Martha took a dramatic and reckless step in the final
moments of last week’s episode. She has
left the safe house and her best chance to avoid capture by the FBI behind. Meanwhile, Elizabeth reels from Phillip’s
revelation he has shown Martha his true face. She seems to worry Phillip may chose Martha
over her. The FBI erupts with the information that Gaad’s shy secretary has
spied for the Soviets. Whatever the outcome, there will be no one who emerges
from this crisis unchanged.
At the Soviet Embassy, Oleg and Tatiana work on an itinerary
for Martha’s extraction. The plan is to fly her out of the U.S. to Cuba, then
onto Prague and Moscow.
Gabriel greets Elizabeth and Phillip at the door of the safe
house with the troubling news that Martha has fled and threatened to scream
“KGB!” if the old man tried to stop her. Elizabeth asks, “When?” He tells her about
forty minutes ago. Phillip hands him the
rat in a jar, which is placed in the freezer. Phillip tries to imagine where Martha might
have gone; including places they had dates and her church. Elizabeth thinks Phillip should not go out to
look for her and offers to go with Hans. Gabriel adds wearily, “If she’s in public and
starts screaming again, you may have no choice…” (The implication is Martha may
have to be killed on sight if she can’t play cool.)
At the FBI, Stan and Dennis arrive at Agent Gaad’s office
and motion for him to join them in the vault. Dennis informs Gaad they found a “Clark Westerfield,”
a child who died in Minnesota at age seven whose birthdate matches Martha’s
Clark. Gaad sighs, “Martha’s boyfriend had a fake id.” Stan apologizes and informs his boss they are
bringing in a sketch artist to draw Clark using his landlord as a source. The agents leave Gaad. Gaad sighs deeply; his reputation and position
at the Bureau are done if Martha proves to be helping the KGB.
An aerial view of Washington D.C. helps the viewer grasp how
difficult it would be to find a single person in such a large city. Phillip asks Elizabeth to phone in updates of
her search every thirty minutes. Elizabeth
assures her husband that the situation is not his fault. Phillip still blames
himself for her behavior, reasoning she panicked when she learned Phillip left
because she didn’t now Gabriel. Elizabeth notes Gabriel is right. (About the
need to silence her.) Phillip answers grimly, “I know.” He leaves the safe
house in a baseball hat and sunglasses, Elizabeth wears her “Clark’s sister”
disguise to commence the search.
The FBI swarms in Martha’s small apartment. Stan searches the electrical outlets for
“bugs.” Agents sift through tampons and
ice cubes for secrets. Dennis examines a
radio. Agent Gaad stands by the window,
looking out nervously.
Phillip rings a bell and the Centre’s dispatch woman lets
him inside. He orders her to find him
maps, bus and river routes.
Martha walks alone, looking around furtively. She tries to discern whether the men around
her are agents, but everyone looks suspicious. Martha begins to breath rapidly, probably
having another panic attack.
Phillip plots a radius on a city map. The blonde woman urges him to eat and offers
him borscht. (Since the Jennings try to act American at all times, it’s
probably been a long time since Phillip has the native soup.) The woman tries to offer Phillip support but
soon the phone rings. Elizabeth reports
she hasn’t seen Martha yet but has sent Hans inside the church. Phillip recalls she used to like to take long
walks by the viaduct. Elizabeth tries to
offer Phillip reassurance that “She’ll be okay.” Phillip tells the blonde
woman, “I haven’t had borsht in a long time.”
In the FBI vault, the agents pour over the items they
removed from Martha’s apartment, including a photo album. Dennis tells Gaad he knows which church Martha
attended. Gaad notes Martha made a
deposit recently, but no withdrawals. A
superior calls Stan over. He asks Stan
to check with his contact at the Soviet Embassy and to blackmail him if
necessary. Stan notes, “This guy plays
the long game.” The superior grows
impatient, noting they don’t have time for the long game. Stan refuses to contact Oleg angering the
superior. A man in the room calls out,
“Martha’s on the phone to her parents.”
Martha makes the call from a park pay phone. She asks her mother not to wake her father,
but soon her father is on the line. Martha
confesses, “I’m in so much trouble. No matter what you hear, know that I love
you.” She hangs up to the bewilderment of her elderly parents. It sounds like she’s saying goodbye.
In the vault, Stan theorizes the KGB doesn’t have her or
they wouldn’t have allowed her to call home. The agents identify the pay phone call as
originating in Woodley Park.
Martha walks alone on a high bridge over a rushing
river. She looks down at the river and
rocks and appears to be thinking of jumping.
Tears stream down her face in the weak winter sunlight.
Stan and Dennis head to the payphone in the park. They communicate with the other agents via walkie-talkies.
There is no sign of Martha. Stan
suggests they spread out to look for her. From the car, the high bridge can be seen in
the background. Stan looks that
direction and recognizes the structure from a photo in Martha’s family album. Stan deduces the call sounded like a “goodbye”
and fears Martha may have been thinking of this place she came with her parents,
then committed suicide by jumping off the bridge.
Phillip and the blonde woman wait for more information to
come in. She asks him if he had met the
person before her. Before Phillip can
answer her question, the phone rings.
Martha is surprised to hear Phillip’s voice on the line and cries to
him, “You left me with a stranger!” Martha
continues to rail about her hurt and confusion. Phillip asks where she is and says
he’ll come pick her up, then “tell her everything.” Martha is far from reassured, “I want it to
stop, I want it to end!” (Be careful what you wish for Martha!) Martha blurts out her location and Phillip
hangs up.
Stan looks down from the bridge to the rocks. Dennis stands below in the water. Martha
hasn’t committed suicide.
Elizabeth calls in and is informed that Phillip has left for
Martha’s location. Elizabeth reports she
is close to the location.
Oleg informs Tatiana he is unable to secure a pilot for
Martha’s extraction. Tatiana reports
calmly, “I got one, one that was needed for another operation. We’re fine.” Oleg masks his surprise at her
ability to access seemingly endless resources. He looks down at a mysterious file on her desk
with curiosity.
Elizabeth walks in the park and spots Martha. Elizabeth reaches in the right pocket of her
pink jacket, appearing to hold something inside before she approaches her
target. Elizabeth calls out to Martha,
“Clark’s on his way; he wanted me to stay with you until he got here.” Martha asks, “Are you sleeping with my
husband?” She continues by asking if the
“mom” at the wedding was another agent and if the old man with the cane is also
an agent. Elizabeth denies sleeping with
Phillip and attempts to calm her down. Martha
is panicking and raising her voice. Elizabeth moves swiftly to “embrace” her
and delivers a hard punch to Martha’s lower abdomen. Elizabeth tells the hysterical woman, “There
is nowhere to go, they know who you are and are coming for you. They’ll arrest Clark. Do what I say and you’ll live, you’ll live.”
In the woods nearby, Phillip walks around, calling out for
Martha. He removes his sunglasses and
looks around before finding a pay phone. (Where were all these payphones when I
was a kid? I remember never being able
to find one when I needed one back in the day.)
Henry drools over Brooke Shields’s racy Calvin Klein jeans
ad. Matthew isn’t as interested and
drinks a bottle of beer. Henry whines
for beer and Matthew pours him a small amount in a glass. Paige arrives and tells her brother she’s made
dinner. She boldly asks Matthew for a beer and he offers her a full one, which
she drinks from the bottle. (Little rebel.) Henry cries foul, but Matthew
explains his sister is fifteen and therefore closer to the drinking age. Matthew cautions Henry, “My dad is a FBI
agent, he’ll notice if we drink all the beers.”
The trio watch television together.
Stan gets a Coke from the vending machines at work. Agent Gaad updates him on the search for
Martha, the payphones in the park are being watched and they are attempting to
track down a former roommate. Gaad
informs Stan the Deputy Attorney General went to the FBI director to complain
about Stan. Gaad stood up for Stan
noting he learned in Vietnam not to “fall down and play dead.” Gaad notes between the bug in his pen, Gene
and Martha his career is pretty dead already.
Phillip returns to the safe house. Elizabeth greets him and says, “She’s all
right.” Martha is clutching her left side and she tells him it’s just a bruise.
(Not disclosing who gave it to her.) Martha
asks Phillip what his name was when he was born. He answers truthfully, “Mikhal, but everyone
called me Misha.” Phillip leaves to get
ice for her wound. Martha cries. Phillip
sees the rat in the jar near the ice cube tray, a poignant reminder of how not
normal the situation has become.
Tatiana and Oleg wait in his office. Arkady enters and learns Tatiana has secured
a pilot for Martha. Arkady seems a bit
surprised too, but only says, “Good.
Then we’re set.” Tatiana confirms
Martha is now in their custody. Arkady
acknowledges the information and leaves the room.
Phillip and Elizabeth discuss the precarious situation. Elizabeth notes, “If she runs again…”
Elizabeth suggests Phillip tell her he’ll join her and they will have a life
together, noting she needs hope to get on the plane. Elizabeth has doubts of her own after seeing
how Phillip has responded to the crisis. She asks, “If you could go back, with
Martha-if the kids were grown, would you?” Phillip seems taken aback by her
doubts, “Your crazy, it’s not like that at all. I love you.” He says he’ll be home with her in a few hours.
Elizabeth urges him to stay with Martha,
she kisses Phillip goodbye.
Tatiana dictates a note; “The sample procured by Directorate
S is being prepared for transport to Moscow.” From this note is it unclear if
she’s speaking about Martha, the dead rat sample or possibly both. She ends her dictation by stating, “Handle
with extreme caution.” The assistant
looks to Tatiana for further instructions but she tells him simply, “Send it.”
Gaad enjoys a glass of scotch in his office. Stan enters with a sketch, which puzzles Gaad;
the artist accidently drew one of Martha and Clark. (If Gaad can’t recognize is
own secretary from the sketch, is Phillip safe?) Stan begins to mention Martha’s boyfriend but
Gaad interrupts to show him the marriage certificate they’ve recovered. Gaad sighs, “MY SECRETARY, was married to a
KGB officer.” He notes they did blood
tests and had witnesses, making everything official. Gaad believes they targeted and seduced Martha
for their purposes. Stan offers an
alternative explanation; perhaps they had met before from school. Gaad squarely points the blame at himself.
“I’m in charge.” Gaad continues to wonder why, was the sex that good or was she
simply that unhappy?
Phillip gives the ice pack to Martha. He informs her,
“Tomorrow you’ll leave for Russia to begin a new life. It’s not easy but it’s
the only way.” Martha looks at him
pleadingly, “How soon before you come?” Phillip
refuses to lie to her as Elizabeth suggested, “I won’t, I can’t.” Martha weeps and asks if he could come to
visit, but again he says no. Martha is
worried about her parents and wonders if she has the strength to go to a
foreign country, learn a new language and have a new life. Martha observes she’ll be alone, just like
before Clark entered her life. Phillip
assures her she will be treated with honor and respect for her sacrifice. But Martha was willing to make that sacrifice
only to be with Phillip. Without him,
her betrayal doesn’t make sense.
Elizabeth readies herself for bed. She seems very tired and emotional. Martha sleeps next to Phillip one last
time. Phillip remains fully clothed and
awake. The episode ends. Phillip was
trying so desperately to save Martha, he seems to have succeeded in saving her
life but at the cost of her heart. Elizabeth
seems to doubt her place in her husband’s heart for the first time. The experience with Martha has laid bare her
very few insecurities. At the
Residentura, Tatiana has shown the men she is the one holding the power of the
Directorate S program. It’s clear she
may know secrets hidden even from the ambassador. Stan and Dennis came very close to catching
Martha and Phillip. Will he recognize his neighbor from the sketch of Clark?
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