S06.E01: Dead Hand

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

A major arms-control summit looms in autumn of 1987; Elizabeth is pushed to her limits as never before; at the newly expanded travel agency, Philip encounters an unexpected visitor with a disquieting request.

[crgirl412]

I cannot wait!!!!  Seriously.

[BW Manilowe]

The episode will air twice in a row, from 10PM Eastern Time-approximately 12:35AM Eastern Time tonight/early tomorrow morning (10PM Eastern & 11:17PM Eastern scheduled start times); then it will repeat once again, at 1:54AM Eastern Time late tonight/early tomorrow morning. This is per the Titan TV website. The scheduled running time for the ep is 1 hour, 17 minutes, if you're setting your recorders (I'd add extra space on either side of the time/start recording  early & let it run a little after the next show starts, just to make sure you get it all).

Edited March 28, 2018 by BW Manilowe
To add some info.

[TimWil]

The film the gals were watching was Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1980). I watched it a couple of times in the 1980s. I liked Katerina a lot, too. And I also agree with Paige about the love interest-he was a pig and we were supposed to think he was charming and someone the leading character really needed. The USSR really was a patriarchal society, after all.

[EtheltoTillie]

13 minutes ago, TimWil said:

The film the gals were watching was Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1980). I watched it a couple of times in the 1980s. I liked Katerina a lot, too. And I also agree with Paige about the love interest-he was a pig and we were supposed to think he was charming and someone the leading character really needed. The USSR really was a patriarchal society, after all.

I thought that's what it was!  Saw it back then too. I think it was an Oscar nominee. 

ETA. Oscar winner. 

Edited March 29, 2018 by GussieK

[AimingforYoko]

Damn, we were a single conversation from a one episode season. Doesn't look like we're getting a happy ending for our favorite commies.

[AntiBeeSpray]

I love this ep so far! So much good music and the plot is good.

[Chaos Theory]

Apparently the show decided to dig into the remaining supply of possible Elizabeth Jennings Spy Wigs because that was a very  wiggy episode.

Philip Line dancing was everything.

Elizabeth, Paige and  Claudia watching Russian tv was a nice touch.

So we are going with spy vs spy...,Jennings vs Jennings then.  

Edited March 29, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[Primetimer]

Philip gets out, but will Directorate S pull him back in with his most challenging assignment yet? We take you through the Season 6 premiere in this EPIC OLD-SCHOOL RECAP!

View the full article

[FormerMod-a1]

Well, that sucked me in.  Bring it on, show!

[AntiBeeSpray]

2 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

Apparently the show decided to dig into the remaining supply of possible Elizabeth Jennings Spy Wigs because that was a very  wiggy episode.

Philip Line dancing was everything.

Elizabeth, Paige and  Claudia watching Russian tv was a nice touch.

So we are going with spy vs spy...,Jennings vs Jennings then.  

Yea that was something lol.

That should be something. Wonder if Philip will end up turning her in?

[WritinMan]

Well, that took a long time to get going. And by "get going" I mean the part with the Navy guy and Phillip meeting the Russian....

Still looking forward to the rest of the season though.

[Tetraneutron]

OMG that was a good episode. Again, the Soviets are way too free with the murder. It’s not ideological. If you randomly stab a guard at the damn Naval Observatory, the IS GOVERNMENT WILL TAKE THAT SERIOUSLY AND PUT ALL IT’S MIGHY INTO TRYING TO FIND WHO DID IT. They aren’t going to shrug and say “Random street crime.” It’s like the show doesn’t know spies aren’t supposed to draw attention to themselves. 

Also I don’t get what they’re doing with Paige. I get Elizabeth and Claudia are trying to get her acclimated to bring a spy but wasn’t the whole point of recruiting Paige that she’s and honest to God American? Shouldn’t her focus be on getting into Georgetown and then working deep cover for the State Department, not being a mini-Elizabeth? I mean it’s still possible that’s where they’re going with her. 

I love that for the first time Philip and Elizabeth have different goals. That he’s trying to stop her. I still don’t get how the Centre just let him quit though. That ... doesn’t happen. You would think at minimum they’re monitoring him and they know about the meeting with Oleg. Boring Stan is still boring. 

[NitneLiun]

Maybe Elizabeth will get as exhausted by Paige as the rest of us and slip her the pill. 

Really though, in past seasons I thought many of the commenters here were a little too hard on Paige. Tonight, my eyes were opened. I wanted to punch her as soon as she started blathering on about the Russian movie. 

[WritinMan]

5 minutes ago, Tetraneutron said:

I still don’t get how the Centre just let him quit though.

Yeah, I thought that was odd too. Perhaps they will explain it later. I wonder if they let him go in exchange for them getting Paige.

And for that matter explain why Paige is one of them. As I recall, when we last saw her, she was seriously conflicted about all this.

Edited March 29, 2018 by WritinMan
Added stuff!

[mattie0808]

I guess maybe Phillip should have just popped Elizabeth in the face, lol. She knows him better than that, does she really think that like the FIFTH or so time he tells her they need to talk right now, he's just being irritating to her for no reason? COME ON.

Well, we got an hour of Happy!Phillip. Nice to see you. Country line dancing no less! Bye now.

I thought the scene between Phillip and Oleg was fantastic. So good to see Arkady again. Phillip versus Elizabeth is strong stuff.

And then, there's Paige. Was the least believable thing in this episode that Paige, in that particular and ridiculous get up, was so attractive to that sailor that he was willing to STEAL HER ID FOR A DATE?! And really, I was also a long-time defender of Paige, but got off that train last season and am concerned about how this all with her is going to play out. I just can't wrap my mind around why she has not one single solitary shred of loyalty to her own country, or even the slightest of qualms about freakin' communism after she was so religious. And she's no good at this spying thing anyway, which even the rando with Elizabeth could see clearly.

Here's hoping they stay focused on the good stuff, and close out strong.

[Chaos Theory]

I thought Paige handled herself especially well with the navy guy who wouldn’t back off.  What girl hadn’t had a douche bag guy who wouldn’t take no for an answer?  Paige didn’t panic.

The Russian movie scene was well done too.  I liked her opinion on it.

i don’t understand why people don’t like Paige.

[Dev F]

Heh, when I heard that Oleg would be married after the time jump, I knew it'd turn out that he picked Elina Sachko, the little girl he played with as a child, from his father's bachelorette lineup in "Lotus 1-2-3."

Renee continues to ping the spydar pretty hard. It really seemed like she was trying to draw out Aderholt's wife knowing that Elizabeth would be eavesdropping on their conversation.

And, as usual, The Americans is great with the titles. The chilling possibility here is that Elizabeth is the Dead Hand, the machine that lashes out to destroy her enemies after everything human in her has died.

Edited March 29, 2018 by Dev F

[Maire]

Looks to be a great final season. Elizabeth looks awful while Phillip was really out there living his best life! Line dancing! (although I remember that being more of an early 90s thing).

Happy to see Oleg even with the neck beard.

I need to be vindicated in learning that Stan's girlfriend is some kind of spy: FBI, CIA , Russian anything! 

[Erin9]

Wow. Philip gets asked to spy on Elizabeth. I wondered if they might go there. Dang. Did anything else happen in this episode?! J/K

Oleg made a compelling argument to him, especially pointing out the risk he’s personally taking because he believes in it so strongly. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes. Philip didn’t come right out and say no. I think Elizabeth made a real mistake blowing him off like that though. I know she’s tired and highly stressed, but that was nasty. (Getting what I assume was a cyanide pill was pretty mind blowing though. No pressure.)

I really don’t want their marriage to implode. What’s the point of this show if they fall apart anyway? The whole show has been about building their relationship into something real. But, I certainly can see it as possible. 

Paige the  American spy for the USSR. I’m not sure I buy that she’s this ignorant about the reality of the USSR. But I guess so. Note: Elizabeth didn’t tell Paige just how she planned to handle the officer getting her fake ID. Paige has no real idea what she’s involved in imo. 

Elizabeth is utterly worn out. This life has been wearing on her since Young Hee, and it’s much worse now. 

Honestly- I can’t think of much past- Philip is asked to spy on Elizabeth- playing on the future of his homeland. Where one son lives. That has to be something he’s thinking about. That reminds me- Elizabeth used to spy on him.....

 

ETA- it was nice getting to see Philip enjoying himself a bit with henry’s Game, the dancing, seeing what a success he’s made of the travel agency. 

Edited March 29, 2018 by Erin9

[chocolatine]

Is it just me, or did this episode have several callbacks to the series premiere? In the premiere Philip was trying on cowboy boots at the mall and admiring himself in the mirror. In tonight's episode he went line dancing and the camera panned to his boots. In the premiere, a guy was a creep to Paige, Philip found him, and put a grilling fork through his hand. Tonight, a guy was a creep to Paige, Elizabeth found him, and put a knife through his trachea. S1 premiere had a Fleetwood Mac song, Tusk. Tonight, Gold Dust Woman.

I'm calling it now, one of the Jenningses will be swallowing that pill in the series finale.

So happy to have Arkady back. He's such a well-spoken man, the subtitles don't do him justice.

Edited March 29, 2018 by chocolatine

[theartandsound]

I loved this episode. Particularly the mirroring/references to the pilot episode:

1) Use of a Fleetwood Mac song.

2) Phillip cowboy dancing in the mall in the Pilot vs. at a bar here.

3) Someone getting killed/injured because they messed with Paige (Pilot: Phillip beats up scuzzy guy from the mall, Here: Elizabeth kills the Navy guy)

The episode also puts my mind at ease concerning the glacial pace of last season (even for The Americans standards). It was the relative calm before the storm.

EDIT: chocolatine beat me to the punch!

Edited March 29, 2018 by theartandsound
adding info

[Sader87]

The show continues to do a great job with its soundtrack....Crowded House was a great call for the intro into 1987.....having gone to high school/college during this era (1982-1987), they really hit the right tone musically imo

[NitneLiun]

The calendar in P's office turned to October 1987 made me try to recall what I was doing at that time.  I was a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army on a 7-week temporary duty assignment in Europe. In late September, I had been approached by a man who turned out to be a Soviet GRU officer.  For a variety of reasons, his cover story was not credible and caused me to be suspicious of him immediately. Long story short, I reported him to a U.S. Army Intelligence officer who kicked the matter up the chain-of-command and over to the German police counter-intel people. He was identified in Holland a few days later and detained by the Dutch authorities.

It's kind of amusing now to think that Elizabeth and I were in the "spy game" at the same time.

[sistermagpie]

1 minute ago, NitneLiun said:

Really though, in past seasons I thought many of the commenters here were a little too hard on Paige. Tonight, my eyes were opened. I wanted to punch her as soon as she started blathering on about the Russian movie. 

I know I can be hard on Paige but she managed to make me lose even more respect for her here. Other agents already uncomfortable with her being so young. Elizabeth considers it her job to clean up any problems Double-oh Dumbass might have while assuring her she did everything right. Elizabeth  should probably not be training her own child. And why even risk her doing surveillance like this? I really hope this leads to a disaster. Not just because Paige is uniquely stupid or anything but because the whole situation seems poorly conceived by all of them.

Besides that, Paige is really coming across as what I imagined they call a "useful idiot." I can easily believe she isn't doing any deep research on the USSR at all. It seems like Mom and Claudia have absolutely just replaced Pastor Tim. She knows when watching Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears to say what she likes about the glorious Soviet society and how brave women remind her of her mother. I also wouldn't be surprised if she never considers anything Claudia says through the lens of this woman having a job to manipulate her. I could easily believe that when Claudia says that negotiations with "the Americans" are difficult Paige totally considers herself not American and doesn't think that the other side says the same thing. She's Russian now like she used to be Christian.

Even her "ha ha liberal college student!" rant at Stan's was just kind of sad because she probably wouldn't criticize the USSR as objectively--she's not really a liberal college student.  I'm almost the exact age as Paige and while my own college experience wasn't any big revelation that anybody else should emulate and I've often wished I had some clear direction back then, watching her made me appreciate having that time explore things. Enjoy classes. Be a student with friends etc. Paige seems to have inherited one of her mother's worst qualities--that need to hide behind her "cause" with relationships--naturally she's in off-campus housing as well. She's not really "one of them." That's just her cover. Her real life's with Mom and Grandma. Two women who are committed to staying the same people they were when they were her age in the 60s and 40s, very different times. And once Paige is onboard she can't just leave like she did the church. What if Mom has to swallow that pill? Is Paige just there to be her dead hand?

2 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

I thought Paige handled herself especially well with the navy guy who wouldn’t back off.  What girl hadn’t had a douche bag guy who wouldn’t take no for an answer?  Paige didn’t panic.

She handled herself fine, but not *especially* well because it turns out the guy walking away with her ID was such a disaster Elizabeth went behind her back and killed the guy for her. Without telling her. Because Elizabeth isn't treating her the way she would another recruit. I mean, if Paige had *panicked* she would have been so incompetent as to be a joke. Why would she panic? The guy wasn't suspicious. But it turns out that it was her responsibility to get that ID back and she didn't.

Mostly I was thrilled with the Oleg/Arkady/Philip trio. This is one of the first times I feel like we have a real team of good guys to root for. Even if they're not right about everything, their motives are pure. Meanwhile Elizabeth to also be working behind the Centre's back, but or the opposite reason. I think that's another reason that Claudia/Elizabeth/Paige conversation seemed so pathetic. There's all these people who are hoping to move things forward and people like Claudia want nothing more than to keep things the way they are. It's not about people back in Russia (like those "silly girls" in the movie) for her.

Elizabeth's miserable and Philip's trying, at least. I don't think he'll let go of this marriage things easily. As much as he prefers his life, he'd rather be doing it with Elizabeth. I like the way they always show the clip of Philip saying they both need to get out, that they're both entitled to a life with Elizabeth saying "I can't." Like she's incapable of having a life. It seems like that's what they're setting up for the season. Elizabeth's crumbling but she's afraid to change. But holding onto it more strongly doesn't keep it from disintegrating. Again, I think that's why the Paige scenes seemed so sad to me. For both of them.

[Sader87]

1987...one of the last eras before pervasive cell-phone use (though I did see a primitive one in Philip's car I think)....people reading newspapers, books etc....miss that lifestyle actually

[Irlandesa]

I thought that was a pretty impeccable premiere and gives me hope for the final season after last season's stagnation.  In fact, I think this premiere had more plot than the whole fifth season.  The fifth season brought us to an important place...i.e. Phillip quitting.  But I think they could have shorthanded the story and got us to the same place just as effectively.  There were some wonderfully tense moments too that the show pulls off so effectively even in last year's lesser season.

Speaking of Phillip quitting, oh it's so great to see happy and successful Phillip.  I think it means he's doomed but I loved him embracing his new life.  I liked the scene with Oleg as well.  I'm surprised Phillip responded to the signal, though.

So Oleg got married.  There goes my Martha/Oleg ship. 

I was worried there would be more Paige than there was and I hope they steer towards moderation.  But Paige is likely what is ruining Elizabeth. 

Phillip v. Elizabeth is a great concept as is Elizabeth somewhat inadvertently getting actively involved in steering Russia's internal political future. 

Edited March 29, 2018 by Irlandesa

[Mrs peel]

32 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

Is it just me, or did this episode have several callbacks to the series premiere? In the premiere Philip was trying on cowboy boots at the mall and admiring himself in the mirror. In tonight's episode he went line dancing and the camera panned to his boots. In the premiere, a guy was a creep to page, Philip found him, and put a grilling fork through his hand. Tonight, a guy was a creep to page, Elizabeth found him, and put a knife through his trachea. S1 premiere had a Fleetwood Mac song, Tusk. Tonight, Gold Dust Woman.

I'm calling it now, one of the Jenningses will be swallowing that pill in the series finale.

So happy to have Arkady back. He's such a well-spoken man, the subtitles don't do him justice.

I had the same thought about the cowboy boots, he wore them at the mall!

so happy the show is back, though things are not looking good.  I don’t get what they are doing with Paige, as others said she is supposed to be a deep mole and she could get caught so easily.  As to being naive, people believe that they want to believe.  They have shown Paige needing to believe in something,  it started with church.  I just finished watching a Netflix documentary about the cult that bought a ranch in Oregon ( wild Wild West I think it was called). Despite ample evidence near the end that the guru was full of shit, the very experienced attorney was interviewed in the present, still believing all the garbage,  that’s Paige.

i’d always thought that, no matter what happened, Phillip and Elizabeth would be together at the end.  Not so sure now.  But I hope Phillip at least ends up with a good life in America.

[RedHawk]

1 hour ago, Tetraneutron said:

OMG that was a good episode. Again, the Soviets are way too free with the murder. It’s not ideological. If you randomly stab a guard at the damn Naval Observatory, the IS GOVERNMENT WILL TAKE THAT SERIOUSLY AND PUT ALL IT’S MIGHY INTO TRYING TO FIND WHO DID IT. They aren’t going to shrug and say “Random street crime.” It’s like the show doesn’t know spies aren’t supposed to draw attention to themselves. 

Also I don’t get what they’re doing with Paige. I get Elizabeth and Claudia are trying to get her acclimated to bring a spy but wasn’t the whole point of recruiting Paige that she’s and honest to God American? Shouldn’t her focus be on getting into Georgetown and then working deep cover for the State Department, not being a mini-Elizabeth? I mean it’s still possible that’s where they’re going with her. 

I love that for the first time Philip and Elizabeth have different goals. That he’s trying to stop her. I still don’t get how the Centre just let him quit though. That ... doesn’t happen. You would think at minimum they’re monitoring him and they know about the meeting with Oleg. Boring Stan is still boring. 

The address Elizabeth gave, Wisconsin and Calvert, is not only a couple of blocks from the Naval Observatory grounds, it's one block from the Soviet embassy. Way too close for her to be stabbing that guard. However, I can accept it as a sign of how burned out and potentially careless she is getting.

I was kind of hoping that Elizabeth would give Paige the same treatment she gave Hans when he goofed up. "No worries dear, you did a good job and didn't blow your cover," and then a quick bullet to the head when Paige was least expecting it.

Edited March 29, 2018 by RedHawk

[metaphor]

What a fantastic premiere. I admit I've kind of been holding my breath about this episode (and the upcoming ones),

Spoiler

out of worry for the Jenningses' marriage, considering all the mildly spoilery articles I've read on this season,

but I have to say I really loved that set-up. Unexpected and awesome.

Keri was excellent. You could see the toll of this life on Elizabeth without her saying a word. Her looking at that cyanide pill, then at herself in the mirror to close the episode... how could this ever end well?

Matthew, too, with the change in Philip after seeing Oleg's sign. It was like the weight of the world was back on his shoulders, looking just like he did in Season 5. Poor Philip, unwillingly dragged back into the life...  to spy on his wife, no less.

Things look bad, but I'm still hoping against hope that Philip and Elizabeth make it through. 

I've really missed this show. So glad to have it back for the next 9 weeks.

Edited March 30, 2018 by metaphor

[Tetraneutron]

21 minutes ago, Mrs peel said:

i’d always thought that, no matter what happened, Phillip and Elizabeth would be together at the end.  Not so sure now.  But I hope Phillip at least ends up with a good life in America.

I don't know how the show will end but it definitely won't be with Philip (or anyone) living the All-American suburban dream life. 

13 minutes ago, RedHawk said:

The address Elizabeth gave, Wisconsin and Calvert, is not only a couple of blocks from the Naval Observatory grounds, it's one block from the Soviet embassy. Way too close her to be stabbing that guard guard. I can accept it as a sign of how burned out and potentially careless she is getting.

I was kind of  hoping that Elizabeth would give page the same treatment she gave Hans when he goofed up. "No worries dear, you did a good job and didn't blow your cover," and then a quick bullet to the head when Paige was least expecting it.

I hadn't thought of that. It would be interesting if, after being 100 % devoted to the cause and expecting the same from Philip, getting Paige in danger is what gets her to crack. And Paige didn't really goof up. She kept her cool and gave the guy a fake everything, and no one expects a teenager to get it 100% right on the first try. 

1 hour ago, Erin9 said:

I really don’t want their marriage to implode. What’s the point of this show if they fall apart anyway? The whole show has been about building their relationship into something real. But, I certainly can see it as possible. 

Paige the  American spy for the USSR. I’m not sure I buy that she’s this ignorant about the reality of the USSR. But I guess so. Note: Elizabeth didn’t tell Paige just how she planned to handle the officer getting her fake ID. Paige has no real idea what she’s involved in imo. 

That's always what the show's been about - their marriage and what they're willing to sacrifice for it. Philip has always done everything for his family and now he's seriously considering putting the safety of the whole world (and his 3 children) over Elizabeth. 

As for Paige the show has been pretty clear she had been heavily propagandized about the USSR, coupled with the typical ignorance of any American kid, even a smart and politically astute one like Paige. Besides, you know who's the most ignorant about the USSR on this show? Elizabeth. She has some serious rose coloured glasses going on. I expect the tension this season revolves around how much Elizabeth reveals to Paige about what they're fighting for and what they really do. Also, look how grossed out Paige was by one creepy guy using his small amount of power to intimidate a cute college student. How is she going to handle honeytrapping.

[skippylou]

1 hour ago, Erin9 said:

 Elizabeth didn’t tell Paige just how she planned to handle the officer getting her fake ID. Paige has no real idea what she’s involved in imo. 

Paige will hear about the dead Navy security officer.  It won't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.  She will not take it well.

[Umbelina]

Paige has never been smart OR "politically astute."  The writers TELL us she is, but they've never shown it.  She's a college student now, and still has done no independent research (widely available) on the glorious USSR?

[skippylou]

1 hour ago, RedHawk said:

The address Elizabeth gave, Wisconsin and Calvert, is not only a couple of blocks from the Naval Observatory grounds, it's one block from the Soviet embassy. Way too close for her to be stabbing that guard. However, I can accept it as a sign of how burned out and potentially careless she is getting.

I was kind of hoping that Elizabeth would give Paige the same treatment she gave Hans when he goofed up. "No worries dear, you did a good job and didn't blow your cover," and then a quick bullet to the head when Paige was least expecting it.

 

It was necessary with Hans to contain the virus.  Here she had a choice, her daughter or the Navy guard.  

Edited March 29, 2018 by skippylou
spelling

[PinkRibbons]

I actually got the impression that if it had been any other young recruit, Elizabeth would have been fine with the "fake name, fake number" excuse she gave Paige. Would probably pull Paige out of the area, but leave well enough alone with the Naval Guy. I thought she killed him very specifically because she is a Mama Bear and wanted to be absolutely 100% sure Paige wouldn't be caught.

Anyway, Liz looked like Death Warmed Over all episode, so well done on that. And that cyanide tablet...yeah, unless she finds a way to use it against someone attacking her, I'm thinking that thing goes down her throat by series' end. Plus those pills are strong. I bet she halves it and she and Philip go out together.

(BTW, I really hope my google search history never ends up in a court of law. "She looked up 'cyanide instant death', your honor!")

[skippylou]

My random thoughts:

The music sucked, it sucked in the 80's and still does.  The marriage is over for all practical purposes.  I wonder if Henry got to go to that elite school?  The writers appear to be doing much better this year than last.  Nevertheless, it is depressing and I don't foresee a happy ending.  

My prediction: At some point this season Stan will close in on the Jennings family.  He's going to track down that necklace that Martha left behind and find a credit card flimsy with Phillip Jennings on it.  

[HollyG]

2 hours ago, WritinMan said:

Yeah, I thought that was odd too. Perhaps they will explain it later. I wonder if they let him go in exchange for them getting Paige.

And for that matter explain why Paige is one of them. As I recall, when we last saw her, she was seriously conflicted about all this.

Thank you! I didn't remember Paige being this comfortable with the whole "my parents are Russian spys" thing. Now she's a spy in training herself. I rewound the DVR to see if there was a time jump. 

I'm surprised that Philip & Elizabeth are not working together. They seem to be living separate lives at this point. I'm sure there will be some sort of crises that they will have to pull together to solve or survive. 

So the question is, will they or won't they defect? And will Paige stay with them now that she is indoctrinated?

 

p.s. does anyone know what year it is on the show?

[Umbelina]

It's 1987.

Big time jump, and apparently Paige has simply listened to mom and Claudia, and not bothered with reading.

[NitneLiun]

3 minutes ago, HollyG said:

Thank you! I didn't remember Paige being this comfortable with the whole "my parents are Russian spys" thing. Now she's a spy in training herself. I rewound the DVR to see if there was a time jump. 

I'm surprised that Philip & Elizabeth are not working together. They seem to be living separate lives at this point. I'm sure there will be some sort of crises that they will have to pull together to solve or survive. 

So the question is, will they or won't they defect? And will Paige stay with them now that she is indoctrinated?

 

p.s. does anyone know what year it is on the show?

If Philip is keeping his office wall calendar current, this episode was set in October 1987.

[VCRTracking]

2 hours ago, Dev F said:

Heh, when I heard that Oleg would be married after the time jump, I knew it'd turn out that he picked Elina Sachko, the little girl he played with as a child, from his father's bachelorette lineup in "Lotus 1-2-3."

Thanks, I was wondering if that was her but wasn't sure.

*sigh* Paige, we've all had our mom clean up our messes but this is just embarrassing!

2 hours ago, sistermagpie said:

Mostly I was thrilled with the Oleg/Arkady/Philip trio. This is one of the first times I feel like we have a real team of good guys to root for.

Same.

 

9 minutes ago, HollyG said:

p.s. does anyone know what year it is on the show?

 

8 minutes ago, Umbelina said:

It's 1987.

Big time jump, and apparently Paige has simply listened to mom and Claudia, and not bothered with reading.

The movie posters next to Phil's car were clues: "Wall Street", "Less Than Zero" "Revenge of the Nerds Part II: Nerds in Paradise", "The Pick Up Artist".

[MJ Frog]

Chekhov's suicide pill. Somebody's going to take it, just a matter of who, when, and why.

[jjj]

I posted a link to an article about the actual painter of the paintings we were seeing tonight -- over in the Media thread.

Yes, the show is back!  And Paige is at least a sophomore, as she was talking about her "freshman dorm" as a thing of the past. 

I did not understand all the faces in the café, or the changes of women in the car with Elizabeth, in the second half of the episode.  Were they all signaling to one another?  Are they all on Elizabeth's "side", or were some FBI?  And the African American man in a bar when Philip was heading to meet Oleg?  Do we know who he is, or why we saw him in the bar?

Very glad to see Oleg back.  The beard is a real plus. 

[NicoleMN6]

Would Elizabeth really be so thrown by the cyanide pill? I expected her to tell General Obvious that as a Directorate S operative, she’s never had the luxury of being arrested. She’s been prepared to kill herself rather than surrender for decades now.

[paulvdb]

I liked this episode. Much better than most of season 5.

I know it was never going to happen because the characters are not that stupid, but I thought it would have been fun if Oleg had come to see Philip at home and taken the opportunity to catch up with his old buddy Stan.

[Tetraneutron]

@jjjThe black guy was Norm. He's a low-level operative, like Hans was. We've seen him before. The blonde lady is Marilyn, ditto. They're KGB, but not super-secret Stop the Washington Summit level like Elizabeth. 

Good point about how old Paige is. It's weird. College is when kids pull away from their parents. We've seen Paige rebel against her parents the whole show, by going behind their backs and becoming a Christian. Now that she's an adult she's her mother's mini-me? That whole scene at Aderholt's dinner seemed like she was 5 years younger. Also, what is the deal with her school? I know I'm the only who cares about this but what exactly are the Russians grooming her for? Shouldn't they be focused on getting her close to powerful people, not sneaking around bars watching randos?

[jjj]

1 minute ago, Tetraneutron said:

@jjjThe black guy was Norm. He's a low-level operative, like Hans was. We've seen him before. The blonde lady is Marilyn, ditto. They're KGB, but not super-secret Stop the Washington Summit level like Elizabeth. 

Good point about how old Paige is. It's weird. College is when kids pull away from their parents. We've seen Paige rebel against her parents the whole show, by going behind their backs and becoming a Christian. Now that she's an adult she's her mother's mini-me? That whole scene at Aderholt's dinner seemed like she was 5 years younger. Also, what is the deal with her school? I know I'm the only who cares about this but what exactly are the Russians grooming her for? Shouldn't they be focused on getting her close to powerful people, not sneaking around bars watching randos?

Thank you so much!  I am rewatching  and finally realized they were all taking turns watching the entrance to where I presume the summit meetings or pre-meetings were taking place -- with Paige there with a senior operative.  I mean, "Julie" -- guess she is also undercover as Elizabeth's daughter.

That was creepy that the naval security officer would take Paige's college ID card.  Even in the late 1980s, you needed the ID to get into a dorm and to check out library books.  (Now you need the ID card for everything, including your coffee fix!) 

[NitneLiun]

10 minutes ago, Tetraneutron said:

@jjjThe black guy was Norm. He's a low-level operative, like Hans was. We've seen him before. The blonde lady is Marilyn, ditto. They're KGB, but not super-secret Stop the Washington Summit level like Elizabeth. 

Good point about how old Paige is. It's weird. College is when kids pull away from their parents. We've seen Paige rebel against her parents the whole show, by going behind their backs and becoming a Christian. Now that she's an adult she's her mother's mini-me? That whole scene at Aderholt's dinner seemed like she was 5 years younger. Also, what is the deal with her school? I know I'm the only who cares about this but what exactly are the Russians grooming her for? Shouldn't they be focused on getting her close to powerful people, not sneaking around bars watching randos?

Good point. The original idea of having second generation illegals was to place them in organizations like the military, State Dept., CIA, etc and establish careers in those organizations. It was a long play. Having Paige do espionage grunt work is more likely to lead to her discovery and arrest -- definitely not a long play.

[PinkRibbons]

My guess is that Paige is doing some of the work in the trenches now so she understands what spies on the ground are experiencing. That way when she eventually infiltrates the government, she won't be thinking of her field agents (acting on her intelligence) as expendable. Or being deluded into thinking that what they do is glamorous as opposed to being boring, dirty, etc. I approve.

It's like how (and this is something I got from Silicon Valley, so it's very possibly untrue but it's a good example) in Disneyland the execs are all made to spend one day a year in the Goofy Suit. That way they don't undervalue their workers.

[jjj]

I saw that the episode was dedicated, in a final slide, to Ning Li, the media manager for the series.  He died in Brooklyn in November at age 43, apparently after an illness.  

[scrb]

1 hour ago, paulvdb said:

I liked this episode. Much better than most of season 5.

I know it was never going to happen because the characters are not that stupid, but I thought it would have been fun if Oleg had come to see Philip at home and taken the opportunity to catch up with his old buddy Stan.

Yeah worlds collide if the three of them ever met together at one time.