Clark's place
Here is a short review but still important because Arkady Ivanovich was actually in this episode!
And Arkady makes everything better...except for Oleg apparently. More about that in a moment.
The episode was about many relationships. It mostly dwelves around the fact that Philip is a spy who has a family, two wives, and who actually cares about Martha. He is under pressure, and cracking...and wanting to give love one more chance.
"Clark's place" ends up with a love scene, scored by the famous song by Queen and David Bowie:
Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you, no man ask for
Under pressure that burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming, "Let me out!"
Tomorrow gets me higher
Pressure on people - people on streets
Chippin' around, kick my brains 'round the floor
These are the days - it never rains but it pours
People on streets - people on streets
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming, "Let me out!"
Tomorrow gets me higher, higher, higher...
Pressure on people - people on streets
Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn
Why, why, why?
Love
Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking
Can't we give ourselves one more chance?
Why can't we give love that one more chance?
Why can't we give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love?..
'Cause love's such an old-fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure
The episode carried on the new Pastor Tim plan that Elizabeth suggested: working him and his wife. To do so, Philip and Elizabeth was helped by a (fake?) priest from the theology of liberation.
Paige was reluctant to make peace with Tim but eventually played nice too, while being obviously aware that her parents had been working her, and faking being asleep:
The episode was filled with half-truths, half-acts, half-disguises...
This episode also had Martha often waiting again, first for Clark to return to his "place". He finally showed up at the beginning of the episode and Martha wasn't in the mood to be easily cajoled!
BTW I loved the detail of Matthew's hair showing he had just removed the Clark's wig and had still hair clips on. Showing his true face but not completely genuine.
When Han warns Philip that Martha is being followed, our lover boy is under pressure but still a pro and leaves Clark's place before she arrives, bringing evidences (their wedding photograph) with him, so Martha finds herself alone again, in an ampty appartement, even devoided of the only thing that could make her believe she had a husband going by Clark. Later she waits for his call in a laudromat. Lonely and miserable.
That phonecall scene was another great showcase for Alison Wright. Meanwhile, Philip's other wife watched him talk to Martha from afar.
And when he ended the call with a "I love you", it's obvious that Elizabeth read his lips and knew he meant it. She glared, didn't she?
Not only Philip as Clark, had to make it up for Martha and protect her, but he also had to patch it ip with his "boyfriend" aka Stan Beeman. The scene in which Stan called him an asshole before admitting he was actually jealous of Philip and feared that Sondra might try to sleep with his only friend was precious, and I'm sure many viewers cheered. Stan had just heard about Nina's death from Oleg, so he's all about bromance now!
Speaking of the aftermath of Nina's death and relationships between men:
Three men were told about Nina's execution in the episode: Oleg by his father, Arkady by Oleg and Stan by Oleg. Three interesting scenes but my favourite was still Arkady/Oleg because there was a glasnot quality to it.
In previous episodes, actually since season 3, Oleg and Arkady have bonded. The latter even put himself at risk when Oleg told him he didn't want to go back to Russia. Arkady earned the medal of "best boss ever" that day he stood up for Oleg, and also won Oleg's trust. Oleg took Nina's place as Arkady's protegé, and I'm sure that our beloved Rezident did care for both of them. But there was also a manipulative side to Arkady's way of bonding with Oleg...until "Clark's place". He knew that Oleg was at odds with his powerful father and could feel that the younger man needed a surrogate father or, at least a big brother (pun intended!), so he played the part.
When Arkady learned about Nina's execution, he didn't play anymore. His reaction was very human, going from shock to disbelief to pain to anger to sadness.
Eventually he blamed Nina for wasting her chance, for screwing up a "redemption" he had worked on, giving her a second chance when she came clean and even putting himself on line when she was arrested and he told "them that she had changed".
But blaming Nina isn't what Oleg wanted to hear, of course; it even disappointed him to the point that he declined the drink and prefered to leave. If Arkady hadn't been caught in his own emotions he would have seen that.
Blaming Nina for her own death wasn't right but it was human (stage of grief anyone?), and it also made sense from a Rezident point of view. He couldn't blame "them", could he?
When Arkady finally remembered to work the bond with Oleg, it was too late, he had lost him...the spell had worn off.
Costa Ronin and Lev Gorn were excellent during the scene. I hope Oleg didn't break up with Arkady for good...
The car scene with Stan played as expected. Both men sorta bonding over Nina's death as her lovers. Stan was shocked but stoic and pragmatic, processing the whole thing as an FBI agent. Not devastated the way a man in love would have been...
Oleg wasn't sure to be in love with Nina either, as he told his father in the previous episode, but he expected more from all those men: a father who wasn't as powerful as he thought; a boss who wasn't as faithful as he hoped; a rival who wasn't quite the romantic lover Nina might have fallen for...
Oleg is all grown-up now, seeing them all with adult and clear eyes. Methinks he's ready to severe many ties and to go to some place wherein he could just listen to Rod Stewart's music in peace.
Elizabeth has found her own friendship in Patty's relationship with Young-hee. Those scenes were fun. I'm pretty sure that Patti's new friend is a mark, or at least a mean to an end, but Elizabeth, much like Stan, doesn't have many friends around, so she's obviously enjoying those bonding moments with the witty Korean woman.
She's also reclaiming her "under pressure" husband at the end of the episode, in a move that is both territorial and comforting to release the tension...
(let's note that Philip can't eat when under pressure but is still the sex machine he has always been)
...while Martha is alone in her bed, and watched by two determined men on the street.
One thing is certain, Elizabeth feels Philip's distress about the Martha problem, and probably understands that he cares, but she won't let Martha being burned and arrested put her family in jeopardy.
And Arkady makes everything better...except for Oleg apparently. More about that in a moment.
The episode was about many relationships. It mostly dwelves around the fact that Philip is a spy who has a family, two wives, and who actually cares about Martha. He is under pressure, and cracking...and wanting to give love one more chance.
"Clark's place" ends up with a love scene, scored by the famous song by Queen and David Bowie:
Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you, no man ask for
Under pressure that burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming, "Let me out!"
Tomorrow gets me higher
Pressure on people - people on streets
Chippin' around, kick my brains 'round the floor
These are the days - it never rains but it pours
People on streets - people on streets
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming, "Let me out!"
Tomorrow gets me higher, higher, higher...
Pressure on people - people on streets
Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn
Why, why, why?
Love
Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking
Can't we give ourselves one more chance?
Why can't we give love that one more chance?
Why can't we give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love?..
'Cause love's such an old-fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure
The episode carried on the new Pastor Tim plan that Elizabeth suggested: working him and his wife. To do so, Philip and Elizabeth was helped by a (fake?) priest from the theology of liberation.
Paige was reluctant to make peace with Tim but eventually played nice too, while being obviously aware that her parents had been working her, and faking being asleep:
The episode was filled with half-truths, half-acts, half-disguises...
This episode also had Martha often waiting again, first for Clark to return to his "place". He finally showed up at the beginning of the episode and Martha wasn't in the mood to be easily cajoled!
BTW I loved the detail of Matthew's hair showing he had just removed the Clark's wig and had still hair clips on. Showing his true face but not completely genuine.
When Han warns Philip that Martha is being followed, our lover boy is under pressure but still a pro and leaves Clark's place before she arrives, bringing evidences (their wedding photograph) with him, so Martha finds herself alone again, in an ampty appartement, even devoided of the only thing that could make her believe she had a husband going by Clark. Later she waits for his call in a laudromat. Lonely and miserable.
That phonecall scene was another great showcase for Alison Wright. Meanwhile, Philip's other wife watched him talk to Martha from afar.
And when he ended the call with a "I love you", it's obvious that Elizabeth read his lips and knew he meant it. She glared, didn't she?
Not only Philip as Clark, had to make it up for Martha and protect her, but he also had to patch it ip with his "boyfriend" aka Stan Beeman. The scene in which Stan called him an asshole before admitting he was actually jealous of Philip and feared that Sondra might try to sleep with his only friend was precious, and I'm sure many viewers cheered. Stan had just heard about Nina's death from Oleg, so he's all about bromance now!
Speaking of the aftermath of Nina's death and relationships between men:
Three men were told about Nina's execution in the episode: Oleg by his father, Arkady by Oleg and Stan by Oleg. Three interesting scenes but my favourite was still Arkady/Oleg because there was a glasnot quality to it.
In previous episodes, actually since season 3, Oleg and Arkady have bonded. The latter even put himself at risk when Oleg told him he didn't want to go back to Russia. Arkady earned the medal of "best boss ever" that day he stood up for Oleg, and also won Oleg's trust. Oleg took Nina's place as Arkady's protegé, and I'm sure that our beloved Rezident did care for both of them. But there was also a manipulative side to Arkady's way of bonding with Oleg...until "Clark's place". He knew that Oleg was at odds with his powerful father and could feel that the younger man needed a surrogate father or, at least a big brother (pun intended!), so he played the part.
When Arkady learned about Nina's execution, he didn't play anymore. His reaction was very human, going from shock to disbelief to pain to anger to sadness.
Eventually he blamed Nina for wasting her chance, for screwing up a "redemption" he had worked on, giving her a second chance when she came clean and even putting himself on line when she was arrested and he told "them that she had changed".
But blaming Nina isn't what Oleg wanted to hear, of course; it even disappointed him to the point that he declined the drink and prefered to leave. If Arkady hadn't been caught in his own emotions he would have seen that.
Blaming Nina for her own death wasn't right but it was human (stage of grief anyone?), and it also made sense from a Rezident point of view. He couldn't blame "them", could he?
When Arkady finally remembered to work the bond with Oleg, it was too late, he had lost him...the spell had worn off.
Costa Ronin and Lev Gorn were excellent during the scene. I hope Oleg didn't break up with Arkady for good...
The car scene with Stan played as expected. Both men sorta bonding over Nina's death as her lovers. Stan was shocked but stoic and pragmatic, processing the whole thing as an FBI agent. Not devastated the way a man in love would have been...
Oleg wasn't sure to be in love with Nina either, as he told his father in the previous episode, but he expected more from all those men: a father who wasn't as powerful as he thought; a boss who wasn't as faithful as he hoped; a rival who wasn't quite the romantic lover Nina might have fallen for...
Oleg is all grown-up now, seeing them all with adult and clear eyes. Methinks he's ready to severe many ties and to go to some place wherein he could just listen to Rod Stewart's music in peace.
Elizabeth has found her own friendship in Patty's relationship with Young-hee. Those scenes were fun. I'm pretty sure that Patti's new friend is a mark, or at least a mean to an end, but Elizabeth, much like Stan, doesn't have many friends around, so she's obviously enjoying those bonding moments with the witty Korean woman.
She's also reclaiming her "under pressure" husband at the end of the episode, in a move that is both territorial and comforting to release the tension...
(let's note that Philip can't eat when under pressure but is still the sex machine he has always been)
...while Martha is alone in her bed, and watched by two determined men on the street.
One thing is certain, Elizabeth feels Philip's distress about the Martha problem, and probably understands that he cares, but she won't let Martha being burned and arrested put her family in jeopardy.