Just Asking Questions wrote: “I’m idealistic in my own way, so I can’t believe that someone like Elizabeth, who has spent upwards of twenty years living in the US, seeing how it works, can still believe that the Soviet system is better.”
Elizabeth would undoubtedly say that the life that she’s “lived” as an ersatz American is not universally shared by all in this country. She has taken Paige on a tour of some of the worse parts of DC.
Also, ideologues often allow belief to blind them to the contradictions of reality. And not just among KGB operatives. We witness that effect here on a daily basis.
Also, it seemed to me at the psychologist’s (psychiatrist’s) office, Elizabeth basically told Paige’s version of the mugging story. From Paige’s POV, she was threatened by two homeless guys, there was a knife, she was scared that they would do something horrible to her, and help came out of an unexpected corner (Paige had no idea her mother could/would do that). Most importantly, Paige is still deeply affected by what happened (sleeping in the closet) and she kind of does want things to back to the way they were. Elizabeth, herself, is over the mugging.
I wonder if Elizabeth knows that’s the story she told.
IIRC he once told Claudia “they had a Lincoln once” so it does seem like he admires Lincoln. It makes sense Lincoln would be only of the only US Presidents to be admired much by Soviets due to the whole emancipation thing.
She’s also offended by a lot of the hypocrisy, of them living in the richest country in the world, while that country bombs other places, which is a factor in keeping the other places poor.
Take a look at some of the talks they’ve had with Tuan this season, about his experiences in Vietnam. It’s not so surprising that a native-born Russian agent, who let’s not forget went through years of psychological conditioning prior to moving to the US, might still be a True Believer.
Anyone who thinks the leads are not “the good guys” is watching the show wrong, and is likely to be disappointed with the series finale.
“Even”? He’s one of my favorite critics; but even if you don’t agree, what does this mean?
That’s the way I took it. Or more like a warning to Philip. Like “maybe you’d better go way undercover, fake your own death”, something along those lines. But do a better job of it than Mischa’s mom!
I didn’t get that scene. We saw memories of the Korean lady (who was really a great character), but then the family she was watching looked Caucasian to me. I cheaped out and bought the SD version from iTunes instead of springing for HD, but still: I rewound it a couple times and stared hard, and it just didn’t look like it could be her.
I went to the USSR a few years after this, during the Gorbachev era but before the coup and the dissolution of the country into its constituent republics. My main reaction was, I’m afraid to tell you, not “look at how awful this place is–I’m sure glad I live in the good old capitalist U.S.A.!” More like (I had studied a couple years of Russian before going) “this is awesome, how the stores just have names like ‘MILK’ or ‘BREAD’ or ‘ICE CREAM’ (the best ice cream I’ve ever eaten, BTW) and they don’t try to put brands on everything or waste a lot of economic effort on advertising Brand A vs. Brand X”. I’m not saying I think I can get you to agree with my perspective (a very left wing one, especially in those days); but hopefully it might open your eyes to the fact that it’s not at all unrealistic that Elizabeth could still see her country the way she does. That book Paige is reading *does *have a lot of wisdom in it!
What??? No offense Slacker, but I don’t think it’s up to anyone to tell people whether they are watching the show correctly or incorrectly. We are all individuals with our own perspective. This is a TV show. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to watch it.
I don’t admire P or E. I don’t look at them as the “good guys” in any way shape or form, and I want them to lose in the end. My preference is that they get captured and live the rest of their lives in an American prison.
That said, I would never tell someone who feels the opposite that they aren’t watching the show correctly.
I think real world politics might be affecting the writing here. This season is heavy on the “evil Russkies” trope which most certainly was not the case earlier and one of the things which made the show compelling.
The Afghan War arc suffered for the same reason, the Mujahideen are shown as basically proto-Taliban which they, for the most part, were not IRL.
I’d guess the writers intended us to believe that Elizabeth was consciously making use of the mugging experience, from Paige’s point of view.
One of the unique features of this show is that it depicts Philip and Elizabeth usually recruiting and managing people not through offers of cash or threats of exposure (or violence)—but instead through the talent for empathy that each of them possesses.
Though they don’t tell the recruits or helpers the entire truth, they tell part of the truth. For example: Philip discussing the self-doubts that brought him to EST as a way of deflecting teenage Kimmy’s assumption they’d have sex; Elizabeth bonding with Gregory over her sympathy at the racial discrimination he faced; both of them convincing Pastor Tim to refrain from turning them in, based on their genuine belief that all three of them are ‘on the same side’ in working for social justice. (In that last instance, as I recall, P & E told Tim a lie, but the emotional truth that they really do believe they are working for a better world was persuasive.)
So in the psychologist’s office, Elizabeth was using the most effective method of reaching people that she has: confiding something that’s at least emotionally true, even if not factually accurate. She discloses something real, and that gets to people. In this case she was using her empathy to reveal her daughter’s likely reaction to the mugging rather than her own–but that’s still a use of empathy.
I’ve re-watched the Lincoln Memorial scene a few times, and it is–in spite of its brevity—fast becoming one of my favorite scenes from the entire series… and I’ve seen all of the episodes.
One question that lingers: Does anyone think that this may signal an intention that Gabriel is considering defecting? This was my initial gut reaction after seeing it as the show aired live…but then I backed away from that. Now I’m not so sure I should have.
There has been chatter about this in other forums, mainly the comment section of the New York Times review of the episode. One comment went so far as to make a flat-out prediction that Gabriel will bolt for the US.
Any thoughts? I think it’s possible. I think it would be a hilarious if Gabriel defected…
Part of me thinks Gabriel is leaving so he can take care of Mischa. But that’s a little too nice for this show.
After so many scenes of traveling, I can’t believe Mischa is just going back to where he started. But the first episode had twenty minutes of hole-digging, so the writers clearly aren’t afraid of wasting time.
With Gabriel leaving, maybe Claudia will return as the main handler. Maybe she’ll bother P&E so much that they decide to quit. And then she’ll send Renee after them.
That’s just crass. Gabriel is preoccupued with the fate of not only of his nation - which is immense in itself - but of the communist experiment. The two people who most shaped the country he is in are Lincoln and Washington.
I would imagine Gabriel sees the USA also as a failed experiment - particularly in terms of equality - yet the wealth capitalism generates could be used to achieve the kind of society he would hope for his own.
As I said before, I think he recognises the end of the great experiment is coming and, at the Lincoln Memorial, ponders the future of his country.
Crass? Why? I believe you yourself mentioned that the characters know the end of the Soviet experiment is beginning to dawn on them. Do you think Gabriel is above such thoughts as defecting?
I don’t know what you mean by ‘above’. Appreciating what men like Lincoln and Washington stood for is not the same as an appreciation of what resulted. The USA has nothing to offer Gabriel.
By “above” , I mean to ask whether his character is of such superiority that he wouldn’t think of defecting.
[QUOTE=up_the_junction;20137628 The USA has nothing to offer Gabriel.[/QUOTE]
How do you know? I think it’s entirely plausible that the trip to see Lincoln was a clue that Gabriel may not hate the US as much as it may appear. He’s already admitted he admires Lincoln. Suppose you’re an American living in Moscow, and you admire Lenin. Wouldn’t it at least cross your mind to think about the possibility of living there?
I would agree that Gabriel defecting may not be likely, but I certainly think it’s possible. Pondering defection—especially when you consider who Gabriel works for–is not something one would want to advertise.
As I learned from listening to the podcast… Frank Langella wasn’t actually in DC for that scene. He was filmed in front of a blue screen in LA, and a double was filmed in DC.
CGI can do some amazing things these days, in addition to spaceships, dragons, etc.
(I don’t think he’s going to defect, however. It would be SO out of the blue.)