Elizabeth and Philip come together to deal with a mission gone wrong, but struggle to reconcile their increasingly opposing ideologies. Stan welcomes a Soviet defector, Zinaida, to America. Nina acclimates to her new living arrangements.
As Philip and Elizabeth are increasingly becoming more aware of this season, parenting is tough. They both want to do what is best for their children. And yet, their covert identities keep Paige and Henry at a distance from who they truly are. Paige is maturing and becoming more inquisitive about her parents. Both Philip and Elizabeth spend a lot of time aware from the household. All that time is bound to have an effect on the children. Paige loves that her parents will do anything for each other. But she doesn't believe that they would do anything for her. The distance between them keeps them from having that intimacy. They can go through the motions of a "normal" family but it's not real. Paige worries that her father is having an affair. That has an effect on her because it has forced her to become more independent than she should be.What Paige doesn't know is that her parents actually would do anything for her. They are just bad at being open with her. They each have their own opinions on her future. Elizabeth is the cynical realist. She knows that Paige's future prospects aren't going to be much bigger than the lives that she and Philip are currently living. That's a fact that she has accepted even though Philip is increasingly reluctant. Philip is the optimist in this scenario. He believes that Paige can have a bigger and better life than they do now. That's what he desperately wants for her. He doesn't want her to do the things that they do because they are brutal and dark. He and Elizabeth have to literally break a dead woman apart in order to contort her into baggage to sneak her out of a hotel. That is twisted and has a profound effect on the people doing it. Philip and Elizabeth are accustomed to this type of thing. It barely phases them now. But it still does have some effect. Philip doesn't want to subject Paige to this lifestyle because he doesn't want her to be the one forced into a piece of baggage.
Parents will often do anything for their children even though it's a road that will often lead to disappointment. Elizabeth's mother is likely very proud of all the hard work she is doing in the United States. She didn't hesitant for one second in telling her daughter to take on this job. That's the kind of parent she is. Proud to serve her country. That's where Elizabeth gets it from and she recognizes that Paige should be given the same opportunity. But now, Elizabeth can't even return to say goodbye to her mother. That's tragic but it's a circumstance that can't be helped. She needs to focus on what she can make a difference on. She lost the list of Afghan group members. And now, she is working extra hard - and taking a few more risks - in order to find those names again. The mission is her life.
Elsewhere, Stan and Oleg both are struggling with what has happened to Nina and needing their respective families in order to deal with it. Oleg has connections in the Soviet Union. Nina is locked away in a Moscow prison and has somewhat accepted the situation she is in. When Igor reaches out on Oleg's behalf, all she wants to know is how he's doing and to tell him that she wasn't pretending with him. That's nice clarity but likely not the kind of answer Oleg wants. He wants to save her and this will only lead to more disappointment on his behalf.
Oleg is lashing out because of Stan's decision not to save Nina. Oleg needs Stan to feel as much pain as he is. He spies Stan going to the video store. That doesn't seem like pain. And yet, we know that Stan isn't dealing that well with things either. He's focused on work but his personal life is still in turmoil. And then, Oleg shows up with a gun pointed at him to service some kind of retribution for his actions. Stan doesn't disagree - he would do anything to save Nina except hand over classified information. He plays it cool with Oleg telling him he would need to shoot him in the back if he's going to shoot him at all. Stan doesn't want to give Oleg the satisfaction of killing him his way. He wants things to be messy. Ultimately, Oleg can't handle that. But this encounter has an effect on Stan as well. All he wants to do afterwards is lean on his family for support. The problem is that Sandra doesn't know why she's still the only person he wants to share stuff like this with. She's here for him but in a completely platonic way. Stan messes that up by leaning in for a kiss. He just wants to have that intimate connection again. He almost died and that scares him. He needs people in his life to live for and right now they just aren't there.
Some more thoughts:
- "Baggage" was written by Joel Fields & Joe Weisberg and directed by Daniel Sackheim.
- Trust me, the image of Philip and Elizabeth breaking apart Annalise's body will stick with you for awhile.
- Elizabeth's father was a deserter. Was that information we knew before? If not, it only adds to her bond with her mother and the values that she held dear.
- One day soon Philip will look at his family and not even recognize them any more. That is a scary thought but one that could easily happen because he spends so much time away from them. Henry has had a growth spurt this season and Philip doesn't even know that Paige has started reading the newspaper.
- Elizabeth shares that the covert operative she was training last week won't be ready for the field for at least another few months. I'm guessing he'll have to be ready before then sometime this season.
- I wonder what the story is with Nina's new cellmate. She believes she's innocent but Nina notes that "this isn't a place for innocent people."
- Stan also welcomes a Soviet defector, Zinaida, to the United States. She then immediately starts a propaganda campaign against the current Soviet tyranny. That will likely have big and lasting repercussions.
- Elizabeth and Philip get faces and license plate numbers for the members of the Afghan group. It was just a mission that became a lot more risky than they initially thought. They weren't caught because they were meeting in a bar but this situation is only going to get more intense as the season progresses.
