S02.E10: Yousaf

[radishcake]

A new mission with international stakes has Philip calling on Annelise for assistance just as an old foe returns to D.C. with a vendetta. Stan makes a discovery that could put the FBI hot on the trail of illegals.

 

[AimingforYoko]

Well, if Larrick wasn't the threat before, he sure as hell is now.

[Hal25]

That was such an awesome episode. Loved everything about it. The family theme, the Philip and Elizabeth moments, the great movement in the spy story... they really hit it out of the park with this one. Very favorite thing was that beautiful Philip and Elizabeth scene at the very beginning. I think there's often a misconception that Elizabeth is cold and Philip is missing out or only hearing affection from marks like Martha or Annelise, but it's very clear in this scene that Elizabeth loves him very much and is showing it. It hasn't always been that way for them, but it's clearly not something he's missing at home any more.

[Happy to be here]

I have a cigarette after both sex and murder too.

 

Paige continues on her way to becoming the most insufferable and therefore the most interesting teenager in memory.  I mean really....religious summer camp.  I know there is such a thing but this one sound sketchy to me.  The whole thing sounds sketchy to me.

 

I totally forgot about Annelise.  So what is the plan with her.  Have her be new sexspy for MiddleEast guy who is now head Middle East guy.  Oh yeah what could possibly go wrong with that?

 

Stan gets closer and closer to the truth.  Too bad he is sleeping with the enemy.  

[NitneLiun]

Now that Stan knows his marriage is over and he no longer has to expend energy trying to save it, he is throwing himself into his work completely. We are finding out just what a good counter-intel agent he really is.

 

I can't wait to see how Larrick plays out. He's acting with the same obsession that Stan is, but Larrick is far more dangerous than Stan because he doesn't have the same constraints that Stan does. Larrick is going to kill many more commies before anyone has a prayer of stopping him.

[crgirl412]

Stan is getting close!  Larrick is getting closer!  I understand the Stan part but the Larrick part is still a little fuzzy.  He is anti-American and pro-Soviet so why is he destroying the communication system that the Soviets use to manage their spies?  I thought for sure Paige was going to walk into the kitchen and catch her parents again!  Why would Annalise be seen in public with "Scott?"  Would not the DC tongues be wagging???? 

[Hal25]

Stan is getting close!  Larrick is getting closer!  I understand the Stan part but the Larrick part is still a little fuzzy.  He is anti-American and pro-Soviet so why is he destroying the communication system that the Soviets use to manage their spies?  I thought for sure Paige was going to walk into the kitchen and catch her parents again!  Why would Annalise be seen in public with "Scott?"  Would not the DC tongues be wagging???? 

 

I don't think Larrick is pro-Soviet at all. He was being blackmailed first by Emmett and Leanne, and now by Philip and Elizabeth. Larrick wants out and he told them so. Then they went and killed a bunch of people rather than just take pictures like they were going to.

 

I was surprised "Scott" would let Annelise see him so out of disguise, or in a disguise that is so undisguising rather.

[NitneLiun]

Larrick isn't anti-American or pro-Soviet. He's pro-Larrick. He thought he could straddle the fence and play things to his advantage. He has said that he wants out of his relationship with the KGB, and he clearly intends to make that happen by killing as many of them as he can find.

 

I don't think Larrick is pro-Soviet at all. He was being blackmailed first by Emmett and Leanne, and now by Philip and Elizabeth. Larrick wants out and he told them so. Then they went and killed a bunch of people rather than just take pictures like they were going to.

 

I was surprised "Scott" would let Annelise see him so out of disguise, or in a disguise that is so undisguising rather.

Scott didn't expect to see Annelise. That's why he answered the door with a gun and was not in disguise.

Edited May 1, 2014 by NitneLiun

[Hal25]

True re: Scott, but even before that, his Scott disguise is a little too close to Philip for comfort. It's like some of those Elizabeth ones from season one that are just a slightly redder wig.

[Dusty]

Now that Stan knows his marriage is over and he no longer has to expend energy trying to save it, he is throwing himself into his work completely. We are finding out just what a good counter-intel agent he really is.

 

Was he expending any energy to save his marriage?  I must've missed that part.  I do like that we are finally about to see what a good agent he is though (outside of having the affair). I hate it when shows make one side pure idiots who wouldn't be able to find their nose in front of their face just to make someone look good.  It's just such a lazy way to go about things and no one ever buys it.  I'm talking to you The Following and The Blacklist! And every detective show out there where there's a civilian consultant!

[AlliMo]

I liked the parallel of going straight from the scene where Paige asks to be a CIT at Bible camp, to a scene where Nina talks about being a Young Pioneer.

 

I think I have seen cunnilingus depicted more often on this show than any other show in my viewing history. Not an objection; just something I find interesting.

[Joystickenvy]

Church run summer camps aren't particularly unusual, so that by itself doesn't seem all that sketch. I can empathize with not wanting Paige to go off to be a "Jesus Freak" in training, but I'd be sorely tempted to let her go to Jesus camp just to get her out of my hair for a few months. Did they have those boot camp for kids things in the 80s? I'm sure Liz would be all about that.

They might ought to hope Stan finds them before Larrick does.

[Happy to be here]

Is it me or did Paige Dress like  Nancy Reagan this episode?  That alone give me pause.  When a teenager changes their dress that much there might be a problem.

Edited May 1, 2014 by ChaosTheory

[BetyBee]

When they left the scene of the parent-less boy looking at drawings of Phillip & Elizabeth as a cliffhanger moment....well, I'm not going to get sucked into thinking Stan is closing in on them. He's a trained FBI agent and doesn't recognize those drawings as his neighbors. Chances are pretty slim that that poor boy will recognize people he's barely ever seen.

 

Otherwise, this was a really good, action-packed episode. Larrick is one scary guy, but then so are all of these people. I love this show!

[Tara Ariano]

Even I went to a Catholic summer camp, and we barely ever went to church. But given what we heard in this episode about the Young Pioneers and how they indoctrinated young Communists, it makes sense that Elizabeth would think the same kind of thing would go on at Paige's church camp.

 

Anyway: here's my post on the episode!

[attica]

I liked the new Pete Townshend song, and thought the editing to it was quite good. Keri Russell certainly looked awfully strong in the pool scene, for such a bitty thing.

 

My sister did the whole Christian camp CIT thing (although it was only a day camp). It was really just a way for her to hang with her homies and swim all summer.

[SunnyBeBe]

Yeah,  I don't buy that this young man, who has seen these two people only once would recognize them, but Stan who knows them well, doesn't.  Too silly.  Of course, maybe the guy won't recognize them.  But, what really got me is why would Stan pull out photos of Elizabeth and Philip?  Why wouldn't his first thought been that the murdered couple were the ones in his sketch? That's the first assumption, IMO.  Maybe Emmit and Leanne were disguised and they are the ones in the sketches.  Stan's automatic jump didn't make sense to me.

 

The guy who gave the info for the sketches of Philip and Elizabeth is dead now, right?

 

I LOVED Nina's line when her lover said he thought that she could do anything.  She says, "I know. That's what frightens me.:    SO true.  I really like her character.  The woman is under so much pressure, but she handles it.  She seems to really accept herself.  

 

I got excited when Paige mentioned camp.  I thought, Oh yay, they have a convenient way to get Paige out of their hair.  Wrong though.  She has to go somewhere, right?  

 

I hope there isn't too much bruising around the dead guy's neck.

 

I wish they had better security around their communications center.  Pretty slack one man operation. 

 

When  Larrick called the number and asked to speak with Bobby, who was the woman who answered the phone?  And if no Bobby lived there, why did she ask him Bobby who?  Wouldn't you just say, you must have the wrong number and not ask Bobby who? 

Edited May 1, 2014 by SunnyBeBe

[Boundary]

Stan is getting close!  Larrick is getting closer!  

Great episode tag! Out of the two of them Larrick is the real danger. He seems smart, resourceful and now vengeful as well. I guess that means Kate's a goner and Granny will be back, yay. But will he stake her out and then make out either Philip or Elizabeth, follow them home before kidnapping Paige? I don't want ANY of that to happen at all. Stan, I'm not so much worried about. Not only do I doubt that Jared can recognise Philizabeth from those sketches, Stan made the mistake of telling Nina  what he's working on. I'm sure Arkady will plant something that'll lead Stan astray. 

 

Nina seems to be having a genuine bond with Oleg, it must be the first time I've believed that. Which of course, will means I'll be promptly proved wrong. 

 

Anyway: here's my post on the episode!

Tara I love your posts, they crack me up, especially the gag about Swedish intelligence. But didn't you read The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo? The series involves Swedish intelligence, so I guess they actually do exist! 

[attica]

who was the woman who answered the phone?

 

Kate, P&E's handler.

[Helena Dax]

Larrick makes me  nervous. He's so dangerous... Although tbh, I don't understand how he found the place with the phone guy. 

 

I'm sorry for lots of people killed by Elizabeth and Philip, but Amador isn't one of them. He was ready to use his position and  his badge to  bully "Clark", which is a disgusting thing to do. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he deserved to die, of course he didn't, but I never liked him  and he had no right to do what he was trying to do. 

 

I've never been comfortable with the way American TV shows portray atheism. It's usually about being angry with God because someone they loved died, but that isn't atheism (quite the contrary, it's a proof of your belief in God). In The Americans, Philip and Elizabeth are just raging, but they aren't telling Paige why. Would it be that suspicious to tell her that they're atheist? I mean being an atheist doesn't mean  you're a Soviet spy. Can't they have a rational talk about religion?

[Andromeda]

Jesus camp for THREE MONTHS? Wouldn't the usual two-week session be enough? I wouldn't let any girl that age go to any three-month summer program, and definitely not a brainwashy Jesus camp. She's barely started their church, and already they want her to be a counselor. Wow. I kept thinking of the Jesus Camp movie. I'm surprised Philip was even considering it. I got a kick out of the contrast with the Communist summer camps discussed by the Soviet spies. I agree, though, the idea of having that girl out of their hair for three months must have been tempting.

 

In The Americans, Philip and Elizabeth are just raging, but they aren't telling Paige why. Would it be that suspicious to tell her that they're atheist? I mean being an atheist doesn't mean  you're a Soviet spy. Can't they have a rational talk about religion?

I know, right? Why aren't they telling her about their views on the subject, even the party line from Communism about religion being the opiate of the masses could be worded in a way the girl might understand. Certainly the speed with which they bilked her out of her savings would be a good place to start.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Andromeda

[Joystickenvy]

 

I've never been comfortable with the way American TV shows portray atheism. It's usually about being angry with God because someone they loved died, but that isn't atheism (quite the contrary, it's a proof of your belief in God). In The Americans, Philip and Elizabeth are just raging, but they aren't telling Paige why. Would it be that suspicious to tell her that they're atheist? I mean being an atheist doesn't mean  you're a Soviet spy. Can't they have a rational talk about religion?

Having rational talks with Paige about anything doesn't seem to be their forte. I'm sure it varied a lot by community, but at least where I lived, while it was OK to not attend church, admitting to being an atheist was akin to saying you worshipped satan during the 80s - mid-90s or so, so from a cover stand point, I'm not sure being openly atheist would be a good idea. During the 80's in particular, not being a god fearing Christian was considered practically un-American due to the association of Communism with atheism.

However, I don't get why they wouldn't at least talk about their concerns with her. It seems like Phil was leaning that way, but Liz decided they should be hard asses about it instead because Paige is too soft.

[Boundary]

Yeah, Philip appeared ready to apologize and discuss rationally his concerns with Paige. It's also because when he lost it in the kitchen the other day it had almost nothing to do with Paige's church, nothing to do with Paige at all. Elizabeth, on the other hand, appears to genuinely disapprove of Paige's newly found faith and she's going to stand firm. She'd rather take her chances with Paige rebelling even more. Also what drives Elizabeth is what we saw in the S2 opener, she's scared of losing her kids, either to some assassin or to religion. But I find it funny that she is finding Paige's new church more of a threat than Paige's suspicions  of her parents earlier in the season, which could've opened a can of worms.

[Tara Ariano]

I kept thinking of the Jesus Camp movie.

 

I think the reason we got to see the sermon in last week's episode is so we could see that the church is pretty mainstream, not evangelical like in that (completely crazy!) movie -- so that we'd know Elizabeth's worst fears are probably disproportionate to the threat.

  

[beeble]

I don't remember Annelise. When/how did we meet her?

 

Paige could have argued that she tore up her mom's signatures upon realizing that forgery was the wrong thing to do. Not that Elizabeth would believe her. Of course, Paige is getting royally screwed over, oldest child style. The younger Henry literally breaks into another person's house and gets out of any serious punishment by crying, but Paige tries to be kind to others and has to do chores at midnight. (And I say this as the Henry of my family.) I see a teenage rebellion coming. 

 

Is it me or did Paige Dress like  Nancy Reagan this episode?  That alone give me pause.

 

LOL.

 

Stan needs to call Martha in and call her a genius. She cracked the case.

 

Can I just say how happy I am for snow to finally make an appearance in a show that takes place in a city where snow actually falls? In most shows, you'd think it was permanently spring (I'm looking at you Good Wife) But there wasn't even a plot twist with the snow - it just snowed! Yay snow! 

 

How did Larrick know where to go to find message-man?

[Haleth]

who was the woman who answered the phone?

Kate, P&E's handler.

 

Ooooh.  I thought it was Stan's wife and was very confused.

How did Larrick know where to go to find message-man?

More confusion.  Did Phil & Eliz give him a phone number he was trying to trace?  The lady from the phone company gave him the address for a junction box.  Was he then randomly checking houses in that neighborhood, including that family, and noticed the basement next door lit up?

 

I sort of remember Annalise from season 1.  I don't recall what story Phil fed her to recruit her.  She doesn't know he's a Russian, does she?  (Never mind.  Someone mentioned the Swedish diplomat thing on TwoP and now I remember.)

 

Ugh, Gaad put the pen in his desk.  I hope being in a drawer muffles any sound.  At some point he is going to pull it out and try to write with it.  Hey now.

Edited May 2, 2014 by Haleth

[Milaxx]

I don't think there is anything wrong with the Church other than Elizabeth hates it. Of course like most teens Paige is going about it all wrong. She truly screwed the pooch even thinking about forging Elizabeth's signature. On the other hand, the more Elizabeth is against it, the more Paige is going to want to be a part of the church. I don't find attending camp for 3 mths unusual.  I was a teen in the 70's/80's and it wasn't unusual for parents  to enroll their kids in camp or other activities for the entire summer. Especially if it was a household where both parents worked or was a single parent. The goal was to keep occupied all summer

[attica]

I kept thinking of the Jesus Camp movie.

 

That kind of camp didn't really exist (except on the fringey fringe fringe) in the 80s. That kind of reactionary devotion needs something to react against, and Reagan's WH wasn't it. Since she used the term 'Jesus Freak', we can guess that Elizabeth is more worried about decadent, hippie-type adherents.

[Hanahope]

I think for most summer camps, the counselors and CITs worked the entire summer, it was the campers that maybe only got 2 weeks, or at least that was a minimum, some campers may go 4,6,8,10 or 12 weeks.  I can sortof understand Elizabeth's reservations, not just with her own Communist beliefs, but back then, I recall there being some concern over cults and such.  If it wasn't with a group of people you know, I could understand parents being concerned.  And yeah, Paige blew it by not better hiding her efforts to forge E's signature (plus, how was she going to explain where she was for 3 months?).

 

I don't quite understand how Larrick got to the phone guy, but I guess he knew how phone lines worked well enough to figure it out.  I know he had some phone information, presumably from his contacts with Phillip and Elizabeth, that he was able to obtain the junction box info from the phone company.  From there, he got to the one house in some way, where he apparently quicly realized wasn't directly or officially involved (or at least I guess he made that decision - realizing that this phone connection/line didn't lead directly to P/E), and instead went down to the basement, saw the huge bundle of phonelines that went out of the basement toward the neighboring house, where he saw a light on in the basement.  He went there and found the soviet phone agent.  I guess the agent never thought he'd found, didn't have the door locked or any sortof alarm system in place.  I wonder how long it will take for P/E and their handler (plus others) to find out there's a problem and for the handler to figure out that 'wrong number' wasn't so wrong.  Or will she before being killed and/or leading Larrick to P/E.

 

I was surprised the Pakistani guy didn't have a bodyguard at the pool.  Ah, the pre-paranoid years.  Annaliese will so not be able to keep up the bit with new Pakistani lead guy.

[Happy to be here]

Would it be that suspicious to tell her that they're atheist? I mean being an atheist doesn't mean  you're a Soviet spy. Can't they have a rational talk about religion?

 

 

Not really.  Not during the Res Scare and not when they are actual communist.  Elizabeth is a true believer and having a real discussion brings up a whole can of worms they do not want to bring up.  As much as it would be riveting TV it would not be true to the era or their personalities.   

 

As for Paige it is not her religious beliefs that bother me.   It is the sudden onset of teenage rebellion.  Giving $600, forging your mother signature,  going away to camp not for weeks (which is the norm) but for months.  That smells fishy to me.  

[Tara Ariano]

As others have said, it's not out of the ordinary for kids to spend a whole summer at camp -- particularly not if she'd be going as a CIT. That would be her summer job.

[dr pepper]

I kind of admire the way Elizabeth did the killing. Pakistani man finishes his swim starts to get out. He then wonders, huh, where'd that other swimmer go to? Suddenly she comes up, grabs him, and pulls him under. No doubt she could kill him with a few skillfull karate blows, but that's not her goal. She just wans him to do what he does, surge out of the water and take a deep breath while trying to overpower her. But that turns out to be a deep breath of the aerosol, presumably some form of digitalis. She hangs on until it takes hold, then lets him drift. Tada-- natural causes!

[Boundary]

How many "Illegals" couples are there? Philip and Elizabeth are becoming quite prolific, especially the bodies piling up, it must make them vulnerable, no? And once Stan gets a hint of their trail, it can be hard to turn that off.

[Pixie16]

Finally got a chance to catch up on this episode. One observation & a question:

1. The bright, colorful spring dresses on Nina & Annalise didn't make sense in the dead of winter in conservative DC -- did anyone else notice that? It was distracting because it was unrealistic, but then I had just watched Mad Men & the clothes always enhance the episode.

2. So Larrick is tracing phone lines for the entire Soviet network in the area? Or was he specifically targeting Kate? didn't get that. Was sad to see the Basement Phone Guy go.

Loved the scene w/Gaad & Arkady in the snow-- that convo was basically the USSR vs. USA personified circa 1981-82.

Edited May 4, 2014 by Pixie16

[Orbert]

I got the impression that Larrick was just seeing what he could find out.  Basement Phone Guy (R.I.P.) had enough time to press a button that blew some kind of charge in the phone box, but it apparently didn't destroy everything.  Larrick was checking each line with his phone-company rig, and most of them were dead, but one had a dial tone, so he called it and Kate answered.

 

I think he was just fishing, but I'm sure there's a way for him to find out exactly what the phone number was that he'd connected to.  I don't think he knows who it was or that she's Philip and Elizabeth's handler.  But he'll follow up on the number.

[lucindabelle]

For. Paige to even ask about going to that camp so soon after her parents went ballistic about her giving money to the church is at best naive, at worst incredibly entitled. I went to summer camp for 8 weeks... Counselors I'm sure had a longer session but not 12. For her to want to go away for the entire summer with people they don't trust when presumably she's never been to camp at all before is beyond.

I think if she wanted to go for two weeks she might have more of a shot but I can't blame Elizabeth at all for her reaction. The church may not be a cult but they did accept a large sum from a minor without any due diligence at all, which is very shady.

[Hal25]

I think if she wanted to go for two weeks she might have more of a shot but I can't blame Elizabeth at all for her reaction. The church may not be a cult but they did accept a large sum from a minor without any due diligence at all, which is very shady.

 

Yeah, I'm not impressed with them being willing to take so much money from a minor without even caring to confirm with a parent. Didn't they find it strange that Paige's parents didn't attend church with her? They really didn't see anything wrong with accepting $600 from a 14 year old kid?

 

I think 14 is pretty young to go away the entire summer especially for a kid like Paige who at times isn't very level headed.

[SunnyBeBe]

A wrong telephone call to Kate should be a huge flag to Kate.  Maybe it's a legit wrong number or maybe it isn't.  There can't be too many people calling her number or even know her number.  It should have at least put her on notice.  For people like her, you can't just take something for granted. 

 

Can someone tell me why the camera zoomed in on the bread basket when Emmitt and Leanne's son was talking to Stan and he was making a sandwich?  It also zoomed in on the jar of peanut butter and knife he was holding a few second later.  What is the point of the camera zooming in on those items?  It just seemed odd to me. I guess it could just be an energetic camera man, but it's still odd.  

 

When Emmitt and Leanne were talking to Elizabeth and Philip did they ever mention any peanut allergies?  I'm just grasping at straws. Is there any chance that this young man does know about his parents' true identities?

[Milburn Stone]

The guy who gave the info for the sketches of Philip and Elizabeth is dead now, right?

 

Can someone refresh my memory as to how these sketches came to be? Who was the guy who gave the physical descriptions, why were Philip and Elizabeth (in those guises) persons of interest in an investigation, what was the investigation, and how did the sketches come in to Stan's possession? (Other than that I understand everything.)

[Hal25]

A wrong telephone call to Kate should be a huge flag to Kate.  Maybe it's a legit wrong number or maybe it isn't.  There can't be too many people calling her number or even know her number.  It should have at least put her on notice.  For people like her, you can't just take something for granted. 

 

Can someone tell me why the camera zoomed in on the bread basket when Emmitt and Leanne's son was talking to Stan and he was making a sandwich?  It also zoomed in on the jar of peanut butter and knife he was holding a few second later.  What is the point of the camera zooming in on those items?  It just seemed odd to me. I guess it could just be an energetic camera man, but it's still odd.  

 

When Emmitt and Leanne were talking to Elizabeth and Philip did they ever mention any peanut allergies?  I'm just grasping at straws. Is there any chance that this young man does know about his parents' true identities?

 

They've zoomed in on peanut butter in other episodes. I think it's because it's an all-American food and not a Russian one. I think one wrong number call to Kate wouldn't seem that weird. It would seem strange if he called back multiple times but in the days before numbers could be saved in phones and you had to dial everything manually, there were more misdials.

 

Can someone refresh my memory as to how these sketches came to be? Who was the guy who gave the physical descriptions, why were Philip and Elizabeth (in those guises) persons of interest in an investigation, what was the investigation, and how did the sketches come in to Stan's possession? (Other than that I understand everything.)

 

They're from Viola, the person in episode 1-2 they were blackmailing, and from the CIA guy they kidnapped who is now dead (because Grannie killed him.)

[Milburn Stone]

They're from Viola, the person in episode 1-2 they were blackmailing, and from the CIA guy they kidnapped who is now dead (because Grannie killed him.)

 

Thanks, Hal. Sadly, I can't remember who those people are, either. (Sigh.) I think I'm just going to relax and enjoy the ride and not worry about the fact that I don't understand half of it.

[90PercentGravity]

Keri Russell has a distinctive birthmark/freckle thing on her lip that I keep thinking will be Elizabeth's downfall. Every time Stan pulls out a sketch, I think that it will be the time when someone has bothered to mention it and he will be the one to recognize her.

[Quando]

 

A wrong telephone call to Kate should be a huge flag to Kate.  Maybe it's a legit wrong number or maybe it isn't.  There can't be too many people calling her number or even know her number.  It should have at least put her on notice.

Yeah, but Kate is probably thinking that her KGB phone expert guy will be on the case to see if there is anything fishy about it.  But whoops, he's dead.

[John Potts]

Good to see that Philizabeth can screw up with the best if them - I'm pretty sure the mission would have gone better if Elizabeth had seduced the Junior Diplomat since Philip's girl was hella pissed. Of course, he may manage to talk her round, but maybe she'll start to question the whole relationship (I mean, seriously? Swedish Intelligence? What exactly would their interests be here?)

 

Hannahope - I don't quite understand how Larrick got to the phone guy, but I guess he knew how phone lines worked well enough to figure it out.

 

I think the phone lines led to the family home and from there there’s a tap into the “abandoned” house next door where our switchboard operator lives (or rather, lived). But I'm glad to see Larrick actually acting as the ruthless spy we've been told he was, since so far he's been "All hat and no cattle."

 

Andromeda I know, right? Why aren't they telling her about their views on the subject, even the party line from Communism about religion being the opiate of the masses could be worded in a way the girl might understand. Certainly the speed with which they bilked her out of her savings would be a good place to start.

 

It surprises me that Russian sleeper agents posing as an All-American couple would be so militantly atheist. I know they're not in the Bible Belt but the "Godless Capital", but you'd think they'd pose as more "Yeah, well, we don't really bother with the church, but whatevs." Posing as "Religion is WRONG!" would make them stand out (I would've thought). Commenting on how they've talked her out of her savings in only a few weeks would be a reasonable starting point.

Edited May 18, 2014 by John Potts

[SoWindsor]

Are Russians atheist? I'm confused why they are so against Paige taking an interest in religion.

I actually like Paige and think she's very reasonable and am on her side of the arguments she has with her parents.

[sistermagpie]

The Soviets were atheist. Russians historically aren't always atheist. I think going to church would have been considered really weird in the USSR where P&E lived.

 

I liked how the first season Philip just said in passing how he didn't like dealing with people who believed in God because they made irrational decisions. Elizabeth sees it as a foreign group and a competitive philosophy that Paige is joining and she believes just about any negative thing that would ever have been told her about church. Philip is I think sad to think of his kid joining something that he can't really get, but he thinks Paige has the right to choose her own path even if it's not one he shares.

 

I think Paige often has very reasonable problems with her parents but other times she's got her own warped sense of things, like her being convinced currently that anybody no in her church group isn't on her level morally.

[Inquisitionist]

Atheism in the USSR:

 

When the Soviet Union was established by the Bolsheviks in 1922, it was the constitutional organisation which took over from the Russian Empire. At the time of the 1917 Revolution, the Russian Orthodox Church was deeply integrated into the autocratic state enjoying official status. This was a significant factor that contributed to the Bolshevik attitude to religion and the steps they took to control it.[1] Thus the USSR became the first state to have, as an ideological objective, the elimination of religion[2] and its replacement with universal atheism.[3][4] The communist regime confiscated religious property, ridiculed religion, harassed believers, and propagated atheism in schools.[5] The confiscation of religious assets was often based on accusations of illegal accumulation of wealth.

.

It surprises me that Russian sleeper agents posing as an All-American couple would be so militantly atheist.

 

Have we seen Elizabeth or Philip express their views on religion to anyone other than Paige (or the minister)?

[sistermagpie]

Have we seen Elizabeth or Philip express their views on religion to anyone other than Paige (or the minister)?

 

 

Yeah, I actually get the impression that Paige has picked up on their mistrust of religion by picking up subtext rather than anything her parents have said, at least until now. They're not militant atheists as far as anyone knows, they're just not religious. It's only when openly confronted with it in certain contexts that they're more vocal or demonstrative about it. I don't even know if Paige thinks they're self-confessed atheists rather than just that religion "isn't their thing." If they were militant atheists it would be in character for them to actually be more straightforward about not believing in God, but as it is they're more passively uncomfortable. Which probably reads to Paige as just more weirdness.

[Ina123]

Keri Russell has a distinctive birthmark/freckle thing on her lip that I keep thinking will be Elizabeth's downfall. Every time Stan pulls out a sketch, I think that it will be the time when someone has bothered to mention it and he will be the one to recognize her.

I had never watched before this week and now I am binge-watching. That mole has been a big deal to me from the beginning. Why in the world use all the wigs and disquises when all a person has to say is, "oh, and she had a mole in the middle of her upper lip." Geeze it's not even on her face but on her LIP...even more distinguishable.  Either poor casting or they should have told her to get rid of the mole. No pun intended.

[Chaos Theory]

Or you can title this "Reasons why you don't 'layer' Gaad"  

This was his episode.  Between his scene with Arkady and him finding the secret compartment the in briefcase.  He was Super Gaad during the episode.  

I think the atheist thing is strictly Elizabeth and it fits her personality.  She would think religion is the opium of the masses because that would be something she is taught and this whole thing with Paige is actually reinforcing it.  Philip is actually angrier that Paige is lying to them and in his mind being disrespectful which I do agree with.  

Paige even asking to go on the retreat was some major balls on her part.