The entry I owed you
I know, I know, I promised a review of The Americans but didn't get around to writing it, and it's almost time for episode 3. I'm super busy and things are going even more hectic in the next weeks.
Here are some quick thoughts.
"Cardinal" wasn't as good as "Comrades" but had terrific moments, and both Elizabeth and Nina shone in it. Worried Elizabeth was something new, but she still managed to be pro and helped out the Sandinista girl, while swtiching into Mama Bear mode.
Nina is fascinating. She actually might be the best character on the show. Her typing her report while we saw flashbacks of her last encounter with Stan was priceless. I love her interactions with Arkady, Stan and the new guy, Oleg -- whom I suspect to be behind the murders of the Jennings counterparts.
Is Nina a quadruple agent now? Why did she tell Stan about the walk-in? And why did she not mention it in her report?
I believe that Nina is trying to work many angles at once, because she's basically defending Nina's cause, or rather she's protecting herself and doing what she thinks must be done. But she does care for people around her too, whether they work at the Rezidentura or against Mother Russia. She's a wild card, she will punish the FBI when they do something wrong, but will betray her country too. She is not a believer or a soldier like Elizabeth. She's done taking orders, she chooses to follow the orders she considers worth following, and has her own agenda. She is mostly treated like a secretary and a honey pot but she is her own woman.
As for the Philip storyline, it showed how much things may get complicated and the lines blurry between work and personal life, between pretending and feelings.
Am I the only one who felt that Fred was gay and had actually a love affair with Emmet? The way he broke down when Philip told him that Emmet was dead was the kind of reactions you'd expect from a lover; the fact that, even though Emmet confided in him and he knew about his kids, he only knew Emmet as "Paul" and only under his guise echoed Clark's storyline. There was a sense of intimacy there, and Fred even wanted to leave all his money to Emmet's son. And there's what Philip said about understanding that Fred didn't do it for money but for something bigger...I believe that it was love.
I do believe that Fred was Emmet's Martha, perhaps even in a twisted way, given that there is no evidence that Emmet's and Leah's marriage was like the Jennings and that they actually loved each other. Perhaps, Emmet did love Fred too.
Anyway, I loved that it remained ambiguous enough, and the show didn't try to use the possible love affair between the two men as a way to say "hey it's the 80's, the beginning of the AIDS era, so we have gay spy stuff too".
Here are some quick thoughts.
"Cardinal" wasn't as good as "Comrades" but had terrific moments, and both Elizabeth and Nina shone in it. Worried Elizabeth was something new, but she still managed to be pro and helped out the Sandinista girl, while swtiching into Mama Bear mode.
Nina is fascinating. She actually might be the best character on the show. Her typing her report while we saw flashbacks of her last encounter with Stan was priceless. I love her interactions with Arkady, Stan and the new guy, Oleg -- whom I suspect to be behind the murders of the Jennings counterparts.
Is Nina a quadruple agent now? Why did she tell Stan about the walk-in? And why did she not mention it in her report?
I believe that Nina is trying to work many angles at once, because she's basically defending Nina's cause, or rather she's protecting herself and doing what she thinks must be done. But she does care for people around her too, whether they work at the Rezidentura or against Mother Russia. She's a wild card, she will punish the FBI when they do something wrong, but will betray her country too. She is not a believer or a soldier like Elizabeth. She's done taking orders, she chooses to follow the orders she considers worth following, and has her own agenda. She is mostly treated like a secretary and a honey pot but she is her own woman.
As for the Philip storyline, it showed how much things may get complicated and the lines blurry between work and personal life, between pretending and feelings.
Am I the only one who felt that Fred was gay and had actually a love affair with Emmet? The way he broke down when Philip told him that Emmet was dead was the kind of reactions you'd expect from a lover; the fact that, even though Emmet confided in him and he knew about his kids, he only knew Emmet as "Paul" and only under his guise echoed Clark's storyline. There was a sense of intimacy there, and Fred even wanted to leave all his money to Emmet's son. And there's what Philip said about understanding that Fred didn't do it for money but for something bigger...I believe that it was love.
I do believe that Fred was Emmet's Martha, perhaps even in a twisted way, given that there is no evidence that Emmet's and Leah's marriage was like the Jennings and that they actually loved each other. Perhaps, Emmet did love Fred too.
Anyway, I loved that it remained ambiguous enough, and the show didn't try to use the possible love affair between the two men as a way to say "hey it's the 80's, the beginning of the AIDS era, so we have gay spy stuff too".