Elizabeth Jennings’ pulsing
forehead vein of doom makes a terrifying return this week. Paige left her post
last week and her mother berates her, winding up for a soliloquy in the same
manner of the glorious/horrifying “find some more shit to volunteer for at that
goddamn church” speech from season 4. After the dressing down, Philip says he
told Paige she and her mother could talk about what happened in the woods. The
response from the Queen of Self-Awareness: “What do you think I was just
doing?!”
There are a number of
reasons for this lecture. Paige exposed herself to danger and almost blew the
mission by leaving her post, her mother is upset that Paige saw something she
can’t get out of her mind (and that Elizabeth can’t get out of her hair) and
Elizabeth is very much frayed by the heavy burden she carries alone and the
possibility (confirmed by Aderholt) that Rennhull’s suicide will not go
unnoticed.
Elizabeth is even more
terrifying than usual lately. With her pert blonde wig in the hotel room, she
carries an aura of cool menace even before she strangles the security guy. From
everything she’s had to go through without a confidant, it’s now wonder it’s
getting to Elizabeth. Still, she has a kind gesture for Philip, bringing home
leftover Russian food. He appreciates it but has just finished some Chinese
takeout, so they have to throw out the leftovers, ending the sweet gesture with
a thud. (I know they are trained to be careful, but would leftovers really alert
anyone to the fact that these two are spies? It’s basically beef stew and didn’t
scream “Russian cuisine” to me. My Mom makes something similar and we’re not
Russian. Couldn’t they have waited a day to eat it? It’s not like the FBI will
raid them tomorrow. This either shows how paranoid Elizabeth is or that she's punishing Philip for filling up on Americanized food and not having any room left for the cuisine of home.)
The stew and the warmth at
Claudia’s just reminds Elizabeth how much she hates America, perestroika and
glasnost (I thought I heard a subtle Russian accent on the last two terms,
which was a nice touch). Philip says in a few years, with the USSR breaking
down, they’d be having Stan over for Russian stew. His wife is having none of
it.
“(The Americans) want us to be just like them,” Elizabeth says. “I don’t want to be like
them.”
Philip says she hasn’t
talked to anyone in the Soviet Union in 20 years and she counters that he hasn’t,
either. He cannot see a way past their differences and with sadness on his
face, goes to meet Oleg and possibly inform on her. Oleg and Stan have a tense
reunion, with Oleg ready to pounce, with each bringing up the ghost of Nina,
the person they each loved who binds them together. Stan has enough respect for
Oleg to warn him away from whatever he’s about to do.
Parallel to the fraying of
the Soviet Union is the fraying of the travel industry. Philip’s business looks
like it’s overextended and in a few years, the whole industry will decline with
the rise of people booking their own travel online. Parallel to the Jennings
situation is Gennadi and Sofia’s, where the FBI pulls them out of their
situation and into witness protection of some sort. This happens because Sofia
is unhappy in her marriage and confides in a coworker, blowing the mission.
Philip and Elizabeth are having problems since they can’t confide to one
another. Might this be a warning for our spies’ fate?
Speaking of spies, is Renee
a spy or what? I had assumed she was working for somebody. The actress’ face
betrays nothing but the premier’s recap, highlighting scenes of speculation
about her character, made me think she must be more than she seems. But now I
think it might be too much narratively for Stan to marry a Soviet spy, after
Martha also married one. That Renee wants to be an FBI agent (after hilariously
assuming working together enriches the Jennings marriage) just seems desperate
for a spy to do. We’ll see.
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