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Propaganda Machine
Jan 2, 2005

Truthiness!
How well is this show being marketed? I only heard about it last year from being a TVIV nerd. I've seen billboards about town for this season, but it's Los Angeles so if it's on a screen somewhere it's gonna be on billboards.

I guess I worry that the show is a bit too high-minded for people. If you don't have a good grasp of history and the Cold War paired with a certain sympathy for the Soviets, I can easily see this show reading as boring dreck. Which sucks.

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Propaganda Machine
Jan 2, 2005

Truthiness!

Gonz posted:

Can someone give me a Cliff Notes version of this episode? My loving DVR decided not to record it last night for some reason.

Paige starts putting things together,

Flashbacks.

FBI tells Nina he loves her. She reports back to Moscow.

Felicity checks up on orphaned Russian boy in his foster home. All seems well.

Paige gets in trouble for visiting a relative.

What am I missing?

Propaganda Machine
Jan 2, 2005

Truthiness!
I thought it was clear that Elizabeth's recon was leading in a positive direction. It just would have made things too muddled to deal with it this week beyond her getting the file.

Her reprise as Clark's sister was glorious. The only potential fallout is for her to demand kinkier poo poo in the bedroom. I'm also glad to see Martha humanized somewhat, even if she's probably toast.

Propaganda Machine
Jan 2, 2005

Truthiness!

Narcissus1916 posted:

Where were Elizabeth and "Clark" sleeping together in that horrific scene? A random safehouse? Did Phillip put on the wig specifically for her, or was he heading over to Martha's and Elizabeth grabbed him?

Jesus, that was brutal. Somehow even more twisted than when Breaking Bad went for a similar (though more damning) moment.

It looked like a motel. Didn't need Paige asking questions about Daddy's wig and Mommy's crying.

Propaganda Machine
Jan 2, 2005

Truthiness!

BIG HEADLINE posted:

It's a long-standing and widely-believed rumor that female KGB NOC operatives were always trained by alpha-type males who would almost become 'fatherly' to them during their training, and towards the end, they'd be systematically raped by either said instructors or by another superior to test their fortitude and to send them out into the field 'hardened.'

This is interesting. I tried looking into it, but all I got was stuff about the much-more-recent crop of agents who got outed and traded back. Out of sheer curiosity, do you have any sources? I could use some creepy bedtime reading.

Propaganda Machine
Jan 2, 2005

Truthiness!
The Americans S2: I just had sex, and it felt So good :haw:

Propaganda Machine
Jan 2, 2005

Truthiness!

Joramun posted:

How is Squeeze Your Anus not the thread title yet

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Tusk doesn't even make sense to me.

I did a search on it, and all I found was this loving thread.

Propaganda Machine
Jan 2, 2005

Truthiness!

Gonz posted:

The reason nobody suspected the 9/11 hijackers was due to the fact that they'd consistantly frequent strip clubs and drink alcohol and do all sorts of non-Islamic extremist stuff. They blended right in.

If memory serves, some of them went via flights originating in Portland, Maine, an airport which has 10 whole gates and, I'm assuming, security to match (at least pre-9/11).

quote:

You're right. Philip and Elizabeth being so viciously anti-religion could backfire on them somewhere down the road and arouse the suspicions of some random churchgoing person in the community. If not this season, then next season.

I think something this season is really hammering in is that the Achilles Heel of the Directive S agents is their American-born children. The chaos at the amusement park in episode 1 arose partially because buddy-agent recognized a threat to his family, and Phillip subsequently got into poo poo with Elizabeth for even remotely putting Henry in harm's way. Especially after the triple-murder, I can perfectly understand why our heroes are starting to get irrational with the way they react to their children's actions.

So, right. Of loving course they're being pretty stupid with Paige's involvement in the church. But, look at it this way: science has repeatedly shown that the human brain craves belief in something grander, be it religion, strong lack of religion, or something else (astrology? :downs: ). Phil and Liz were raised with communism and the Soviet state, and their extreme faith in those ideals propels them forward in their secret war behind enemy lines.

In season one, we saw a lot of Soviet talk about American consumerism, like Nina talking to her boss about how she enjoys American goods but doesn't lose sight of the bigger picture. Now, Phil and Liz have done a very careful job of shielding their children from worshiping American Stuff & Things, as we see with Henry's deprivation of a gaming console. But, of course, they're not raising their American cover family to be red-flag-waving communists, either. So, lacking a firm belief in a social structure, it's only natural that Paige as a budding adolescent would turn to a warm, accepting religion.

I guess it's just ultimately black humor that the Christian faith is causing Liz and Phil to behave as irrationally as they perceive Paige to be behaving.

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Propaganda Machine
Jan 2, 2005

Truthiness!
The Americans Season 3: From Russia With Wigs

?

:shobon:

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