# The Americans, Season 2. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 24, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123 "2014-02-24T17:51:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/21 "2014-03-06T11:18:49Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Oh, and a slight anachronism of the sort I don’t usually notice–the mustard bottle at the party (Henry’s birthday?) early in the episode. So far as I can recall, that particular design of (French’s?) mustard squeeze bottle wasn’t a thing until the 90s, at the earliest. Back then, I always remember us having the barrel-shaped bottles (of Plochmann’s) with the narrow red nozzle for mustard. > > (Why the crap do I know this much about mustard bottles?) And in the second episode, in the laundromat scene, that was clearly a 90’s style pepsi machine. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/22 "2014-03-06T15:22:45Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Hmm > > 1. Please don’t let Martha be preggers. > 2. Who whacked the other family and whayt exactly did Philip mean that the “center” would take care of the surviving kid. > 3. Whose the Nina lookalike with the OD Congressman? > 4. DId Nina give Stan a bill of goods? > > All in all. Many more questions than answers. 1. I don’t think she’s preggers. YET. 2. We still don’t know. Philip means that the KGB will make sure their son is okay, but they will have to do it without giving away the real identities of his parents. 3 and 4. Not sure who/what you’re referring to. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/23 "2014-03-06T15:42:27Z")
I think the “Nina look-alike” is an agent posing as a Nicaraguan student because Elizabeth talked about “their” revolution giving “us” a foothold in the Americas. As for Nina, she’s walking a fine line. She has to give Stan just enough info to make herself look like a legitimate source while trying to pump him (no pun intended) for the information her superiors want. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/24 "2014-03-06T15:50:41Z")
Anybody think that the science guy at the embassy is GRU? For those who don’t know, GRU was Sov Military intelligence and rival to the KGB ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/25 "2014-03-06T20:52:55Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Anybody think that the science guy at the embassy is GRU? Seems unlikely to me. They said last week that he was the son of a Party bigwig, which would pretty much keep him from flying under the radar, which I would think is what you want in an intelligence agent, especially one assigned to a rival Soviet agency. But this week’s show did make it look as if he was smarter than his buffoonish facade, so you may be right. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/26 "2014-03-07T00:08:09Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > 1. I don’t think she’s preggers. YET. > 2. We still don’t know. Philip means that the KGB will make sure their son is okay, but they will have to do it without giving away the real identities of his parents. > … Maybe he’ll get a “life insurance” check? Did however killed them even bother to make it look like a robbery, if not this case is going to raise a lot of eyebrows. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/27 "2014-03-07T05:32:01Z")
I was initially totally puzzled as to who Paige was calling about, but I guess it was the address where they had heard that their sick aunt was, when in fact their mom was recuperating in secret? Did anyone else get the vibe that the mole with the electrified safe in his floor had been the lover of his previous handler? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/28 "2014-03-07T06:04:42Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I think the “Nina look-alike” is an agent posing as a Nicaraguan student because Elizabeth talked about “their” revolution giving “us” a foothold in the Americas. > > As for Nina, she’s walking a fine line. She has to give Stan just enough info to make herself look like a legitimate source while trying to pump him (no pun intended) for the information her superiors want. Nina is now a triple agent. Stan mentioned to Nina that the FBI knew there was a walk in at the embassy and I seem to recall he said they knew the time frame he walked in. Later when she is typing her report, she does not mention this, instead going on about her sex with Stan. This would be very important information to protect the walk-in, who is just as good as caught. Nina turning herself in was just buying more time to become a defector herself. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/29 "2014-03-07T07:11:48Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Nina is now a triple agent. Stan mentioned to Nina that the FBI knew there was a walk in at the embassy and I seem to recall he said they knew the time frame he walked in. Later when she is typing her report, she does not mention this, instead going on about her sex with Stan. This would be very important information to protect the walk-in, who is just as good as caught. Nina turning herself in was just buying more time to become a defector herself. Nina was the one who told Stan about the walk-in. Probably wouldn’t be a good idea to put it in her report. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/30 "2014-03-07T07:31:45Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Nina was the one who told Stan about the walk-in. Probably wouldn’t be a good idea to put it in her report. Thanks for the correction. She is still providing the FBI with good info and feeding her boss crap. I still think she is going to turn on Stan for killing the attache. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/31 "2014-03-08T05:30:09Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > …Did anyone else get the vibe that the mole with the electrified safe in his floor had been the lover of his previous handler? No, but I’ve wondered how they’d handle a gay male target. Would Phillip actually have sex with him, or would they just hire a rent boy and blackmail him? I’m guessing Elizabeth has had to engage in some lesbianism; at least as part of threeways. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/32 "2014-03-08T14:56:41Z")
I’m wondering about Stan being at the travel agency. When three FBI agents show up at a business, I guess I’d check for listening devices after they left. Is he on to them? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/33 "2014-03-08T15:17:27Z")
I think it was just a bachelor party, but I can’t wait until he throws a house party or barbecue and both Phillip and Martha show up. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/34 "2014-03-11T16:16:54Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I think the “Nina look-alike” is an agent posing as a Nicaraguan student because Elizabeth talked about “their” revolution giving “us” a foothold in the Americas. How did her distress call to Elizabeth work… I missed it?? ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/35 "2014-03-11T16:56:14Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > How did her distress call to Elizabeth work… I missed it?? I’m not sure how it works exactly, but presumably the agent in distress contacted the KGB and the KGB sent a coded message to Elizabeth. That was the phone call Elizabeth received before she rushed out the door with the kids. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/36 "2014-03-13T03:10:34Z")
Well it was kind of obvious Elizabeth wasn’t going to deliver the letter; there’s no possible way it wouldn’t cause a huge mess. I wonder how many other nieces and nephews Aunt Helen has. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/37 "2014-03-13T05:29:53Z")
I am presuming that Aunt Helen is the answer to our questions of what happens to the kids. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/38 "2014-03-13T08:03:33Z")
I’m getting tired of the creepy-voiced guy that says “Viewer Discretion Advised.” It’s not like this is a horror movie. The same network gives the same warning for _Justified_ without making you roll your eyes. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/39 "2014-03-16T16:36:23Z")
Just a thought; the Embassy’s Chief of Security couldn’t meet with the walk-in because he was at the supermarket with his _wife_. :eek: Where Soviet diplomats allowed to take their families with them on foreign postings like Western diplomats? I always though the wife & kids were expected to stay home (so as to discourage defections). ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123/40 "2014-03-16T21:41:54Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > I’m getting tired of the creepy-voiced guy that says “Viewer Discretion Advised.” It’s not like this is a horror movie. The same network gives the same warning for _Justified_ without making you roll your eyes. I think it’s more for the rather graphic, though non-nude, depictions of sex acts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-2/682123.md?page=3)