Considering the opposition he had, I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did.
There was nothing he could have done to save the system. It was rotten and ready to collapse, which is just what it did.
You’re implying it’s too early to judge the collapse of the Soviet Union? 
Good point well made.
The scene also ended with the two simply saying ‘see you later’ - no hug or familial kiss as they went their ways. I love that we look at it in this detail because the work stands up to exactly that level of scrutiny.
I’ll be interesting to see Paige’s response to seeing her mother with some guys brains all over her face.
Is it junior modding if I try to kill this potential epic hijack while it’s still in the crib?
Please do. I detest arguing politics.
Elizabeth’s body count climbs again:
- Knife (and twist) in the neck
- Gun shot to the brain
- Old school forearm strangulation
One scene transition in particular really stood out for me: “You haven’t met anyone from home for 20 years” “Nor have you” Switch to Renee walking into the kitchen to where Stan was.
At this level of production that will do for me. Renee is a Soviet agent.
If she is, she’s pretty confident of her cover, if she really did intend to submit a job application to the FBI.
In re Elizabeth’s body count: isn’t it already higher than it was in previous seasons? At least on a “by episode 3” basis?
I get the feeling that the showrunners are setting up an ending in which no one will squawk if Elizabeth meets a horrifying fate…‘well, she did kill an awful lot of people’ style of thing…
That made it clearer to me that Renee’s not a Soviet agent. It was too clunkily done. (Centre would know that the FBI has a cutoff age and that asking Stan to get her resume in would be a futile gesture).
Anyone else look up a recipe for Жаркое after yesterday’s episode?
No, but I’d love to try some!
I guess Renee is just a weird red herring?
She’s getting Stan to bend the rules is all - putting his career in her hands
And no one’s talking about the “Stan-Oleg reunion”? Man, what a scene.
Oh, and about that whole “dead hand” business. Since it would add to the survivability of the Soviet retaliatory capability and thereby enhance deterrence, isn’t in the Soviet interest for the Americans to know about it?
Maybe once it’s finished. But they still (badly) need that detector-thingy that Elizabeth is trying to get hold of. If Americans find out about it before it’s done, that would be VERY bad for the USSR.
As for the Stan-Oleg reunion: I’m horribly distracted by how the Oleg actor looks exactly like his vicious-killer character on Homeland. (Possibly the two shows were filmed about the same time.) I have to keep reminding myself that this is humane, sensible Oleg, not the sadist guy. So I miss out on the emotion of his being face to face with Stan.
I take it you haven’t seen Dr. Strangelove?
You mean they were going to announce it at the next May Day parade?
That for sure.
Also the kitchen sink drama between P and E on the future of the Soviet Union, which seems to have settled P on engagement with Oleg’s cause.
Heh, there ya go.
BTW, aren’t nuclear subs enough of a “dead hand” deterrent?
Obviously they know that. They never wanted her to become an agent. The idea is to get Stan to share with her more. They want him to feel for her and confide in her more so that she will feel better.
I could see that.
I believe the ratio of Elizabeth murders to Henry appearances is 1:1 so far. Not too shabby three episodes in.
We also had a whole scene built around E saying to Paige “I’m not afraid to die”. Plus, the general got pretty close - it was only E begging on her knees that she was a mother that caused him to hesitate just long enough.
More widely, it was helpful to have confirmation this is indeed only a spycraft foundation course for Paige (“just in case”) and not her main role.