okay, but were they 35 years ago 
So Stan’s new girl is a total Russian spy, amirite?
I wouldn’t be surprised; by now they’d certainly have info in on Stan to create the perfect woman for him. It’d sure take some of the load off Philip. Also what exactly is a “bread oven place” and why were they a thing in the 80s? 
That was my first thought.
I have no idea but the see through plexiglass piano was a great touch.
Paige and Matthew: most awkward kissing on TV.
Leaving with infected bugs on you from the farm lab = bad idea.
Considering how prior seasons focused on love versus duty, stealth technology, and biological weapons, it’s odd to see so much emphasis on agriculture. I wonder if the writers are trying to show us why the USSR was so dysfunctional.
I bet Oleg will trace the path of corruption to his father, who will explain that bribery is the only way to get things done in the Soviet economy. I also bet that Morozov will explain to P&E that he’s been studying insects to help Russia’s farming yield instead of to harm it.
Yeah, that wouldn’t surprise me at all, if only because it seems a bit hard to release insects that destroy the Soviet wheat crop without risking them ending up in Europe and India and so forth.
by-Tor wrote: “Leaving with infected bugs on you from the farm lab = bad idea.”
If it leads to a Keri Russell shower scene=good idea.
Could be a spy for someone other than Russia, but, yeah: a spy. They wouldn’t have cast Laurie Holden for a ‘conventional girlfriend’ role.
Well Laurie Holden could certainly pass for a Swedish spy; though it’s not totally out of the question that the Chinese would have Caucasians on their payroll.
Agreed. It could even be the CIA spying on the FBI. (We’re getting hints of tensions between the agencies, and this could tie into that storyline.)
Was that last scene - the finger and thumb technique - epic foreshadowing or what.
It seems Oleg is a very big deal to the CIA. I did wonder if gym lady might actually be CIA.
Loved the cheeky arse wobble. You’d want to slap that some.
Aha, got there before me! Maybe …
Another good episode. I loved the moment when Alexei apologizes for the argument he and Pasha have at the dinner table and Elizabeth sympathetically says they understand. A wink to her colleagues (and to the audience) since of course she and Philip understand every word the Morozovs have said in Russian.
I’m also enjoying the scenes in Moscow. One tiny detail was off: when Oleg returns home he doesn’t remove his shoes. No Russian would tramp down the corridor of his mom’s apartment without immediately taking off his outdoor shoes and putting on house slippers. Though I suppose you could make the argument that Oleg was so shaken up by the encounter with the CIA guy that he was thrown completely off kilter.
Stan’s support for Oleg was impressive. And interesting, given that Stan has not always behaved ethically, in either the personal or professional spheres. Perhaps he is feeling some guilt? The scene with the deputy A.G. was great. The A.G. obviously didn’t understand Stan’s sense of loyalty to Oleg, or his belief that the FBI is an organization with integrity, putting Stan’s feelings down to frustration at losing control of a potential recruit. I wonder how Stan will handle this situation, now that his attempts to go through official channels have failed.
I didn’t really get the point of the “technique” that Elizabeth teaches Paige.
Talking of tiny details, was there a continuity issue on the way home from the restaurant dinner - Philip drove while the kid was in the back but when they arrived in the garage Elizabeth was in the driving seat … no matter whatever.
Stan being pissed off with the intel community must serve a plot purpose. I guess this is where the Jane Fonda/gym girl comes in …
“A see-thru grand piano. Do I need to say anything more?” Both my wife and I were clueless.
And what’s the deal with the thumb and finger supposed to foreshadow?
My wife and I are wondering how come we liked this show so much before. Not sure how much longer we’ll stick with it.
Minor nitpick - not sure I’ve ever seen more listless and ineffective striking than Paige’s self defense practice.
It’s something that would be in a cheesy bar with lots of ferns. It would seem classy to someone without a lot of class.
Sherrerd wrote: “They wouldn’t have cast Laurie Holden for a ‘conventional girlfriend’ role.”
They did with Callie Thorne.
And Stan did once say to Oleg, after Nina was killed, “I don’t want you on my conscience too.”
That’s not a continuity error - Philip and Elizabeth were dressed as the Eckhart’s when they were driving Tuan home. When they drove back to their home in Virginia, they were in their “Jennings” clothes. In between scenes, they stopped somewhere (presumably Tuan’s house) and changed. I would have to re-watch it to be sure, but I think they even switched cars. (And earlier in the episode, Elizabeth was shown driving the Jennings’ car, establishing that it was ‘her’ car.)
Here’s a contemporaneous article about the Bread Oven and the plexiglass piano.
Well, she was doing that because she was ticked off at her mother.