Stan: The Patriot

[Tara Ariano]

Keep that full-refund gravy train rolling, Jenningses!

[magdalene]

I have vividly disliked this character ever since he shot that hapless and helpless young KGB agent in the head from behind. And his whole "handling" of Nina has only cemented my loathing.

[dr pepper]

Yeah, in the secret war of espionage, a veteran soldier who failed to ambush an enemy officer, compensated by shooting the drummer boy.

[magdalene]

I have a hard time putting into words why so-called "good guy" Stan bothers me so much more than Philip whose body count of killings keeps racketing up. I think it is partly because Stan is law enforcement and I hold people who are law enforcement to a higher standard of conduct since they have so much power over the public. I find it abhorrent that he kidnapped this innocent young man and terrorized and brutally murdered him without having any proof that his victim had anything to do with his partner's death. Stan fails on all fronts, as a FBI agent, as a husband, as a father and as a human being in general.

[lucindabelle]

I'd probably forgive Stan a lot if I found him remotely sexy. But the hangdog thing is such a snooze.

[sistermagpie]

I have a hard time putting into words why so-called "good guy" Stan bothers me so much more than Philip whose body count of killings keeps racketing up. I think it is partly because Stan is law enforcement and I hold people who are law enforcement to a higher standard of conduct since they have so much power over the public. I find it abhorrent that he kidnapped this innocent young man and terrorized and brutally murdered him without having any proof that his victim had anything to do with his partner's death. Stan fails on all fronts, as a FBI agent, as a husband, as a father and as a human being in general.

 

 

Maybe also that Philip seems to see it that way. He believes in the cause, but seems to feel that he's sacrificed being a good guy to do it. With Nina Philip seemed to be trying to still play the hero and he didn't seem to regret killing Vlad just to make the point that you couldn't kill FBI agents without paying for it.

[tinderbox]

As much as I've tried to like Stan....I can't.  Everything about him bothers me.

[RedheadZombie]

As I've said before, Stan is supposed to be the Javert/Hank Schrader of the show, so the show needs him. But they went too far with the pathos.

 

I see where you're going with the Stan/Javert comparison, but I don't agree with it.  Inspector Javert was rigidly moral.  He was almost puritanical - chastity, privation, self-denial.  I believe Hugo called him a fanatic (which actually invites a comparison to Elizabeth).  Javert obeyed the very letter of the law.   Everything was black or white.  Convicts were evil and were incapable of change.  Javert was also born in jail, and felt that marked him for life.   When shown kindness and compassion by Valjean, his life careened out of control.  Nothing made sense any longer, and everything he thought to be true was false.  So he killed himself.

 

I don't think Stan is black and white at all.  He had an extra-marital affair with a spy.  He killed an unarmed Vlad in revenge.  He almost betrayed his country, but instead betrayed the woman he loved.  I think Stan is reeling over all of this, but he was never as rigid as Javert, and he will not kill himself over this.  Instead, he's trying to make these things right.

 

I don't think Stan is anywhere near as compelling as Javert.  Javert is the villain in Les Miserables, yet the applause the actor gets almost rivals that of the hero Jean Valjean.  He's one of the true villains that can move me to tears.

[sistermagpie]

Yeah, I think Javert was somebody who was rigid not just in his beliefs but in his sense of self. Stan's always, to me, been about not being sure of his sense of self. He's been stumbling around throughout the show and his role has really never been as the antagonist. He's got good skills as a detective (though they're often obscured by his issues) but he's not only not Javert he's not Hank Schrader obsessed with the Illegals. There's a reason he's drawn to Philip. he's more about the regular guy who's dealing with some of the same issues that Philip and Elizabeth are without being a spy.

[Bannon]

There is very little that is the least bit interesting about Stan, given he really hasn't demonstrated any competence at anything since the first half of season 1. Wholly incompetent characters, with large amouts of screen time, can be useful in drama, for brief periods, but as a long term proposition, well, you'd think exprienced writers would avoid this mistake. 

[Umbelina]

I wonder how much of this is the actor? 

 

He just doesn't compel me, and while I think, in general, the acting on this show is stellar, with Stan?  Meh.  I hope it's not just that he's not a very good looking man, because that would make me shallow as hell. 

 

Honestly, he reminds me of an older, out of shape, Jesse Plemons (who played Todd so chillingly on BB.)  Jesse though, even though he kind of creeps me out, has acting chops.  I'm not sure Noah does.

[Bannon]

I wonder how much of this is the actor? 

 

He just doesn't compel me, and while I think, in general, the acting on this show is stellar, with Stan?  Meh.  I hope it's not just that he's not a very good looking man, because that would make me shallow as hell. 

 

Honestly, he reminds me of an older, out of shape, Jesse Plemons (who played Todd so chillingly on BB.)  Jesse though, even though he kind of creeps me out, has acting chops.  I'm not sure Noah does.

Yeah, it could be, and it makes me wonder if the actor has had any discussions with the wrters with regard to how problematically the character has been developed. I mean, Stan just never, or hardly ever, says or does ANYTHING which is compelling, or when he does, it doesn't get followed up on. I think they have written the character into a corner, and the best move at this point would be to kill him off, and reboot the FBI plot element.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Bannon

[Umbelina]

Would it be different though if he was a handsome guy?  That's the question I'm asking myself.

 

Although, I think I can answer that.  If I put Victor Garber in the role?  Stan would be compelling as hell.  Old, paunchy, and all.

 

So I think it's more about the acting.

[Bannon]

Would it be different though if he was a handsome guy?  That's the question I'm asking myself.

 

Although, I think I can answer that.  If I put Victor Garber in the role?  Stan would be compelling as hell.  Old, paunchy, and all.

 

So I think it's more about the acting.

I think a less over the top and less criminal Michael Chiklis in The Shield treatment would have been an interestng way for this character to be written.

[CarpeDiem54]

I think Stan is an appealing looking guy. I also think the actor does a good job. The problem I see with the character is that the writers need to pull their heads out of their collective asses and stop wasting time with this stupid personal life story arch and put him back to work.

I don't care about his adulterous wife, emo son, EST or his new girlfriend (I can't stand that actress, who seems to pop up on every FX show sooner or later).

He needs more scenes with Gaad and Oleg doing spy stuff, not being a middle-aged guy trying to figure out whether he should get divorced or learn how to date again. That whole having dinner with the neighbors and their bratty kids was a waste of valuable episode time. And that's on the writers.

[RedheadZombie]

That actor has bad skin, but I think he's attractive.  I liked him in The Walking Dead and Little Children.

[SunnyBeBe]

I also think they are wasting valuable time on Stan and his lamenting over the loss of his marriage.  I have zero interest in seeing his ex-wife.  Enough already.  Would it be too much for Philip to send Stan a nice, friendly, attractive Soviet spy, I mean lover?  It seems like a missed opportunity to me.

 

I have a difficult time imaging Stan working undercover in Arkansas as part of a KKK type organization.  With his accent? How would he fit in?  I live in the south and his accent is obviously not southern.  I can't envision Stan in that undercover role.

[Umbelina]

He could have easily posed as a fed up racist Northerner, there to get information to take back up North and wise people up.

[Conan Troutman]

How is that thread title not "Sad Sack Stan"?

[FormerMod-a1]

Sad Sack Stan: The Patriot?  or just Sad Sack Stan?  or Stan: Sad Sack Patriot?  or Stan: Get a Clue?

[sistermagpie]

Jumping over from the "Pests" thread regarding Renee, Stan's potential new girlfriend:

I do think that presumably this character is going to be important for Stan, I just don't think that means she'd have to be a spy. Personal relationships are just as important to the show and just as important to the central spy plots. Any new major relationship shifts everyone around. Henry hanging around with Stan a lot was a major development that rippled through everyone else. Paige and Matthew is another. Philip's relationship with Sandra got dangerous really fast. Stan getting an actual girlfriend that keeps him busy is just as interesting as that girlfriend turning out to be literally there to keep Stan busy.

Stan has, after all, always had a personal arc on the show:

When we met him he was trying to integrate back into his family and obviously felt totally disconnected. Sandra tried to reach him and failed. In fact, Stan threw himself into an ill-advised affair with Nina where he cast himself as the white knight hero saving her from the Soviets. He essentially honey-potted himself and Nina just went along with it. 

Then he chose not to betray his country. Nina was killed as a direct result of his forcing her to work for the US and he broke his promise to extradite her. Echoes of this are playing out with Stan's relationship with Oleg.

After Nina's death Stan tries to turn back to Sandra, but she can easily see that it's really not about him being ready to have a real relationship with her. He clings to Sandra for a while, imagining that she was the one for him. He tries to date Tori, the hot woman from EST, but he's not really into her because he's still in this fantasy where he wants/needs/can get Sandra back. He even threatens Philip and imagines he's sleeping with her.

This doesn't work, but Stan takes comfort instead in the Jennings as a family, showing up for dinner, putting Henry in the role of Matthew. The real Matthew feels like his relationship with his father is hopeless since even when he's right there Stan stays distant and chooses the easier relationship with Henry who's younger and not related to him.

This season Stan obviously feels ready to be a real family man again. He's trying to take an active parental role with the Jennings kids. He sees the Paige/Matthew relationship as fixing his relationship with his son. He's even hoping that Paige will make Matthew want to go to college closer to home. When he talks about Paige and Matthew getting married, he really doesn't seem to be entirely joking. He wants a permanent tie to these people. Again, I don't think this is in line with what Matthew is thinking (personally, I think a great ending to this would be if Matthew broke up with Paige, since he's soon to be off to college with Paige only a junior in high school at that point). But Stan's now offering himself as more of a surrogate parent for the kids (rather than seeming like a latchkey kid or cool uncle to Henry), trying to make them dinner, showing concern for Paige's emotional state. He's more eager than ever to feel a real part of a family--this family.

And now he's got a girlfriend. I don't think she needs to be a spy for this to be an important development and one that goes to the heart of the show. Presumably it won't take long for this woman to see just how close Stan is to these people. She may look at them differently than he does. Any little thing she said could set off Stan's radar. She'd be someone for Stan to talk to, another adult, about the Jennings. She's just another person added to the personal orbit, and everyone in that orbit is potentially dangerous. She gives Stan the potential for a life of his own if he loses the Jennings. 

But most important, she just fits in with this arc of Stan being unable to integrate into his own family and eventually becoming able--with the help of the Jennings family--to become a whole person again. That doesn't mean it will end well. But there's tons of stuff dramatically they can do with her. Particularly since if Stan follows his usual pattern he's got to be trying to emulate the Jennings with her in some way, right?

[Umbelina]

She doesn't need to be a spy at all.

Personally, since we only have a short time until this whole show wraps up for good, I think she is.  The timing with Oleg's blackmail is just much too much of a coincidence for me.

However, I easily concede that she could just be some other kind of catalyst for Stan's life and future.

That dude sure gets attractive women.  His wife, Nina, and now the blond. 

[SlackerInc]

Something else that just occurred to me. Stan said that she seemed to kind of wrinkle her nose a bit when she learned he was an FBI agent, although it obviously wasn't enough of a turn-off to scuttle the whole thing. If she were attempting from the beginning to work him, why would she react that way?

[Loandbehold]

14 hours ago, SlackerInc said:

Something else that just occurred to me. Stan said that she seemed to kind of wrinkle her nose a bit when she learned he was an FBI agent, although it obviously wasn't enough of a turn-off to scuttle the whole thing. If she were attempting from the beginning to work him, why would she react that way?

She might be a witch. 

[Uncle JUICE]

14 hours ago, SlackerInc said:

Something else that just occurred to me. Stan said that she seemed to kind of wrinkle her nose a bit when she learned he was an FBI agent, although it obviously wasn't enough of a turn-off to scuttle the whole thing. If she were attempting from the beginning to work him, why would she react that way?

It's a natural reaction, especially if you want to appear like you're NOT a spy working for the other side :-). "Oh, I'm barely interested in that stuff at all" is an easy way to make him feel like she's not after anything at all, just wants to be with him. I love that this show makes me ask these questions and I don't trust anyone but Phillip and Elizabeth (as far as what they're doing is what we see them doing, I mean I wouldn't give them my email password or anything). 

[Ellaria]

On 3/16/2017 at 6:45 PM, Umbelina said:

She doesn't need to be a spy at all.

Personally, since we only have a short time until this whole show wraps up for good, I think she is.  The timing with Oleg's blackmail is just much too much of a coincidence for me.

However, I easily concede that she could just be some other kind of catalyst for Stan's life and future.

That dude sure gets attractive women.  His wife, Nina, and now the blond. 

"Catalyst for Stan's life and future" is a great description. She could be KGB. She also could be another FBI agent sent to keep on eye on Stan. (A lot of strange things have happened in the counter intelligence unit since Stan showed up. Granted, some of it is pure coincidence. Also, his new boss isn't as supportive of him as Gaad was.) However, she doesn't need to be either of those things.

IMO, her presence serves a larger purpose to the plot which, IMO, will lead directly or indirectly to raising Stan's suspicions about his neighbors and hoped-for-future-inlaws, the Jennings.

On 3/16/2017 at 1:18 PM, sistermagpie said:

And now he's got a girlfriend. I don't think she needs to be a spy for this to be an important development and one that goes to the heart of the show. Presumably it won't take long for this woman to see just how close Stan is to these people. She may look at them differently than he does. Any little thing she said could set off Stan's radar. She'd be someone for Stan to talk to, another adult, about the Jennings. 

And this is exactly how I see it. She is another adult that will see P&E from a unique perspective. I assume that there will be a double-date with P&E in the near future. If she starts to spend time at Stan's home, she may also interact with Paige and sense something about her. Perhaps Paige gets close to her. 

Regardless, with 21 episodes left, that long-hanging "other shoe" has to drop soon...Stan needs to learn the truth about P&E. It could destroy him or it could embolden him or a little of both. It is the entire purpose of his character arc going forward, IMO. I can't wait to see how it plays out.

Edited March 19, 2017 by Ellaria Sand

[SlackerInc]

10 hours ago, Ellaria Sand said:

If she starts to spend time at Stan's home, she may also interact with Paige and sense something about her. Perhaps Paige gets close to her. 

Yes, this is where I think they are going with her character.  She may even move in with Stan; either way, I see her becoming an alternate mother figure, much to Elizabeth's chagrin.

[Umbelina]

She doesn't look all that "motherly" to me.

Stan's behavior SHOULD raise eyebrows at the FBI.  While I completely disagree that he's incompetent which seems to be a common criticism of the guy, he has broken rules, and enough people know about that, someone could have leaked it, and probably did.  He's covering up some of his activities surrounding his Nina fixation, add to that the bugging, the mail robot, his partner dying, stealing the codes, and his flat out unsanctioned murder of Vlad, his office should still be under suspicion and he keeps ending up at the center of things.

So, she could indeed be FBI. 

[sistermagpie]

2 hours ago, Umbelina said:

She doesn't look all that "motherly" to me.

Yeah, I have no idea where she's going, but it seems weird that Stan--even as weird as he's been in this area--wants to make his new cool-girl girlfriend who likes sports be really close to his teenage son's girlfriend. In the past Stan always kept his sex life away from kids. He'd introduce her to the Jennings, of course--at least Philip and Elizabeth but double dating with Paige and Matthew? And how many mother figures does Paige need? She already adopted alternate parents to shove in her parents' faces with the Tims. Stan seems to be describing her as more of a guy's girl with her sports focus, which Elizabeth already is. (She's not into sports, but she's tough and holds her own with guys.) Paige isn't that kind of person

Also, think of how much MORE time that would mean spent on Paige establishing a close enough relationship with her for her to be that threatening. With the Tims it was about her feeling like she wasn't close to her parents. Now that she's got the real thing--and the real thing is so huge--I don't know if she'd really need a third female role model of such a different type.

[Umbelina]

Interesting, just saw the new preview again, and blondie is pumping Stan for information already, while in bed.  SPY!

[Ellaria]

Not sure if this is the proper place for these questions so please correct me if the conversation belongs elsewhere...

Are Stan and the boys still looking for Martha? I recall that Stan had dinner with Martha's parents (or maybe one parent). Do they believe that she left the country? Or is dead?

Also, the FBI knew that Martha married a KGB agent. They had a an artist's rendering of Clark. And they obviously knew that Clark wasn't his true name. Are they no longer looking for him? IMO, Phillip in disguise as Clark looks remarkably similar to Phillip in disguise as other "characters" (Mr. Eckert, for example). 

Stan and Aderholt don't seem to be handling matters of great urgency. Maybe its time to start looking for Clark again.

Edited April 2, 2017 by Ellaria Sand

[sistermagpie]

46 minutes ago, Ellaria Sand said:

Are Stan and the boys still looking for Martha? I recall that Stan had dinner with Martha's parents (or maybe one parent). Do they believe that she left the country? Or is dead?

I believe they figure she's out of the country. He was meeting with her father because the father was demanding answers and I think Stan was basically having to tell the guy that they would always keep the case open, but she seemed to be gone. Then, of course, Gabriel called the father to at least tell him that Martha was alive and well. But Stan, I think, knows she left the country.

I think they're always looking for Clark and the other version of Philip they had on their wall. But there's nothing more for them to go on at the moment.  They've got some evidence from Clark that they'll definitely compare to anything else they get.

[Umbelina]

This is a response to some posts mocking Stan in the episode thread...decided to move it here.

Stan isn't that bad.  He imprisoned a bunch of murdering criminal White Supremacists.  He alone figured out that sniper ex soldier's plans, and single handedly stopped him.  He recruited Nina, and yes, he made a bit of a mess about that, but they got good information from her for a while.  He gained Oleg's trust which stopped William from reluctantly giving over a very deadly pathogen.  He's the first one to suspect Martha, and his independent investigation, and talking Aderholt into helping him brought her spying to an end.  He is the only one to suspect Zenaida of being KGB, and what's more, he went about proving it, on his own with Oleg.

He was initially suspicious of Philip and Liz, even searched their car, but his wife pointing out that his PTSD from being embedded so long with creeps was making him paranoid and he needed to realize he was back in real life now.  She pretending to suspect the mailman had it's effect.  He practically had to stop himself from being suspicious, because really, what are the odds embedded KGB agents live across the street?

I don't think this shows incompetence, but rather a highly competent FBI agent with human failings as well. 

Now the entire blackmail thing?  Killing Vlad?  Nearly giving the KGB that disc?  Well, Vlad was a smaller scale version of what the agencies ended up doing on their own, so even though it was horrific, not much worse than what everyone else did.  He didn't give the KGB that disc, but he did steal it...mostly bad.  The blackmail thing?  It's seriously odd if it worked, which it appears to have done...but I don't really find it that odd in the world of spies, or spy stories.  I'm sure he isn't the only one to do something like that.  Then again, I've just been watching Homeland again where blackmail is fairly rampant among the CIA.

[Bannon]

I'm mocking the writing of Stan, a character who has never made any sense to me.

[Umbelina]

He kind of makes sense to me though.  He's a gifted spy, possibly partly because he connects with people, or has a good read on them.  He even felt initially something wasn't right with Philip, but he's dismissed that because he'd been embedded so long, and his wife pointed out that he was still looking for danger everywhere.  His emotions get the best of him though, and he's a mess there.  Sort of a double edged sword for him, what makes him great also makes him a fool at times.

[kokapetl]

Stan pouted to the deputy AG before because of his unrealistic expectations of Nina being exfiltrated or traded, and now he's attempting to blackmail the deputy AG and the FBI regarding Oleg, with a murder he committed. 

[Umbelina]

28 minutes ago, Kokapetl said:

Stan pouted to the deputy AG before because of his unrealistic expectations of Nina being exfiltrated or traded, and now he's attempting to blackmail the deputy AG and the FBI regarding Oleg, with a murder he committed. 

He approached that whole thing the wrong way.  He should have dangled Oleg, said that if they get Nina back, he is sure he could turn him.  He thought of it later, but it was too little too late.  Had he approached it in that way, "hey I think I can get the head of technology at the Residentura to flip if we give him Nina!" they might have listened, instead he made it very obvious he was mad about her, excited like a little puppy. 

He made the error because he didn't consider giving his bosses something THEY wanted first.

Still, he did catch the sniper, Zenaida, Martha, and because of him the USSR didn't get a deadly easily weaponized chemical warfare weapon.

He's not all bad as an agent, those are pretty huge wins.

[sistermagpie]

6 minutes ago, Umbelina said:

He's not all bad as an agent, those are pretty huge wins.

Just so we don't miss anything, it was also Stan who figured out the Connors were Illegals. He checked them out after Martha reminded him of the timing of their deaths.

[Umbelina]

26 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

Just so we don't miss anything, it was also Stan who figured out the Connors were Illegals. He checked them out after Martha reminded him of the timing of their deaths.

True.  Aderholt was the one who figured out the mail robot though!  I think Gaad found the hidden compartment though, with Stan's initial hunch.

Edited April 19, 2017 by Umbelina

[White Sheep]

On 4/18/2017 at 9:57 PM, sistermagpie said:

Just so we don't miss anything, it was also Stan who figured out the Connors were Illegals. He checked them out after Martha reminded him of the timing of their deaths.

It was agent Gladd who asked why you take your briefcase on vacation? And started the ball rolling in that direction?  

 

Stan just as good as Philip.  They done the same stuff. Worked undercover, murdered in the line of duty, drive there bosses nuts, thinks everyone working a different angle, etc.  

Edited April 21, 2017 by White Sheep

[sistermagpie]

1 minute ago, White Sheep said:

It was agent Gladd who asked why you take your briefcase on vacation? And started the ball rolling in that direction?  

They were looking at that stuff because Martha made Stan question them, iirc.

[White Sheep]

I wonder what Stan did undercover.  Everyone at the FBI. Seemed real impressed by it and it seem to go way beyond the average FBI undercover gig.  

[sistermagpie]

14 minutes ago, White Sheep said:

I wonder what Stan did undercover.  Everyone at the FBI. Seemed real impressed by it and it seem to go way beyond the average FBI undercover gig.  

I think all we know is that he was undercover with white supremacists. Since these guys don't do undercover they might just be impressed by that fact.

[SusanSunflower]

Stan drives me crazy with loathing (while I do feel some sympathy for him now, but mostly in the future).  He is "living the legend" or movie and is losing both a very intelligent and beautiful (and patient) wife, but also likely his bright and funny son (pretty much the only character in this show allowed to have a sense of humor) (oh and he's cute too, and musical) 

Stan has no recognition of just how utterly he is using Nina ... who doesn't "love" him any more than a zoo animal "loves" her keeper ... I recall some Hallmark/Lifetime movie that imparted the wisdom that it impossible to truly love someone you deeply fear  (it was that Blythe Danner/Gwenyth Paltrow murder movie when Gwennie was a very young teenager, maybe her debut) ... mom (Danner) feeling terribly guilty that she couldn't feel her love for her son ... 

Stan is so caught up in macho-man-land.  So brought up short by Gaad and the other agent having enlisted to go to Vietnam where they were wounded ... of course Gaad brought home a Vietnamese wife (who didn't look stereotypically subservient, so maybe he didn't save her life or buy her affections with a new one. ... as the stereotype goes).  Stan really doesn't want to be a family man instead he can be secret-agent-man ... and save damsels in distress (for a price), damsels who won't be troublesome or overly headstrong... who will evince eternal "gratitude" for his kindness and generosity ... or whatever. 

In 30 years, he's still be getting tearful thinking about Nina (whatever the outcome) and Sandra ... and the life he might have had if only ... the job.  Screw him. 

Edited May 16, 2017 by SusanSunflower
fix word choice

[qtpye]

18 hours ago, SusanSunflower said:

Stan drives me crazy with loathing (while I do feel some sympathy for him now, but mostly in the future).  He is "living the legend" or movie and is losing both a very intelligent and beautiful (and patient) wife, but also likely his bright and funny son (pretty much the only character in this show allowed to have a sense of humor) (oh and he's cute too, and musical) 

Stan has no recognition of just how utterly he is using Nina ... who doesn't "love" him any more than a zoo animal "loves" her keeper ... I recall some Hallmark/Lifetime movie that imparted the wisdom that it impossible to truly love someone you deeply fear  (it was that Blythe Danner/Gwenyth Paltrow murder movie when Gwennie was a very young teenager, maybe her debut) ... mom (Danner) feeling terribly guilty that she couldn't feel her love for her son ... 

Stan is so caught up in macho-man-land.  So brought up short by Gaad and the other agent having enlisted to go to Vietnam where they were wounded ... of course Gaad brought home a Vietnamese wife (who didn't look stereotypically subservient, so maybe he didn't save her life or buy her affections with a new one. ... as the stereotype goes).  Stan really doesn't want to be a family man instead he can be secret-agent-man ... and save damsels in distress (for a price), damsels who won't be troublesome or overly headstrong... who will evince eternal "gratitude" for his kindness and generosity ... or whatever. 

In 30 years, he's still be getting tearful thinking about Nina (whatever the outcome) and Sandra ... and the life he might have had if only ... the job.  Screw him. 

All of this is really good summation of what is so frustrating about the character.  He has a great life, but he needs to be the "hero".  It probably bums him out that his wife was independent enough to thrive all those years without him when he was undercover.  After his divorce, he seems pathetically attracted to the Jennings seemingly happy family life, even though he easily threw away his own.  The only thing that is off is his attraction to Renee.  She seem like an independent woman who can hang with the guys.  She certainly is not the damsel in distress...maybe losing his family and Nina made him wiser.

However, it will be a kick in the balls if/when he finds out he has been hosed all this time by his beloved neighbors.

[SusanSunflower]

I'm not that far along -- I just finished season 2 and intend to take a break (a week or so) before starting season 3, however, Stan is "cruising for a bruising" and while Gaad may appreciate his "passion", I think he doesn't like the Stan's level of competition and loose cannon tendency.  I'm a little confused at this point how much -- if anything -- the FBI knows about Stan's relationship with Oleg, etc.  

Between handing Oleg the surveillance logs and body-camming the ECHO screens (even if he didn't turn over the video), Stan has committed treason by most intelligence official's standards.  Nina may have been a "valuable asset" but I don't think she qualified as an invaluable one ... Stan have (or need) permission get Oleg's surveillance files via Martha? I don't remember. So many deceptions and agendas ... like Martha lovin' demonstrating how bad internal security is. 

[Umbelina]

Maybe we need an "all seasons" thread here, since almost no one visits the past seasons' pages, and new people do watch, also many stories (of course) carry over all 5 seasons so far.  ???

[MisterBluxom]

On 2014-05-24 at 8:18 PM, magdalene said:

I have vividly disliked this character ever since he shot that hapless and helpless young KGB agent in the head from behind. And his whole "handling" of Nina has only cemented my loathing.

I can't believe it's the same character who did both these things. If I didn't know better, I would guess that he has a twin brother and they have very different characters and personalities. The "Stan" who shot that youngster doesn't seem anything at all like the "Stan" who is going around with this new lady friend. Also seems completely different from the "Stan" who got involved with Nina. Maybe the Stan character was written by completely different writers over the course of this show. If not, I would have to guess that he suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder.

[SusanSunflower]

I generally believed that Stan was "sincere" but also in too obvious deny-deny-deny denial ... He needed/wanted Nina to cooperate until the last moment ... and probably -- if you asked him -- knew the odd of a disastrous outcome.  Scarlett O'Hara -- I'll think of that tomorrow -- applied to Stan and P&E equally -- and that  tomorrow never comes 

[sistermagpie]

1 hour ago, MissBluxom said:

I can't believe it's the same character who did both these things. If I didn't know better, I would guess that he has a twin brother and they have very different characters and personalities. The "Stan" who shot that youngster doesn't seem anything at all like the "Stan" who is going around with this new lady friend. Also seems completely different from the "Stan" who got involved with Nina. Maybe the Stan character was written by completely different writers over the course of this show. If not, I would have to guess that he suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder.

Honestly don't see anything in these things that makes him seem like he's got multiple personalities. All three are easily the same person. Stan seems like a perfectly consistent character to me, even with his evolution through the seasons.