The Soviets Colonize Chesapeake

The Underminer

I realize that Philip is only pretending to be married to Martha so he can pump her (as it were) for whatever information she can weasel out of the FBI office where she works, but a supportive husband would want her to apply for that clerk job at the Office Of Equal Employment so that she could achieve her dream of becoming a GS7, whatever that is! A similar job in counterintelligence might never open up, and even if one did, I doubt she would pass the background check what with her sketchy secret husband. Try selling the illusion of your fake marriage by pretending you actually want good things to happen to and for her. Dick. (I hope Martha applies for that Equal Employment job and meets a bunch of militant early '80s feminists who school her about letting Clark get away with all his bullshit.) (But I'm not holding my breath.)

Thanks, Exposi-subtitles!

How Do You Balance Work And Family?

Who called the meeting? Philip.

What's it about? They're still working on The Case Of The Murdered Colleagues, and since he spent the night at Martha's, he needs Elizabeth to catch him up.

How'd it go? Like most meetings, pretty pointless. Elizabeth didn't get the whole message from Moscow because the kids were up and she had to hang up on Dial-a-Code before she got the whole sequence. Philip reports that no one seems to be talking about the murders at the FBI. And speaking of the FBI: then they get interrupted by the arrival of Stan and a couple of his bros looking to organize a fun bachelor-party weekend! Elizabeth pitches Montreal on the basis that it's very "European" as opposed to "copiously supplied with strip clubs," so when that fizzles, Philip gets to be the hero with the suggestion of a dude ranch, like he knows anything about dudes.

Cool Story, Broleg

I Volunteer!

As the employees at the Rezidentura scramble in the wake of Leanne and Emmett's murder, something happens to add to the excitement: it's a walk-in!

Very Private Investigator

So since the Soviets know that Fred -- a.k.a. Emmett's Brush Pass Guy -- lives in Chesapeake, Virginia, Philip has put on a real ratty wig to drive there, tail Fred for a while, and then break into his home and look around for clues.

Space Invaders

Situation: Fred has come home to find Philip in his bedroom.

What Makes It Awkward? Fred doesn't know who Philip is, but he knows Philip's not a workman, and has reason to believe his life is in danger; Fred's secret floorboard hidey-hole has been breached; when Fred says he wants to check with "Paul" (which Emmett told him was his name), Philip has to break the bad news about "Paul" having been murdered, along with most of his family.

How is order restored? Philip convinces Fred that he worked with Paul, and the news about the murder seems to soften Fred's resolve and convince him that Philip is taking over where Paul...er, left off; he even tells Fred Paul's real name. They talk about the models in the closet that Fred had bought for Emmett's son, Jared, and how Emmett must have felt very close to Fred if he told him personal details about his kids. Fred asks what will happen to Jared, and Philip vaguely says that Jared will be taken care of. But the most telling sign that order is restored is that Philip has to take over the mission: Fred tells him there's some urgency with regard to the plans he passed to Philip. Apparently, they're plans for propellers, and the factory that grinds them is moving! This is their only chance for theft or sabotage, it's not clear exactly which!

Latin Lessons

Situation: A Poli Sci grad student named Lucia has had a date end early and she's not sure how to proceed.

What Makes It Awkward? Her date is a Congressional aide who drove her into an alley to do drugs (cocaine, which they "smoked," so does that make it crack? Also pills) and then apparently ODed; Lucia's actually a Communist spy.

How is order restored? Elizabeth gets a call, ditches the kids at a show of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, and comes to the rescue: she goes to get Lucia a drink of something, and tells her to drink it all (it looks like a fountain soda, but I can't be certain; that alley is dark!); she says that when the aide wakes up, Lucia should tell him that she saved his life, and his future, by not taking him to the hospital, and that she should quit partying with him and be his (fake) girlfriend instead. She leaves Lucia with these parting words: "Your revolution is beautiful -- a foothold in Central America. We're here to help you. Call anytime." THANKS, MOM.

After Stan hears from Nina about the walk-in and circles back with his team to review photos of everyone it could be and narrows it down based on what they already know, the number of guys it could be:

Four.

How many walk-ins it takes to give the Soviets the triggers they now use on all their nukes:

One.

Stan learns that they've narrowed the walk-in down to one guy: Bruce Dameran! He got a Purple Heart in Vietnam and works at the Department of Agriculture now but he used to work at that World Bank! They're not going to bring him in...yet!

Meanwhile, Arkady is on-boarding Dameran and, in the process, helpfully spelling his name for me and letting us all know where we're situated in history! Aw, it's only three more months until my sister is born!

Philip calls to give her the debrief on Fred while she watches the VADWP van (at night?) and worries! He says that Martha's sick so Elizabeth tells him to go back, but Philip can tell that Elizabeth is preoccupied and acting weird! Maybe their marriage is not so fake I guess!

Nina has flashbacks to what went down (as it were) in her last assignation with Stan while typing up a very detailed report on it! She thinks "the subject" is developing deeper feelings for her!

"Clark" calls Martha from a pay phone to lie that his flight is cancelled -- and she has news! She put in an application that Counterintelligence is going to keep on file! And also since the Alexandria hotel murders are still in the news and the agents at her office say crime's just going to get worse, she wants to get a gun! I bet that won't come up again though!

Snoopy Paige takes down a postcard Elizabeth sent them when she was "away" with "sick Aunt Helen" and calls Information to get the area code for the town in Pennsylvania where Elizabeth supposedly was, but before her investigation can progress any further, in walks Philip, surprising Elizabeth because he knew she was upset and freaked out! At least he's a decent husband to ONE of his fake wives!

Stan might not be planning to bring Dameran in, but he is going to surveil him while he...does his laundry!

Philip and Elizabeth debrief! She can't stop thinking about Jared, and Philip tells her for the first time that he passed Jared going into the hotel room as he was coming out! He tells her, as he did Fred, that Jared will be "taken care of," but she's not so sure exactly what that means! She monologues for a while about how she worries for Paige and Henry's safety, YAWN, and he says they'll get used to it, "like [they] got used to everything else"! He still feels bad about having Henry with him on The Infamous Brush Pass, and Elizabeth says he didn't have a choice, but he says he did, BUT DID HE?!