The whole season has been organized around the historic events of the Reagan-Gorbachev Summit of 1987. Elizabeth has been tasked with representing the forces which wish to remove Gorbachev from leadership while the United States also has its share of skeptics regarding a lasting peace between the two countries. I had been operating under the assumption that we’d have a full-length final season but unfortunately, this hour is the pen-penultimate installment of the series. There are so many things I’d still love to see and explore and I fear that time is running out for both our characters and the many plot threads. The show’s pace continues to be heart pounding and the stakes have never been higher for the hopes of peace and change and the destructive forces bent on remaining in control.
The season has highlighted Elizabeth’s descent into her worst impulses, unchecked by Philip. Meanwhile, Paige has nearly finished her training but still is ignorant of the many atrocities carried out by her chosen organization. Oleg was absent in the episode, how will his story play out? Stan has been fully re-immersed into counter-intelligence. Will he be the man to crack the case or another causality of Philip and Elizabeth Jennings?
The hour opens again with an argument between Philip and Elizabeth. Elizabeth returns home to find Philip looking pensive in the living room, “I know Chicago was hard, I won’t need you again, I promise.” Philip tries to interject but Elizabeth continues to say that he shouldn’t worry about her because she knows what she’s doing. “Do you? You’re wearing cyanide pill around your neck!” Philip explains his interactions with Oleg without naming him. “He said there are people at the Centre who are trying to get rid of Gorbachev, he’s trying to prevent that.” Philip elaborates that he knows about her trip to Mexico to meet with the general whose part of the plot to overthrow Gorbachev. “He asked me to tell him what you were doing, and I did.” Elizabeth looks stunned. Philip says, “I told him you were the most dedicated, loyal person to ever serve the organization. I told him about the sensor, Renhull, that you were looking into one of our negotiators who you thought was a traitor. That you were going to Chicago.” Elizabeth accuses Philip of pretending to care about her when he was, in fact, passing on her activities. She yells, “Go to hell!” Philip highlights all her recent activities, from the kidnapping plot to the murder of Gennadi and Sofia. He states he didn’t think she knew why she was doing any of these things. Elizabeth is further agitated to learn Philip has been passing on information on her activities for several months, “You should have told me.” Philip claims he tried. Philip defends his actions, stating he was trying to get her to think, to ask questions to be a human being. Philip says he would do anything for Elizabeth, and that he just did (in Chicago) but he won’t anymore. He cautions her, “We believed in something so big, they tell us what to do and we do it, that’s the job. But WE do it, not THEM. So it’s on us, all of it…” Philip exhales deeply as Elizabeth storms out.
Elizabeth meets with Jackson at a fancy restaurant. She’s flirty yet distracted at the same time. She says she can’t stay but encourages him to sit down. Jackson is interested in the management-training program and wants him to apply. Elizabeth makes it sound like a dream job full of money, travel and “being with people who care about culture as much as you do.” Elizabeth takes the young man’s resume and asks him for a report about the work he’s been doing for Senator Nunn. She encourages him to be detailed, stating people at her firm have the highest security clearances. He’s to turn in this report within twenty-four hours. (Still ahead of the Summit.)
The vault is a hum of activity. One member is looking into local Orthodox priests. Stan hasn’t found anything related to his vehicle investigation. He asks Dennis about how Oleg might be connected to all these events. “We haven’t forgotten about him.”
Claudia watches Gorbachev’s arrival speech on television with Paige and Elizabeth. All women share a look of concern. Paige asks Claudia if she has met Gorbachev, the old woman says “No” with an air of contempt. Elizabeth notes that during the summit they’ll be busy discovering what is being said behind closed doors. Claudia reminds Paige, “The work never ends.” Paige is dismissed so that Elizabeth can speak with her handler privately. Elizabeth notes that her target Nesterenko will be meeting with a group of Americans, she will bug Haskert’s briefcase to be able to listen to the discussion.
Elizabeth arrives at Haskert’s home in her nursing shift. Immediately she can sense that something is different because usually, Glenn is working. Elizabeth enters the bedroom and finds Erica breathing irregularly. Her husband admits, “I did it. But something went wrong.” He explains that he gave her the extra morphine he’d been saving but is distressed to see her continue to suffer. He said Erica was begging him to help her die. Elizabeth explains that the morphine didn’t work because Erica developed a tolerance to it. (As a former nurse this enrages me, in a dying patient one doesn’t worry about physiological tolerance, you simply give more medicine to relief suffering!) Glenn blames himself for this “mistake”, he says, “I waited too long, I was so selfish. I had to go to my goddamn meetings, she said so, she was angry and she said so… She was right, I called my office and said I’m done, I can’t come in anymore.” Elizabeth looks murderous, she’d tortured Erica for months only to have her plans foiled by a compassionate husband. Elizabeth instructs him, “Glenn, it’s going to be all right. Say goodbye to her now.”
Once Glenn has left, Elizabeth looks around the room and grabs a paintbrush. Elizabeth touches Erica’s forehead, as she looks around at all the disturbing paintings of women in anguish. In an almost Biblical betrayal, Elizabeth kisses Erica’s forehead and then proceeds to choke the dying woman with it. Erica flails and finally, as she vomits green fluid like a grisly final painting. It’s difficult to watch, especially to a person who has lost several family members under hospice care. This portrayal of messy death was almost too realistic. Why would you end this woman’s suffering in such a violent way? Philip is right, I’m not sure Elizabeth is a human being anymore.
Elizabeth calmly wipes off the vomit from the brush and places it in her pocket before wiping off Erica’s face. She goes downstairs to inform Glenn “She’s gone. You should head upstairs and spend some time with her, it’s your last chance.” Elizabeth uses the time to photograph as many of the diplomat’s documents as possible. It seems nothing will distract Elizabeth from her mission.
In the vault, the team studies a wall of sketches from Chicago. One agent says, “It’s impossible, all those disguises.” The pictures show some of Philip and Elizabeth’s most recent disguises. Dennis looks at the wall, “Well, they’re either all the same people or all different people.”
Glenn calls Elizabeth back upstairs after several minutes. He insists that she take a painting as a memento from Erica. Elizabeth decides to take a large canvas portrait of a woman in black and white. In a sense, all the paintings could be Elizabeth in her various disguises. Elizabeth can barely fit the large canvass into her old station wagon. Back at the garage, Elizabeth stares at the artwork. She cuts it from its frame and places it on the floor. She is set to burn it but hesitates. She rolls up the canvas to put it away. However, she knows she can’t keep it. She unrolls it and destroys the art with more reverence than she murdered the artist.
Elizabeth greets Jackson warmly at her hotel room. She presents him with a new briefcase as a gift for his new position in the management-training program. Elizabeth has left a pair of lacy panties on the sofa she pretends to apologize for the mess. She offers him a drink, cooing that he doesn’t want to “corrupt him.” Jackson confirms that he’s twenty-one. He’s brought VCR tape of the Big Heat. (A gritty film noir from 1953 about a corrupt police department. VCR and chill?) She notes that her “colleagues” were impressed by his report; he should expect a call with an official offer next week. She explains how her job transformed her life. Jackson demurs, “Thank God I went to Rififi.” Elizabeth notes that she’s made her look good, even at her age. Jackson stutters that she doesn’t need to worry about her looks. She taunts him and he leans in for a kiss. The seduction will ensure Elizabeth will have the young man wrapped around her finger.
Stan looks through old photo albums and finds a picture of a double date with Elizabeth and Philip. He looks intensely at Elizabeth’s face and removes the photo from the album. Renee returns home. She opens a letter. “Did Dennis do this, I got a job interview at the FBI next week!” Stan is excited for her, stating he’d knew they’d be interested in her private sector credentials. Renee asks, “What will they ask me?” Stan assures her it will be like any other job except they’ll want to know if she’s a loyal American and if she can keep a secret. He assures her they will love her at the FBI.
Jackson enjoys some breakfast in bed while watching Jane Pauley on television discussing the Summit. Elizabeth dresses and states she has a hectic day ahead. She asks him to do for her a favor, “One of my clients is working with the Department of Defense, they have a major meeting at main state today. I was supposed to get him these documents before but his flight is delayed and I’ve got meetings all over.” Jackson assures her he can help. Given the amount private consulting and lobbying that is done in Washington, her requests seem plausible. She kisses him and calls him “her knight in shining armor.” It’s hard not to feel sorry for him.
Philip crunches numbers at the travel office. He attempts to call Henry. After a moment, it’s clear Henry isn’t available. Philip needs his son as a foil for all the stress he’s under. Can he keep Henry ignorant of the family’s real problems?
Elizabeth calls her new love kitten Jackson from a payphone. She explains the meeting was cancelled and she needs the documents brought to her room. (How convenient!) She asks for him to meet her in her car.
Philip pays a visit to his former employee Stavos. The man looks disheveled, he refuses Philip’s request to come inside his flat. Philip sighs, “I just want you to know how sorry I am.” Stavos reminds him he already said this when he was fired. Philip explains although it may look like his life and the business is flourishing, the reality is the business may fail. “We’re doing pretty bad, personally, financially, in a way, it’s probably better that you got out sooner.” Stavos recounts how long he worked for the agency, he’s watched their children grow up. Then he adds something surprising in a whisper, “Whatever was going on in the back room, I never called the police. I never said anything to anyone and I never will.” Philip’s face falls as he’s forced to look at his Old World former employee in a new light. He should be grateful for Stavos’s loyalty and discretion. Stavos shuts the door on Philip.
Elizabeth smokes as she waits for Jackson to bring her the box of documents from the State Department. He looks like he’s seen a ghost. Elizabeth greets him warmly but soon picks up on his distress. She orders him into her late-model Mercedes. “What Jackson, I’m not a mind-reader!” Jackson explains he went to the room to get the box and another meeting was taking place. He notes that there were no canceled meetings shown for that room. Elizabeth adopts a condescending tone, “Well, I don’t know how the rooms work at State Jackson!” The young man shows her that he found a bug in the files. “Listen, this is not a big deal!” Jackson disagrees, “You had me bug a meeting at the State Department!” Elizabeth dismisses his concerns, calling him naïve and explaining this is how things are done in the “real world.” Jackson doesn’t think the police would find this behavior as merely a way of getting a “completive edge.” Elizabeth turns to a more remote location, not a good sign for young Jackson. Jackson insists he’s not being “overly-sensitive” and states he’s not an idiot. He knows what she’s doing is wrong. Jackson offers to call his father and ask him if this is how business works. Elizabeth grabs the young man’s arm and orders him to close the door. He obeys but looks at her with tears in his eyes, “I want to go.” Elizabeth makes him promise not to tell anybody about what has happened. “Tell me you understand.” Jackson looks at her with fear, “I don’t understand.” Elizabeth pauses before letting go of his arm, she instructs him to go back to university, finish and go into his father’s paving business. She orders him out of the car. Jackson flees for his life.
The next scene is perhaps the one of the most ominous of the hour. Philip stands in front of a mirror being fitted in a grey suit. The tailor coos how good Philip looks in his new threads but Philip just stands there like a statue. Philip only says, “It’s fine.” Is he picking the suit he wants to be buried in? What is he planning on doing before he exits the earth?
Elizabeth listens to the conversation between Nesterenko and the Americans. The Soviet man discusses the nuclear disarmament treaty. The view sees Elizabeth’s face through a mirror as she listens. Nesterenko says Gorbachev is committed to not only reduction of their nuclear weapons but to the goal of a nuclear free world. Elizabeth looks stunned by this idea. (Similar to when she discovered last season the goal of the GMO crops was to solve world hunger, not starve the Soviets.)
Elizabeth meets with Claudia in the park. (Claudia wears a deep purple jacket, the same color as Renee’s. Is Renee possibly Claudia’s boss or is it just a coincidence?) Claudia chides Elizabeth for “smoking too much.” (Which may have tipped her off to Stan!) Elizabeth explains that Erica died and they had to get the recording from her contact in Senator Nunn’s office, leaving out a plethora of gory details regarding those events. Elizabeth says Nesterenko didn’t say anything of note on the recordings. Claudia states she has orders for Elizabeth to “take care of him” in the next few days. The two part ways on the path, physically and figuratively.
Philip wears a disguise and goes to a video rental store and chooses a tape to rent.
Elizabeth waits for Nesterenko to emerge from the State Department. She has a metal device wrapped up in a newspaper. Is she planning on injecting him with poison? She exits the car and walks briskly towards the men. She nears Nesterenko but does not touch him with her weapon. She seems as surprised by her own actions as she walks away.
Philip puts in the video at home, it’s a show called The Garage, a movie which was made in 1980 and banned by Brezhnev for taking on Soviet corruption in a satirical way. Why is Philip suddenly nostalgic for his culture? Is he planning to end his life?
Elizabeth waits for Claudia at the safe house. She explains that Nesterenko wasn’t a traitor and that she couldn’t kill him as ordered. “We haven’t seen anything to see or prove…” Claudia cuts her off, “It needs to be done. It needs to be done whether your convinced or not.” Claudia explains that she’s been “Protecting her from knowing everything so that you can do your job but if you’ve lost confidence…” Elizabeth assures Claudia that she has not lost her confidence but that she needs to know. Claudia begins a rant about Gorbachev whom she accuses of having no idea of “our history, our ideals.” She fears it’s almost too late to stop Gorbachev’s reforms, she explains that once Elizabeth kills Nesterenko they’ll alter her reports on him to fit their narrative of Gorbachev’s treachery. Elizabeth is surprised that Claudia seems to know everything about the “Dead Hand” operation. “We were protecting you. As long as you didn’t know all of these details and things went badly we could simply say you were doing your job.”
Claudia explains their ultimate plan is to get members of the Party to remove Gorbachev. They wish to prevent Gorbachev from returning to the Soviet Union after the Summit. Elizabeth wants to know who ordered this plot, shocked by the divisions within the Party she always assumed spoke with one voice. Elizabeth doesn’t want to be part of a coup d’état, especially when she heard the Gorbachev’s dream of a nuclear-free world. “I won’t do it.” Claudia smiles, “I can’t make you do anything. But Elizabeth, keep quiet, after all these years of serving your country don’t throw it away now.” Elizabeth leaves without saying another word.
Philip watches “The Garage.”
Stan watches the moon from across the street, he sees as Elizabeth’s car returns home. Renee turns out the light.
The episode’s final scene is back in the Jennings’ living room. She seems surprised to find Philip watching a video in Russian. He quickly switches it off. Elizabeth tells Philip, “I need to talk to your guy.” Philip wonders why then states he can only be reached by “dead drop” because he’s under surveillance. Philip tries to explain his actions, “I just was looking for a way to deal with all this crap.” Elizabeth responds, “And you settled on betraying me?” Philip responds, “I was putting our country first which is what you would have done, I’m sorry.” She nods, asking if she can get a message to him (Oleg). “Tell him what he’s worried about is happening, the leaders of the Centre are trying to get rid of Gorbachev. Claudia just told me. They wanted me to kill that negotiator that I was worried about, Nesterenko. But he’s not bad. I’ve been watching him. They want to falsify my reports to seem like he’s trading a highly classified military system to the U.S., but he’s not. Our people are working with the general I met in Mexico. Our people want to get this done so that Gorbachev doesn’t even return from the Summit. Can you relay that message for me?” Philip confirms the message. She says she has to back out to work, possibly to protect Nesterenko. Philip gives her a message that she is to meet with Father Andrei. “I can’t, you meet with him, and maybe he’ll give you absolution.” It appears they have finally got back on the same team and it feels glorious but doomed.
As unbearable as Elizabeth’s actions have been this season, can she still redeem herself by helping Philip and Oleg? Stan seems very close to cracking the identities of Philip and Elizabeth, will he be hailed as a hero or a fool. Or will Renee murder him if he gets too close to the truth? What will be the consequence for Elizabeth for not following through with the assassination of Nesterneko? Will Paige be informed of more dark truths about the organization before she commits to it?
Next week is the penultimate episode. Stan calls Pastor Tim in South America. Paige questions her mother about her involvement with Jackson. Philip meets with Father Andrei and notes that they are being watched. Oleg goes in for questioning at the FBI. Stan has a bold theory, what if the Jennings’ are Soviet spies?
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