Philip and Elizabeth deploy a plan for the C.I.A.'s Mujahideen visitors. Tensions at the Jennings' home escalate.
Paige has suspected for awhile now that something is off with her parents. She has never acted on that suspicion but she has always feared that something isn't quite right with the way her family is. She sees her parents as two people in love with each other and their work - possibly even more than her and Henry. That fear has caused doubt and paranoia in young Paige's mind. She doesn't know what to think about her parents. In this case, she never could have imagined what the truth actually was. She speculates that she's adopted or that her parents are in witness protection, drug dealers or in the country illegally. That last part is somewhat true. And yet, Paige was not ready for her parents to reveal that they are spies working for the Soviet Union. Paige demanded the truth. But thinking she's ready for the truth and actually knowing the truth are vastly different things.This season has all been about the slow burn dynamic between Elizabeth and Philip over Paige's future. It's a story that has carried a lot of weight throughout this season. The concept wasn't just introduced and the unveiling of the truth was easy or simple for Elizabeth or Philip to do. They have struggled with this. They still have to carry out missions and keep up the facade of their normal family life. But their desires over what the future should be have been apparent from the very first episode this season. Elizabeth is fighting for the cause and wants her daughter to be proud of her heritage as well. Philip wants Paige to have her own future. One that wasn't predetermined by the choices that her parents made.
Paige has been finding her own identity too. Because of church, she has found a community that makes her feel welcomed and embraced. Her parents do love her. They just don't always show it in the traditional way. So when Paige experiences a more traditional American lifestyle outside of the home, it only makes her concerns more apparent. She has grown up so much as a character since the first season. She is capable of her own thoughts. All the worrying and planning about her future this season wouldn't have worked if the character wasn't fully formed. The show did a great job of establishing Paige's voice as an important and necessary character in this narrative.
And now, the show has actually pulled the rig out from underneath Paige. She confronts her parents after they spend a night out getting things ready for an upcoming mission. She demands the truth and Philip and Elizabeth are surprised by how much this experience has truly shaped her into the person she is today. They see her daughter in that moment as a young woman who is so confused by all of this that she doesn't know how to live a normal life. For all their disagreeing, Philip and Elizabeth both agree that they need to tell the truth. It's all told from a handful of glances between the two. Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys communicate so much information in just a small amount of time through their faces. The characters do trust each other. They sit Paige down and do their very best to tell her the truth of who they are and what they do.
Paige has the understandable reaction of being upset and angry at her parents. For her entire life, she has believed that the Soviet Union is the enemy. And now, her parents are telling her that that is not true and that their cause is the one worth fighting for in order to bring peace to the world. The truth is out there. It's something that needed to happen. And yet, it was very emotionally resonant and powerful in the moment. That can all be accredited to the terrific trio of actors and Joel Fields & Joe Weisberg who penned this episode.
The truth then actually raises the dramatic tension amongst the family because Philip and Elizabeth have no idea how Paige is going to react to this news. They want to believe that she won't do anything that would put them in jail. But they can't be sure. When she leaves the room, Philip has to take the phone off the wall so no calls can be made to the outside world. Telling her the truth was one of the hardest and most personal things the two of them had to do. And now, they feel no relief from it. They are more anxious than they were before. They trust and love their daughter. But they could just as easily see her turning them in or sharing the news with either Pastor Tim or Henry. It's a very precarious situation.
And yet, it is also very personal for Paige. Everything she thought she knew about her parents has been upheaved. In the early part of the episode, she visits them at work and everything seems exactly like it was when she was a little kid and visited more often - except some new paint on the walls. But she desperately wanted to know if she was right and they were keeping something from her or if she really was crazy and paranoid. The truth is stunning and upsetting to her. And yet, they did tell her the truth which is exactly what she wanted from them. They admitted their love for her and then told her the truth about who they are. They didn't try to hide it any longer. That is comforting in a way to Paige. She now recognizes that her parents trust her with this massive secret. She doesn't want to be treated like a kid anymore. She is maturing and with that comes the weight and burden of this secret. It is something that she sought out. She can't be too upset at Philip and Elizabeth for actually giving her what she wanted.
But the question still remained on what she was going to do with this information. Philip and Elizabeth have been dropping little tidbits of the truth to help open her mind up to the right ideas. The reveal of the truth was sudden, messy and complicated. The aftermath is all of that tenfold. When Paige picks up the phone when Philip and Elizabeth go to work, we don't know who she's going to call and what's she going to say. These scenes are wrought with personal tension that the show has earned. Knowing the truth is going to be a struggle for Paige and it's going to be that way for some time. She may not know the exact details of the missions Philip and Elizabeth currently find themselves in. I don't think she'll be learning about Kimberly or Martha any time soon. And yet, she'll know whenever that phone rings and either Philip or Elizabeth leave the house for "work" that they'll really be doing covert spy stuff. That's a lot of pressure for a teenager to be under. She has trust and love for her parents. She keeps their secret - for this episode, at least. She doesn't tell Pastor Tim or Stan even though she is given ample opportunity to do so. She does that because of her love for the family. And now, she's in an adjustment period as she has to learn how to continue living while carrying this new knowledge around with her. And that promises to be just as good and complex as the story has been up to this point.
Some more thoughts:
- "Stingers" was written by Joel Fields & Joe Weisberg and directed by Larysa Kondracki.
- Elizabeth was really working that new power suit and wig. I can't fault hotel guy Neil at all for falling under her charms so quickly.
- This was also a busier episode for Henry. He's living such a simple life with his hidden stash of pictures of women and playing his electronic video games. He's getting closer with Stan though, so who knows what's going to happen with him next. Also, all the talk about Strat-O-Matic and then we never see them playing it?
- Philip's relationship with Kimmy is the show at its absolute creepiest. How is that dynamic still effecting Philip psychologically now that he has to see her once a week? He's been too busy with Martha lately. When he returns to Kimmy, it's largely just so he can get the information about some big meeting happening soon. And yet, Kimmy does profess that Philip is the only one who understands her - which could be very destructive to her should he ever end the mission.
- Nina makes a little progress with Anton by being compassionate and talking in English with him. It's not all that subtle that she's trying to force herself into his life. And yet, it still works because she's offering him a connection that he wants.
- Stan and Zinaida aren't fans of Tootsie. But what about the rest of the agents on her security detail?
- The audience gets confirmation that Stan and Oleg were right in assuming that Zinaida is actually a KBG operative which sure does complicate things for them and the people at the Rezidentura.
