Heh. I wasn’t a Felicity fan back then ( or ever ), but a friend of mine was a fanatic and got a kick out of that “controversy.” Despite that in the last few years I’m gradually being converted into a Keri Russell fan - she has an appealing something beyond just looks.
So far, so good on the series, but I have some concerns on how long they can continue to keep it tense and actiony ( which seems to be the goal ) without it getting ridiculous. And Tusk really was an inspired choice for the opening scene.
Not my first thought, but I can see it. How surprised were you to see “Errol” taken care of?
I wonder how many series casting people send a picture to some clearing house with the note “send us everybody who looks like this – just this one” and cast the show from those people.
I expected he’d take care of Errol when they made it so obvious that he saw his name, but I didn’t expect him to do it hand to hand. I thought the whole point of backing down in front of his daughter was because he couldn’t afford to blow his cover, and no matter how good he is, tackling a guy that size could have gone wrong, and then his cover would really be blown. I expected something more guaranteed, like shooting him from long range.
I like Russell, but her acting in the pilot wasn’t up to her usual standard. I get why she was so off-putting and dire, but being constantly glum can’t be the only way to express it. However, Rhys completely made up for anything she was lacking. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him in anything before, but he was extremely captivating and obviously has some major chops. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes, as I don’t typically like espionage crap. Love the 80s look though.
Actually, her entire demeanor changed after that. In fact, I thought it could have been done more subtly, but I guess there wasn’t enough time left in the episode (we only see her interact with Phillip and the kids once or twice in the remaining time).
Well, sure. I just meant that her acting at the moment of transition was really good – I almost involuntarily said “I like it!” out loud and my wife knew what I was talking about.
OP here - just got to see it last night and agree it has started off quite nicely!
Interesting how easily you can start to “root for the KGB” and immediately dislike the FBI. Does give a new spin to a series.
It will take me awhile to get over “Gay Kevin” from Brothers and Sisters now being the horny Russian dad. Although it is now quite clear you don’t hit on his daughter unless you want to pay dearly for doing so.
And I so wanted to say, “Goodnight John-Boy…” later in the show.
At any rate - nice suspense, good quick pacing, set the characters up so you know who is who and why they are doing what they are doing. Yes - the FBI moving in next door was a bit of a coincidence, but they even mention “this could just be a coincidence” and move on. Plus, stranger things have happened in real life - so I will give them a pass on this and let them go from there.
Their sex scene in the car was intense. It was like she finally realized this man really cared about her as more than a spy partner/pre-arranged wife. Then when she started opening up to him about her former life, you could see this huge wall in their marriage start to come down. I’m looking forward to more of this dynamic between them.
[spoiler]The wife clearly had a personal interest in her rapist having a painful death as soon as possible, and was also a true believer who would never turn traitor against the Motherland. Then the rapist said, essentially, “Nothing personal, I just considered raping innocent young women a fringe benefit of my job,” and suddenly she not only doesn’t care about killing him, she doesn’t care whether her husband defects.
What was so heartfelt about his “apology” that made her do an instant 180 on her lifelong ideals?[/spoiler]
I’m thinking it might have been a sudden temporary crisis of faith. His confession rang sort of true. He was a monster, but a state sanctioned one. The bureaucracy callously dangled her out there as a piece of candy for this officer ( not “I considered it a perk”, but rather “it was considered a perk”). In that brief moment she may have had a break and was thinking “fuck my homeland, fuck my superiors, fuck my fake husband and fuck this POS - if faux hubby wants to turn him in, screw it, I don’t care anymore.”
Well, that’s the only thing that makes sense, and I can see her coming to that conclusion after agonizing over it for a period of days or weeks. But making that decision in five seconds seems a bit rash.
Also,
hubby “turning him in” in this context was not turning him over for punishment, but letting him go free. Even if the Soviet authorities had sanctioned his brutality, I don’t see why she would suddenly have no desire for personal revenge.
So, um… not to sound dim, but I’m not very good with faces. Possibly a bit face-blind, even. Are we sure that was Our Main Dude (also not very good with names…) who took out Errol? I wasn’t sure–he looked similar, but not the same. And the facial hair looked too good to be a disguise–stubble and everything. And the voice didn’t sound the same.
And then in the previews there was some guy who looked like the Errol-beater-upper, so I though, maybe they’ve got other contacts, like Our Dude Who Wound Up Dead In the Hospital…
[spoiler]…to the last time you were locked in hand-to-hand combat with an enemy double-agent. Adrenalin is riding high at those moments ;).
Add that her fake husband, who she has long suspected was a politically weak sister ( see the comments of her controller about her reports of his uncertain reliability ), finally proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is willing to commit treason, enraging her.
Then she wins the fight against her former rapist. Sure, he spent two days without food bound up in a fetal position in the trunk of a car after getting the shit kicked out of him. But a win is a win, especially against her former tormentor - she’s exultant and reveling in the fact she’s about to split his traitorous, rapey skull.
Then right at that emotional apex he more or less says “hey, sorry - I didn’t quite rate high enough in the party hierarchy to get a free Lada, so the bosses gave a wink and a nod to me raping female cadets. Nothing personal. Would you have turned down your Christmas bonus?”
And hearing that all too likely moment of utter betrayal by the bureaucracy she has sacrificed so much for is so emotionally deflating she goes hollow and says: Fuck. This.[/spoiler]
I think it is plausible. Would a slower burn have worked better? Maybe, but I think in context it is believable as an emotional response.
…I can actually see some logic in allowing the intructors “free acces” to the cadets. They are trained to resist torture and cadets, especially female cadets, are expected to engage in sex with assigned partners while being completely detached from any emotional aspects. It’s still sick though.
I wouldn’t doubt at all that this was an unstated justification for the unstated policy - killing two birds with one stone as it were. Toughen up ( or weed out ) on the one hand, reward on the other.
[spoiler]a) that she never reported him, and
b) that nothing like it ever happened again
If she had reported him, and saw that nothing happened to him, then she would have known all along that the Party condoned it, or at least permitted it. And if other officers had raped her, same thing.
But if he was the only one, then why would she believe him when he claimed it was routine? And why wouldn’t she report it unless she was too shy or timid, neither of which seems to apply to her?[/spoiler]
But you know what? Never mind, because I want to like the show, so I should spend more time on suspending disbelief, and less time on picking nits.
While I loved the pilot, that’s the part I had a tough time believing. I doubt doing such psychological damage to your recruits would be a good idea, particularly when it wasn’t explained as being to toughen them but one of the “perks” of being an instructor.
That said, I do remember on The Deadliest Warrior(admittedly not necessarily the best source) a discussion between some ex-Spetsnaz and ex-Green Berets in which the Spetsnaz were practically bragging about their training being so tough that lots of people were killed or maimed during it while the Green Berets argued that such training was stupid and counter-productive.
Also, admittedly, this was training that took place in the early 1960s.