I agree that Larrick’s motivations were unclear, but I don’t find this too hard to fanwank:
(1) He wanted to be the one who “beat them”
(2) The greatest defeat for them would not be to be dead, but to be found out. And, more practically, him turning in two deep cover KGB agents from whom a LOT of useful stuff can be extracted at least partially offsets the fact that he’d been spying for the Russians, and was gay
Oh boy, great point. Even better than to go arrest that phone guy right away would have been to stake him out electronically for a while. In fact, that seems like it’s more of a weak point for the KGB than it is worth as an asset to the illegals. They should stick with the radioed codes and so on.
And we have a modern revision for the “Chekov’s gun” trope. If you see a gun in the first act, it won’t be fired until next season.
Anybody think Phillip’s gonna end up killing Martha with it?
Very nice point. I hadn’t thought about it but I bet that gun will be put to some very entertaining use one way or another.
Stupid? Is it stupid for the plot or stupid because people didn’t think of it? In fact it’s not stupid at all. Kids are people who are capable of killing their families. Kids who may be loners, depressed, act out their fears, get their heads brainwashed by very capable KBG agents. We didn’t get to know Jared like we got to know Paige, but Paige’s struggle was a parallel plot line, Jared’s anger and frustration is extreme, but that’s not out of probability. Jared never got to see the letter from his mother, he accepted what Kate was feeding him, and considered his parents the enemy. When I saw Jared, to me he resembled Adam Lanza the kid who killed his mother and the kids at Sandy hill. I don’t for one second think this was a stupid plot line. Especially with his delusional speak and “doing this for Moscow” Jared is just at an age where for young teens anger issues can take on a whole new meaning.
We’re seeing the struggle Paige is going through, she is quietly and not so quietly rebelling against her parents because she feels there’s something drastically wrong in her gut. That inate truth seeking in Paige is something her own mother may exploit if she gets recruited. That’s a horrible prospect, but to think her own mother even entertains it to me shows the extremism for the cause.
Well it’s not improbable, but it’s very risky. It’s for sure a very intriguing plot line for next season.
Very excellent thinking!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen you post in this thread before. I hope you will be OK with my saying that I hope you will come back next season and post some more.
IMHO, you have some excellent insight and thinking.
Yes, Moscow still knew about him. But all the direct links would have been severed, and he was in Special Forces, potentially on assignment out of the country for months or years at a time. It might have been more trouble than it was worth for Moscow to keep trying to find him, let alone run him or kill him. How many examples have we already had on this show where one side or another decides revenge for a killing isn’t worth it?
On the other hand, turning in P&E would have ended his life as he knew it. As soon as Washington knew about him, his military career would have been over, and his only chance to stay out of prison would have been the very slim hope that they would use him as a double agent.
It just doesn’t seem like he had any choice, especially after the trail of bodies he left. If he killed P&E, Moscow might come after him, if they figured out he did it, and if they thought he was worth the trouble, and if they could find him, let alone get to him, wherever in the world he happened to be. If he turned them in, he stood the same chance that Moscow would come after him, but now he’d not only not be hard to find and surrounded by troops, but he’d be ordered to go back and reestablish contact with them — if he was lucky enough not to be sent straight to prison for the rest of his life.
In very, very, very, *very *rare instances. About as rare as having KGB illegals for parents. Odds of both occurring in one family? I’m guessing one in a trillion would be too high an estimate of that probability. This is the kind of coincidence (in the literal sense) that you see on trashy, soapy, OTT shows like Scandal, and I just really hope this one isn’t going down that path to try to get Shonda Rimes type ratings.
It’s stupid for the plot. And people did think of it.
What’s next? Philip and Elizabeth’s son just happens to turn out to be the next Jeffrey Dahmer? That would be equally plausible.
The real life illegals did attempt to turn their kids FWIW.
I’m not disputing what you say, but I’d love to read about that happening.
Can you provide us with any facts or links that would help us read about this happening?
Well.
I can only speak for myself, but that’s not the part I had a problem with. It was the shooting of Dad, Mom, and Sis, and then being supremely cool and collected afterwards, to the point of putting on an Oscar-worthy performance.
Very interesting reading.
Thank you AK84.
This article mentions the exact same reason why they wanted the children to become agents as was mentioned in the show - because it would be easier for the kids to pass the tests in order for them to become employed by the FBI or CIA.
So it seems to be a very similar case to the one that happened in the TV show.
For what it’s worth, here is an excerpt from The Huffington Post’s review of the S2 finale.
<snip>
This was not a trick ending that required special knowledge that the audience didn’t have.
This was an excessively clever ending that made absolute sense, scored a direct hit on the deepest beliefs and hopes of the Jennings and set up a series of outstanding dilemmas that will no doubt drive Season 3.
<snip>
Far from any aspect of this ending being “stupid”, they said:
-
It was excessively clever
-
It made absolute sense
We are all entitled to have our own opinions about this show and about its events. We may all of us agree or disagree with other people.
But for Heaven’s sakes, when people respect and discuss others’ opinions - regardless of how bizarre they may seem - that leads to an enjoyable forum.
But when people seem to attack each other, it leads to an unenjoyable forum and people will tend to go elsewhere to find a good forum.
I know that I’m in the minority here. But I would like to ask if we could please respect each others’ opinions.
After all, regardless of whether people are right or wrong, the reason this forum is successful is that everyone gets a chance to express their own opinions.
Unless I missed it, the only people who have been attacked in this thread are the show’s writers. Somebody thinking it’s a stupid plot doesn’t mean he thinks anyone who disagrees is stupid.
And as SlackerInc said above, some of the stuff that people here are defending isn’t the problem. Turning the kids is such an obvious step that I was surprised in the first season that they were normal kids going to school. I would have expected them to be home-schooled and indoctrinated into anti-American thinking from infancy. Why let them grow up pledging allegiance to the flag every day, and watching all the shows (even Rocky and Bullwinkle) where the bad guys are Commies, and wait until they reach the age where they’re most likely to be rebelling against their parents, and then try to turn them? I just can’t imagine a Cold War-era American kid being cool with his parents being Soviet agents, let alone want to do it himself. Paige seems much more likely to turn them in than to be a good little Commie.
So the only problem I had with that aspect was how old the kids were. And I can see using sex to turn a teenage boy, although I doubt they would use the parents’ handler to do it.
My problem is with the teenage boy being a homicidal maniac. Apart from the odds of it happening in real life, I do think the writers cheated. All we saw of that family was how much the mom loved the kids, and how much fun they were having at the amusement park, an hour before they were massacred.
I don’t know, maybe the problem is my own expectations. I thought this was supposed to be a realistic show, making allowances for the need to have the main characters be involved in all kinds of stuff to keep the show interesting. I think that in an earlier post, you put this on a par with Game of Thrones. If The Americans had dragons and zombies and wizards, then I wouldn’t object as much if something wildly improbable happened.
Tony, a big cosign from me on all of that, with the following in particular Q’d FT:
If I misunderstood the intent behind the use of the word “stupid”, I certainly do apologize to all concerned.
Sorry.
I think there’s a big difference between someone who plans and executes murders, and someone who is a teenage boy with teenage hormones and passions, and has just learned that he’s going to be a spy, and a sexy lady is seducing him, and then suddenly he’s having a horrible argument with his parents, and he knows where a gun is, and…
That’s how I think it was presented, and that doesn’t strike me as preposterously contrived at all. But I think we might just have to agree to disagree here.