Why wouldn’t he like Lincoln? Communism didn’t even exist then. He thinks that the USA took a wrong turn when Russia did the right thing in the 1920s.
I love this about these writers: they aren’t afraid of confounding audience expectations. See also Martha’s “Chekhov’s gun” that fans were buzzing about for literally years, and then ended up never being used. Now I’m hoping that Renee just turns out to be an American lady who’s dating Stan, period.
I like this take.
Ah, okay…thanks.
“Watching wrong” is kind of a catchphrase, but in literary criticism, they talk about reading a text “with the grain” vs. “against the grain”. Would you acknowledge that you and others who see P & E as the villains and hope they “lose in the end” are consuming this “text” against the grain?
To me, it’s like watching Oceans Eleven and rooting for the heist to get foiled by the cops and for all the conspirators to get long prison terms. Like, sure: technically they are committing a crime and we wouldn’t want to actually legalize what they are doing…but that’s not the point of the story.
Additionally, this show features a lot of stuff that has to do with family relationships, the strength of the protagonists’ marriage, their psychological health (especially Philip’s), etc. I would think that would all be boring and beside the point for someone who saw P & E as villains.
ETA:
Lincoln’s progressive economic policy was atypical for the 19th century.
If Gabriel were planning to defect, he would give P&E some sort of cryptic warning that they should be ready to disappear, fast.
As he did.
That’s not proof of anything–it’s plausible that he was warning them about either Center’s wavering support (as conveyed by Claudia) or about their general vulnerability to exposure.
But if the writers do plan to have Gabriel defect, it has been set up.
Well, maybe. If we accept he senses the wind of change at home, maybe I just prefer to think Gabriel hopes a Soviet politician with Lincoln’s resolve and ability will emerge to see his country through the uncertain times ahead.
As it happens, Gorbachev - well Yeltsin in particular - did face down a coup attempt from the old school communists.
I’m only an occasional reader of his (usually when someone links him here) but I noticed two mistakes in his latest write-up.
This I only know is wrong because someone in this thread mentioned it was green-screened and by default, I side with the Doper.
And this is just laughably wrong! Metal still soft…what? The door was not locked. She was using the carbon build-up on the key to make an impression of the pins in the lock. Still kind of stretching it that that would reliably work, but not nearly as ludicrous as her holding a molten key.
They (the show) did go to DC, and filmed at the actual Lincoln Memorial… but they were filming a double for Frank Langella, not the actor himself.
I don’t think he’s disagreeing with you.
Yeah, but I’m disagreeing with him. What he said was preposterous. Again, she simply used the flame to build up carbon residue on the key so that it would be marked by the lock, it wasn’t some new technique using heat to shape the key.
And as for the other bit:
*“they actually went to the Lincoln Memorial to film Gabriel as he contemplated leaving the place represented by Lincoln, the Washington Monument, etc., to return to Mother Russia.”
*That implies Gabriel went to the Lincoln Memorial.
Real illegals like Rudolf Able were permitted to return home periodically for rest, unlike our leads. This means that they don’t know about the economic collapse that is occurring; especially Elizabeth, her last memory is of a country with a rising GDP and standard of living. It would be great if the recall Elizabeth for a short period of time and she gets a fit.
Didn’t she visit Russia to see her dying mother, with her daughter, just a year ago? Am I misremembering – or perhaps the mid-80s economic crisis was more sudden than I thought? (Or her visit was too short and focused for her to have noticed much?)
IIRC, Elizabeth and Paige went to West Germany (perhaps Berlin), and Elizabeth’s mother was smuggled over the border.
Right, thanks.
Why did they bring Page to meet Gabriel?
Especially since they know his time is up.
It was like they were introducing her to her grandfather. He was a dear friend and colleague who had a huge impact on their life and this was the only chance to meet him.
In-story, Gabriel is a respected operative and Center would want his personal assessment of Page’s readiness to be brought into the family business.
Plot-wise, if Gabriel is to remain a part of The Americans via becoming a defector, it might be useful at some point in the story if Gabriel and Page are able to instantly recognize one another.
I think so. In times to come, Paige is going face a lot of challenges to how she views her parents, and also the political system they work for. She has no context beyond her parents of what they represent.
Perhaps meeting Gabriel can provide a bridge, a human face to all of that other world. Perhaps creating an anchor point in her memory because things will get messy for her.
That’s how my wife and I both read it, she had said that best she ever felt was the day she got baptized and now she was getting a second baptism.
There’s no way Gabriel would defect. He’s too old, as he himself would put it.
Nevertheless, I am a little fearful that Gabriel may not be going back to motherland. Somehow I don’t think they’d write him out of the show that easily. My guess is that he will be exposed as an illegal, arrested, and the Jennings will then be left to fear whether or not he’ll be compelled to rat them out.
Paige hasn’t actually done anything yet that she could get into legal trouble over, has she? Some of her q+a with Stan’s son, maybe?
It’s precisely because he is leaving soon that they brought her to meet him now.
Gabriel has been a huge part of their lives. He’s their handler - and he’s also been their mentor, a father figure, a guide, a protector, a confidant, and a marriage counselor at times. And he’s a friend (remember the Scrabble games?) of sorts. He’s about to be gone from their lives effectively forever. They’re bringing Paige because this is their only chance to have the two of them meet. If they could have figured out how to get Henry up to speed quickly enough, I’m sure they would have brought him, too.
Poor Henry.