373 replies to this topic

[DJ MC]

Oh see I thought she was supposed to be like 16-18 at that point. Hard to pull off when you are using the current actress, but most russian agents were trained super young.

I actually meant to edit that to 18. So she was young, but not THAT young. That incident was affecting to her because of the act, not her age when it happened.

[DJ MC]

Think so? Seems like a lot of time spent on that scenario for it to just go away. I think the creepy guy is an agent/operative for somebody. Is he working for the Soviets or Americans? Or.....

I'm waiting for Agent Beeman's previous undercover work with the white supremacist groups to come back into play. Maybe creepy guy is looking for revenge.

Didn't Chekhov write about that? If you show a creepy guy threatening a girl in the first act you have to have him go through with it in the next one?

The writers did a nice job with him, keeping him right on the edge of crazy-but-harmless and outright dangerous. I bet we see him again, though maybe not for a few episodes. Like he kidnaps Paige in the season finale and Philip and Elizabeth think it has to do with their spying.

[Mackus]

Loved the capture and interrogation scenes (though agree with Chris that it was pretty obvious it was the Russians all along) and the stuff with Stan, Nina and the Rezident, but the hitchhiking stuff with the kids was pretty brutal. Still a very good episode and throws some pretty interesting twists into the marriage and their relationship with their handlers. Excited for tonight's episode!

Does anyone know how many episodes are in the season total? Did it get a full 13 or is it a shorter run?

[BSLChrisStoner]

Think so? Seems like a lot of time spent on that scenario for it to just go away. I think the creepy guy is an agent/operative for somebody. Is he working for the Soviets or Americans? Or.....

I'm waiting for Agent Beeman's previous undercover work with the white supremacist groups to come back into play. Maybe creepy guy is looking for revenge.

Interesting thoughts. The vibe I got him from him, was that he was similar to the Russian lost in the woods in The Sopranos. It felt like a one off plot to me, with the overall point of giving Paige and Henry additional air-time, and character development... but your thoughts are interesting.

[DJ MC]

"You Americans see everything as black and white. We see everything as gray."

Yeah, that's because the winters in Russia are ten months long

[Why Not?]

Interesting thoughts. The vibe I got him from him, was that he was similar to the Russian lost in the woods in The Sopranos. It felt like a one off plot to me, with the overall point of giving Paige and Henry additional air-time, and character development... but your thoughts are interesting.

You could be totally right. I felt like he was a bad actor. Not the real person playing the character, but like the character was an agent for somebody pretending to be a creepy child molester.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Interesting episode tonight.

[DJ MC]

Interesting episode tonight.

Just a bit. This stretch run is going to be great...assuming the show doesn't get kidnapped along the path.

[Mackus]

Just got around to watching Wednesday's episode.  Loved it!  The duality of each side was really interesting.  I also love that neither side really knows what's going on with the other.  There is so much confusion.

 

I was very surprised tha Chris is gone so quickly.  Though the change in Stan following that is going to be felt across the entriety of the show.

 

Do we think Chris actually did recognize Elizabeth?  That would seem totally in character for Elizabeth to be in disguise and try to meet Chris at a bar to sleep with him to get information.  But Chris being Chris, he never bothered to call her back so it really was just one night.  I thought that was a great couple lines there, because it immediately reveals a much deeper back story without any further time spent on it.  I also liked the flashbacks to Chris and Stan, without those I think Stan's extremely personal reaction to Chris' situation would have felt pretty rushed, since he didn't seem to really like him all that much before this episode.

[You Play to Win the Game]

Yeah, the flash backs were pretty important and well done. So was the initial exchange between Stan and the KGB hostage... that was intense. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite shows.

[DJ MC]

They just had a KGB officer quote (or try to quote) Howard Cosell.

[Mackus]

Pretty awesome episode last night.  This show likes to move pretty quickly and isn't afraid of getting rid of secondary characters (and maybe we'll see them eliminate some of the leads, though I doubt it).  Excited for next week's finale.  I've really enjoyed this debut season.

[Spoonless]

Pretty awesome episode last night.  This show likes to move pretty quickly and isn't afraid of getting rid of secondary characters (and maybe we'll see them eliminate some of the leads, though I doubt it).  Excited for next week's finale.  I've really enjoyed this debut season.

Yeah, I really kind of fell in love with the pacing.  At first I was worried that they kind of did away with what you'd think the standard tropes to be, in the first two episodes or so, that they'd not really have anywhere to go with it.  There are a few obvious things they still haven't done, that could be used to fill plot time if they get stuck, but I feel like the writers have a fairly good handle on what they want to do.  They do an excellent job of juxtaposing the two couples' relationships, and none of the main characters really feel stale to me.  Beeman did at first, but I think that was kind of the point; I think they've developed him fairly well.  Anyway, it's probably my favorite new show of the past couple years, though that's certainly due in part to my fascination with Cold War politics since I was a little kid.

[DJ MC]

Poor Martha. Poor, poor Martha.

 

Also, maybe it's just me, but in the wedding scene, didn't Claudia give off a real "hon" vibe? Like, a "Margo Martindale could have played Edna Turnblad in the 1988 Hairspray" vibe?

[You Play to Win the Game]

Looking forward to the season 2 premiere tonight.

[DJ MC]

I'm rewatching season one. and I'm not going to make it in time. I don't know if I want to watch the premiere live, or finish the rewatch and catch the premiere tomorrow.

[You Play to Win the Game]

I'm rewatching season one. and I'm not going to make it in time. I don't know if I want to watch the premiere live, or finish the rewatch and catch the premiere tomorrow.

Finish the rewatch. Just ignore this thread till you're caught up.

[DJ MC]

Finish the rewatch. Just ignore this thread till you're caught up.

 

You make it sound so easy 

[You Play to Win the Game]

Finish the rewatch. Just ignore this thread till you're caught up.

 
You make it sound so easy 

I'm actually a little jealous. I wish I had thought to rewatch it a few weeks back. Oh well, too late now.

[Mackus]

Loved the premiere.  Super excited for this season.