This is the penultimate episode of the season, and what a
wild ride it’s been. The big secret is
out and it looks like other people close to the Jennings are catching the
suspicious change in the air. Phillip
and Elizabeth struggle to keep working under these new extraordinary
circumstances.
Elizabeth is rocking a short blonde wig, dressed as a phone
company repairperson, as she enters the bowel of the hotel. Upstairs, Phillip and the CIA agents are
converging for the covert meeting with the Afghani Mujahedeen. Elizabeth listens in until she intercepts
Phillip’s room. Phillip requests more
pillows. (These maneuvers were facilitated by the seduction of Neal, the horny
hotelier!)
The Jennings arrive home from work to find Henry watching
television alone. He says Paige has gone
to a lecture at the church and will be spending the night with Pastor Tim.
(Wow, that sounds wrong.) They are upset at her presumption of permission, and
decide to leave to retrieve their very dangerous daughter. If Paige were anyone but their daughter she
would have been dead by now.
The Jennings wait in front of Pastor Tim’s house. It’s late and Elizabeth sarcastically suggests
“a potluck, poster making and sing-a-long”, probably detained them. Pastor
Tim and his wife seem genuinely shocked the Jennings are waiting for them. Paige protests stating her homework is done
and she packed a bag to stay. Phillip
commands her to get in the car and she relents, sulking.
At home Phillip tells her she can’t just “run off like
that.” That’s funny coming from the parents who are always running off! Elizabeth adds that with knowing their secret
comes great responsibility. Its obvious
they are frightened about Paige speaking out. Paige is more frustrated then ever but reports
she didn’t tell Pastor Tim. If she had,
the authorities would have probably already tossed them in jail.
Phillip still has to leave for Martha’s. Hans drives by and signals him. Inside, Stan has come to visit Martha’s
apartment. Stan tries to keep the
meeting casual but Martha is suspicious of his motives. Stan says, “I saw you staring into your coffee
cup for a solid minute yesterday. You
seem distracted.” Martha does her best
to lie to him explaining its been stressful having Taffet’s investigation
disrupting her work. Stan says how much
he appreciates the work the secretaries do in the office.
Martha calls Stan out, “What are you doing here? I know your
marriage is over.” Embarrassed, Stan tries to explain he’s there in case she
needed to talk. Martha shoos him out the
door. When Stan is gone, she opens the
nightstand drawer and looks longingly at a photo of Clark and her.
Phillip returns home and its Elizabeth’s turn to be
surprised. Phillip reports Hans warned
him Martha had a visitor, someone with government plates. Elizabeth wonders what Phillip plans to do
next. Phillip says, “I don’t know.”
As Martha crosses the street, Hans who identifies himself as
a “friend of your husband’s” intercepts her.
Hans tells her Clark knows she’s worried and Martha gets into the car
with him.
Elizabeth is instructing Lisa how to use the camera she has
installed in her purse. She asks for pictures to be taken at certain angles to
capture the details of the new bomber. Maurice
is present and actively hostile. Elizabeth
insists Lisa take a low dose sedative to keep her calm during this delicate
mission.
Hans brings Martha to an abandoned area where Clarke is
waiting. Martha is frantic, stating she
tried to call him five times last night. Clarke says he couldn’t call because he didn’t
know if it was safe. Martha reports it
was Agent Beeman who came to her apartment last night. Clarke says, “We might
have to go.” Martha protests she doesn’t want to leave her job and life in D.C.
Clarke promises he’ll figure something
out.
Aderholt tells Stan he wants to ask him a few questions
about Nina. Stan is livid, “What are you
accusing me of? You’re not as smart as you look! This office has been a target of the illegals.
The people who killed my partner Amador,
the woman who hit you and bugged Gaad’s office!” It seems Stan has a clear idea about WHAT has
happened, but he still doesn’t know WHO they are. He’s maddeningly close.
Arkady watches as a pool of secretaries transcribe the
information emitting from the “robot bug” in the FBI.
Elizabeth meets with Maurice to obtain the Northrop photos. He continues to display hostility, even
threatens to expose the film if she doesn’t do things his way. Their little
standoff ends when Elizabeth presents him with a purse filled with cash.
Elizabeth is likely looking for a way to get Maurice out of the picture due to
his unpredictability.
Arkady summons Tatiana and Oleg to his office. He announces he’s considering pulling the plug
on the Zephyr Operation because it consumes massive resources and has yet to
yield any useful information. Tatiana is
opposed to the idea, pleading to give the operation more time.
Phillip fills in Elizabeth about Stan’s late night tea with
Martha. Phillip is convinced Stan is onto Martha. Paige storms in carrying a photo album. She asks, “Who are these people?” Paige recalls meeting “Aunt Helen” who was not
her aunt. Paige asks about the “cousins”
she met years before. (The spy family murdered by their own son.) Elizabeth
tries to calm her down and lower her voice, but Paige is furious. She asks, “Is
everything a lie?” Then she leaves slamming the door behind her.
Martha pours herself a large glass of red wine and calls her
parents. It’s heartbreaking how she
can’t confide in anyone about her problems with Clarke. Her parents realize
she’s upset and urge her to take some time off to visit them. Martha tries to reassure them she’s fine.
Phillip enters Paige’s room in an attempt to smooth things
over. He tells her not everything in her
life was a lie. He tries to redirect her
to some positive memories about the night her brother was born, and a camping
trip they made together. Paige seems to
be reassured a little, at least by her father.
Tatiana and Oleg discuss Arkady’s plan to end Operation
Zephyr. Tatiana thinks it’s a mistake,
which will cost Arkady and may be viewed as a failure. Oleg notes Arkady doesn’t care too much about
other peoples opinions. Tatiana suggests
maybe he should care. I have the suspicion she has been sent to keep an eye on
Oleg and Arkady.
Elizabeth and Phillip pause for a moment before the night’s
mission. Phillip suggests Elizabeth
should take Paige with her to visit her ailing mother. They head into the hotel separately. Phillip approaches the room of the Mujahedeen
and asks to meet with Abassin Zadran. The
agent’s phone is patched through to Elizabeth, who approves the meeting.
Phillip and Elizabeth meet with Zadran in their car for
privacy. They ask how much he knows
about the other men who’ve flown in with him to the United States. Phillip calls into question the men’s loyalty
to defeating the Soviets. Zadran states
he doesn’t know the men but his fighters’ only desire is to be martyrs to the
cause. Zadran brags about the Soviets he’s killed including the younger
soldiers. Phillip and Elizabeth display
amazing detachment as Zadran boasts, “If two hundred infidels were here, I’d
gut them like goats!”
Gabriel and Claudia meet at a diner and make small talk
about the plethora of choices to be had in America. The real business is what will the Centre do
now Paige knows. Claudia recounts the
chaos following the illegals son, who murdered his family last year. Gabriel is surprised after that debacle the
Centre wishes to pursue Paige as another “second generation” illegal. Claudia reports Moscow is confident Gabriel
can succeed where she failed.
Zadran returns to the hotel and requests the agents allow
the Afghani men to have a meeting. After
several seconds behind closed doors, a scuffle and screams are heard. The
agents kick in the door to find the other Afghani men’s throats have been slit.
The “divide and conquer” tactic worked well among these supposed mujahedeen
allies.
Tatiana tries to convince Arkady to keep the operation going
for a while longer. (After all, Elizabeth did have to murder the nice old lady
to obtain the robot bug.) Tatiana offers, “It’s better to fail slowly.” She thinks she may have found something
relevant in a possibly flirtatious exchange at the office. Oleg remains skeptical.
Elizabeth comes to Paige’s room to talk. She says she is planning on going to Russia to
visit her dying mother and it might be her only chance to meet her grandmother.
From Paige’s clock radio, Ultravox’s song Vienna plays. “This means nothing to
me.” The band sings as Paige stares at the ceiling.
Clarke goes to Martha’s apartment to find her packed and
ready to leave. She says she needs to
get away and she’s decided to go to her parents. Martha is convinced everyone at the office
knows she’s lying. Martha cries, “I’m
sorry, it’s just not enough!”
Clarke pleads he loves her. Martha tries to hold firm stating, “I can’t be
here with you like this!” Phillip slowly
removes his glasses, then the hair pins and finally removes his wig completely.
She looks at him in horror and awe
likely wondering who the hell did I marry?
No comments:
Post a Comment