# 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:** 8
**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:** [February 13, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/141 "2015-02-13T01:07:13Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I don’t have a problem with Stan not picking up on things re: Elizabeth and her injury. He suspected them at first going into their garage to check their car, and finding nothing, wrote those suspicions off as paranoia. Having done so, he’s developed a sort of blind spot where she and Phillip are concerned. It’s what they call confirmation bias. > > Good call to the person who spotted Stan’s reaction to the defector. That one totally got past me. I’d wondered if P+E were going to be assigned to kill the defector but now I’m inclined to believe she’s bogus. It helped that the guy interviewing her was a journalist previously revealed to be a Soviet sympathizer. Someone spotted Stan’s reaction to the defector? I searched this entire thread for “Stan” but I couldn’t find anything that was like that. Maybe I just missed it? Or maybe it happened somewhere else? The defector is a fake? Can you post where this info is located? I’d sure like to take a look at that. Thanks. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/142 "2015-02-13T01:23:48Z")
Blank Slate commented further upthread. Stan was talking to the new black FBI guy (hate referring to him that way but didn’t catch the characters name) about how he infiltrated the white supremacists. “Just say what they want to hear. Nobody ever gets tired of hearing that they’re right.” Later he’s watching the defector on a TV monitor and just gets this _look_ on his face, like he realizes that’s what she is doing. Very subtle, if indeed it means anything at all. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/143 "2015-02-13T02:34:37Z")
Thanks E-Dub! ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/144 "2015-02-13T03:39:50Z")
When Paige went to get her brother’s laundry, I thought maybe she was going to find her parents’ hidey hole in the electrical box down there, not her brother’s wank material! ---
**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:** [February 13, 2015, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/145 "2015-02-13T03:54:03Z")
That tooth pulling scene was a bit gratuitous. So the Soviets have a super secret spy ring in the US, but they have no medical contingencies? Not realistic. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/146 "2015-02-13T05:09:30Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > Someone spotted Stan’s reaction to the defector? > > I searched this entire thread for “Stan” but I couldn’t find anything that was like that. Maybe I just missed it? Or maybe it happened somewhere else? The defector is a fake? She may be the series’ equivalent of **this guy:** > **[Vitaly Yurchenko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitaly_Yurchenko)** > > Vitaly Sergeyevich Yurchenko (Russian: Виталий Сергеевич Юрченко; born May 2, 1936) is a former high-ranking KGB disinformation officer in the Soviet Union. After 25 years of service in the KGB, he defected to the United States during an assignment in Rome on August 1, 1985, arriving the following day. After providing the names of two U.S. intelligence officers as KGB agents and claiming that Lee Harvey Oswald was never recruited by the KGB, Yurchenko slipped away from the Americans and ret Upon ... I always thought he was tortured and executed after he went back to Moscow, but apparently not. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2015, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/147 "2015-02-13T05:11:26Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > That tooth pulling scene was a bit gratuitous. So the Soviets have a super secret spy ring in the US, but they have no medical contingencies? Not realistic. Knowing the state of dentistry in the former Soviet Union (and in Russia today), it wouldn’t surprise me if they somewhat neglected to provide for this service. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/148 "2015-02-13T05:15:52Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > That tooth pulling scene was a bit gratuitous. So the Soviets have a super secret spy ring in the US, but they have no medical contingencies? Not realistic. They do. Last episode of the first season. Apparently, perks for illegals do not extend to dental. ---
**Author:** ![BOOM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c4cdca/32.png) [@BOOM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BOOM)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/149 "2015-02-13T06:59:23Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > That tooth pulling scene was a bit gratuitous. So the Soviets have a super secret spy ring in the US, but they have no medical contingencies? Not realistic. Like I said, at no point does Elizabeth want a dentist. Fwiw, I thought the extended huge facial close ups were so striking. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/150 "2015-02-13T08:24:08Z")
Medical coverage doesn’t usually extend to dental. They’re just trying to be plausible Americans that way. ---
**Author:** ![BOOM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c4cdca/32.png) [@BOOM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BOOM)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/151 "2015-02-13T11:07:30Z")
There have been two scenes involving Stan’s department and alerts from dentists. Last night, the new guy even took a call from the Buffalo Field Office about someone showing up for treatment there. Elizabeth knows they’ll be doing that. They have all th emoney they need. For goodness sake it is not about American medical coverage any more than it’s about Soviet spy dentists. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/152 "2015-02-13T13:22:17Z")
> [@BOOM](#): > > There have been two scenes involving Stan’s department and alerts from dentists. Last night, the new guy even took a call from the Buffalo Field Office about someone showing up for treatment there. > > Elizabeth knows they’ll be doing that. They have all the emoney they need. > > For goodness sake it is not about American medical coverage any more than it’s about Soviet spy dentists. The point is that the Soviets were able (in universe) to arrange for emergency surgery as well as lengthy convalescence for Elizabeth, back in season 1. Its strange that a more minor injury could not be dealt with. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/153 "2015-02-13T14:30:01Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > The point is that the Soviets were able (in universe) to arrange for emergency surgery as well as lengthy convalescence for Elizabeth, back in season 1. Its strange that a more minor injury could not be dealt with. Exactly. Or at least be able to score some pain killing drugs before using a pair of pliers to pull a tooth. It just seems implausible in an otherwise well-constructed story. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/154 "2015-02-13T14:44:45Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I don’t have a problem with Stan not picking up on things re: Elizabeth and her injury. He suspected them at first going into their garage to check their car, and finding nothing, wrote those suspicions off as paranoia. Having done so, he’s developed a sort of blind spot where she and Phillip are concerned. It’s what they call confirmation bias. Exactly. Stan’s had absolutely no reason to suspect Philip and Elizabeth of being spies beyond the very first episode. They were smart to become pals with him, because it’s even harder to see that your friends might be working against you. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/155 "2015-02-13T14:57:31Z")
[QUOTE=E-DUB] Later he’s watching the defector on a TV monitor and just gets this look on his face, like he realizes that’s what she is doing. [/quote] You’re probably right, but on first watching it my impression was that he was reacting to her use of “our”, when she said something to the effect of “our boys were being killed in this war”, and that he thought it odd that she was using “our” when she would presumably no longer be thinking of herself as a Soviet. On the whole Paige recruiting thing: I don’t think it need be as crazy and reckless as Philip and Elizabeth approaching her. They would likely have a completely unknown person, someone that she could identify with, approach her; explore her feelings towards compatible ideologies; and see if she would be interested in “joining the fight”. If no, then no exposure of P&E has happened. And “the fight” wouldn’t even need to be explicitly Soviet: they could shroud it in the context of “fighting for world peace” or “helping the poor” or something. ---
**Author:** ![Headrush042](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Headrush042](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headrush042)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/156 "2015-02-13T15:01:23Z")
While I agree that the Soviets should’ve easily been able to provide Elizabeth with some dental care, I think that whole plot hole was in service to the tooth-pulling scene itself. They wanted that scene. And the scene wasn’t about the tooth at all, it was about the development of their relationship. It’s probably the most powerfully intimate moment they’ve shared the entire series, and it could not have happened until now. It’s a milestone of sorts. ---
**Author:** ![BOOM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c4cdca/32.png) [@BOOM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BOOM)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2015, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/157 "2015-02-13T17:06:11Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > The point is that the Soviets were able (in universe) to arrange for emergency surgery as well as lengthy convalescence for Elizabeth, back in season 1. Its strange that a more minor injury could not be dealt with. Are you reading the posts here? At no point does she want or asks for treatment. Let me try that again: At no point does she want or asks for treatment. The whole - entire, complete - point about the tooth, is trust, and the special trust with your partner. It is not and never has been about a tooth. > [@Headrush042](#): > > While I agree that the Soviets should’ve easily been able to provide Elizabeth with some dental care, I think that whole plot hole was in service to the tooth-pulling scene itself. They wanted that scene. > > And the scene wasn’t about the tooth at all, it was about the development of their relationship. It’s probably the most powerfully intimate moment they’ve shared the entire series, and it could not have happened until now. It’s a milestone of sorts. I know, see post #136. Possibly the most intimate in the show’s history. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/158 "2015-02-13T17:35:01Z")
The scene where Elizabeth wants to try Martha’s submissive rough sex, and Phillip knows she will hate it, was the same sort of intimate scene emotionally, and far more jarring. Phillip deeply cares for Elizabeth, and she wants to care for him that much (and their children too), but just comes short of actually caring that much. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/159 "2015-02-13T19:09:16Z")
> [@BOOM](#): > > There have been two scenes involving Stan’s department and alerts from dentists. Last night, the new guy even took a call from the Buffalo Field Office about someone showing up for treatment there. > > Elizabeth knows they’ll be doing that. They have all th emoney they need. > > For goodness sake it is not about American medical coverage any more than it’s about Soviet spy dentists. Aha! Now it makes sense. It’s due to the diff between emoney and real money. (just j/k!) because … this thread was beginning to get too heavy. Someone upthread complained that the show was not being realistic. But, I’d like to ask, “Do you really care whether it is realistic?” No need to answer if you don’t. But if the realism factor is important to you, I’d like to ask you why it is and how much does it matter to your level of enjoyment? It usually does matter for me with most shows. But not this one. I’m not sure why. But I really don’t care if they make all kinds of mistakes. I just don’t care at all. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097/160 "2015-02-13T19:32:48Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Exactly. Or at least be able to score some pain killing drugs before using a pair of pliers to pull a tooth. It just seems implausible in an otherwise well-constructed story. Does E seem like the kind of gal who would want pain-killing drugs? I would think that just as most of us find relief from pain with those drugs, E would likely enjoy the pain more so than the drugs. She’s just that kind of gal! \*\*My \*\*kind of gal! Of course, it’s just my hunch. But if I had to guess, I’d guess that when it comes to “tough”, Elizabeth is just about as tough as tough can get. Do you remember when one of those FBI agents said something like, “They sure do make those Russian gals pretty tough”? Well, it would appear that E is just about as tough as the writers can imagine her and I sure do love that aspect of the show. Of course, that was one of the same agents who E gave a real good beat down. Ahhh … that was a beat down from beyond this realm. It sure was a lesson in beat down perfection. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-3/711097.md?page=9)