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Alec Bald Snatch
Sep 12, 2012

by exmarx

DarklyDreaming posted:

The short version is that the American government, the Soviet Union, and Christian missionaries do the same basic thing all the time: Offer help to countries like Nicaragua, just as long as you swear loyalty to their side

More accurately they offer some people help, but it's usually contingent on loving over everyone else in their country, which they'd largely been doing already or had been in the past.


cenotaph posted:

It really doesn't have anything to do with rebellion and everything to do with being a responsible adult. You can't assume anything with kids, especially teens, especially when you're in a position of (presumably) respected authority.

Yep; it's the reason trust funds were created and why minors generally can't enter into contracts by themselves. You can only trust kids on their own with a little amount of buying power because our decisionmaking skills aren't fully developed until the early 20s. Longer in some people's cases.

The pastor should've contacted Philip and Elizabeth about her offer. Straight up accepting that much money from a child is sketchy poo poo.

Alec Bald Snatch fucked around with this message at 04:25 on Apr 25, 2014

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Watommi
Dec 17, 2004

I am all that is man.
I hope this show goes on for many seasons because it's awesome, but I hope it ends with Martha killing Phillip because god drat.

Giant Tourtiere
Aug 4, 2006

It's big baby

OmniBeer posted:

Jesus, give Matthew Rhys all the goddamn awards. He's coming off as downright scary.

Hell yeah. Without actually *doing* anything super crazy it was still so clear that Philip is juuust about over the edge. Great episode.

SwivelTits2000
Jan 17, 2007
Retarded

Watommi posted:

I hope this show goes on for many seasons because it's awesome, but I hope it ends with Martha killing Phillip because god drat.

The 80s are a neverending mountain of material for a show like this. Take an event like Able Archer that would just be a passover topic for any other show, and suddenly you've got a nail-biting full-season story arc. Repeat for Chernobyl, glasnost, perestroika, the Challenger, Tiananmen Square, the Berlin wall, basically all of 1989, etc. I hope we get at least five full seasons out of it. This might even be one of the few shows that can push it past there and still be good.

CBJSprague24
Dec 5, 2010
Av blanked by Admin request.

howe_sam posted:

Phillip is completely unhinged tonight, drat.

One of most interesting things in this show is watching the ever-spreading dynamic between Elizabeth and Philip. In the first season, you could see Philip wrangling between loyalty to the mission and :ussr: and the decadence and "niceness" of the US ("the food is good, the electricity is almost always on"). This season, he's beginning to feel a human connection to his actions, sparing the septic guy in the woods while feeling remorse for those he kills.

Elizabeth is a robot blinded by hatred of the US and everything it stands for in hindering The Cause. She's a live-action version of Robot Stalin busting out of the glass coffin in that old Simpsons episode, saying "CRUSH CAPITALISM" as he marches away.

Mu Zeta posted:

I've always wanted to see/hear Billy Bob take a poo poo

Watch Monster's Ball and you can see him do something else that...you really never wanted to see/hear/imagine Billy Bob Thornton doing either. :shepicide:

Baronash
Feb 29, 2012

So what do you want to be called?

CBJSprague24 posted:

Elizabeth is a robot blinded by hatred of the US and everything it stands for in hindering The Cause. She's a live-action version of Robot Stalin busting out of the glass coffin in that old Simpsons episode, saying "CRUSH CAPITALISM" as he marches away.

Elizabeth has her moments. She was torn up last episode after she watched Larrick kill Lucia. I actually found it really jarring when Phillip said "it's easy for you" when he had comforted her during her breakdown only a week earlier.

Baloogan
Dec 5, 2004
Fun Shoe
I gotta say that I'm glad the soviet union disintegrated; all the 'true-believers' must be crushed. All their hard work for naught.

UnfortunateSexFart
May 18, 2008

𒃻 𒌓𒁉𒋫 𒆷𒁀𒅅𒆷
𒆠𒂖 𒌉 𒌫 𒁮𒈠𒈾𒅗 𒂉 𒉡𒌒𒂉𒊑


Baloogan posted:

I gotta say that I'm glad the soviet union disintegrated; all the 'true-believers' must be crushed. All their hard work for naught.

That's what you get from this show?

For me it's a nice reminder that not every American saw the cold war in black and white.

CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK
Sep 11, 2001



CBJSprague24 posted:

She's a live-action version of Robot Stalin busting out of the glass coffin in that old Simpsons episode, saying "CRUSH CAPITALISM" as he marches away.

That's robot Lenin :ussr:

xerxus
Apr 24, 2010
Grimey Drawer

CBJSprague24 posted:

One of most interesting things in this show is watching the ever-spreading dynamic between Elizabeth and Philip. In the first season, you could see Philip wrangling between loyalty to the mission and :ussr: and the decadence and "niceness" of the US ("the food is good, the electricity is almost always on"). This season, he's beginning to feel a human connection to his actions, sparing the septic guy in the woods while feeling remorse for those he kills.

Elizabeth is a robot blinded by hatred of the US and everything it stands for in hindering The Cause. She's a live-action version of Robot Stalin busting out of the glass coffin in that old Simpsons episode, saying "CRUSH CAPITALISM" as he marches away.


Watch Monster's Ball and you can see him do something else that...you really never wanted to see/hear/imagine Billy Bob Thornton doing either. :shepicide:

Do you think they spared the septic guy after?

I figure that long sequence was about Philip realizing that he has to kill the guy due to the gravity of the situation. Especially since he could partially identify the two.

coma
Oct 21, 2010

MassRafTer posted:

I really like the inclusion of religion this season. I wondered a few times what the family does about religion given it is an easy way to seem American but something they obviously would have a distaste for. Add in their concerns about becoming more American and their kids it seemed kind of natural this season.

it is worth noting that until the evangelist movement that coincided with Reagan religion wasn't at the forefront of Mainstreet America(c) like it was after, a lot of people were Easter/Christmas Christians

UnfortunateSexFart
May 18, 2008

𒃻 𒌓𒁉𒋫 𒆷𒁀𒅅𒆷
𒆠𒂖 𒌉 𒌫 𒁮𒈠𒈾𒅗 𒂉 𒉡𒌒𒂉𒊑


xerxus posted:

Do you think they spared the septic guy after?

I figure that long sequence was about Philip realizing that he has to kill the guy due to the gravity of the situation. Especially since he could partially identify the two.

He was very very dead when they got back. Tied up under duress in the northeast winter would do that. His skin was blue/grey?

savinhill
Mar 28, 2010

leidend posted:

He was very very dead when they got back. Tied up under duress in the northeast winter would do that. His skin was blue/grey?

Yeah and his death was a hell of a lot slower and more painful than if they'd just killed him earlier instead of trying to spare him.

Teriyaki Hairpiece
Dec 29, 2006

I'm nae the voice o' the darkened thistle, but th' darkened thistle cannae bear the sight o' our Bonnie Prince Bernie nae mair.

Baloogan posted:

I gotta say that I'm glad the soviet union disintegrated; all the 'true-believers' must be crushed. All their hard work for naught.
Unless they were from a newly independent republic and wanted to go home, people like the Jennings would just keep on working for The Center after 1991.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Intelligence_Service_(Russia)

Dr_Strangelove
Dec 16, 2003

Mein Fuhrer! THEY WON!

And boom goes the dynamite.

DarklyDreaming
Apr 4, 2009

Fun scary
I retract my misguided attempt to defend the preacher guy a few days ago. That is some shady poo poo right there.

LostRook
Jun 7, 2013
Shady summer camp?

DarklyDreaming
Apr 4, 2009

Fun scary
Aww poo poo practicing signature forgery.

howe_sam
Mar 7, 2013

Creepy little garbage eaters

Phillip is not talking to Analise here

MassRafTer
May 26, 2001

BAEST MODE!!!
I get the impression Stan stopped at the McDonalds drive thru on the way to work and told the cashier he needed to hurry he was working on a big murder case involving stealth technology.

BIG HEADLINE
Jun 13, 2006

"Stand back, Ottawan ruffian, or face my lumens!"

MassRafTer posted:

I get the impression Stan stopped at the McDonalds drive thru on the way to work and told the cashier he needed to hurry he was working on a big murder case involving stealth technology.

"No, really - if you want the Soviets to be able to drop nuclear bombs from airplanes we can't see then go ahead and slack off making my Big Mac. Did I tell you I've got codeword clearance now? Because I totally do. :smug:"

ally_1986
Apr 3, 2011

Wait...I had something for this...

Baloogan posted:

I gotta say that I'm glad the soviet union disintegrated; all the 'true-believers' must be crushed. All their hard work for naught.

I read this today and I quite like the idea of the ending of the show being Elizabeth killing Phillip for wanting to defect and after the defeat of Communism she does this

Wouldnt want to mess with the Army guy he seems fairly capable. Poor Phillip he feels so bad being the bad guy!

Fill Baptismal
Dec 15, 2008

cheerfullydrab posted:

Unless they were from a newly independent republic and wanted to go home, people like the Jennings would just keep on working for The Center after 1991.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Intelligence_Service_(Russia)

A bunch of KGB higher ups caught onto capitalism real quick and started selling files to the highest bider. Not to mention the files of sister services like the Stasi were analyzed with a fine tooth comb as their HQs literally fell. Come to think of it that would be a pretty great ending. They do everything right, live lonely and alienating existences, never even get close to being caught by Beeman or the FBI, and then it all goes to poo poo because some Colonel realizes that he just lost his pension, and hey, everyone else is doing it.

Also yea, Beecher SEAL is awesome, it's great that they finally have an antagonist just as competent and ruthless as they are.

Mu Zeta
Oct 17, 2002

Me crush ass to dust

Phone operator guy went out like a boss.

LostRook
Jun 7, 2013

themrguy posted:


Also yea, Beecher SEAL is awesome, it's great that they finally have an antagonist just as competent and ruthless as they are.

As a tangent off your point, I'm not sure if this will ever be a straight seasonal "Big Bad" show. However, I think Larick and Oleg could each count as ones for this season for the Jennings and Stan respectively. Though if Oleg does end up being behind the other couple's murder he may be the big bad for the whole season. The real world events running parallel to a big bad is an interesting twist on the formula.

BIG HEADLINE
Jun 13, 2006

"Stand back, Ottawan ruffian, or face my lumens!"

themrguy posted:

Also yea, Beecher SEAL is awesome, it's great that they finally have an antagonist just as competent and ruthless as they are.

I also love how he's not even sure he needs to kill Phil and Liz, either. In the teaser he says he's not hunting *them*, just the assholes who killed his friends, which just happen to be Phil and Liz. I also find it a bit far-fetched but not out of the realm of possibility that Beecher-the-SEAL could rewire that fried junction box so quickly, but also figure out a way to bypass or break the high likelihood of encryption just as fast.

Also, does anyone know the name of the new handler? I can't find an updated cast sheet.

Mu Zeta
Oct 17, 2002

Me crush ass to dust

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2486357/

Fetus Tree
Feb 2, 2003
Probation
Can't post for 2 years!

BIG HEADLINE posted:

I also find it a bit far-fetched but not out of the realm of possibility that Beecher-the-SEAL could rewire that fried junction box so quickly, but also figure out a way to bypass or break the high likelihood of encryption just as fast.

yeah i kinda rolled my eyes at that tbh

howe_sam
Mar 7, 2013

Creepy little garbage eaters

I don't think Larrick rewired the junction box so much as he found the one connection that didn't get fried when it exploded. It still is a lazy coincidence, but you have to keep the plot moving.

Hand of the King
May 11, 2012
Okay... so why is the military guy back in the states again? I thought he left for Cuba or somewhere?

Thwomp
Apr 10, 2003

BA-DUHHH

Grimey Drawer
He returned to the states after hearing what happened at the US base. Probably something to do with the dead American(s).

Fetus Tree
Feb 2, 2003
Probation
Can't post for 2 years!
i thought that was kinda silly but he's a neat character so i didn't really care i guess

Alec Bald Snatch
Sep 12, 2012

by exmarx

Hand of the King posted:

Okay... so why is the military guy back in the states again? I thought he left for Cuba or somewhere?

Larrick was overseeing Contra rebels in Nicaragua. He came back because he got word about the deaths at the training camp in Virginia, knowing who'd likely be involved.

Hand of the King
May 11, 2012
Why does it matter to him? I thought he went to Nicaragua to get away from all this.

dreffen
Dec 3, 2005

MEDIOCRE, MORSOV!

Hand of the King posted:

Why does it matter to him? I thought he went to Nicaragua to get away from all this.

Beecher SEAL probably isn't a fan of hearing about American soldiers getting murdered, especially if he knows good and well who was doing it.

Beecher doesn't actually need a reason because he's HARD AS gently caress

LostRook
Jun 7, 2013

Hand of the King posted:

Why does it matter to him? I thought he went to Nicaragua to get away from all this.

Some people also have the theorized that one of the dead was his lover. Though nothing really supports it.

Alec Bald Snatch
Sep 12, 2012

by exmarx
He probably figures it could eventually blow back on him if the people involved get caught.

I would say he didn't figure they'd actually kill anyone, but that's stupid and naive even for a CIA operator.

Hand of the King
May 11, 2012
Man, I am a retard. I thought that Andrew Larrick was a super secret KGB spy that was undercover as a military dude but had gone rogue. But now that I think about the rogue KGB story was something from earlier on. poo poo, I was confused.

Anyway, so this guy is apparently so well-trained that he can get the drop on Phil (alley scene) and Liz and Phill need a back-up on this guy (sniper scene)?

Hed
Mar 31, 2004

Fun Shoe
Yeah you're not the only one confused as gently caress. The first time the Jennings met him he seemed to be a loose cannon, was confronted and even though he was all "Reagan is gonna gently caress dem reds up" he agreed to help. Although I guess he didn't know who the Jennings really were. Then later he's helping with the operation, sort of. So did he still think they were American counter-intel investigators? And now he's rooting out those commies, so I don't really know but I wish I understood if I'm missing something or we're not supposed to know what's driving him now.

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Zythrst
May 31, 2011

Time to join a revolution son, its going to be yooge!
Larrick is a special forces trainer for the Contra's, he was being blackmailed by the couple who got killed and thus was a suspect for the murder. The Jennings approached him as counter intell in order to discover if he was the killer. They decided they didn't think he was the killer, so they resumed the blackmail as KGB, since its not like counter intell agents would want to infiltrate a contra training camp.

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