# The Americans Season 3 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 28, 2015, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097 "2015-01-28T09:03:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/481 "2015-03-13T00:20:46Z")
The writers have painted themselves into a rather delicious corner and hopefully they have the dexterity to escape it cleanly. Philip is badly exposed in his marriage to Martha. If she turns herself in or fails a polygraph, the FBI will be waiting in her apartment for Philip’s next visit. How could he know to stay away? Most likely scenario? Philip has a bee in his bonnet about the way Martha is acting and goes to her apartment while she is at work, discovering the disassembled recording device. Project erase self is launched. I just realized I’m rooting for a Soviet spy to outwit the FBI. 😛 What I’m really rooting for is another season. This show is a lot of fun. ETA: I forgot about the gun. Somehow, that gun, which has been shown or mentioned numerous times, must come into play. ---
**Author:** ![twuest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@twuest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twuest)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/482 "2015-03-13T01:22:12Z")
To paraphrase Jan Brady: “Martha, Martha, Martha!”… What a spot she is in. I’d hate to pile on, but it’s hard to feel sorry for her. She willingly took part in the act of stealing secrets…and why? Because she was desperate for a relationship. Furthermore, the fact she doesn’t know Clark is KGB is meaningless here. She knowingly betrayed everyone involved…her superiors…her peers at the FBI, and of course, her country. Gaad shouldn’t–and hopefully won’t— take the fall here. This is Martha’s doing and for her own selfish reasons. She belongs in jail…and she very possibly may wind up dead. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/483 "2015-03-13T02:34:21Z")
I don’t know if anybody else mentioned this yet, but in 67 years I’ve never known a woman to forget her purse. Ever. Philip’s radar should have been pinging loud and clear on that little fiction. ---
**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 13, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/484 "2015-03-13T02:45:25Z")
My wife has forgotten her purse. Martha got into this think because she thought that “Clark” was an FBI employee himself tasked with oversight. As for what she thinks now… ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/485 "2015-03-13T02:57:39Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > My wife has forgotten her purse. Martha got into this think because she thought that “Clark” was an FBI employee himself tasked with oversight. As for what she thinks now… Not exactly. He told her he was working for the Committee to Oversee United States Counterintelligence Agencies, and that their initial meetings were classified. (I checked this on Wiki and IMDb to be sure.) She’s never thought he was with the FBI, and may be worried now about revealing that her superiors were being surveilled (and that she was a willing participant in the scheme). So it’s debatable at this point if she’s started to realize “Clark” is actually not what he claims to be. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/486 "2015-03-13T03:07:06Z")
What department/agency is Walter Taffet from? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/487 "2015-03-13T03:17:34Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > What department/agency is Walter Taffet from? According to _ **Entertainment** _, the Office of Professional Responsibility, whatever that is. > **['The Americans' recap: 'Walter Taffet'](https://ew.com/recap/americans-season-3-episode-7/)** > > Martha is in a jam, and season 3 kicks into high gear. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/488 "2015-03-13T03:24:52Z")
> [@twuest](#): > > To paraphrase Jan Brady: “Martha, Martha, Martha!”… > Furthermore, the fact she doesn’t know Clark is KGB is meaningless here. She knowingly betrayed everyone involved…her superiors…her peers at the FBI, and of course, her country. But I do feel sorry for Martha, she trusted a guy who she believed was working to oversee and right the glaring mistakes the FBI was doing, sloppy file keeping, etc. She thought she was a whistler blower for bad office practices, not a willing participant in spying against your country. She was duped, it seems implausible that she could be so gullable, but the KGB was very adept at setting honey traps for people like Martha who made the mistake of falling in love with the wrong guy. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/489 "2015-03-13T03:28:04Z")
I had to smile at the bug detector they were using. Even in the 80s, people sweeping for bugs used electronic scanners that looked much like a stereo receiver, not some floor mop looking implement. I know, because I did that sort of work at that time. But I guess it worked better for that scene to have some sort of handheld device. IRL, periodic scans would have been done in that office as a matter of routine. But again: TV. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/490 "2015-03-13T03:45:17Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The first thing they’re going to do as part of their investigation is subject everyone in the office to a lie detector test. How well do you think Martha’s going to do on _that_? :dubious: Well, hopefully Clark’s taught her how to tighten her anus… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/491 "2015-03-13T06:05:16Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Well, hopefully Clark’s taught her how to tighten her anus… 😛 I think he may have loosened it from what we have seen thus far. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/492 "2015-03-13T15:40:39Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I had to smile at the bug detector they were using. Even in the 80s, people sweeping for bugs used electronic scanners that looked much like a stereo receiver, not some floor mop looking implement. I know, because I did that sort of work at that time. But I guess it worked better for that scene to have some sort of handheld device. IRL, periodic scans would have been done in that office as a matter of routine. But again: TV. How difficult would it have been for her to remove the pen just before the sweepers came? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/493 "2015-03-13T16:23:44Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > How difficult would it have been for her to remove the pen just before the sweepers came? Gaad probably kept the pen in his pocket until they found the bug. After that, it went into an evidence bag. What surprised me was the way he just picked it up and started using it after Martha planted it in his office. No reaction like, “Hmmmmmmmm. Never seen this before. Who left it here, and what’s it doing on my bookshelf? Very suspicious!” 😕 :dubious: Let’s face it: John-Boy is no Dick Tracy. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/494 "2015-03-13T16:25:15Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > How difficult would it have been for her to remove the pen just before the sweepers came? They already had the pen (the transmitter); they were looking for the receiver/recorder. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/495 "2015-03-13T19:47:34Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Gaad probably kept the pen in his pocket until they found the bug. After that, it went into an evidence bag. > > What surprised me was the way he just picked it up and started using it after Martha planted it in his office. No reaction like, “Hmmmmmmmm. Never seen this before. Who left it here, and what’s it doing on my bookshelf? Very suspicious!” 😕 :dubious: > > Let’s face it: John-Boy is no Dick Tracy. :smack: Nice point! Nicely done. The FBI seems to being painted as having a lot of bungling and Keystone Cops behavior. Not entirely, but I really get the feeling they are showing us the KGB as a competent, serious group and the FBI as having a lot of room for improvement. Stan Beeman appears to be fairly competent and I think he is a very likeable individual. I believe the audience has a very strong feeling of empathy for him. But, on the whole, the guys in that office tend to screw up quite often and quite a bit. I know that Beeman went into the Jennings’ garage looking for evidence. But why, oh why has he been unable to make any connection between all the bad things that has happened to the people in his office with his first meeting of the Jennings - \*\*ESPECIALLY \*\* all the photographs and hand-drawn pictures of the KGB agents. Damn! I was leading up to a conclusion that I thought people here would enjoy hearing and I have forgotten what it was. Darn! Darn! Darn! ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/496 "2015-03-13T20:04:47Z")
. \*\*Aha! \*\*I remember now. It was about that Russian defector who came to Washington and Beeman is now escorting around town. How is it that he became so suspicious of that lady so quickly and the same goes for the new agent who he told Phillip “bugged him” because he asked too many questions. Stan just gets it wrong. So wrong. He is suspicious of the people who are on his side and he is friends and he trusts the KGB illegals. Yikes! Could the real FBI be anything like this? And there are more people too. There was Nina. Before he fell in love with her, he first became suspicious of her. But Phillip Jennings? The KGB agent? The KGB illegal who all the agents in the FBI would give their eye teeth to apprehend? How is it that Stan can quickly take Phillip in as his good friend and confidant after what? A game of racketball? That was all it took? Good Grief! He tells Phillip about his suspicions of the new black FBI agent and he tells Phillip all kinds of other things. Why? How? Phillip is his good buddy. Almost like a brother. Stan Beeman who has worked undercover hiding his true identity from some real badass types while discovering their true identities. But he can’t seem to figure out that P&E - his next door neighbors - are actually the KGB illegals he is searching for so desperately. What is going on with this show and why is it happening? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/497 "2015-03-13T20:10:17Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I really get the feeling they are showing us the KGB as a competent, serious group and the FBI as having a lot of room for improvement. In the late '70s/early '80s, this was pretty much true. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/498 "2015-03-13T20:17:57Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I would love to be there when Stan has been looking at some of the photos of Martha and her husband or her sister-in-law. > > I would give almost anything to be able to see the look that flashes across Stan’s face when he realizes that his best friend and confidant, his next door neighbor and trusted drinking buddy is actually the KGB agent that has been causing his office such trauma. > > What will be going through his mind at that moment? Will it be shame at the realization that he will have to face up to all his FBI buddies who will (in secret) be pointing and laughing at him? > > Will it be horror at the realization tha so many of the bad things that has happened in his life (especially about Nina) may have in fact been caused because he couldn’t put two and two together and come up with The Jennings? > > Whatever it may be, I would just long to be there at that second and see his face. Noah Emmerich is a real pro. As an actor, how will he handle this instant? What kind of look will flash across his face? > > It is bound to be one of the very finest moments in this entire show. > > Please God? Please oh please? Let me be there? Well, if you’re a Breaking Bad fan, probably in quite the same way as… …when Hank put two and two together while sitting on Walt’s toilet. Though, Stan probably won’t be taking a dump, err, necessarily. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/499 "2015-03-13T20:28:00Z")
I thank you very much for having the consideration to put that info into a spoiler box. I have only ever watched the first 2 or 3 epis of BB. I understand it is one of the finest TV dramas ever made. But I want to wait for a time when there is nothing else being broadcast before I watch it. I have all the epis from all the seasons on my hard drive and I will watch them. But I want to wait before I do that. For people who have never heard of “Better Call Saul”, I just want to take one line here to say that it’s in the same league as BB or maybe even better. I can’t say anything more or else it would be considered “off topic” and improper. But I would like to find a place where I can tell you about all the other shows I am saving for the right time. But I don’t know where that is. Why? Because I have gotten so many great tips from others here about great shows I’ve not yet seen. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/500 "2015-03-13T20:36:13Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > How difficult would it have been for her to remove the pen just before the sweepers came? The pen is what an actual scanner would pick up, because it’s transmitting on a particular frequency. They could have had people sit in Gaad’s office and chat and eventually the pen would have been located. As it was, they found the transmitter and were likely searching for any other transmitters. The receiver is passive, so her tearing it apart was probably unnecessary. On the other hand, with such a small device, the likelihood of the receiver being somewhere in the office would have been high, and a competent team would have torn the place apart and searched all purses, desks, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097.md?page=26)