Well the flash back to Phillip’s training was delightfully creepy, and I guess now what’s expected of him if they need a honeypot a gay target. 
That was a really great episode, except for no Nina. Philip’s relationship with Kimberly is so many levels of sad and creepy. It makes me also think of Paige, and how her turn to religion is eerily like Kimberly’s acting out. She’s also dealing with parents who aren’t fully there.
I’m kind of hoping the Zinaida thing doesn’t go like how Stan’s planning, it’s too pat. Tatiana was definitely weirded out by Oleg asking about her though.
Nani, I’m sorry to disagree with you about tonight’s episode. But it just seemed a little weak to me - compared to some of the other recent episodes. But I’m just not understanding several things and so I could very well be wrong about that.
I just didn’t understand why they would want to spend so much of this episode focused on Stan. He told P that his son basically hates him and that he just doesn’t “get” his son. But we haven’t seen his son in years and never heard anything about him in all that time. So what is this really about? What possible reason could there be to spend so much time focused on Stan?
Nani, you said that Tatiana was definitely weirded out by Oleg asking about the defector. I would think she would be weirded out by anything he asked her because he has almost never spoken a word to her since she arrived in Washington - except for one extremely brief interaction we saw. I have to conclude this has something to do with Stan as well since it would appear that Oleg is going along with Stan in his strange plot to free Nina.
If anyone can suggest any reason why this episode seems to have spent so much time focused on Stan, I’d really love to hear about it. Because I just don’t understand what possible reason they could have for that.
My guess is they may be preparing for some kind of family reunion with Stan, his wife and son. But all of the last few episodes seem to have taken some time to underline that Stan’s wife is just not interested. On a scale of 1 to 100, it seems pretty clear that her interest level is right around zero. But, unless anyone can suggest some reason, all of Stan’s dialogue just seems to have come from left field and doesn’t seem to be at all related to the rest of the episodes.
Or maybe there is something going on that I just don’t understand.
I’m not sure what you mean about the episode being focused on Stan. This episode had maybe the fewest Stan minutes of any episode this season.
Well, the second meeting of the Nina Sergeevna Preservation Society took place and now it seems that Stan has recruited Oleg, using their mutual love for Nina. Interesting approach Oleg took, I would have gone for more of mentioning that I’d seen the defector on TV and saying, “Please tell me someone has orders to kill this bitch.”
Henry’s crush on Mrs. Beeman seems quite a thing. Elizabeth kills some random Joe just to create a job opening for her “friend” at a Northrop plant. Phillip seems understandably weirded out by having to put the moves on a girl not so much older than his daughter. I think a lot of this episode was “set-up” for a later “dominos falling” and that’s why it seemed a little sparse.
I don’t think the episode was all that focused on Stan. But his conversation with Philip was reflective of a general theme this season: how to deal when your child starts developing their own identity, separate from his or her parents. Stan and Philip are both experiencing that loss of closeness with their children, and it hurts. This theme was also reflected in Philip and Kimberly’s conversation on the porch. Elizabeth thinks that being honest with Paige is the best way to maintain a close relationship with her, while Philip obviously has doubts.
My very vague wild future speculation based on this episode:
Somehow or other, Nina will eventually end up back in Washington. She will begin re-connecting with Stan. The same way that Stan is bringing whats-her-name over to Philip and Elizabeth’s for dinner, he’ll bring Nina over to their house for dinner, and during that dinner, something will happen (there’ll be a look, a small unnoticeable habit, the kids will use an English translation of a Russian idiom, or something about the way the house is decorated) some small tiny thing that an American wouldn’t notice or would mark up to being a small weird family thing but Nina will figure out that they’re Russian and hiding it. And then, she’ll have some new decisions to make.
That was a bit much. I don’t mind suspending disbelief for a good story, but she took that risk just to give her asset a easier commute. Unnecessarily ridiculous.
amarinth, I hope you’re right. A dinner scene with Phil, Elizabeth, Stan an Nina would be very entertaining.
No.
What they are working on at that Northrup plant is of much greater value to the Russians than the other one. Getting her the house closer to that plant was the first part of the set-up.
Some episodes have to be rising action, even if the action we are getting to is only verbal.
The Stan and Oleg thing is interesting. Neither wants to be compromised (again in Stan’s case) but they do both love Nina. Oleg’s attempt to find out about the defector was very obvious and clumsy. He’s better than that. But Elizabeth’s attempt to alert the her new potential recruit to the possibility of being paid by industrial competitors to give information is also terribly clumsy. Watching Phil and his handler (Frank Langella) is amazing acting.
I was going to speak to that. But I forgot to mention it.
I was going to squawk about it being so extremely unrealistic. After all, I don’t even own a car but I have seen countless articles and warnings to people about using at least two kinds of supports when working under a car like that. Anyone who works under a car that can fall and crush them to death just by someone kicking one support out of the car is just completely rubbish. I mean the realism level is completely rubbish. I don’t know who would have suggested that to the show runner. But it would seem to me that no one who has a voice on that show has any idea as to how people work underneath cars. Seems to me like a rather sub-standard episode. I would guess that many things are wrong with that episode - especially the level of realism.
I still love that show and it is still the best show on TV (IMHO). But someone was asleep at the wheel when the last episode was produced. Bah!
I just want to say that I think you are amazingly perceptive. IMHO, the quality of this thread has definitely risen a few notches since you have joined. You really add an excellent level to this thread and I am not just saying that because you are a young girl like what’s her name who is being pursued by Phillip.
But the FBI still believes Nina was their secret asset. No way could Stan parade her around as his new girlfriend - it would be too dangerous for the FBI and for Nina. However, that doesn’t rule out some other way that Nina might discover the Jennings’ identities.
I meant that we get to see more info revealed about Stan than on any other episode that I can remember.
Another thing. Phillip tells Stan to “go for it” regarding the “EST lady”. Think she might be an undercover as well?
Good, because that was nuts. Almost as nuts as nobody ever looking out their windows on a suburban street. Did they mention that about the Northrup plant this episode, or a previous one? I totally missed it.
Not specifically but she said something about them working on fighter jet fuselages or something there.
I would also like to know just what Northrup was working on and do you mean to say it was more valuable than the Stealth Technology? That would be difficult to believe because the Stealth Technology was surely the most important thing that Russia could get their hands on. Wasn’t it?
I have said this before:
I’m not really a stickler for realism on this show. But, when a 110 pound woman can give one kick to an iron support holding up a 3500 pound car causing it to fall on a man working underneath, crushing him to death, that is just way too far away from realism to be worth any kind of debate. Or am I missing something there?
I don’t really mind things being too far away from realistic in most cases because this show seems to be much more focused on person-to-person interactive events. Or am I missing a very important theme of this show?
Count me in on not particularly going for the realism as far as the death of the Northrop guy goes. Charlie’s point about the entire idea is well taken.
Plus…early 80’s in DC…the government knows there are sleeper agents working the area. Suddenly out of nowhere a worker from a fairly prominent defense contractor dies after having a car land on him, and it goes unnoticed by the authorities?
The guy’s employed by a defense contractor dealing with highly sensitive projects. That alone should at least draw some attention.
Hellloooooo…FBI…anyone home?