping or coming off during her makeout/sex scenes with strangers? 

If that ever happened, I don't think it would be a big problem. She would just explain that her wig shifted positions. Do you think that just because a lady is wearing a wig, that would give rise to someone getting suspicious that she is a foreign spy? I don't think so. Wigs are not all that uncommon - especially for ladies.

[Pickles]

2 minutes ago, MissBluxom said:

If that ever happened, I don't think it would be a big problem. She would just explain that her wig shifted positions. Do you think that just because a lady is wearing a wig, that would give rise to someone getting suspicious that she is a foreign spy? I don't think so. Wigs are not all that uncommon - especially for ladies.

You are right. It might just come as a surprise to her partner! I'm sure it wouldn't faze Elizabeth.

[sistermagpie]

2 hours ago, Cosmosgravitation said:

I don't think Henry has been recruited by the KGB, I think it's fitting that the KGB overlooked him in favor of Paige, just like Phillip and Elizabeth did.  If anyone has contacted him it's probably the CIA or NSA, and then only in a "think about eventually working for us" capacity.  Most likely his math teacher just wants to put him in an advanced class and it'll be the new excuse for him not being home.

I don't think the KGB is overlooking him. They've got him in their sites when it's his turn, just as Philip and Elizabeth know they'll have to deal with him as an adult/teen too once he grows up. I agree whatever is happening with Henry is on the normal level of advanced classes or whatever and not the CIA or anyone contacting him. But I don't think it's there for an excuse for him not being home--they don't need more for that. I think it's the first step into making him a focus for his parents.

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

OK, why is it that all of Philips disguises when he's trying to seduce people make me look so damn homely? Philip is a really handsome guy, there has to be better way to disguise him without making him look so...meh. At least Elizabeth gets to look nice when she's trying to sleep with people.

I feel like there's an implication that women are somehow smarter or, I don't know, less secure than men. Guys are apparently less likely to question someone as gorgeous as Keri Russell coming onto them than a woman like this would question MR chatting her up at the gym.

 

46 minutes ago, crgirl412 said:

I want to ask J & J how they randomly picked Pittsburgh and Ross Township.  

Probably from their fake ss#'s. But I think as long as the woman isn't literally supposed to have grown up next to Philip's fake home address his legend is solid. He's probably visited Pittsburgh and gotten to know it just for that reason. As it was she just told her own story.

31 minutes ago, Pickles said:

I wonder if Elizabeth ever worries about her wig slipping or coming off during her makeout/sex scenes with strangers? 

This is why they put in all those scenes with Clark's wig. They really don't slip because they're pinned on tightly. Nothing's perfect, but it's not going to slide around during sex. Though as has been said, it's not like women don't wear wigs. Brenda might just like to change it up.

[Erin9]

6 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Philip has enough experience to know if he'll succeed, and I kind of hope he tanks this mission knowing he'll never get any information. Though perhaps the Centre isn't a fan of knowing when to fold 'em.

I don't think the Centre has a clue when to quit. Having re-watched those scenes, I have no idea why they thought she was a good seduction candidate. She was a cold fish right from the get-go, not friendly, not approachable, not interested in ANYONE. She didn't seem like a good candidate for polite conversation, friendship....much less a relationship. I thought Philip's initial approach was fine. She just wasn't interested in talking to anyone as best I could tell. 

[Erin9]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

YES! I want this right NOW! I will give money to this Kickstarter NOW!

"Think they'll fire us?" Philip has such a great, dry sense of humor. Its much needed with all the constant drama on this show.

Looks like Mischa Jr. has made it! Wont this be an awkward family reunion?

Yeah. That was a great line. Of course, they then had to acknowledge that would actually be really bad for them. But, it was funny. 

Assuming Paige finds out, I'd like her to not freak out for once. I understand when she does usually, but I'd like this to be an exception. Philip had plenty of reasons to not mention him- least of which, he never thought he'd meet his son anyway. 

[Bretton]

Okay, so now that we've seen Pastor Tim with some Karl Marx in his house, please, showrunners, don't suggest in any way that his worldview and/or congregation are in any way of the ilk of Evangelical/Christian conservatives. Because, if there's one thing no conservative Christian pastor would be caught dead with in the 1980s, at the height of the Cold War, it'd be a book by the father of communism. I'm okay with Tim being a far-left Christian leader, just make sure you're consistent with that narrative and all subtle flags supporting it from here on out.

Edited March 30, 2017 by Bretton

[J-Man]

Philip's Kansas "target" was played by Clea Lewis, whose most memorable role (for me anyway) was as Ellen's giggly, always-in-pink friend Audrey Penny on "Ellen." So either she's aged really badly or they have some makeup people who specialize in making women look awfully haggard.

Quote

I doubt they had any embedded agents, or even an embassy in Kansas. 

There's only one embassy per foreign nation in any country; it's almost always in the capital city. Consulates, however, can be in any city, and are usually found in larger cities or cities with large populations of the foreign country's nationals.

Edited March 30, 2017 by J-Man

[MisterBluxom]

1 hour ago, Erin9 said:

I don't think the Centre has a clue when to quit. Having re-watched those scenes, I have no idea why they thought she was a good seduction candidate. She was a cold fish right from the get-go, not friendly, not approachable, not interested in ANYONE. She didn't seem like a good candidate for polite conversation, friendship....much less a relationship. I thought Philip's initial approach was fine. She just wasn't interested in talking to anyone as best I could tell. 

It seems to me that Gabriel's attitude towards P & E was markedly different in this episode than we have ever seen before. It was almost "harsh" whereas previously his attitude was almost "fatherly".

IMO, the change was so pronounced that I think we will certainly learn more about this in the future. What could this be about? Is Gabriel unhappy with them for some reason? If so, I would have expected he would talk about with them and not behave in a way that can almost be described as childish. What is it that could be upsetting him? Something about his retirement or failure to enjoy his retirement? What is going on with Gabriel?

If nothing else, I think it's very clear there is going to be a serious problem for our dynamic duo somewhere in the future and it may well have something to do with Granny and Gabriel and their relationship. Maybe Henry is spending some of that time with Gabriel or someone else from the Center? Just like the young man who murdered his father in an earlier season? Is it possible the Center has contacted Henry without his parents' knowledge? That would certainly cause some attitude problems with Gabriel. It would almost cause the end of the show. If Phillip ever learned that had happened, he would almost certainly terminate his relationship with the KGB and with Gabriel.

[Bretton]

RE: Stan's new gf, she had a strange way of talking about her upbringing that seemed overly talkative, yet kind of light on substance. She also comes across as just a little TOO bubbly to me. I'd be very surprised if she's not an agent of some sort at this point. But I don't think she's FBI, nor KGB. My first bet would be a third party (neither Soviet nor American) - perhaps Israeli. And maybe, just maybe she's working for another US agency that's not FBI - though I think that's far less likely than the first option. But her being a sports fan just seems like the perfect dangle for Stan - besides her looks, of course. 

Edited March 30, 2017 by Bretton

[Dowel Jones]

3 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

If I recall correctly, the Soviet Consulate was in San Francisco in the 80's (currently the Russian Consulate)

It still is there, at 2790 Green St. in Pacific Heights, the ultra-fashionable section of town. 

 

[SlackerInc]

On 3/28/2017 at 11:28 PM, escatefromny said:

I keep scratching my head on the Russian grocery corruption storyline.

That that there were better stocked stores for the mucky mucks in Soviet Russia is a good example of the institutional corruption and hypocrisy.  But it would have existed on an institutional level ... the store manager of a shop that caters to the high level, special card holding types wouldn't need to pay bribes to get good product would she?  Those details would have been worked out several layers above from her.  Where would the store manager possibly get the money for the bribes?  She doesn't own the store, or share in the profit.  She can't syphon off "profits" for the bribes and it's not her problem is the shelves are bare anyway.  The whole thing makes no sense to me.  Is Oleg's department really unaware that that certain sectors of Russian society get preferential treatment?

I was not of the impression that her store was a special store for the "mucky mucks".  Rather, it was supposed to be a regular store for everyone, but it was suspiciously better stocked with desirable goods than others of its type.

On 3/28/2017 at 11:37 PM, Umbelina said:

Maybe I'm missing something, but all I saw with Stan's move is Stan trying to save his own ass.  Oleg knows a lot more about Stan than just Vlad's murder.  If they push Oleg, he's likely to tell the CIA everything Stan was really up to with Nina, and with him.

I thought it was a clever move on his part, lead with the least treasonous thing he's done that Oleg knows about, try to stop the Oleg coercion to save his own ass.  Am I missing something?

It's a plausible theory that I hadn't thought of, but I did not take it that way at all.  I took it as Stan being honorable toward Oleg.  Either interpretation could be squared with what we've seen.

7 hours ago, Cosmosgravitation said:

Even with the preview of her

Please spoiler bar discussion of previews, out of courtesy to those of us who avoid them like the plague and prefer to find out what happens in the next episode when the next episode arrives.

[DaBigDave]

Not sure if it's been mentioned before, or below, but yeah - so far Phillip and Elizabeth haven't done any same-sex honeytraps. But, at the time, they may not really have had to. Back in S2, they blackmailed Andrew Larrick, a Naval Officer with the threat of outing him as gay.

In the 80s, anybody who was gay and doing any kind of DoD/Security work would have their career ruined by being outed. Indeed, this vulnerability to blackmail by Soviets was often cited as a reason not to hire or employ gays in the industry. (As opposed to, you know, negating the threat of blackmail by not caring that they were gay in the first place.)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Whenever I see carob, I always think of Van Driessen on Beavis and Butt-head saying, "Carob - nature's chocolate!" Or was it Mr. Rosso on Freaks and Geek?

Do Martha and Oleg know each other? I was disappointed that they didn't notice each other in the grocery store.

18 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

Much of the Aerospace industry was on the West Coast, especially during the 1960s. I don't think that all vanished during/by the 1980s. It would make sense to have agents there to check out the factories, research facilities, and the scientists/engineers. 

8 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

Not to mention, in the 80s, the San Francisco Bay Area (particularly the south bay) was full of defense contractors, Lockheed-Martin and Lawrence Livermore Labs to name a couple of biggies. If I recall correctly, the Soviet Consulate was in San Francisco in the 80's (currently the Russian Consulate)

There was still a lot of aerospace industry in California in the 80s. I grew up in San Diego and a lot of my friends' parents worked at various aerospace/defense contractors through the 90s. In addition, there were a lot of military bases in California which seems like something the KGB would take advantage of. Even if you don't sneak on base (and honestly, it's easy to get on a military base if you know anyone - I used to be able to get on base because my boyfriend's dad was retired military), there are plenty of people to "befriend" off base in military towns. In the 80s, San Diego alone had several different military bases (Miramar, Coronado, Pendleton, and the Naval Training Center) and the Bay Area had the Oakland army base, Alameda, the Presidio, Mare Island, Treasure Island, etc.

15 hours ago, Ina123 said:

It reminds me of a story about Gary Gilmore (Google or Bing). He started his criminal life by walking into convenience stores and walking out with a case of beer. He did it for years over and over. When asked how he got by with it he said, "You just walk in, go to the beer, take it from the cooler and walk out. No eye contact. Clerks don't believe their eyes and when they realize what happened, you're gone." He was brazen. That's what Paige isn't. She can't look "not suspicious". E and P can.

Several years ago, a friend of mine worked at a large department store chain. One day, two guys walked into the store, picked up a couch from the showroom floor, and carried it out. The security guard even held the door open for them. Sometimes if you just act like that's what you're supposed to be doing, people don't question it!

Edited March 30, 2017 by ElectricBoogaloo
Because a couch is not the same as a coach

[AllyB]

9 hours ago, Umbelina said:

He still had money, and we saw several passports his mom left him, presumably great ones, since she was KGB and a working spy with connections for a long time.  Maybe one of those passports was a USA passport?  Travel was quite a bit easier back then anyway.  Or he could have applied for a VISA with an Austrian passport.  

That's why I said that the Slovenian people smugglers were honourable despite their manner. They charged a lot due to the great risk, more than Mischa was prepared for them to want. But they obviously left him with his documents and most of his money. Travel was actually harder in 1984 in a lot of ways. The security wasn't as rigid in the airports but this was pre-Shengen and pre-Visa Waiver Program. Nowadays, someone with most European passports can enter the US without a visa as long as they declare their intention to leave again within 90 days. But in 84 he'd have needed to apply for a visa and that would have taken time. Irina probably planned his route and either had a fake visa and matching passport prepared or a US passport. But I imagine it's not the latter as Mischa in his ragged clothes, Soviet demeanour and, at best, strongly accented English would have drawn suspicion if he claimed to be an American citizen even with a fantastically well forged passport.

[AllyB]

5 hours ago, J-Man said:

Philip's Kansas "target" was played by Clea Lewis, whose most memorable role (for me anyway) was as Ellen's giggly, always-in-pink friend Audrey Penny on "Ellen." So either she's aged really badly or they have some makeup people who specialize in making women look awfully haggard.

She was in her 20s and early 30s on Ellen and is in her 50s now, she was also physically exerting herself on the bike. If anything she's aged really well.

[Ina123]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Several years ago, a friend of mine worked at a large department store chain. One day, two guys walked into the store, picked up a coach from the showroom floor, and carried it out. The security guard even held the door open for them. Sometimes if you just act like that's what you're supposed to be doing, people don't question it!

My point, exactly. Paige needs to learn to be that brazen. We already see that she looks like she's about to pee her pants when she's around Matthew. She'd spill the beans if someone looked cross-eyed at her.

[Paloma]

7 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

It seems to me that Gabriel's attitude towards P & E was markedly different in this episode than we have ever seen before. It was almost "harsh" whereas previously his attitude was almost "fatherly".

Good point, and it could be at least partly related to his having to deal with Phillip's attitude/actions regarding Martha. Also, in general, Gabriel has certainly noticed the changes in P & E attitude toward their assignments and their increased commitment to each other. It's almost like they have become rebellious teenagers (P more than E, of course), so maybe he's decided that he needs to become a stricter "father" to counteract that.

[stagmania]

11 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

OK, why is it that all of Philips disguises when he's trying to seduce people make me look so damn homely? Philip is a really handsome guy, there has to be better way to disguise him without making him look so...meh. At least Elizabeth gets to look nice when she's trying to sleep with people.

For this assignment I thought it made sense, because the woman he's trying to seduce is weary of any male attention, let alone if it came from a very good-looking man. It was the same with Martha-she felt comfortable with Clark and secure in their relationship in part because he was such a nerdy, nebbishy guy. I think there's something to Sistermagpie's idea that women are generally more cautious/suspicious of overly attractive men paying them attention out of the blue, whereas the male ego thinks it makes perfect sense that Elizabeth finds him irresistible. 

9 hours ago, sistermagpie said:

I don't think the KGB is overlooking him. They've got him in their sites when it's his turn, just as Philip and Elizabeth know they'll have to deal with him as an adult/teen too once he grows up. I agree whatever is happening with Henry is on the normal level of advanced classes or whatever and not the CIA or anyone contacting him. But I don't think it's there for an excuse for him not being home--they don't need more for that. I think it's the first step into making him a focus for his parents.

I wonder how P & E would react if they found out Henry has a skill set that will make the KGB more interested in him. Even for Elizabeth, I think the idea that both her children would be sucked into spy life may be too much, especially if it happens in conjunction with a big operation that's going wrong or is based in bad intel.

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Do Martha and Oleg know each other? I was disappointed that they didn't notice each other in the grocery store.

I don't see why they would. Martha was sent there to live in peace; she's not working for the KGB. I really think that little glimpse of her was thrown in just to reassure fans that her ending wasn't a trick and there's no twist coming where we find out they actually killed her. I don't expect to see her again.

[Ina123]

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Do Martha and Oleg know each other? I was disappointed that they didn't notice each other in the grocery store.

It's easy for me to get confused so correct me if I'm wrong. Oleg and the woman at the Residentura that he was sleeping with were trying to find a pilot and a plane at the same time as Phillip, Elizabeth and Gabriel were trying to get Martha to USSR. Remember? Oleg couldn't get a pilot and the woman upstaged him and found one. (I think this is the same period of time as Martha leaving.) They even talked about the route being via Cuba. If these preparations were for Martha, wouldn't Oleg have had a file on her and at least seen a picture? So maybe someday he at least bumps into her and recognizes her.

It would be a funny scene but I doubt it happens. I think the glimpse of Martha was just to clarify to us that she made it.

ETA: I guess I agree with Stagmania that we won't see her again.

Edited March 30, 2017 by Ina123

[Clanstarling]

11 hours ago, Pickles said:

I wonder if Elizabeth ever worries about her wig slipping or coming off during her makeout/sex scenes with strangers? 

I was thinking "don't run your fingers through my hair!"

10 hours ago, sistermagpie said:

I feel like there's an implication that women are somehow smarter or, I don't know, less secure than men. Guys are apparently less likely to question someone as gorgeous as Keri Russell coming onto them than a woman like this would question MR chatting her up at the gym.

I think this is spot on. I've known many men (from "normally attractive" to "what are you thinking") who think they can attract the gorgeous women, but not that many "normally attractive" women who believe they could actually be of interest to a gorgeous man.

4 hours ago, AllyB said:

That's why I said that the Slovenian people smugglers were honourable despite their manner. They charged a lot due to the great risk, more than Mischa was prepared for them to want. But they obviously left him with his documents and most of his money. Travel was actually harder in 1984 in a lot of ways. The security wasn't as rigid in the airports but this was pre-Shengen and pre-Visa Waiver Program. Nowadays, someone with most European passports can enter the US without a visa as long as they declare their intention to leave again within 90 days. But in 84 he'd have needed to apply for a visa and that would have taken time. Irina probably planned his route and either had a fake visa and matching passport prepared or a US passport. But I imagine it's not the latter as Mischa in his ragged clothes, Soviet demeanour and, at best, strongly accented English would have drawn suspicion if he claimed to be an American citizen even with a fantastically well forged passport.

In the episode where Mischa was looking through his passports, I thought I saw a Canadian one. Until recently we pretty much moved freely back and forth across the US/Canadian borders - or at least in that time frame (the 80's) we did. I went to Canada right around that time, and I think at that time we only had to show our driver's licenses (no passport, no visa required), though memory could be failing me.

Edited March 30, 2017 by Clanstarling

[J-Man]

My fantasy is that if they discover Henry is gifted, they decide to send him to a magnet school, and one day he brings home his new girlfriend, who turns out to be .... KIMMY! (Sample dialogue: "Gee, Henry-- your dad looks kind of familiar ...")

[RedHawk]

12 hours ago, Ina123 said:

It's easy for me to get confused so correct me if I'm wrong. Oleg and the woman at the Residentura that he was sleeping with were trying to find a pilot and a plane at the same time as Phillip, Elizabeth and Gabriel were trying to get Martha to USSR. Remember? Oleg couldn't get a pilot and the woman upstaged him and found one. (I think this is the same period of time as Martha leaving.) They even talked about the route being via Cuba. If these preparations were for Martha, wouldn't Oleg have had a file on her and at least seen a picture? So maybe someday he at least bumps into her and recognizes her.

It would be a funny scene but I doubt it happens. I think the glimpse of Martha was just to clarify to us that she made it.

ETA: I guess I agree with Stagmania that we won't see her again.

No reason Oleg would have been given info about the person who they were trying to get the plane for, just that they needed to secure a plane. I'm starting to lean on the side of we are never going to see her again and that's OK with me. I'd rather there would not be a contrived situation in Moscow although I trust if the writers bring her back it will be quite Interesting.

I sort of wish that the woman in Kansas would turn out to be gay and thus a total dead-end for Philip. If she's in the closet that would not be in the dossier the KGB has compiled on her. I'd like to see him go back to Gabriel and say the situation is a no go and since Elizabeth has snagged Carob Man he's just going to stay home on the weekends and spend more time with his kids.

Edited March 31, 2017 by RedHawk

[Chaos Theory]

My guess is that with Paige they have a girl with socialist proclivities who at the moment is having fun playing spy and isn't quite getting that for her parents it isn't a game.  She is trying to be helpful but isn't getting the big picture in large part because her parents aren't showing her the things she might need to see.  I'm not talking about the people the deceive into committing treason I mean big picture things like where they think she should focus her energy instead of snooping on their friends and neighbors,

As for Henry I think the show might actually be writing him as a Reganite Republican.  I don't have any evidence to support my theory just that it would piss Elizabeth off to know end to have her son toe the Republican line.  

[MisterBluxom]

1 hour ago, stagmania said:

For this assignment I thought it made sense, because the woman he's trying to seduce is weary of any male attention, let alone if it came from a very good-looking man. It was the same with Martha-she felt comfortable with Clark and secure in their relationship in part because he was such a nerdy, nebbishy guy. I think there's something to Sistermagpie's idea that women are generally more cautious/suspicious of overly attractive men paying them attention out of the blue, whereas the male ego thinks it makes perfect sense that Elizabeth finds him irresistible. 

I wonder how P & E would react if they found out Henry has a skill set that will make the KGB more interested in him. Even for Elizabeth, I think the idea that both her children would be sucked into spy life may be too much, especially if it happens in conjunction with a big operation that's going wrong or is based in bad intel.

I don't see why they would. Martha was sent there to live in peace; she's not working for the KGB. I really think that little glimpse of her was thrown in just to reassure fans that her ending wasn't a trick and there's no twist coming where we find out they actually killed her. I don't expect to see her again.

I've decided that it is unlikely Henry is a math savant because he spends so much time on the phone and talking with others.  If he was a math savant, I would think he would spend a lot of his time reading, studying, learning math.

But it's very strange that a math teacher would call the parents in for a meeting but refuse to specify any details over the phone. When I went to HS, if a teacher ever tried that, my parents would start screaming at them because they would be worried I had done something terrible. At the very least, the teacher should say the common B.S.  .... "It's just a routine administrative matter. Nothing to worry about." The police usually say that before they lock you up for life.

But, all kidding aside, the way this is being handled leads me to believe the show runners have something specific in mind and are trying to heighten the tension. I just hope it will work - whatever it is.

21 minutes ago, J-Man said:

My fantasy is that if they discover Henry is gifted, they decide to send him to a magnet school, and one day he brings home his new girlfriend, who turns out to be .... KIMMY! (Sample dialogue: "Gee, Henry-- your dad looks kind of familiar ...")

Well done!  I'd give you a like, but I've stopped doing that ever since I read how Google uses that info to drive their targeted marketing to people who are likely to buy stuff based on what they "like". Isn't this world just an awful place sometimes?

[qtpye]

On ‎3‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 2:27 AM, MissBluxom said:

I

When it comes to seducing people with the idea of later on being able to take advantage of them and getting some info from them, E sure does seem to be better at it then does P.  At least judging from this epi. P did do a great job on Martha.  But after watching tonight's epi, it sure does seem to me that E is the Queen of that department. I don't know how any man could ever resist her. She is such an attractive lady and so appealing.  I could write pages in praise of Elizabeth.

Tonight's episode seemed markedly different to me than most others because there was so much movement along so many different plot lines. We saw progress in Mischa's story, Oleg's story, oh heck ... in almost every story. But the big surprise was Henry's story. Never expected that.

If I had to guess what is going on with Henry, my current guess would be that his teacher has discovered he is a genius "savant" when it comes to math and the school wants to place Henry in some advanced math program and/or pave the way for Henry to attend some advanced university. That would bring a fair bit of attention to the family and  I bet that's just what they wanted. What do  you think?

I'm just joking of course. The last thing this family wants is a bunch of attention.

What do you think of Oleg choosing to confide in Mom? Of all the people in this world, I would think the very last person in whom you would want to confide is Mother. It looks like Stan is going to get the CIA to drop its stupid plan to force Oleg to do anything. But if they didn't, I'm guessing that his telling Mom would become a very serious problem. Mothers just seem to need to talk to someone/anyone to help their offspring. Unfortunately, my experience has been that often leads to much bigger problems instead of solving them.  Oh, shit! Don't tell your mother. Tell most anyone else. But not mother!

Oleg's story line here seems like it might be one of the most interesting of them all this season.  Hard to believe the writers made a teeny tiny bit of progress on almost all the story lines. There was a microscopic amount of progress made in the story about the father who hates Russia. But it seemed kind of silly to me that the major happening was for him to announce (once again) that he hates Russia.  This is just getting downright boring!  Booo!

 

 

My hetero female self would not be able to resist Elizabeth (not in a sexual way).  She was so adorable in her dark bob and she made those horrible eighties jeans look good.  Her granola looking mark was kind of cute as well, if you like that type.

On ‎3‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 7:48 AM, icemiser69 said:

I was waiting for Oleg's mom, to say that the man he knows as dad isn't his biological father.

 

Does Paige have any other look on her face other than that, I just peed myself look?  She certainly does not have a poker face.

Oleg's mom is smart woman.  You can tell Oleg has a healthy respect for women, with a mother like that. 

19 hours ago, SWLinPHX said:

The straight hiker who Elizabeth is seducing??

He could be bi?  A three way honey trap would be horrible.

17 hours ago, AllyB said:

I was stupidly surprised by how quickly Mischa arrived in the US but presumably the Slovenian people smugglers were quite honourable and left Mischa with most of his cash and his fake documents. He is not only in the US a day or two after he arrived in Austria but has passed emigration at JFK. So I'm guessing he had enough money to fly from Vienna and had a passport and visa that allowed him entry to the US. 

Perhaps he's playing games on Mutiny! Sure it started out as a games company but it was really the chat rooms that were the heart of the business.

(I have to get my 80s fix from somewhere during the off-season.)

Are you suggesting Donna and Cameron are KGB agents?  That might explain some things.

14 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

OK, why is it that all of Philips disguises when he's trying to seduce people make me look so damn homely? Philip is a really handsome guy, there has to be better way to disguise him without making him look so...meh. At least Elizabeth gets to look nice when she's trying to sleep with people.

Philip was so not giving it his all with that Kansas lady. Not only does he need to travel all the time, he is probably still reeling from the Martha debacle, and that's making him less inclined to start this kind of mission. Plus, he's just over this whole thing in general. While Elizabeth is still all "these people are going to hurt our people! No way is there another explanation!", while Philip is clearly questioning this whole thing. I'm thinking this will just turn out to be an utter fail, the Center is giving them bad information, and that just adds more strain to Philip. Maybe he can justify killing random people for The Cause, but he might not be thrilled to find out he killed people for a stupid mistake, and his government passing the buck.

Whenever Oleg is on screen, I have such a mix of emotions. On the one hand, he's my favorite character and I love seeing him and his awesome suits (I don't totally know where his plot is going, but I'm interested), but on the other hand, I always get SUPER nervous when he shows up, because I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I hate that he thinks Stan betrayed him. Maybe Stan is trying to help him partially to cover himself, but I really do think he respects Oleg and hates the idea of him getting killed over trying to help people. Maybe Stan is trying so hard to help Oleg not only because he just likes the guy, but also because he feels guilty about Vlad, and he's trying to make up for it? His poor mom. I felt so sad when she started crying when he told her he was in trouble. She knows what is probably going to happen to him, and so soon after losing her other son. She's a tough lady, clearly, but that's still just awful. Please let Oleg get out of this alright!

I totally think Henry is going to be the one who ends up causing them trouble. Whoops!

I was so afraid that another lonely woman was going to have her life ruined by the hotness of Gus Alexander.  Whatever Phillip looks like he's got mad KGB lovemaking skills in the sack.  I actually hope it does not work out.

12 hours ago, Erin9 said:

I don't think the Centre has a clue when to quit. Having re-watched those scenes, I have no idea why they thought she was a good seduction candidate. She was a cold fish right from the get-go, not friendly, not approachable, not interested in ANYONE. She didn't seem like a good candidate for polite conversation, friendship....much less a relationship. I thought Philip's initial approach was fine. She just wasn't interested in talking to anyone as best I could tell. 

When I am in the gym, I will try to be friendly, but I am not usually in a chatty mood.  She might also be used to guys hitting on her there and was a little weary of it.  Remember, Clarke, however awful he looked, had the dignity of his position when he started talking to Martha.  This is just some rando at the gym.  Also, her body language was not reading approach me, it was reading please leave me alone.

In contrast, carob guy probably already was checking out the cutie at the health food store and was just waiting for an in.

Edited March 30, 2017 by qtpye

[sistermagpie]

2 hours ago, Paloma said:

Good point, and it could be at least partly related to his having to deal with Phillip's attitude/actions regarding Martha. Also, in general, Gabriel has certainly noticed the changes in P & E attitude toward their assignments and their increased commitment to each other. It's almost like they have become rebellious teenagers (P more than E, of course), so maybe he's decided that he needs to become a stricter "father" to counteract that.

Or maybe Gabriel himself knows how absurd it is that he's asking this and he's using his own annoyance at it to be pushy with them because he's getting leaned on himself.

2 hours ago, stagmania said:

I wonder how P & E would react if they found out Henry has a skill set that will make the KGB more interested in him. Even for Elizabeth, I think the idea that both her children would be sucked into spy life may be too much, especially if it happens in conjunction with a big operation that's going wrong or is based in bad intel.

5 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Yeah, I suspect both of them are just trying to not think about the fact that they're going to eventually have to go through this all again with the second kid. But if Henry is gifted in math it'll be something that makes them start thinking about him as an adult, because that's a potential career. And it would be hard for them to avoid the obvious fact that this kind of skill is something the Centre would want. Jared was another kid that loved video games--he also liked building models and was going to go to Carnegie Mellon to study engineering I think.

Of course, having gone through it with a very different kid, they might have ways they want to approach it differently. Even more importantly, Henry's such a different kid I'm sure the show would want to have him react very differently. I'd be surprised at him sharing Paige's confusion about lying and multiple identities, but I can also see him being far more challenging about what they're doing. Even if he doesn't have a knee-jerk "American good/Russia bad!" reaction, he's not coming into it having already devoted himself to Pastor Tim's teachings. 

5 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Do Martha and Oleg know each other? I was disappointed that they didn't notice each other in the grocery store.

They've never met and I doubt Oleg would have been given that much information on her. He just needed to get the plane to a certain place.

[dubbel zout]

12 hours ago, Erin9 said:

I have no idea why they thought she was a good seduction candidate. She was a cold fish right from the get-go, not friendly, not approachable, not interested in ANYONE.

I think she was chosen from her position at the company and a perfunctory background check (she's single, etc.) It's up to the agent to figure out the best approach. Even with a ton of research, you don't know what the reaction will be until you try.

As far as women approaching men goes, look at TV, especially sitcoms: The schlubby men are always paired with superattractive wives. Of course men have no problem thinking attractive women want them.

[shura]

57 minutes ago, qtpye said:

I was so afraid that another lonely woman was going to have her life ruined by the hotness of Gus Alexander.  Whatever Phillip looks like he's got mad KGB lovemaking skills in the sack.

Exactly. Their special people skills are the reason Philip and Elizabeth had to fly all the way there, not lack of general KGB presence in the Midwest. Of course there are KGB people there. Someone had to scope out Agricorp, zero in on these particular marks and write a report about how this Burt guy (is his name Burt? He looks like the Burt's Bees dude to me) likes hiking, for example, so P and E could use that. 

[qtpye]

8 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

As far as women approaching men goes, look at TV, especially sitcoms: The schlubby men are always paired with superattractive wives. Of course men have no problem thinking attractive women want them.

I also think E is a master at projecting "good looking, but approachable" vibe that makes everyone one to be her friend.  What is funny, is that is very different from her natural personality as the cold calculating Elizabeth...good acting on Keri's part.  Also, the male mark was a fairly nice looking guy himself.  I actually thought they made kind of a cute couple.

I will say if a good looking man approached me at the gym, when I am my sweaty grossest, then I would feel very self conscious. I know a lot of ladies who go to the gym at non peak hours for the relative privacy.  Not all of us are lucky enough to look like Stan's shapely purple leotard lady when we work out.

[Sarah 103]

16 hours ago, Shriekingeel said:

If no one else has extrapolated from this, the CIA is always interested in students with outstanding mathematical ability for high-end cryptography work. In that case Henry would quickly become the Holy Grail for Soviet intelligence: a spy in the CIA from day one, no dangerous money trail required as with Aldrich Ames. Don't know if they're going there. 

This is fantastic! It fits perfectly with the Centre's plan; let the kid get a job in an intellegence agency, and then use him as a double agent or an important source of information. 

15 hours ago, Cosmosgravitation said:

I think it's possible Henry could have a modem.  Maybe his teacher got it for him or maybe the computer came with a modem.   Henry could just tell his family he's "using the phone" and they might not realize he's using a modem.  Paige and his parents are gone often enough he could just be doing it when they're not home anyway.  Whatever he's up to, they clearly haven't shown us (the audience) yet.

I don't think Henry has been recruited by the KGB, I think it's fitting that the KGB overlooked him in favor of Paige, just like Phillip and Elizabeth did.  If anyone has contacted him it's probably the CIA or NSA, and then only in a "think about eventually working for us" capacity.  Most likely his math teacher just wants to put him in an advanced class and it'll be the new excuse for him not being home.

If Henry was using the modem and someone picked up the phone, they would have heard a strange sound. Also, Henry would not be able to get online if someone else was on the phone. If there was a modem at home, we would have known about it. It's possible he's using one at a friend's house. I don't think Henry has been recuited by any agency yet, but I think if he gets into an advanced math course, then he might get the "think about eventually working for us" capacity type of contact.  

14 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Whenever Oleg is on screen, I have such a mix of emotions. On the one hand, he's my favorite character and I love seeing him and his awesome suits (I don't totally know where his plot is going, but I'm interested), but on the other hand, I always get SUPER nervous when he shows up, because I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I hate that he thinks Stan betrayed him. Maybe Stan is trying to help him partially to cover himself, but I really do think he respects Oleg and hates the idea of him getting killed over trying to help people.

I share your apperciation of Oleg. I'm not nervous because if they get rid of him, they can't cover the Soviet side the way they have been. I am stubborn and sticking to my story/hope that Oleg comes out of this okay. I've always enjoyed the scenes between Stan and Oleg. 

12 hours ago, sistermagpie said:

I don't think the KGB is overlooking him. They've got him in their sites when it's his turn, just as Philip and Elizabeth know they'll have to deal with him as an adult/teen too once he grows up. I agree whatever is happening with Henry is on the normal level of advanced classes or whatever and not the CIA or anyone contacting him. But I don't think it's there for an excuse for him not being home--they don't need more for that. I think it's the first step into making him a focus for his parents.

I like this theory. There's the strong possibility of advanced math classes, and then a seperate storyline about what he is doing when he's away from home. I agree that the two are different things. I can't wait until we found out what they are. 

12 hours ago, Bretton said:

Okay, so now that we've seen Pastor Tim with some Karl Marx in his house, please, showrunners, don't suggest in any way that his worldview and/or congregation are in any way of the ilk of Evangelical/Christian conservatives. Because, if there's one thing no conservative Christian pastor would be caught dead with in the 1980s, at the height of the Cold War, it'd be a book by the father of communism. I'm okay with Tim being a far-left Christian leader, just make sure you're consistent with that narrative and all subtle flags supporting it from here on out.

My understanding was that he had the book from a class he took in college. I have no idea why he still has the book. Also, I've always thought it was a very leftist church. They were involved in the anti-nuclear movement, and other liberal causes, but I can't seem to remember what they are.   

7 hours ago, DaBigDave said:

Not sure if it's been mentioned before, or below, but yeah - so far Phillip and Elizabeth haven't done any same-sex honeytraps. But, at the time, they may not really have had to. Back in S2, they blackmailed Andrew Larrick, a Naval Officer with the threat of outing him as gay.

In the 80s, anybody who was gay and doing any kind of DoD/Security work would have their career ruined by being outed. Indeed, this vulnerability to blackmail by Soviets was often cited as a reason not to hire or employ gays in the industry. (As opposed to, you know, negating the threat of blackmail by not caring that they were gay in the first place.)

At some point before the series ends, I would love to see a same-sex honeytrap. It wouldn't take much to get photographs that would be perfect blackmail material. 

1 hour ago, J-Man said:

My fantasy is that if they discover Henry is gifted, they decide to send him to a magnet school, and one day he brings home his new girlfriend, who turns out to be .... KIMMY! (Sample dialogue: "Gee, Henry-- your dad looks kind of familiar ...")

That's fantastic. I don't know if it's possible, but it's wonderful to contemplate. 

1 hour ago, MissBluxom said:

I've decided that it is unlikely Henry is a math savant because he spends so much time on the phone and talking with others.  If he was a math savant, I would think he would spend a lot of his time reading, studying, learning math.

He can be really good at math and have other interests, including friends. I don't see why he can't be in an advanced/honors math class and still be interested in dating girls or playing video games. 

1 hour ago, sistermagpie said:

Yeah, I suspect both of them are just trying to not think about the fact that they're going to eventually have to go through this all again with the second kid. But if Henry is gifted in math it'll be something that makes them start thinking about him as an adult, because that's a potential career. And it would be hard for them to avoid the obvious fact that this kind of skill is something the Centre would want.

Of course, having gone through it with a very different kid, they might have ways they want to approach it differently. Even more importantly, Henry's such a different kid I'm sure the show would want to have him react very differently. 

Henry being a math whiz will cause them to look at him differently. I can't wait to see Henry's reaction when he finds out is parents are spies. Henry is so different from Paige that I imagine he would have his own unique reaction. He would ask different questions and have different concerns. 

[sistermagpie]

4 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

My understanding was that he had the book from a class he took in college. I have no idea why he still has the book. Also, I've always thought it was a very leftist church. They were involved in the anti-nuclear movement, and other liberal causes, but I can't seem to remember what they are.   

7 hours ago, DaBigDave said:

That's a reference to earlier convos analyzing all the stuff we know about Tim's church. It is very obviously leftist and liberal, but it also has some things that belong in a different church. So it's those other things that don't fit. The Marx goes along with the other stuff.

[Ina123]

Isn't it possible that Henry is more computer savvy than the family realizes? Maybe all that "on the phone all the time" is because he has installed a modem and is visiting newsgroups. This family is so out of touch with him that he could get by with it. I had Netscape then and was on newsgroups all the time. But then I realize all they have to do is pick up the extension and hear that unmistakable screech of a modem. Maybe the math teach is going to tell them he is a real computer whiz. Wasn't the math teacher also the computer teacher?

[sistermagpie]

9 minutes ago, Ina123 said:

 

Isn't it possible that Henry is more computer savvy than the family realizes? Maybe all that "on the phone all the time" is because he has installed a modem and is visiting newsgroups.

 

No, they're hearing him talking on the phone, presumably in his room, like with the phone cord pulled in or something. The computer is in the living room. (Wonder if he's got his own phone--Paige has had one since at least season 2 but it seems like Henry needs one more!)

This is one reason I think it's a little exaggerated when people say the Jennings ignore him completely or have no idea what he's doing. They are mystified at the details at times--that's explicit. But they do take note of him in general. Stan only knows that Henry hasn't been around lately. His parents are actively curious about where he is, know to doubt his answers, have noted that he's talking on the phone all the time and wonder who it's with. They're still on the outside, but he's supposed to be part of their daily lives.

Oh, another thing I've noticed in the past is how Henry tends to be instinctively close-mouthed when asked for info about others. Even when Philip casually asked him if Paige had ever said anything about Pastor Tim to him while he was helping him study for a test Henry's response was "Why?" When Stan asked where his parents went overnight he said "Paige told me but I forgot." 

Elizabeth asks Paige if she has any idea who Henry's talking to Paige immediately racks her brain and comes up with two girls he thinks he's spoken to. Sometimes she keeps his secrets, but she's completely unreliable on that front.

Edited March 30, 2017 by sistermagpie

[Cosmosgravitation]

2 hours ago, J-Man said:

My fantasy is that if they discover Henry is gifted, they decide to send him to a magnet school, and one day he brings home his new girlfriend, who turns out to be .... KIMMY! 

Paige mentioned hearing a "Kiera" and "Wendy" associated with Henry.  For a brief moment, my brain speculated that if you merged the names together and added an "mm" sound in the middle, you could kinda sorta get Kimmy out of it.  But then I realized since they don't go to the same high school it'd be a huge stretch for them to have even met... unless Kimmy's dad in the CIA switched from working on Afghanistan to recruitment? But even then it's unlikely that Henry would have already be targeted for recruitment to the point a high ranking CIA official got involved, and unlikely he'd introduce his daughter if he somehow had.  So, no.

Besides, the actor that plays Henry is only 15, while the actress that plays Kimmy is 23.  They'd get some frowns if they put them together.  Still, the awkward would be amazing, maybe they could get away with it if they didn't have any sex scenes on screen.  

[crgirl412]

38 minutes ago, Gabrielle Tracy said:

I don't know if I agree about the fishing.  If someone told me they were from Pittsburgh and I was trying to trap them in some way I would ask where they went to high school or "What is your favorite kind of Primantis sandwich?" 

I know!  I was so excited because I grew up in Shaler Township which is right next to Ross Township.

Good questions to ask- especially the Primanti's one!!

I'm South Hills girl.  So many bridges and rivers to cross to get up there!!  ;)