|
savinhill posted:With a really bleak final scene too. Just drat, that look on Phil's face when Liz revealed she was buying into the cause's bullshit about Paige, especially after everything they've been through this season. The strongest characterization I remember from season 1 is that Liz is a 100% true believer no matter what, and I'm glad they're driving that point home again. This season really seemed to emphasize their marriage as a real thing and their emotional connection becoming stronger, down to Liz getting weirdly jealous and asking Phillip to bang her the same way he banged his fake wife and then breaking down in tears. So far, the whole Kate/2nd gen kid seems like a really bad play, and if season 3 is now The Center ordering its illegals to indoctrinate their kids, we're gonna see some serious poo poo go down.
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 07:47
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 10:11 |
|
|
Accretionist posted:Yeah, from the US perspective, he literally was the good guy. He's basically a more competent (and gay) Oliver North. No. He was not the good guy to many people from a US perspective.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 07:56
|
|
|
I'll train people to kill nuns and poo poo but how dare you shoot my brothers at arms.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 07:58
|
|
|
I'd have liked the scene between Claudia/Mags and Liz a lot more if she'd said something to the effect of "remember what happened the last time you threatened my family?" I also think it's a scene that would've transpired better in straight Russian. Also, the Center is being a bunch of loving morons - all Phil and Liz needed to say is "she's become extremely religious - if we try to indoctrinate her she'll turn on us in a second." Turn what's been bugging everyone into her "get out of Soviet service free" card. BIG HEADLINE fucked around with this message at 09:18 on May 22, 2014 |
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 08:47
|
|
|
solovyov posted:He's basically a more competent (and gay) Oliver North. No. He was not the good guy to many people from a US perspective. Still, though, if you flip the perspective around, he'd fit a pretty generic good guy's mold. The average hero gets a lot of poo poo glossed over.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 09:00
|
|
|
And even though Stan might've decided to join Team America, Arkady's got enough of a reason to burn him simply out of spite for wasting so much of the Rezidentura's time and resources and making him look incompetent. I also found it really surprising that Arkady knows Philip's last name. He might have diplomatic immunity since he's an official cover operative, but that's really sensitive info even for him. If anything, he'd probably just know Philip and Liz's codenames. BIG HEADLINE fucked around with this message at 09:27 on May 22, 2014 |
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 09:01
|
|
|
I still don't understand why the kid killed his own parents? His reaction to their death was one of the most unsettling things this season, and he was faking it for no one in particular? Great season overall though. Hope it doesn't turn into Phillip and Liz vs the Rezidentura.
|
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 09:58
|
|
|
leidend posted:I still don't understand why the kid killed his own parents? I didn't catch all of it, but I think the dad wanted to put a stop to his recruitment. Not only did this threaten Jared's notions of being a spy, being part of The Cause and all that, but the handler had used sex to coax him in, so he had ~romance~ on the line, too. Middle of a heated argument, he snapped on pops and leaned on his shiny new identity and training in killing the witnesses and get away with it.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 10:09
|
|
|
leidend posted:Great season overall though. Hope it doesn't turn into Phillip and Liz vs the Rezidentura. What I'm not looking forward to is the next season more or less being all about Paige. It was annoying enough *this* season, and that was with it being a side-arc.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 10:34
|
|
|
Great episode, great season overall. Poor Nina I don't want her to leave, RIP bald guy I really liked you. The twist with the kid was great never had an idea of 2nd generation recruitment. Also fairly funny that Paige would be like the worst person for it. Henry is already Breaking and entering. Liz is just total nut bag for the cause, Philipp just thinks she has gone mental! So Phillip killed a Kid when he was like 8? So woulp Philip join team America if they try and use Paige or just retire off into the sun. Might be kind of awkward if Liz is driving the idea. Season 4 Mr & Mrs Smith/America
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 11:22
|
|
|
This is a fantastic drama.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 11:48
|
|
|
BIG HEADLINE posted:What I'm not looking forward to is the next season more or less being all about Paige. It was annoying enough *this* season, and that was with it being a side-arc. I don't dislike Paige and I think her doign spy poo poo would be facinating. Although if you think about it Henry actually has better tradecraft considering the whole Intellevision incident.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 12:14
|
|
|
Without Philip's blessing, Elizabeth goes to turn Paige to their cause, only to find out that the Mossad recruited her TWO YEARS AGO. Paige doubletaps her mother and then blows the house up after creating a gas leak bomb with a lighter and a can of roach poison. (Henry is staying at a friends house down the street, so he lives) SWERVE, MOTHERFUCKERS
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 12:18
|
|
|
precision posted:Well poo poo that was a bleak finale. I have no idea where they're going next year, especially with Stan and Nina. Man. I'm pretty sure Nina is dead. That storyline is over.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 13:19
|
|
|
Brennan posted:I'm pretty sure Nina is dead. That storyline is over. Probably. Pretty surprising if so, I had expected her to have a long arc through the series.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 13:21
|
|
|
precision posted:Probably. Pretty surprising if so, I had expected her to have a long arc through the series. Seriously, Nina was a great character who played everybody so drat well.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 13:33
|
|
|
Brennan posted:I'm pretty sure Nina is dead. That storyline is over. I wouldn't be surprised if we end up seeing her in the same hole that Vasilli got thrown into.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 13:41
|
|
|
pentyne posted:The strongest characterization I remember from season 1 is that Liz is a 100% true believer no matter what, and I'm glad they're driving that point home again. I mean if they're scared about people like Phil and Liz having back stories too lovely to get a job at the CIA WTF do they think will happen when Paige applies? Of course they're going to go through the whole family looking for dirt to dredge up, only real difference I see is she wont have to make up her childhood I guess. precision posted:Probably. Pretty surprising if so, I had expected her to have a long arc through the series.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 13:50
|
|
|
Accretionist posted:Still, though, if you flip the perspective around, he'd fit a pretty generic good guy's mold. The average hero gets a lot of poo poo glossed over. He was a cool character and his competence made him likeable in a sense (bonus points for reassuring Kate about being good at her job before killing her). But I feel like I've already spent 30 years with Republican propaganda praising the heroism of Reagan and his foot soldiers, making me irritably unwilling to entertain it even for a second in my commie drama.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 15:17
|
|
|
Have they been teasing the Korobeiniki in all the scenes at the Rezidentura this season, or was last night the first time? Or was I just imagining it? There were a couple moments where it sounded like the score was about to break out into the Tetris Theme.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 15:29
|
|
|
Brennan posted:I'm pretty sure Nina is dead. That storyline is over. Nina's fate is briefly discussed in this AV Club interview with the showrunners talking about the second season. She'll be back next season. Read the recaps and can't wait to sit down and watch this later today. I don't watch much TV anymore, but I make it a point to watch this. Everyone in this show just knocks it out of the park on a weekly basis.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 15:33
|
|
|
BIG HEADLINE posted:What I'm not looking forward to is the next season more or less being all about Paige. It was annoying enough *this* season, and that was with it being a side-arc. I honestly don't mind Paige that much, at least as far as kid actors go. I am kind of worried about the centre becoming the enemy, because in general this show has been pretty nuanced and turning the Soviet side of things into literal mustache twirling villains who are trying to brainwash kids would be really boring. Overall great season, though. My only real complaint is that the show seems to be going in the kind of annoying direction that a lot of espionage themed shows and films go in where literally every character ends up being a spy or somebody's agent. It's almost as bad as the double and triple agent poo poo. The massive web of illegals (all of whom speak perfect, unaccented english) is starting to seem pretty silly too.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 16:51
|
|
|
That dream sequence was amazing. Martha pocketing files in broad daylight was a laugh and we got a few more seconds of Vlad  TryAgainBragg posted:Just finished the first episode, glad I waited this long to get into it. Now I have two full season to marathon. Seriously just aces all around, great casting and I'm genuinely intrigued by the family dynamic contrasted with 80's cold war paranoia. It also helps that Phillip and Elizabeth are stone-cold badasses, ending the episode with Phillip in the dark with the pistol as Mr.FBI leaves was pretty great. The first episode is still really solid. I was sold within the first six minutes or so when they failed to extract the guy. Gonz posted:Without Philip's blessing, Elizabeth goes to turn Paige to their cause, only to find out that the Mossad recruited her TWO YEARS AGO. Season 4 is going to be off the hook with twists and turns!
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 17:15
|
|
|
Paradoxish posted:I honestly don't mind Paige that much, at least as far as kid actors go. I am kind of worried about the centre becoming the enemy, because in general this show has been pretty nuanced and turning the Soviet side of things into literal mustache twirling villains who are trying to brainwash kids would be really boring. Losing an accent isn't hard if you work at it long enough.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 17:15
|
|
|
beanieson posted:Also The Strain is about vampires Not the sexy kind off vampire though
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 17:38
|
|
|
Whenever I saw the bald guy it always reminded me of Kevin from The Office probably because I don't know what either of them actually look like
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 20:47
|
|
|
Fetus Tree posted:Whenever I saw the bald guy it always reminded me of Kevin from The Office He was like a cross between Kevin from The Office and David Koechner.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 21:04
|
|
|
I thought for sure the bald guy was the killer too... they way he emphasized getting to know the family, and they mentioned he had a closet full of gifts for the son. It all felt too creepy 
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 21:33
|
|
|
The whole son being the killer was kind of dumb to me and seemed like something they retroactively shoehorned in after deciding they wanted to do the secondary immigrant agent thing. E: Which, while that makes sense, also seems like it could lead to some lame rear end plots next season. Paige is roll-eyeingly boring imo. The only good she has served this season has been making me laugh at phil/liz's disgust for religion
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 21:37
|
|
|
Woden posted:I mean if they're scared about people like Phil and Liz having back stories too lovely to get a job at the CIA WTF do they think will happen when Paige applies? Of course they're going to go through the whole family looking for dirt to dredge up, only real difference I see is she wont have to make up her childhood I guess. I think it's believable enough. Phillip and Elizabeth obviously have some degree of documentation pointing to them being citizens, but I would guess that there's not much about their fake parents and that part of their life. The idea is, if they really looked into their nationality carefully, FBI/CIA could maybe figure it out. Paige was legitimately born in the USA and could easily show records of all of that. To some extent, the CIA likely looks at family, but it's not going to be the same level of scrutiny as the actual candidate. I'd guess they just look for obvious, glaring issues. If they do a cursory investigation and see Phil and Liz appear to be boring US citizens to run a travel agency, I think it's believable that'd be sufficient. I've seen reports that these days there are literally over a million people with top secret clearance. I'm not sure the background check is as incredibly invasive and detailed as people think it is.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 22:01
|
|
|
beanieson posted:Seriously, Nina was a great character who played everybody so drat well. Not well enough  Fetus Tree posted:Paige is roll-eyeingly boring imo. The only good she has served this season has been making me laugh at phil/liz's disgust for religion I laughed so loving hard when Phil said he would punch her in the face if she said one more thing about civil disobedience and non violent protest. He is just that disgusted with her ideals.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 23:24
|
|
|
CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK posted:Not well enough I believe you meant to use  , good sir.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 23:45
|
|
|
howe_sam posted:Have they been teasing the Korobeiniki in all the scenes at the Rezidentura this season, or was last night the first time? Or was I just imagining it? There were a couple moments where it sounded like the score was about to break out into the Tetris Theme. I noticed that, as well. It was absolutely the Tetris theme, but sounded like it was missing the last two notes. It was a motif they've been reserving for Oleg & Nina interaction scenes at the Rezidentura for a few weeks, now. I heard it, too; you're not the only one.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 23:58
|
|
|
It occurred to me that the reason they're rushing the 2nd gen recruiting is by this point in the 80s, everyone at the top of the USSR must have known how dire their situation was and that America was clearly ahead by miles, and the only chance they have to reach the semi-parity they shared with the US in the 50s/60s is to get someone into a high ranking position in the intelligence community and just steal tons and tons of secrets. I'd be nice for season 3 to really set up a division between Phillip and Liz where he starts to see the writing on the wall re: Russian being completely out of its depth and close to collapse, but Liz is still "no that's capitalistic propoganda, our children belong to The Cause Glorious Russia will triumph".
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2014 00:10
|
|
|
SCARYJEINFELD posted:I'm going to miss Larrick, he was a piece of poo poo but in a different story he would be hero (or atleast anti-hero) instead of the big bad. If this had been a show about American spies in Russia (as I originally thought the show was going to be when I first heard about it), he'd have been an epic hero. Zythrst posted:Losing an accent isn't hard if you work at it long enough. I took classes with a girl who lived in Albania until she was 10. No accent, perfect English, though she mentioned the accent comes back if she's angry (which I've heard is a typical thing in language, I guess). Fetus Tree posted:Paige is roll-eyeingly boring imo. The only good she has served this season has been making me laugh at phil/liz's disgust for religion I get a laugh out of Liz's hypocrisy. "Don't you DARE go and believe in a power higher than yourself. It's STUPID to believe that there's something more powerful than you to which you must devote your life for their Cause". Paige is currently at "bitchy teen" level, but she's only seen at times in the show. If she's going to be central in episodes next year, which I could see happening, I hope they don't turn her up to Super Bitch, at which point she's insufferable. (Think Becca in Californication if you want to know what I mean by Super Bitch. "Please, just go away and don't ever come back" bad.)
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2014 00:16
|
|
|
If the girl who plays Paige weren't as good as she is, her plots would be terrible. They lucked out and cast a couple of good kids.
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2014 00:27
|
|
|
Reporter noooo  It was inevitable but still sad to see him go, via a handcuffed Liz-administered beatdown, even. Great episode overall, maybe even my favorite so far, but there were a couple of weird things. Like, how the gently caress did that dude at the beginning managed to get shot? So he makes it onto the shop floor, gets caught and tries to make a run for it from within a secured facility? And then somebody shoots him in the back? Did he try to rambo his way in and got hit on his way out? Jared's monologue felt waaay over the top in general, but especially for someone with a hole in their neck. Of course Liz watches this, comes home and thinks that this is a great gig and Paige totally should do this. I know she's a crazy commie, but c'mon! I thought Phil would punch her in the face then and there. precision posted:If the girl who plays Paige weren't as good as she is, her plots would be terrible. They lucked out and cast a couple of good kids. Yeah, I dunno how realistic some of her rants were (probably not very) but with a more annoying actress this definitely wouldn't work at all. Edit for typos mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 08:42 on May 23, 2014 |
|
#
?
May 23, 2014 01:17
|
|
|
Re: becka on californiacation Shes so bad they got rid of her and cast some nerdy little jew kid to be hanks long lost son lmfao
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2014 01:47
|
|
|
Zythrst posted:I don't dislike Paige and I think her doign spy poo poo would be facinating. Although if you think about it Henry actually has better tradecraft considering the whole Intellevision incident. "Uh... how about we trade you Henry?"
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2014 02:32
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 10:11 |
|
|
mobby_6kl posted:Jared's monologue felt waaay over the top in general, but especially for someone with a hole in their neck. Of course Liz watches this, comes home and thinks that this is a great gig an Paige totally shot do this. I know she's a crazy commie, but c'mon! I thought Phil would punch her in the face then and there. Yea that whole death scene was hilarious. Hey let me dump all this plot info for you while I bleed out of my neck for like 5 minutes. It's like the writers didn't know who killed his parents until the finale and just shoved it in there.
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2014 02:34
|
|