|
Slate does a pretty great podcast with the writers every week - they broke down the bone breaking (heh), and have also talked about why they chose certain plots. One of the things they talked about is how they realized after the first season that they couldn't have Stan chasing Phillip and Elizabeth episode after episode - he'd either catch them and end the show or you have to make Stan the DUMBEST MAN ALIVE. So they've built out Stan and Phillip's friendship, and have been really happy with the direction that went in. They also broke down the not a chase car chase from two weeks ago, pretty great stuff if you're a fan of the show.
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2015 23:02
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 00:20 |
|
|
Narcissus1916 posted:Slate does a pretty great podcast with the writers every week - they broke down the bone breaking (heh), and have also talked about why they chose certain plots. I really like the friendship as well. I mean, we all know the show's endgame will start with Stan sitting on the toilet at the Jennings and finding a book with the inscription from "To my friends, V.L." but until then it's nice that the characters can interact. I do wonder how much of their friendship is Phillip cultivating a future in at the FBI and how much is he just likes hanging out with Stan though.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2015 23:12
|
|
|
Baron Von Ghoulosh posted:Don't forget Henry and his hot bikini pic of Mrs. Beeman! Which he probably stole from their house.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2015 01:40
|
|
|
EL BROMANCE posted:I live in Cardiff and if I ever see Matthew Rhys in the streets I would probably get chills for a second before remembering he's not actually a real Russian spy. That reminds me, I was expecting Philip to see an ad for the Cardiff Giant in that PC Magazine.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2015 02:14
|
|
|
Phillip and Elizabeth's outward hostility to religion bugs me because being religious is the best cover in America. Especially back then. Why not just seeth about it in private? Also, if you don't believe in religion, wouldn't you just think baptism is a meaningless joke? I love this show and its so smart everywhere else, but the way the Jennings handle religion seems like a huge risk. Finally, Paige is the lamest kid ever.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2015 17:09
|
|
|
Look Sir Droids posted:Finally, Paige is the lamest kid ever.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2015 17:21
|
|
|
Look Sir Droids posted:Phillip and Elizabeth's outward hostility to religion bugs me because being religious is the best cover in America. Especially back then. Why not just seeth about it in private? Probably because they see a difference between pretending to be religious for a cover, and their daughter actually believing in this stuff. Same thing with the baptism, even if they don't think it does what the church claims it does, it's another representation of their own daughter becoming deeply entrenched in what they perceive as a bullshit belief system.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2015 21:20
|
|
|
http://theamericans.wikia.com/wiki/Pastor_Tim I've been wondering about the part listed under "Speculation." Maybe Paige is secretly being played by Pastor Tim the same way Kate was with Jared. Gabriel seems oddly comfortable with Paige's religion, almost like he knows more than he's letting on.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2015 22:29
|
|
|
That makes a lot of sense, I also wonder how much Paige is supposed to actually believe in the Church and how much of it is supposed to just be rebellion/a plan to rile up the 'rents.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2015 22:52
|
|
|
qbert posted:Probably because they see a difference between pretending to be religious for a cover, and their daughter actually believing in this stuff. Same thing with the baptism, even if they don't think it does what the church claims it does, it's another representation of their own daughter becoming deeply entrenched in what they perceive as a bullshit belief system. True. Hadn't thought of it in that way.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 00:56
|
|
|
I think part of what's going on is two things: 1) For Elizabeth, a rejection of Russian thought and beliefs is a rejection of her. 2)For Phillip, its a bit more complicated. I think he truly sees himself as a mercenary, not beholden to either side of the conflict. He'd be equally uncomfortable with Paige embracing Marxism as he would her wanting to be baptized. He's anti-ideology, in general.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 02:25
|
|
|
Philip is a bit weird that way. He embraces capitalism and doesn't feel it's so bad living there but he also is a dedicated soldier. Yeah I think Philip just is. He isn't a communist, he isn't a capitalist, he isn't a soviet, he isn't an American. He's Philip. He has jobs and he does them. Father, business owner, spy, husband(s).
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 03:35
|
|
|
Narcissus1916 posted:
I don't think this is necessarily true. While he may not be an ideologue to the level Elizabeth is, I think Phillip loves his country, he wouldn't be doing this kind of work for 17+ years (for free?) if he didn't. However, he wants a better life for his kids, not having them risk their lives to serve a country they have zero allegiance to.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 03:42
|
|
|
Shadow posted:Yeah I think Philip just is. He isn't a communist, he isn't a capitalist, he isn't a soviet, he isn't an American. He's Philip. He has jobs and he does them. Father, business owner, spy, husband(s). I kinda feel he is all of these things and none of them. At different parts of his life he has had different feelings. How he felt applying and training in Russia shows his love for his country but after living in the USA he does like the lifestyle and people. Saying that he will straight up kill you if needed but providing for his family seems his main driver. Whether that was for the USSR or defecting I think he is capable of anything which makes his dynamic with Eliz interesting. He is very pragmatic chararcter.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 05:37
|
|
|
Philip definitely thinks of himself as a Soviet. In the first episode of this season he shoots the Afghani guy and says something like "Your people are killing my brothers". I think the main difference between Phil and Liz is that she fully believes in and is fully committed to the cause of spreading Communism worldwide while he thinks that the US and USSR can coexist despite their ideological differences. So while Phil is willing to kill people in cold blood and play the Spy game to support the Soviets, he draws the line at getting his kids involved. For him, they could live their entire lives as Americans as long as it meant they're safe. Whereas Liz thinks her kids growing up in a world where American/capitalistic ideals have won is a fate worse than death. bowser fucked around with this message at 07:35 on Feb 22, 2015 |
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 06:54
|
|
|
bowser posted:Philip definitely thinks of himself as a Soviet. In the first episode of this season he shoots the Afghani guy and says something like "Your people are killing my brothers". This is a pretty decent way of putting it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 08:28
|
|
|
I hope this show lasts long enough (or has a time jump) for Philip and Elizabeth to experience and react to December 25th, 1991. I want to see how this show handles the whole "Well poo poo, what NOW?" dynamic.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 08:35
|
|
|
Phillip's ambiguity is one of the very best things about the series. But for argument's sake, I did find it interesting that Matthew Rhys said in several interviews this year that, if offered, he thinks Phillip would defect in an instant.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 08:44
|
|
|
Narcissus1916 posted:Phillip's ambiguity is one of the very best things about the series. He's wanted to in the show more than once so that's not too surprising.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 08:45
|
|
|
You guys mind linking to neat articles about The Americans?
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 09:05
|
|
|
Sepinwall is a great place to start. He's the interview I mentioned. http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/the-americans-star-matthew-rhys-philip-would-defect-in-a-heartbeat
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 09:52
|
|
|
Gonz posted:I hope this show lasts long enough (or has a time jump) for Philip and Elizabeth to experience and react to December 25th, 1991. It would be pretty disappointing if it didn't. That happens and there's no more Centre so the Jennings are hung out to dry. By then their kids will be adults too. I could also see them getting caught right before that and being the last spy swap before the USSR collapses. Forcing them to leave their kids behind.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 17:16
|
|
|
Look Sir Droids posted:It would be pretty disappointing if it didn't. That happens and there's no more Centre so the Jennings are hung out to dry. By then their kids will be adults too.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 18:23
|
|
|
wukkar posted:Do you guys actually believe that when the KGB split into the FSB and FIS that the heads of the FIS actually said "nah this program isn't worth continuing"? Given the inspiration for the series, I'm going to guess that the answer is no.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 18:44
|
|
|
According to Hanssen's testimony, evidently after the wall fell, the Russian intelligence services became less cordial in their communications and less grateful for his services. There was about a two year period of intense internal political instability in Russia - 1991-1993 might very well end up being one of the most interesting periods in the show because they really won't know who they're working for, the old guard, or the new boss, up until the putting down of the coup attempt in 1991 and the Constitutional Crisis of 1993.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 19:06
|
|
|
wukkar posted:Do you guys actually believe that when the KGB split into the FSB and FIS that the heads of the FIS actually said "nah this program isn't worth continuing"? No, but there would be 1) a period of chaos and instability, 2) the political environment would give the program a different scope (no assassination or going after high profile national security programs), and 3) those things would put Phillip and Elizabeth in a position of having to fend for themselves in a way they wouldn't anticipate.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 19:58
|
|
|
have we seen any evidence of the travel agency being an actual successful business? I know there are employees working there, so there must be customers and vacations actually being booked etc. but is that business being propped up by soviet cash? It would be pretty hilarious if Phil and Elizabeth finally get caught by the IRS digging into the books instead of Stan hunting spys. beanieson fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Feb 22, 2015 |
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 20:06
|
|
|
Travel agencies were a major thing before Travelocity and kayak.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 22:16
|
|
|
Shadow posted:Travel agencies were a major thing before Travelocity and kayak. Well yeah, they were needed before the internet.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 23:22
|
|
|
Shadow posted:Travel agencies were a major thing before Travelocity and kayak. I don't think the issue is whether or not a travel agency could be profitable, just this particular one.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 23:43
|
|
|
Most of my family on my mom's side was from Romania (many of which had escaped from eastern Europe over the decades), and quite literally the day after the USSR went belly-up, they all congregated in their local Orthodox church and threw a massive party. I was a little under 8 years old at the time, and had a vague handle on what was happening, but I remember there being a whole ton of booze being consumed, a large buffet, music, dancing, hugs, and high-fives. That was the happiest i've ever seen a group of people outside of a sporting event. Just imagine all the depressing wet farts going down inside the Kremlin that week.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2015 23:58
|
|
|
Otto von Ruthless posted:I don't think the issue is whether or not a travel agency could be profitable, just this particular one. Eh, if these were such valued assets, I'd guess that the Center would make sure that the books balanced. Yeah, some things would be subsidized/ off the books, but you'd need to have some books to pass an inquiry/inspection.
|
|
#
?
Feb 23, 2015 00:00
|
|
|
I think the business itself is completely legit. I think extortion or payoffs are what the Center provides. If you remember, Elizabeth asked about the refund to Stan since Philip told Stan it was 100% refunded but Elizabeth noticed they took a hit on it when she reviewed the book. Both agreed it was a good investment.
|
|
#
?
Feb 23, 2015 16:31
|
|
|
Shadow posted:I think the business itself is completely legit. I think extortion or payoffs are what the Center provides. If you remember, Elizabeth asked about the refund to Stan since Philip told Stan it was 100% refunded but Elizabeth noticed they took a hit on it when she reviewed the book. Both agreed it was a good investment. Yeah I don't think cash flow would be the problem. Where I'd think they'd run into issues would be in the late 90s and 2000s and the creation of national databases as I'm presuming their SSNs are bogus. Unless the center did some trickery with disappearing people/kids/records so that there's no way to prove that their SSNs aren't them.
|
|
#
?
Feb 23, 2015 20:35
|
|
|
TCD posted:Yeah I don't think cash flow would be the problem. Where I'd think they'd run into issues would be in the late 90s and 2000s and the creation of national databases as I'm presuming their SSNs are bogus. Unless the center did some trickery with disappearing people/kids/records so that there's no way to prove that their SSNs aren't them. Yeah they are probably using dead babies SSNs. If you recall they discovered that the illegals who were butchered by their son were using names/info from dead patients (babies?) from 20~ years prior.
|
|
#
?
Feb 23, 2015 21:20
|
|
|
I thought the last episode was one of the best of the season
|
|
#
?
Feb 23, 2015 22:40
|
|
|
'sup guys https://tv.yahoo.com/photos/the-ame...1957409281.html quote:Russell and co-star Matthew Rhys have become the punk rockers that their married KGB spies, Elizabeth and Philip, portray in "Walter Taffet" (11 Mar. 2015) the Americans episode that also features the directorial debut of their co-star Emmerich. In the hair and makeup trailer, which includes books full of photos of their past disguises, their characters have been dubbed "Sid and Nancy," though Rhys also jokes that he's got a Joey Ramone thing happening. "We sort of look alike," Russell points out, and says their disguises are often planned that way so that, undercover, the characters will look as if they should be together. Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 00:10 on Feb 25, 2015 |
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2015 00:08
|
|
|
Strongest wig game in TV history.
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2015 01:23
|
|
Look Sir Droids posted:Phillip and Elizabeth's outward hostility to religion bugs me because being religious is the best cover in America. Especially back then. Why not just seeth about it in private? Yeah my family was never religious but I wanted to go to my cousin's baptism because watching her get dunked in water sounded hilarious. It wasn't. 
|
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2015 01:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 00:20 |
|
|
She looks good as a punker, he basically looks like that 40 year old burnout who wishes he was still a punker.
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2015 01:58
|
|