91 replies to this topic

[TWoP Lockley]

Philip and Elizabeth risk exposure while planting a bug in the defense secretary's office.

[AimingforYoko]

Ah, Star Wars. That takes me back.
I like the balance. Phillip and Elizabeth have no problem killing an innocent, but take no pleasure in it and are actually relieved when they don't have to. Of course thay may have just been relieved they weren't blown.

[OptimisticCynic]

I was lost - who was the blonde woman? Was she also Russian? Or was she an American he convinced to take photos for him?

[AimingforYoko]

The wife of some undersecretary in the DoD.

[benteen]

I think she was an American they convinced to work for them. I think Phillip's cover has to do with Swedish Intelligence.

Really good episode. It took me a little while to get into it but I was hooked. Stellar work by the leads once again, particularly Rhys. Noah Emmerich had a couple of great moments and lines here. "He's one of three minorities in our office. He can't be fired."

[Morbs]

I missed the first six minutes, because my DVR is against me, but I enjoyed the rest of the episode a lot. So the travel agency is functional? Is everyone working there in on it?

When you are constantly covered in bruises, it's probably not a good idea to set up a gym date with an FBI agent where you'll wear skimpy 80's workout clothes.

Ah, Star Wars. That takes me back.

Ok, good, so they were talking about the Star Wars program at the end? That was my guess, but to be honest I know nothing about this time period in U.S. history.

[Tiger220]

I liked this episode a lot, but I also was confused by the blonde lady's origin. I guess now that it's been pointed out that she was a Somebody's wife, I think back and can see that, but it whooshed right over my head the first time around.

Also, I have no idea how Elizabeth looks at Paige and thinks "My, what a delicate child!" And expected Henry's toothbrush rebellion to actually lead somewhere that wasn't driveway hockey. Not anyplace violent -- I think Phillip looks like a good dad -- but that look...woo, were I Henry, I would have withered into the floor.

[fester01]

Awfully big risk with the clock. All she had to do was place it back as told, then reported it to security personnel. We then could have waited until the antidote was administered, then either arrested them at once or tried to follow or even flip them. They could even keep the bug in place and use it to deliver disinformation to the KGB. I would also imagine this is a short-term deal, because I'm sure the Secretary of Defense's office and study are two places that are swept for bugs fairly often.

The blonde American wife is a nut! Did anyone else detect a twinge of jealousy from Keri when she saw the picture of her?

Loved the FBI guy's comment: "He's one of three minorities in the entire office. he can do just about whatever he wants and not get fired." LOL. He flipped a switch with the embassy secretary, though. Cold as ice. I like him even more than I did the first episode.

I'm calling it now: the FBI will enlist the help of the babysitter before the season's over.

Edited by fester01, Feb 6, 2013 @ 11:24 PM.

[Karelian]

It is excellent that the show does not worry about making the leads likable. Some of the minor characters - like the nutty blonde slut - are surprisingly nuanced and interestingly shaded. The period is also very well done, with a touch of Seventies still lingering on. This is a dumb show done real smart.

[bagatelle1]

I like that the actor who plays Phillip. He can change his look and it takes me a second to recognize him. I'm a little distracted by his veneers though, it's such a current look.

[ethanvahlere]

Awfully big risk with the clock. All she had to do was place it back as told, then reported it to security personnel. We then could have waited until the antidote was administered, then either arrested them at once or tried to follow or even flip them. They could even keep the bug in place and use it to deliver disinformation to the KGB. I would also imagine this is a short-term deal, because I'm sure the Secretary of Defense's office and study are two places that are swept for bugs fairly often.

While Philip and Elizabeth aren't high enough up on the food chain that they would be thinking about that particular risk - and it would have been nice if the KGB rezidentza had expressed those misgivings - I'm glad both of them acknowledged how risky that action was for them, and how they shouldn't have been asked to do it in the first place.

The second episode is almost always the most crucial episode in a first season for me, because it lets you know whether the show blew its wad in the pilot or they're actually thinking about what's going to come next, and judging from what happened here, I think this show is going to go places. They paid more attention to tradecraft here, they certainly are committed to presenting the characters in an ambiguous way (I don't know if Philip would have necessarily killed the maid's son, but I believed he was ready to do it), and the family stuff was also well done (though I'm not sure Paige is as vulnerable as Elizabeth seems to think she is, though she could be projecting her own issues on her daughters). And the details were handled well; I liked the way Stan handled himself in the stereo store and with the embassy secretary as well, and while it is kind of an obvious joke Philip had rarely had caviar and Elizabeth had never had it, I like how they handled it.

All in all, I'm definitely hooked, and am eagerly awaiting next week's episode.

[Hallelujah]

I thought this was a pretty big step down from the Pilot. It felt very disjointed and kind of clunky to me.

I thought the opening sequence was a flashback since the clothes Elizabeth was wearing were very similar to those in the 1960s flashbacks last week. Her wardrobe is very strange to me. I feel like it either looks too dated (for the early 80s) or not dated enough.

Aside from these (fairly) superficial concerns, I just didn't feel very engaged or invested emotionally. I'm so much more interested in Philip and Elizabeth's marriage and family than in the spy games, so I hope it doesn't descend into a weekly "what impossible task can they complete in the nick of time!?"-type thing. It's just not as compelling, and the novelty of them actually using real spycraft (wigs! bugging the Defense Secretary's clock!) is wearing thin for me.

It also didn't help that the overall plot was sort of confusing to me. I'm certainly not asking for scenes with only exposition or even to spell out what's going on right for the viewer, but even the realizations of who the new characters were or what their purpose was didn't leave me with a satisfying "aha!"-type moment.

I liked the bits with Elizabeth and Paige, however forced they felt on Elizabeth's side. It did strike me, much more than in the Pilot, how implausible Keri Russell seems as coming from Russia at all, but I guess that's the point. It's almost like she's too perfect (but, again, that's the point, right?). I vacillate between finding her character vastly more compelling or more dull than Philip's--she's so tough on the exterior but seemed to soften somewhat here; meanwhile Philip looked to be going the other way.

I'm not sure if I'm "rooting" for Elizabeth/Philip yet (not invested enough), but I certainly like them more than Stan, who annoys me. So by default, I guess?

[Dev F]

I think she was an American they convinced to work for them. I think Phillip's cover has to do with Swedish Intelligence.

She herself is of Swedish extraction, right? (Doesn't she talk in her last scene about how she doesn't have family there anymore?) I got the sense that Phillip was appealing to her sense of loyalty to the mother country.

Also, I have no idea how Elizabeth looks at Paige and thinks "My, what a delicate child!"

I think she sees her own very deeply repressed vulnerability in Paige. I thought that was the subtext of "He's like you, but Paige [is like me in that] . . . she's delicate somehow."

Edited by Dev F, Feb 6, 2013 @ 11:46 PM.

[bagatelle1]

Awfully big risk with the clock. All she had to do was place it back as told, then reported it to security personnel. We then could have waited until the antidote was administered, then either arrested them at once or tried to follow or even flip them. They could even keep the bug in place and use it to deliver disinformation to the KGB. I would also imagine this is a short-term deal, because I'm sure the Secretary of Defense's office and study are two places that are swept for bugs fairly often.

I agree it was a big risk, but I think it was the writers who were trying to draw out the episode. The whole thing didn't make sense... of course the woman would replace the clock. Or contact the authorities. She'd do something rather than nothing.

[Puds38]

I like the Jennings being conflicted about what they do, but FBI neighbor has already worked my nerves. He's almost too Captain America true blue. I'm not going to like feeling that every week he's trying to trip up the Jennings.

The last scene with Elizabeth piercing Paige's ears brought back memories. I had my ears pierced like that as a child only they also used thread and a potato.

[memememe76]

I don't find the FBI/CIA agent guy all that compelling.

And like last week's episode, after each big fight, I always think, "Didn't the kids all the ruckus in the garage? Didn't the neighbours hear all the ruckus in the other apartment?"

It was unclear just how out of it the son was, but if I were in his place, I would get my mom *not* to cooperate. I'm sure it happened in real life, but I don't buy the mother would do what she did.

But I liked it. They seem to expanding the universe. And I kinda love Phillip and Elizabeth and want to know more about their backstories. And their kids are adorable.

[Dowel Jones]

I have never watched a series where I wanted so much to see the protagonists fail (patriotism and all), which obviously can't happen if the series is to continue. That's what makes it so fascinating to me. Plus, to see the ongoing juxtaposition of the contest of wills between Philip and Elizabeth's jobs and the life they have built for themselves. We in the US always see ourselves as the more peaceful, non-threatening side of the of the Cold War, when the Russians were probably just as terrified of the Reagan Presidency as we were of them.
Side note: The umbrella trick was actually used by the KGB to kill a Russian diplomat who was about to defect. Made to appear as a heart attack.
The series is set in early 1981, I think? I wonder if they will deal with the Reagan shooting, which would be coming up soon.

[henriPootel]

She herself is of Swedish extraction, right? (Doesn't she talk in her last scene about how she doesn't have family there anymore?) I got the sense that Phillip was appealing to her sense of loyalty to the mother country.

The process is called 'false flagging', pretending to be an agent of a country that your mark wouldn't mind spying for. Apparently the Israelis are real masters of this, able to come up with agents credibly from anywhere.

The clock thing was slooooop-py. To give them credit, they knew it was a bad plan. My guess is that IRL, the plot would end with the secret service holding a gun to Phillip's head demanding the antidote like now. Were I the maid, I'd think this was much more likely to save my kid than going along with the plot, which I would assume would end with me and anybody I told mysteriously dying, along with my son. Having gotten the antidote, I'd absolutely tell security immediately, counting more on their ability to hid me and mine than the bad guys to keep their word and not kill us to make sure we didn't squeal.

ETA

Side note: The umbrella trick was actually used by the KGB to kill a Russian diplomat who was about to defect. Made to appear as a heart attack.

If you're thinking of Georgi Markov, he was Bulgarian, and I think they were fairly sure it was a hit even before he died. Also, there was also no coming back from it - they used ricin which has no cure, even now.

Apparently this caused quite the stink because if violated an unwritten agreement that neither side would hit dissidents in each other's countries, which was mostly observed by both sides.

Edited by henriPootel, Feb 7, 2013 @ 12:25 AM.

[Rickster]

Side note: The umbrella trick was actually used by the KGB to kill a Russian diplomat who was about to defect. Made to appear as a heart attack.

Maybe it was used more than once, but I think most famously it was used to kill a Bulgarian dissident in London, where the KGB shot a ricin pellet in his leg.

Decent episode. I liked the bugging plot, but am glad to see others were as confused as I was with what was going on with the blonde. I thought that subplot was clumsily and clunkily handled.

Surprised that the scene of her in her underwear merited a nudity warning, but maybe it was a bit too revealing.

[benteen]

I agree it was a big risk, but I think it was the writers who were trying to draw out the episode. The whole thing didn't make sense... of course the woman would replace the clock. Or contact the authorities. She'd do something rather than nothing.

Speaking of the clock, Phillip not wearing gloves when handling it bothered me. Maybe it would have hindered his work but still, I wonder if he even bothered to wipe the clock free of prints.

[Irlandesa]

Speaking of the clock, Phillip not wearing gloves when handling it bothered me. Maybe it would have hindered his work but still, I wonder if he even bothered to wipe the clock free of prints.

I guess it would depend on whether or not his fingerprints are on file somewhere. They may get prints off of the clock but if there's nothing to trace it to, it wouldn't necessarily be any good.

So the neighbor bringing over the caviar, was that another test? If he's Russian, he'll like caviar? I did like the detail that neither Elizabeth or Phillip had had it growing up because they didn't have much money.

It was a bit of a stretch that the maid didn't put the clock in and tell her boss after her son got the antidote but overall I enjoyed the episode. I like that both the spy and family stuff are a little bit messy.

I like that the actor who plays Phillip. He can change his look and it takes me a second to recognize him.

This. He's a bit of a chameleon. It's impressive. Some of it is talent but some of it is just having a look that can be malleable. He has both and it's very effective casting.

Edited by Irlandesa, Feb 7, 2013 @ 12:25 AM.

[larapu2000]

I found it distracting that Elizabeth sterilized that guy's ass before poking him with a syringe, but didn't sterilize her daughter's earlobes before a home ear piercing?

[Numb Nut]

I thought this was a pretty big step down from the Pilot. It felt very disjointed and kind of clunky to me.... I just didn't feel very engaged or invested emotionally.... It also didn't help that the overall plot was sort of confusing to me. I'm certainly not asking for scenes with only exposition or even to spell out what's going on right for the viewer, but even the realizations of who the new characters were or what their purpose was didn't leave me with a satisfying "aha!"-type moment.

The show is still good but, yeah, this ep was a bit of a letdown. I was a bit lost on who the blond was and why the brunette woman was so important. It also didn't help that I'm exhausted from work, so a re-watch is in order.

Her wardrobe is very strange to me. I feel like it either looks too dated (for the early 80s) or not dated enough.

Yeah, this show definitely doesn't scream 1980s. With the exception of Elizabeth's late-70s cowl-neck outfit, this ep felt more 1960s for some reason. Again, I'm a bit sleepy.

I liked the bits with Elizabeth and Paige

Me too. I really like Paige. She's smart like Dana Brody without that annoying finger-twisting habit.

I'm not sure if I'm "rooting" for Elizabeth/Philip yet (not invested enough), but I certainly like them more than Stan, who annoys me. So by default, I guess?

Yeah, I'm not into Stan at all. I like his wife though.

[ThatPoshGirl]

Are they going to break a wall every week? Is that this show's pineapple?

The daughter didn't think it was weird that her mom just happened to have a piercing needle?

I'm a little distracted by his veneers though, it's such a current look.

They really are distracting. It's like they don't quite fit in his mouth. At first I thought it was a prosthetic to help change his appearance, but they always look like that.

I'm so much more interested in Philip and Elizabeth's marriage and family than in the spy games, so I hope it doesn't descend into a weekly "what impossible task can they complete in the nick of time!?"

Oh, I feel quite the opposite. I'd rather them focus more on the spying and much, much less on the family drama.

[FinePoint]

Count me in as confused as to the purpose of the whole side plot with the blonde woman. I took it as the show portraying how these two people have to have sex with other people as part of their spy jobs. For the pilot last week, I had turned it on a few minutes late and was confused about the plot with Elizabeth wearing a wig and getting with some guy who worked for the government; this week, it was Philip's turn to be with someone else as part of his spy job.

FBI man seems like a real jerk to me. I don't know if what he and his partner did in the stereo shop was illegal (damaging merchandise and stealing the caviar, granted the stereo shop was part of an illegal operation, but still...). Plus breaking into his neighbours' house (granted, they're Russian spies, but he doesn't know that) was certainly illegal. I'm supposed to be pulling for our side but I don't like this character. I also remember renting "Beautiful Girls" a long time ago and FBI guy sure looked a lot different then to me.

The credits said Adam Arkin directed this; I thought it was pretty good. Oh, I liked the soft, almost sad or sentimental Russian music playing when Elizabeth pierced her daughter's ears.

[BlakeSpeare]

So the blonde really was the wife of whoever she told the authorities her husband is?

I think it would be pretty daunting to be told by your superiors, "Here's this drop-dead gorgeous young woman who's married to an exceptionally powerful man. She could have her pick of rich, handsome men, but we want you to seduce her, and not only get her to cheat on her husband, but also fall in love with you and betray her country."

I'm sure whoever gave him the assignment was glad that Phillip is really hot himself.

[Dev F]

Count me in as confused as to the purpose of the whole side plot with the blonde woman. I took it as the show portraying how these two people have to have sex with other people as part of their spy jobs.

I think the last scene with the blonde ties into why Phillip decides to make one final run at convincing Viola to finish the assignment. The whole episode, he's been trying to do this mission that he knows damn well is impossible. In the scene right before his lovah summons him, he's ready to just give up on the whole thing. But then he meets with blondie, who has the exact opposite attitude about her own problem -- she knows it's impossible for Scott the Swedish Secret Agent to leave his life and run off to Europe with her, but she still insists that they act, just for tonight, like it could actually happen.

I'm not sure if Phillip is simply inspired by her insane can-do spirit, if he sees the persuasive power of his own pretended certainty in the face of the impossible, or if the conversation strikes a nerve in some other way, but clearly the scene somehow causes him to rethink his previous fatalism and give the intimidation game one final, balls-to-the-wall attempt.

Edited by Dev F, Feb 7, 2013 @ 2:50 AM.

[BitterCocoa]

It was a good episode for me but only because it got me caring a bit more about Phillip & Elizabeth and the kids.

Elizabeth seemed warmer and more affectionate towards her kids (especially Paige) in this episode compared to the last, which was nice to see. On the other hand, this episode showed the extent to which Phillip can go to (i.e. killing an innocent pawn), to fulfill a mission. And I appreciated how affected he was when he almost had to do it.

Count me in as confused as to the purpose of the whole side plot with the blonde woman. I took it as the show portraying how these two people have to have sex with other people as part of their spy jobs.

She was the one who was able to take photos of the room that was to be bugged. I interpreted the subsequent scenes with Phillip and her as a reflection of how "honey trapping" can get a bit messy if the informant starts falling for the spy. Blondie seems like a loose cannon. If I were a spy, I wouldn't trust her. I bet she'd be a royal snitch if she didn't get her way.

I'm a little distracted by his veneers though, it's such a current look.

That is Rhys' real veneers unfortunately. His original set of teeth were adorable until he went all Hollywood on it.

I like that the actor who plays Phillip. He can change his look and it takes me a second to recognize him.

I don't know. I thought he could have done a bit more to disguise himself other than wearing light blue contact lenses for his guise as a Swedish intelligence agent.

Loved the FBI guy's comment: "He's one of three minorities in the entire office. he can do just about whatever he wants and not get fired."

That was hilarious. I'm still not fully sold on Stan but I do like his partner.

[fester01]

So the blonde really was the wife of whoever she told the authorities her husband is?

I think it would be pretty daunting to be told by your superiors, "Here's this drop-dead gorgeous young woman who's married to an exceptionally powerful man. She could have her pick of rich, handsome men, but we want you to seduce her, and not only get her to cheat on her husband, but also fall in love with you and betray her country."

I'm sure whoever gave him the assignment was glad that Phillip is really hot himself.

I get the feeling that a good portion of her willingness to help is due to the fact that she is bored. Bored with being a trophy wife to some political career guy, and the allure of being a "spy" would probably seem very appealing to her. That's my two cents, anyway.

[cwaldo]

I find the family dynamics the most interesting as well. I thought for sure that they were going to kill the maid and her brother. And in order for the writers to emphasize the lengths they will go to, I think they should have. Phillip and Elizabeth knew this was a bad plan and they could have easily been caught. But they are complete pawns and are not worth as much as they think they are to their government. I mean logically, the best thing for them to do was kill the maid and the brother after they got what they needed from her. Because they could never be too sure that she or her brother would or would not go to the authorities. But then I guess it would be harder to "root" for them.

The FBI neighbor is just too contrived. And he really can't keep his mouth shut about his job, can he?