The Americans: Amber Waves
March 7, 2017 10:05 PM - Season 5, Episode 1 - Subscribe
In this first episode of the fifth season, Philip and Elizabeth begin a new mission in a new place with a new agent, Oleg begins a new job in Moscow, Mischa begins a journey, Paige begins combat training, Stan begins going to the gym every day, and Hans and William complete their last operation.
I only caught the last twenty minutes or so but I'm so excited that it's back.
posted by Room 641-A at 3:29 AM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Room 641-A at 3:29 AM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
Vox, Vulture, and The AV Club have some good reviews of this episode.
posted by orange swan at 4:21 AM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by orange swan at 4:21 AM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
Here's hoping Tuan is continues being as interesting as he was in this episode.
Wondering whether Tatiana will remember her little joke to Oleg when she considers how her operation went wrong. Wondering whether we'll see the Rezidentura much this year. I already miss Arkady.
posted by kingless at 4:42 AM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
Wondering whether Tatiana will remember her little joke to Oleg when she considers how her operation went wrong. Wondering whether we'll see the Rezidentura much this year. I already miss Arkady.
posted by kingless at 4:42 AM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
wouldn't a biohazard lab cremate a corpse infected with Lassa fever?
There was a sticker on the bag that said "Do not burn" so I'm guessing that burning won't fix this one.
So so happy this show is back. Hearing "America the Beautiful" in Russian was a little freaky though, considering everything in the real world right now.
posted by LizBoBiz at 5:43 AM on March 8, 2017 [6 favorites]
There was a sticker on the bag that said "Do not burn" so I'm guessing that burning won't fix this one.
So so happy this show is back. Hearing "America the Beautiful" in Russian was a little freaky though, considering everything in the real world right now.
posted by LizBoBiz at 5:43 AM on March 8, 2017 [6 favorites]
There was a sticker on the bag that said "Do not burn" so I'm guessing that burning won't fix this one.
But Lassa fever is a hemorrhagic fever like Ebola. The modern day Ebola centers we have at hospitals have special incinerators where every single thing that's touched the patient gets burned. I guess they're going with Lassa being relatively new in the 1980s (a little over a decade old at this point) but I suspect it's more about all the great things they got out of the scene (the digging of the hole being oddly tense, the ruthlessness with which they killed the henchman that fell, the visual metaphor of them digging themselves into a giant hole.) Just wish they'd given Gabriel one more line with a reason they wouldn't dispose of the body in the traditional way, but it looks like I'm the only one bugged by this.
posted by bluecore at 6:52 AM on March 8, 2017 [3 favorites]
But Lassa fever is a hemorrhagic fever like Ebola. The modern day Ebola centers we have at hospitals have special incinerators where every single thing that's touched the patient gets burned. I guess they're going with Lassa being relatively new in the 1980s (a little over a decade old at this point) but I suspect it's more about all the great things they got out of the scene (the digging of the hole being oddly tense, the ruthlessness with which they killed the henchman that fell, the visual metaphor of them digging themselves into a giant hole.) Just wish they'd given Gabriel one more line with a reason they wouldn't dispose of the body in the traditional way, but it looks like I'm the only one bugged by this.
posted by bluecore at 6:52 AM on March 8, 2017 [3 favorites]
Man, that opening was so mind-boggling. It wasn't until it ended, with the two of them sitting in a breakfast nook in airline uniforms, that I grokked that this was a very elaborate new operation. Man, Tuan is even more of a true believer than Liz. Patriotic youth.
And opening with Devo's That's Good was heaven to my ears. Its use doesn't work as a time stamp, though, since that album was released in 1982, and I'm pretty sure we're now at 1987 or so.
As for the Don't Burn tag on the body...It could simply be an experiment to see how long the virus remains viable in a corpse? Bury it. Wait 20-30 years or so. Dig it up and see if the virus is still kicking.
As soon as the flunkie cut his hand, you knew he was a dead man. And, you knew who was going to do it, too.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:12 AM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
And opening with Devo's That's Good was heaven to my ears. Its use doesn't work as a time stamp, though, since that album was released in 1982, and I'm pretty sure we're now at 1987 or so.
As for the Don't Burn tag on the body...It could simply be an experiment to see how long the virus remains viable in a corpse? Bury it. Wait 20-30 years or so. Dig it up and see if the virus is still kicking.
As soon as the flunkie cut his hand, you knew he was a dead man. And, you knew who was going to do it, too.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:12 AM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
Among other topics, Slate's s5e1 podcast episode includes a discussion of the difficulties of filming the last scene.
posted by kingless at 7:14 AM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by kingless at 7:14 AM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
Thorzdad: And opening with Devo's That's Good was heaven to my ears. Its use doesn't work as a time stamp, though, since that album was released in 1982, and I'm pretty sure we're now at 1987 or so.
They were going to watch the Olympics, so either 1984 or 1988, right? I don't know if there were other clues that narrowed it down.
Thorzdad: As for the Don't Burn tag on the body...It could simply be an experiment to see how long the virus remains viable in a corpse? Bury it. Wait 20-30 years or so. Dig it up and see if the virus is still kicking.
That seems plausible. I wish Gabriel had said that so it wasn't nagging me through the scene.
posted by bluecore at 7:25 AM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
They were going to watch the Olympics, so either 1984 or 1988, right? I don't know if there were other clues that narrowed it down.
Thorzdad: As for the Don't Burn tag on the body...It could simply be an experiment to see how long the virus remains viable in a corpse? Bury it. Wait 20-30 years or so. Dig it up and see if the virus is still kicking.
That seems plausible. I wish Gabriel had said that so it wasn't nagging me through the scene.
posted by bluecore at 7:25 AM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
~And opening with Devo's That's Good was heaven to my ears. Its use doesn't work as a time stamp, though, since that album was released in 1982, and I'm pretty sure we're now at 1987 or so.
~They were going to watch the Olympics, so either 1984 or 1988, right? I don't know if there were other clues that narrowed it down.
Now that I read it, the AV Club review points to a newspaper dated February 1984, so I'm way off. I could have sworn someone made a passing reference to the US-Soviet grain deal. I assumed it was the '87 deal being referenced, but maybe it was the one from back in the 70's?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:39 AM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
~They were going to watch the Olympics, so either 1984 or 1988, right? I don't know if there were other clues that narrowed it down.
Now that I read it, the AV Club review points to a newspaper dated February 1984, so I'm way off. I could have sworn someone made a passing reference to the US-Soviet grain deal. I assumed it was the '87 deal being referenced, but maybe it was the one from back in the 70's?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:39 AM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
In the season finale they watched the Super Bowl. Maybe there is a detail there. (I can't FF with OnDemad or I'd check.)
What I meant to mention earlier this that the last 20 minutes I watched were almost silent, which was fantastic.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:40 AM on March 8, 2017
What I meant to mention earlier this that the last 20 minutes I watched were almost silent, which was fantastic.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:40 AM on March 8, 2017
(Just re-read the AV club bit about the newspaper, never mind.)
posted by Room 641-A at 8:41 AM on March 8, 2017
posted by Room 641-A at 8:41 AM on March 8, 2017
That wasn't a flunkie! That was Hans!
posted by CMcG at 10:11 AM on March 8, 2017 [16 favorites]
posted by CMcG at 10:11 AM on March 8, 2017 [16 favorites]
That wasn't a flunkie! That was Hans!
I have a very hard time keeping track of a lot of the Russian characters.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:25 PM on March 8, 2017
I have a very hard time keeping track of a lot of the Russian characters.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:25 PM on March 8, 2017
Comrades, so happy to see you all again! I love how Stan is still managing to star in his own wacky vegetable-averse sitcom in the middle of a spy thriller, but my single fave bit of this episode was Paige reading The Hotel New Hampshire (possibly recommended by Matthew?), featuring a family even more fucked-up than her own!
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:22 PM on March 8, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:22 PM on March 8, 2017 [6 favorites]
Now that I read it, the AV Club review points to a newspaper dated February 1984, so I'm way off.
And yes, it can't be later than '84, not only because of the Olympics but because it's clearly still the pre-Gorbachev era. Perestroika and glasnost would have to be the endpoint of the illegals program, so I'm guessing he shows up at the end of this season or beginning of the next (final) one.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:27 PM on March 8, 2017
And yes, it can't be later than '84, not only because of the Olympics but because it's clearly still the pre-Gorbachev era. Perestroika and glasnost would have to be the endpoint of the illegals program, so I'm guessing he shows up at the end of this season or beginning of the next (final) one.
posted by FelliniBlank at 3:27 PM on March 8, 2017
And yes, it can't be later than '84, not only because of the Olympics but because it's clearly still the pre-Gorbachev era.
Chernenko's portrait was hanging in the Lubyanka office, and he was only in charge for part of 1984 and 85 before dying. Andropov only lasted slightly longer. You know not all is well with your state when you're appointing terminally ill new leaders.
posted by sobarel at 4:08 PM on March 8, 2017 [5 favorites]
Chernenko's portrait was hanging in the Lubyanka office, and he was only in charge for part of 1984 and 85 before dying. Andropov only lasted slightly longer. You know not all is well with your state when you're appointing terminally ill new leaders.
posted by sobarel at 4:08 PM on March 8, 2017 [5 favorites]
Oh yeah, they mentioned Chernenko, didn't they? I kind of spaced that out since I was focusing more on Oleg's situation.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:16 PM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:16 PM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
Seeing ads for S3 of Fargo made me realize why I loved the hole scene: I miss slow tv. The Americans, Fargo, and Better Call Saul all let the story develop at t's own pace.
The scene with Elizabeth pushing Paige without warning was so upsetting. I'm glad it ended quickly and without too much stress on Paige.
I would have thought they'd need respirators instead of paper masks.
This looks to be a great season, although I have to admit it's almost bittersweet seeing the old timeline and then hearing Trump's latest tweet barf.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:25 PM on March 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
The scene with Elizabeth pushing Paige without warning was so upsetting. I'm glad it ended quickly and without too much stress on Paige.
I would have thought they'd need respirators instead of paper masks.
This looks to be a great season, although I have to admit it's almost bittersweet seeing the old timeline and then hearing Trump's latest tweet barf.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:25 PM on March 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
I have a very hard time keeping track of a lot of the Russian characters.
And the South African ones, apparently.
posted by Sys Rq at 5:11 PM on March 8, 2017 [12 favorites]
And the South African ones, apparently.
posted by Sys Rq at 5:11 PM on March 8, 2017 [12 favorites]
I would have thought they'd need respirators instead of paper masks.
Lassa fever is not airborne. It's spread by direct contact.
posted by Sys Rq at 5:15 PM on March 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
Lassa fever is not airborne. It's spread by direct contact.
posted by Sys Rq at 5:15 PM on March 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think my favorite part was Character Actress Margo Martindale* meeting with Gabriel, and their opinions of the Jennings: “Nothing scares those two." “Everything scares those two.”
* I hope we get to see a lot of Claudia this season, since she seems a lot less busy these days otherwise.
posted by General Malaise at 5:32 PM on March 8, 2017 [9 favorites]
* I hope we get to see a lot of Claudia this season, since she seems a lot less busy these days otherwise.
posted by General Malaise at 5:32 PM on March 8, 2017 [9 favorites]
There was very obviously someone sitting in their car parked on the street where the Jennings and Tuan were walking. Was it the same man who was their spotter at the military base, or was it someone different?
posted by emelenjr at 7:37 PM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by emelenjr at 7:37 PM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
The USSR and its allies (except for Romania) boycotted the 1984 Olympics (widely believe in retaliation for the US's 1980 boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan). I'm surprised that didn't come up when they mentioned watching the Olympics.
posted by ShooBoo at 7:54 PM on March 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by ShooBoo at 7:54 PM on March 8, 2017 [2 favorites]
Shooboo: Regular Americans watch the Olympics, so the Jennings watch the Olympics.
Btw, is it naïve of me that I'm surprised the Jennings didn't turn down the sample-retrieval mission? I mean, sure, their discretion is very limited - but "Every attempt we've made to extract a virus sample has ended horribly, and this plan is a whole nother level of dangerous" seems a pretty compelling argument. And yes, their job is to perform difficult and risky tasks, but there has to be an upper limit.
posted by Mr. Excellent at 8:06 PM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
Btw, is it naïve of me that I'm surprised the Jennings didn't turn down the sample-retrieval mission? I mean, sure, their discretion is very limited - but "Every attempt we've made to extract a virus sample has ended horribly, and this plan is a whole nother level of dangerous" seems a pretty compelling argument. And yes, their job is to perform difficult and risky tasks, but there has to be an upper limit.
posted by Mr. Excellent at 8:06 PM on March 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
Kudos to The Americans for casting high school kids who are actually ordinary looking kids, rather than model perfect 22-year-olds as so many shows do.
My first thought on seeing "the Eckerts" was that Philip and Elizabeth had chosen to assume new identities permanently.
Can I just say how impressed I am that Oleg managed to basically play a double agent without ever once being suspected or even seeming stressed out about it? Remember how terrified Nina was when she was reporting to Stan? Of course she was being forced into it while Oleg was doing what he pleased and only as much as he pleased and he doesn't have to sleep with anyone unless he wants to, but still. That guy has one enviable temperament. He reminds me of someone I used to work with who came across as something of a doofus but whom I realized over time was actually highly intelligent and principled.
Tuan is a zealot, ugh.
Even Oleg's family's home, which is luxurious by Soviet standards, is nothing like as nice as what his father's equivalent in the U.S. would be -- Caspar Weinberger's, for instance. They have an apartment, not a house.
Mischa's journey to find his father is really quite lame. He has to know he's running an excellent chance of winding up dead or in a prison camp. They're already on to him, for heaven's sake. He must have inherited his mother's heedlessness. Why doesn't he run away to Canada or some such place and have a good life there?
Paige likes Matthew's hair wet.
Oh, the trials of being a covert KGB agent and a mom. Those clueless neighbouring FBI agents don't serve your kids vegetables!
Stan's revelation about having "met" the woman in the purple leotard was just sad. Philip was clearly repressing a reaction something along the lines of, "Dude. You are an ass."
Oleg's new job is preventing corruption. I rolled my eyes over his new boss's claim that the root cause of food shortages was corruption. No, it was because Russia wasn't producing enough food, and it wasn't producing enough food because their system was inefficient and counterproductive, (i.e., no one wanted to exceed the production quotas set for them because that would mean they would have their quotas raised in future and then maybe they couldn't meet them the next time.) As a pragmatist, ideologues who refuse to look at what's really happening and who insist on keep trying to use the same broken methodology to fix things drive me right up the wall.
I hope nothing happens to Oleg for his mother's sake. Losing both her sons will kill her.
I don't think I'll ever buy keychain-sized Paige as a force of destruction.
Philip says maybe William will get a stamp for his heroism. That's a sardonic line worthy of William himself, and imagining William's defeated, lined face on a commemorative stamp gives me the giggles.
I agree with those who are questioning why William's body wasn't burned. They should have addressed that question in the script. I also wonder how it is that the KGB knows that William was buried if they don't know for sure that he died.
It took me awhile to figure out what the hole was for, and when I did I thought, damn, that shit is cold. William sacrificed himself to protect them, and they open his grave and carve him up to get the sample he wasn't able to pass on to them. Then Hans gets infected, and Elizabeth makes the grave robbery look like the last rites. At least William got a minute of silence when they opened his coffin. Poor Hans had a thing for Elizabeth, too, but like Lisa, she never gave a shit about him.
I liked this episode quite a lot. The show needed some new storylines because it wrapped up so many last season, and the writers are setting the table with some new ones. Other than Mischa's journey, everything smells good, and I spent over 10 riveting minutes watching five actors dig a hole in silence. This bodes well.
Also, I note that I saw pictures of the season 5 after party on Twitter, and the actresses who played Martha and Young Hee were both present, which could mean that they'll be in this season. I'm also hoping to see Arkady.
Incidentally, I am glad to see that Alison Wright's career seems to be taking off. Her pre-The Americans IMDB credits were scanty, and she's been in four projects since. Which I am probably going to check out.
posted by orange swan at 9:06 PM on March 8, 2017 [9 favorites]
My first thought on seeing "the Eckerts" was that Philip and Elizabeth had chosen to assume new identities permanently.
Can I just say how impressed I am that Oleg managed to basically play a double agent without ever once being suspected or even seeming stressed out about it? Remember how terrified Nina was when she was reporting to Stan? Of course she was being forced into it while Oleg was doing what he pleased and only as much as he pleased and he doesn't have to sleep with anyone unless he wants to, but still. That guy has one enviable temperament. He reminds me of someone I used to work with who came across as something of a doofus but whom I realized over time was actually highly intelligent and principled.
Tuan is a zealot, ugh.
Even Oleg's family's home, which is luxurious by Soviet standards, is nothing like as nice as what his father's equivalent in the U.S. would be -- Caspar Weinberger's, for instance. They have an apartment, not a house.
Mischa's journey to find his father is really quite lame. He has to know he's running an excellent chance of winding up dead or in a prison camp. They're already on to him, for heaven's sake. He must have inherited his mother's heedlessness. Why doesn't he run away to Canada or some such place and have a good life there?
Paige likes Matthew's hair wet.
Oh, the trials of being a covert KGB agent and a mom. Those clueless neighbouring FBI agents don't serve your kids vegetables!
Stan's revelation about having "met" the woman in the purple leotard was just sad. Philip was clearly repressing a reaction something along the lines of, "Dude. You are an ass."
Oleg's new job is preventing corruption. I rolled my eyes over his new boss's claim that the root cause of food shortages was corruption. No, it was because Russia wasn't producing enough food, and it wasn't producing enough food because their system was inefficient and counterproductive, (i.e., no one wanted to exceed the production quotas set for them because that would mean they would have their quotas raised in future and then maybe they couldn't meet them the next time.) As a pragmatist, ideologues who refuse to look at what's really happening and who insist on keep trying to use the same broken methodology to fix things drive me right up the wall.
I hope nothing happens to Oleg for his mother's sake. Losing both her sons will kill her.
I don't think I'll ever buy keychain-sized Paige as a force of destruction.
Philip says maybe William will get a stamp for his heroism. That's a sardonic line worthy of William himself, and imagining William's defeated, lined face on a commemorative stamp gives me the giggles.
I agree with those who are questioning why William's body wasn't burned. They should have addressed that question in the script. I also wonder how it is that the KGB knows that William was buried if they don't know for sure that he died.
It took me awhile to figure out what the hole was for, and when I did I thought, damn, that shit is cold. William sacrificed himself to protect them, and they open his grave and carve him up to get the sample he wasn't able to pass on to them. Then Hans gets infected, and Elizabeth makes the grave robbery look like the last rites. At least William got a minute of silence when they opened his coffin. Poor Hans had a thing for Elizabeth, too, but like Lisa, she never gave a shit about him.
I liked this episode quite a lot. The show needed some new storylines because it wrapped up so many last season, and the writers are setting the table with some new ones. Other than Mischa's journey, everything smells good, and I spent over 10 riveting minutes watching five actors dig a hole in silence. This bodes well.
Also, I note that I saw pictures of the season 5 after party on Twitter, and the actresses who played Martha and Young Hee were both present, which could mean that they'll be in this season. I'm also hoping to see Arkady.
Incidentally, I am glad to see that Alison Wright's career seems to be taking off. Her pre-The Americans IMDB credits were scanty, and she's been in four projects since. Which I am probably going to check out.
posted by orange swan at 9:06 PM on March 8, 2017 [9 favorites]
Alison Wright is in the great Sneaky Pete on Amazon. She's English, which I didn't know before I heard the accent.
Tuan is a zealot, ugh.
I wonder if his lack of control will become an issue. E didn't seem to happy with his ranting. Oof, or Sasha's father. Yikes.
posted by Room 641-A at 9:23 PM on March 8, 2017
Tuan is a zealot, ugh.
I wonder if his lack of control will become an issue. E didn't seem to happy with his ranting. Oof, or Sasha's father. Yikes.
posted by Room 641-A at 9:23 PM on March 8, 2017
One other thing... Oleg's new job doesn't seem like a good fit for his skills. He told Stan he went to the Soviet equivalent of M.I.T., which means he has a background in science and technology. I seem to recall that when he first came on the scene it was mentioned that he had computer skills. And now he's going to do criminal investigations in food supply corruption? Seems like a waste of his abilities. But then it was never clear what he did at the Rezidentura, other than reviewing the Mail Robot recordings and the plans for the Challenger, banging his best-looking colleagues, and extolling the merits of Twinkies.
posted by orange swan at 4:49 AM on March 9, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by orange swan at 4:49 AM on March 9, 2017 [1 favorite]
Perhaps Oleg read What Colour is My Hammer and Sickle and decided his love of Twinkies was a transferable skill...?
posted by orange swan at 5:16 AM on March 9, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by orange swan at 5:16 AM on March 9, 2017 [6 favorites]
I love how Stan is still managing to star in his own wacky vegetable-averse sitcom in the middle of a spy thriller.
Contrast that with Phillip growing up on onions boiled into "soup" and Elizabeth's mother starving herself so her daughter could eat. It was a light-handed way of saying look at this asshole eating off the fat of the land. Between the opening scenes of agricultural production in the US and USSR and Oleg's new job now as the food chain police, this might be an ongoing theme this season.
posted by peeedro at 7:34 AM on March 9, 2017 [8 favorites]
Contrast that with Phillip growing up on onions boiled into "soup" and Elizabeth's mother starving herself so her daughter could eat. It was a light-handed way of saying look at this asshole eating off the fat of the land. Between the opening scenes of agricultural production in the US and USSR and Oleg's new job now as the food chain police, this might be an ongoing theme this season.
posted by peeedro at 7:34 AM on March 9, 2017 [8 favorites]
I think we're looking at the seeds of everyone's downfall here. Oleg gave up a promising career (and an envied one, so there's suspicion coming and going) and is now being parked in a job that is doomed to fail - and he doesn't seem to know it, or does he? Tuan is going to turn on P&E for being soft, especially as they are increasingly demoralized by Soviet Dad's reports from the breadlines. Claudia and Gabriel's diverging assessments of P&E. Paige's giant marshmallow heart. Stan's complete descent into That Guy. (Henry is turning into a sitcom kid on a drama show.)
After listening to the podcast about The Hole, and The Problems With Shooting In A Hole, they should have just put William in a freezer in a secret facility and called it good. Hans could have tripped and fallen there too. I don't think it was worth all that production or like 12 minutes of screen time except that I think they got the season all queued up and didn't want to start in on the stories unfolding until the next episode.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:30 AM on March 9, 2017
After listening to the podcast about The Hole, and The Problems With Shooting In A Hole, they should have just put William in a freezer in a secret facility and called it good. Hans could have tripped and fallen there too. I don't think it was worth all that production or like 12 minutes of screen time except that I think they got the season all queued up and didn't want to start in on the stories unfolding until the next episode.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:30 AM on March 9, 2017
My theory is that Stan's suspicions will be raised when Matthew gets a Systema Spetsnaz face-punch after getting too fresh with the newly-trained Paige.
posted by cardboard at 9:39 AM on March 9, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by cardboard at 9:39 AM on March 9, 2017 [3 favorites]
Also, thinking about it, there was a lot of food in this episode. Tuan and Pasha in the school cafeteria, the soviet bread lines footage segues into a bureaucrat eating danish and tea, Paige brings pizza home from the Beeman's, the dinner with the defectors (an agricultural consultant), Stan's cooking, Paige's cookies and milk, and the vintage tv commercials.
But the characters shown breaking bread together are all deceiving each other: Tuan and Pasha, then their families, Paige and the Beemans, Stan and Phillip sharing a beer. The last scene with Oleg, after his new boss warns him that he might find corruption close to home, his family is getting ready to sit for dinner when he stonewalls his father's questions about his new job. I have a feeling Oleg's mother is going to lose her remaining son, one way or another.
posted by peeedro at 10:08 AM on March 9, 2017 [6 favorites]
But the characters shown breaking bread together are all deceiving each other: Tuan and Pasha, then their families, Paige and the Beemans, Stan and Phillip sharing a beer. The last scene with Oleg, after his new boss warns him that he might find corruption close to home, his family is getting ready to sit for dinner when he stonewalls his father's questions about his new job. I have a feeling Oleg's mother is going to lose her remaining son, one way or another.
posted by peeedro at 10:08 AM on March 9, 2017 [6 favorites]
I definitely loved the food throughline. I may have also angrily demanded a Pastry Robot after the scene with the cart at the KGB.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:42 AM on March 9, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Lyn Never at 11:42 AM on March 9, 2017 [2 favorites]
Did we get any clue as to why they're working the defector family? I suppose that will be revealed later. Another kidnapping back to the motherland?
The soup discussion was interesting. I felt Phil told the story of his mother's onion water-soup in a tone that seemed sympathetic and somewhat disdainful of the conditions in Russia, whereas Liz told the story of her mother in an almost prideful manner, painting her mother as a hero. I think, not-too-deep-down, Phil agrees with the defector, and this just might cause problems between he and Liz whenever the time comes to do whatever it is they're supposed to do with the family.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2017
The soup discussion was interesting. I felt Phil told the story of his mother's onion water-soup in a tone that seemed sympathetic and somewhat disdainful of the conditions in Russia, whereas Liz told the story of her mother in an almost prideful manner, painting her mother as a hero. I think, not-too-deep-down, Phil agrees with the defector, and this just might cause problems between he and Liz whenever the time comes to do whatever it is they're supposed to do with the family.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2017
I think, not-too-deep-down, Phil agrees with the defector, and this just might cause problems between he and Liz whenever the time comes to do whatever it is they're supposed to do with the family.
We've kind of known this since season 1?
posted by LizBoBiz at 12:49 PM on March 9, 2017 [3 favorites]
We've kind of known this since season 1?
posted by LizBoBiz at 12:49 PM on March 9, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yeah, but he's really getting bad about it. Even in this first episode he seems a lot more weary.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:58 PM on March 9, 2017
posted by Thorzdad at 12:58 PM on March 9, 2017
I'm assuming that the KGB needs to know what Morozov's telling the US/being used for by the US, this is probably a matter of course. I would guess that unless he's very, very valuable there will be no kidnapping back, just executions when the time is right.
I'm realizing, on re-watch, that Tuan says Morozov doesn't love "his homeland" and "I don't know how you people let that guy get out, you should have put a bullet in his head a long time ago" and I'm wondering if he's meaning "you (old) people" or if he's not a Soviet asset and this is a collaboration of some kind.
This whole show has been a ticking clock on whether Elizabeth will catch up with Philip, who's had one foot out the door for years (and these days most of the other foot, with his hat and coat on), or if she's still a True Believer deep down. Tuan is, and I don't know if they can hold up to that kind of scrutiny, or how desperate Elizabeth is for a protege who really reminds her of herself (unlike Hans, or Paige, or even Philip).
posted by Lyn Never at 1:19 PM on March 9, 2017
I'm realizing, on re-watch, that Tuan says Morozov doesn't love "his homeland" and "I don't know how you people let that guy get out, you should have put a bullet in his head a long time ago" and I'm wondering if he's meaning "you (old) people" or if he's not a Soviet asset and this is a collaboration of some kind.
This whole show has been a ticking clock on whether Elizabeth will catch up with Philip, who's had one foot out the door for years (and these days most of the other foot, with his hat and coat on), or if she's still a True Believer deep down. Tuan is, and I don't know if they can hold up to that kind of scrutiny, or how desperate Elizabeth is for a protege who really reminds her of herself (unlike Hans, or Paige, or even Philip).
posted by Lyn Never at 1:19 PM on March 9, 2017
I'm wondering if he's meaning "you (old) people" or if he's not a Soviet asset and this is a collaboration of some kind.
Tuan is Vietnamese, not Russian. He's probably a communist and thinks of himself as working for a shared cause rather than for the betterment of the USSR.
My guess is that it pisses Elizabeth and Philip off to hear a defector speaking contemptuously about Russia when they've sacrificed so much for their country. They think of the current problems in Russia as trivial compared to the hardships they remember from their childhood or the issues they currently face as deep cover agents.
posted by orange swan at 1:24 PM on March 9, 2017 [10 favorites]
Tuan is Vietnamese, not Russian. He's probably a communist and thinks of himself as working for a shared cause rather than for the betterment of the USSR.
My guess is that it pisses Elizabeth and Philip off to hear a defector speaking contemptuously about Russia when they've sacrificed so much for their country. They think of the current problems in Russia as trivial compared to the hardships they remember from their childhood or the issues they currently face as deep cover agents.
posted by orange swan at 1:24 PM on March 9, 2017 [10 favorites]
Does anyone else find it just a little far-fetched that they'd have Phil and Liz, who are already posing as an American family, take-on the persona of another American family complete with a kid? It's a little hard for me to believe that there couldn't be another couple in the network that could take the job.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:07 PM on March 9, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 3:07 PM on March 9, 2017 [4 favorites]
Lyn Never: I'm realizing, on re-watch, that Tuan says Morozov doesn't love "his homeland" and "I don't know how you people let that guy get out, you should have put a bullet in his head a long time ago"
Setup for when Philip's son arrives and they have to stash him at Tuan's house because where else would they put him? Zealot Tuan + a guy who just fled Russia and isn't too happy about how they treated his mother = uh oh.
posted by bluecore at 3:21 PM on March 9, 2017 [4 favorites]
Setup for when Philip's son arrives and they have to stash him at Tuan's house because where else would they put him? Zealot Tuan + a guy who just fled Russia and isn't too happy about how they treated his mother = uh oh.
posted by bluecore at 3:21 PM on March 9, 2017 [4 favorites]
This is such a well-acted show. It just needs to be said again and again.
The acting is what pulls me through the oddities of the writing. I like what they're trying to do by presenting the "action" scenes like the grave-dig as the tedious slogs they almost certainly were in reality, but the whole "let's tack on an adventure!" at the end of the episode is probably my biggest complaint about the show, and has been for a while. Like the over-the-top Death o' William last season, this ending felt unnecessarily ridiculous, like they didn't have the courage to continue with brilliant low-key storytelling and felt they had to deliver a thrilling spy set piece to start the new season with a literal bang. It makes me think of all the various pressures the writers are under to create a smart show with at least some mainstream appeal, and I can respect their attempts to navigate all that.
Still, as a fan I want to tell them they didn't need that ActionSpy stuff. The new family, the new mission, the Paige romance, the joy of seeing Henry no longer hiding his growth spurt (anyone else laugh at that shortest-to-tallest lineup of Paige, Henry and Matthew?), the setup of Oleg in a seriously declining Russia, all of that was more than enough without carving up William's skin and shooting the suddenly oopsy klutzy Hans.
Fine episode overall, though. I'm feeling like I did when I recently binged the 6th season of Shameless on Netflix; the show isn't as good as it once was but I love these characters so much I'm willing to stick with them even when the writers make them do stupid stuff.
It's a little hard for me to believe that there couldn't be another couple in the network that could take the job.
Sure, but that's pretty much the sine qua non suspension of disbelief that's made the show watchable from the get-go, no?
posted by mediareport at 6:00 AM on March 10, 2017
The acting is what pulls me through the oddities of the writing. I like what they're trying to do by presenting the "action" scenes like the grave-dig as the tedious slogs they almost certainly were in reality, but the whole "let's tack on an adventure!" at the end of the episode is probably my biggest complaint about the show, and has been for a while. Like the over-the-top Death o' William last season, this ending felt unnecessarily ridiculous, like they didn't have the courage to continue with brilliant low-key storytelling and felt they had to deliver a thrilling spy set piece to start the new season with a literal bang. It makes me think of all the various pressures the writers are under to create a smart show with at least some mainstream appeal, and I can respect their attempts to navigate all that.
Still, as a fan I want to tell them they didn't need that ActionSpy stuff. The new family, the new mission, the Paige romance, the joy of seeing Henry no longer hiding his growth spurt (anyone else laugh at that shortest-to-tallest lineup of Paige, Henry and Matthew?), the setup of Oleg in a seriously declining Russia, all of that was more than enough without carving up William's skin and shooting the suddenly oopsy klutzy Hans.
Fine episode overall, though. I'm feeling like I did when I recently binged the 6th season of Shameless on Netflix; the show isn't as good as it once was but I love these characters so much I'm willing to stick with them even when the writers make them do stupid stuff.
It's a little hard for me to believe that there couldn't be another couple in the network that could take the job.
Sure, but that's pretty much the sine qua non suspension of disbelief that's made the show watchable from the get-go, no?
posted by mediareport at 6:00 AM on March 10, 2017
Oh and transitioning from "I want to help you with your nightmares" to Mom shoving Daughter around the garage was shockingly great.
posted by mediareport at 6:04 AM on March 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by mediareport at 6:04 AM on March 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
the joy of seeing Henry no longer hiding his growth spurt
I laughed out loud when Stan said something like, "Hi, Henry, where have you been?"
posted by something something at 7:11 AM on March 10, 2017 [7 favorites]
I laughed out loud when Stan said something like, "Hi, Henry, where have you been?"
posted by something something at 7:11 AM on March 10, 2017 [7 favorites]
I still say Henry knows his parents are spies. Those laundry chutes carry sound, dammit.
posted by mediareport at 12:29 PM on March 10, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by mediareport at 12:29 PM on March 10, 2017 [2 favorites]
Tuan is watching The A-Team. Hannibal: "Now next time you think you wanna take somebody out, pal, go build yourself a good squad. Build yourself a team."
posted by Room 641-A at 1:11 PM on March 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Room 641-A at 1:11 PM on March 10, 2017 [1 favorite]
I was slightly bothered by the whole digging-up-William scene: First, there wasn't nearly enough safety gear for what they were doing, and second, a blood sample would probably have been better (and easier) than a skin sample.
Third, it was painfully obvious that the actor playing Hans was leaving the show and they needed to dispose of him: He just *happens* to fall *and* cut himself *and* touch the body?
But I did like the slowness of the digging. They brought EXTRA PEOPLE and some of them rested while others dug and it took a long time.
It's nice to have some slow, smart TV to watch though!
It would be an insane coincidence but I'm fantasizing about Oleg and Martha working together in Russia somehow.
posted by mmoncur at 11:45 PM on March 10, 2017 [3 favorites]
Third, it was painfully obvious that the actor playing Hans was leaving the show and they needed to dispose of him: He just *happens* to fall *and* cut himself *and* touch the body?
But I did like the slowness of the digging. They brought EXTRA PEOPLE and some of them rested while others dug and it took a long time.
It's nice to have some slow, smart TV to watch though!
It would be an insane coincidence but I'm fantasizing about Oleg and Martha working together in Russia somehow.
posted by mmoncur at 11:45 PM on March 10, 2017 [3 favorites]
Remind me, whatever happened to the Kimberly (whose father worked for CIA) storyline? Did it just peter out? Did Philip kill it via his handler by saying there was no info (so that he wouldn't have to sleep with 15-year-old Kimberly)?
posted by blueberry at 12:52 AM on March 12, 2017
posted by blueberry at 12:52 AM on March 12, 2017
That digging scene is remarkable. It's incredibly long, and fills out an episode that was already too long to make the usual hour slot. It's sort of a strange one-off, an escapade that presumably will have no larger consequences other than "now we have a sample of Lassa". Except for poor Hans, they gave him a pretty weak sendoff, he should have had some more lines and better lit shots. I mean I liked the scene, it worked, but it was unusual.
Tuan is fantastic. Although I'm with Thorzdad that it's pretty far fetched to have them play a whole 'nother couple. I'll just let that ride though if it's a fun story.
I hope they bring Martha back as a regular on the show. Also they really need to pay off the Kimberly story line. I think the writers accidentally took that to a place so dark they couldn't have Philip follow, but I'm not going to let them off.
posted by Nelson at 10:44 AM on March 12, 2017 [2 favorites]
Tuan is fantastic. Although I'm with Thorzdad that it's pretty far fetched to have them play a whole 'nother couple. I'll just let that ride though if it's a fun story.
I hope they bring Martha back as a regular on the show. Also they really need to pay off the Kimberly story line. I think the writers accidentally took that to a place so dark they couldn't have Philip follow, but I'm not going to let them off.
posted by Nelson at 10:44 AM on March 12, 2017 [2 favorites]
Remind me, whatever happened to the Kimberly (whose father worked for CIA) storyline? Did it just peter out? Did Philip kill it via his handler by saying there was no info?
I'd like to believe it was killed by a producer coming to their senses.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:12 PM on March 12, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'd like to believe it was killed by a producer coming to their senses.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:12 PM on March 12, 2017 [4 favorites]
The Kimmie operation is still going. She'd be sixteen, maybe nearly seventeen by now, as she's five months older than Paige. Philip was still seeing her during his and Elizabeth's "vacation", and slipping tapes to Gabriel. He hadn't slept with her yet, but I'm thinking they'll probably go there, and I am not looking forward to it.
posted by orange swan at 7:58 PM on March 12, 2017
posted by orange swan at 7:58 PM on March 12, 2017
The USSR and its allies (except for Romania) boycotted the 1984 Olympics (widely believe in retaliation for the US's 1980 boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan). I'm surprised that didn't come up when they mentioned watching the Olympics.
They boycotted the Summer games. The 84 Winter games were hosted by Yugoslavia. Russia didn't even announce their intent to boycott until May of '84.
posted by ApathyGirl at 11:29 AM on March 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
They boycotted the Summer games. The 84 Winter games were hosted by Yugoslavia. Russia didn't even announce their intent to boycott until May of '84.
posted by ApathyGirl at 11:29 AM on March 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
orange swan: I'm thinking they'll probably go there, and I am not looking forward to it.
I don't think so. Kimmie's father was in the Afghanistan section of the CIA, which was important because Philip's son was fighting there, so he had a primal reason to be invested in obtaining intel. Now they're working an agriculture expert, while Oleg is back in Russia in the section of the KGB responsible for busting black market food sales, so I think they're on the bread basket angle of the Cold War. They'll most likely make the case that the Soviet Union didn't fall because of proxy wars or the arms race, but because the US was able to put more food on the table and more washing machines in kitchens.
posted by bluecore at 11:58 AM on March 13, 2017
I don't think so. Kimmie's father was in the Afghanistan section of the CIA, which was important because Philip's son was fighting there, so he had a primal reason to be invested in obtaining intel. Now they're working an agriculture expert, while Oleg is back in Russia in the section of the KGB responsible for busting black market food sales, so I think they're on the bread basket angle of the Cold War. They'll most likely make the case that the Soviet Union didn't fall because of proxy wars or the arms race, but because the US was able to put more food on the table and more washing machines in kitchens.
posted by bluecore at 11:58 AM on March 13, 2017
I was slightly bothered by the whole digging-up-William scene: First, there wasn't nearly enough safety gear for what they were doing, and second, a blood sample would probably have been better (and easier) than a skin sample.
Yeah, the necessity of a filet 'o flesh was a bit far fetched. It was done for dramatic effect, of course, so I'll allow it. If the situation were more realistic, they'd just do several quick and easy punch biopsies.
I'd like to see Philip do a thing with Kimmie. Last season touched base on that story line, presumably to let us know that it was still brewing. But little else was done with it. I think he really does need to do the nasty with Kimmie, something equally amoral with her, or at least come very close, perhaps to drive him to the point where he's had enough.
posted by 2N2222 at 8:07 PM on March 14, 2017
Yeah, the necessity of a filet 'o flesh was a bit far fetched. It was done for dramatic effect, of course, so I'll allow it. If the situation were more realistic, they'd just do several quick and easy punch biopsies.
I'd like to see Philip do a thing with Kimmie. Last season touched base on that story line, presumably to let us know that it was still brewing. But little else was done with it. I think he really does need to do the nasty with Kimmie, something equally amoral with her, or at least come very close, perhaps to drive him to the point where he's had enough.
posted by 2N2222 at 8:07 PM on March 14, 2017
There was very obviously someone sitting in their car parked on the street where the Jennings and Tuan were walking. Was it the same man who was their spotter at the military base, or was it someone different?
I was curious about this too. Tuan mentioned someone watching earlier. When they go have dinner, we see someone in a car, seemingly watching. But the three either didn't notice or were aware/in on the surveillance.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:01 PM on March 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
Also, Oleg was being followed at night while strolling?
posted by 2N2222 at 9:07 PM on March 14, 2017
posted by 2N2222 at 9:07 PM on March 14, 2017
2N2222: Also, Oleg was being followed at night while strolling?
Presumably the CIA team picking him up before they made contact.
posted by bluecore at 9:34 PM on March 14, 2017
Presumably the CIA team picking him up before they made contact.
posted by bluecore at 9:34 PM on March 14, 2017
The digging scene was great, but it broke for me when they were dropping the Lassa filet into the ziploc baggie and weilding the blade carelessly at the same time. You'd be well aware of that blade tip while in a dark hole with a disease ridden body after digging for hours through the night.
posted by iamkimiam at 10:09 AM on April 16, 2017
posted by iamkimiam at 10:09 AM on April 16, 2017
Yeah, the necessity of a filet 'o flesh was a bit far fetched. It was done for dramatic effect, of course, so I'll allow it.
A pound of flesh for the motherland, perhaps?
posted by Room 641-A at 11:06 AM on April 16, 2017
A pound of flesh for the motherland, perhaps?
posted by Room 641-A at 11:06 AM on April 16, 2017
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posted by bluecore at 10:46 PM on March 7, 2017 [6 favorites]