The Americans is Delightful.

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Guy Gardener, Jan 31, 2013.

  1. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    Or has Paige soft-pedaled it somehow.

    To be honest, I'm not sure that Paige has fully grasped that her parents actually kill people sometimes, as opposed to just "spying" somehow. Or maybe she doesn't want to know . ..
     
    Last edited: Mar 18, 2016
  2. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Isn't this protected by confidentiality?
     
  3. Chekov's Phaser

    Chekov's Phaser Waiting to be relevant. Fleet Captain

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    I think that's right. As a teacher, I'm trying to put myself in his position. If one of my students came to me saying their parents were spies, I probably would doubt it too. Not that I would doubt something might be wrong in her house, but her parents as spies would sound a little too out there.

    Probably a little of both.
     
  4. Chekov's Phaser

    Chekov's Phaser Waiting to be relevant. Fleet Captain

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    Not if their actions are criminal and could harm others.
     
  5. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    Elizabeth is definitely soft-peddling the realities to a large degree.

    "Oh, we just talk to sources, try to win their trust, and persuade them to help us make the world a better place."

    NOT: "Well, your dad just killed an innocent man and framed him for espionage in order to protect his other wife, and tonight we're going to try to obtain a sample of a top-secret bio-weapon that makes the bubonic plague seem like a runny nose . . . ."
     
  6. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    If she had accurate medical information on Reagan's mental health & health-health after he was shot, she has a right to be scared.
     
  7. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Confidentiality: he's not a priest, he is under no obligation not to blab. I posted this at some point..

    It makes you think what would you do if you had been told such a thing by your parents at the age of 15? What would you do if you were Pastor Tim or a teacher who was told such a thing by a student, would you believe them? Would you think maybe they were delusional and showing signs of mental health issues? Will Pastor Tim, who is like super lefty modern man, come to Phillip and Elizabeth and talk to them about Paige seeing a psychiatrist? Today, that would be more likely to happen. A highly educated friend of mine when the last big spy bust happened could not believe "there are still spies" and refused to believe me that the US and Australia spy on each other etc.. but back in the 80's the climate was very different and the KGB and spies were something people actually talked about as present dangers.

    I think he's getting her to ask more questions to see if it gets ridiculous, if she wants attention surely she will drop a drama bomb at some point (if he's smart enough to think like this, which he may not be).
     
  8. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    Good episode. The whole sequence on the airport shuttle was nicely intense. Hitchcockian, even.

    And to paraphrase Batman: Some days you just can't get rid of a bio-weapon.

    One concern about this season: Am I the only who groans a bit whenever the plot shifts back to poor Nina at that dismal Soviet laboratory? I like the character and the actress, but that story line is just dragging on and feels disconnected from the events back in the USA.
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2016
  9. Saga

    Saga Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    as much as i like Nina i agree with you. the situation is certainly interesting...but at this point it is just dragging along with little direction IMO.
     
  10. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I also agree about Nina, very uneventful scenes going nowhere.

    The thing is even if they had killed Pastor Tim and Paige was somehow none the wiser that they had a hand it it.. what's to stop her from telling someone else? Sure she got it off her chest and might not have, but she's a teenager. If she had gotten one whiff of the actual violence involved in their profession combined with some teen parent anger.. in some ways it's better there is this one person, the devil they know, to deal with.

    I expect serious blackmail, something that could destroy Pastor Tim and put him away forever. Or a threat to his wife that he absolutely believes will happen if he ever says anything.
     
  11. Enterprise is Great

    Enterprise is Great Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Agreed about that airport shuttle scene...so intense. plus in the end it turned out that Philip did it for nothing since the guy left the stuff behind. It just added even more darkness to the scene.

    Agreed about Nina. That storyline is a real snooze. Every time the show cuts to it I fall asleep. They really need to get to the point of it.
     
  12. 1001001

    1001001 Serial Canon Violator Moderator

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    Man, I love this show. It is so brilliant and twisted. Being a child of the Cold War and the "Evil Empire" I watch and find myself rooting for the Soviet spies! That's good writing.

    The whole thing with Paige...now that Paige has told her mom, killing Pastor Tim will be too obvious. If it was just an unrelated accident, they might have fooled her, but now that she's confessed, his death is going to look incredibly suspicious.

    There are so many threads going at once. Is Phillip still seeing the 15 year old girl? And what about poor Martha? Now we've got bio-weapons, EST and Beamon's ex-wife... Come to think of it, Phillip must never sleep.

    As for Nina, I agree with everyone else that this seems kind of meandering. They need to have her escape or something.
     
  13. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    The blonde teenager, Kimberly, was in a pretty funny movie with Lily Tomlin that came out a couple months ago, Grandma. :)

    They only need to see the girl to replace the battery, or change the tape on their bug.

    They explained the time fame on that, its not very often, but Peter has to deliver himself regardless more often than that or she will spin out, if she's in love with him like young girls love (volatilely and emotionally!).

    Tim was only told that they come from a different country?

    Paige told mum and dad that "She told him everything" which is stupid.

    I don't think Paige (or Tim) even understands what the problem (and danger) is.

    "You are LEGAL Immigrants who fudged your back story to your kids to help them assimilate, my parents were polish, I can tell you sometimes I thought that they were aliens, so I can understand why you did what you did."
     
  14. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    Dying to see what happens with Pastor Tim tonight . .. . .
     
  15. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Has pastor Tim passed or not?
     
  16. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Pastor Tim and his wife will die and not only will Paige's spy parents not be in Fla. with her they will have mysteriously left Paige and Henry alone for 36 hours. Probably with some flimsy excuse which of course will be an obvious ruse to Paige since coincidentally the accident happens during the same time period.
     
  17. Saga

    Saga Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    man...the most recent episode...i did not see that coming.
     
  18. Enterprise is Great

    Enterprise is Great Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Holy shit! That ending, Shit. I did not see that coming. Wish I could say that about another show I watched tonight.
     
  19. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    That was a.. shock.

    What exactly is Mr. FBI taking photos of in their house? Just randomly photographing the kitchen?
     
  20. Spider

    Spider Dirty Old Man Premium Member

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    I was starting to get a bit bored with the stuff in Russia, but I sure as hell didn't expect that. Damn. Paige is certainly taking a turn here, laughing at her mothers joke in a Russian accent, taking care of her brother in her parents absence. They are certainly moving the show in a new direction this year, and it's exciting.