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The Americans - S2 of the KGB spy drama - Keri Russell & Matthew Rhys - Wed on FX

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C

Cornballer

Member
- Esquire talking with Weisberg and Fields about the spy craft in Ep 1
ESQUIRE.COM: What's the most striking spy tactic we see in "Comrades"?

JOE WEISBERG: The brief, single operational act in the first episode is a "brush pass." It's the second time we go to the amusement park. You see Philip go get Henry and pull him away and that's when the sequence starts. It's a great little piece of tradecraft. I was in the CIA and learned how to do them and then taught all the staff and actors how to do brush passes. They're a lot of fun to do. And one of the great things about a brush pass is that they're harder than they look. You really got to practice them. Ninety-five percent of people, the first time they do a brush pass, they drop it. But by the fifth time you do it, you can do it okay. The truth to it, is to do it without looking. If you look down, you give yourself away. The idea of the brush pass is that you can hand something off to another person in a public place, you can do it under surveillance, and no one will ever notice it. It's a very, very discreet act. In a crowd, two people pass by each other all the time. The little ways that their hands bump into each other are just not noticeable unless someone is actually looking for it. If somebody's actually looking for it, you're pretty much screwed. They already know you're a spy. We were able to get videos of KGB brush passes and it was very interesting to see those because there are some variations.
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N

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
Cornballer said:
- Esquire talking with Weisberg and Fields about the spy craft in Ep 1
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"There is a counter-surveillance thing we filmed that, for my money, is one of the most original takes on it that I've ever seen on film. I don't want to build it up too much, because it's possible nobody will even notice it."

I'm so curious about that lol

Cornballer said:
-Pacific Standard: Why Isn’t ‘The Americans’ More Popular?
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I do wonder if it not being on Netflix is a factor in that. Usually if I recommend a show, the first thing people ask me is if it's on Netflix. When I mention that it's on Amazon Instant, or whatever the case is, the response is usually indifference.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
Some casting news and some spoilers from TVLine:
Question: I’ll take an Americans scoop, please!

Ausiello:
Boardwalk Empire‘s Wrenn Schmidt debuts in this season’s fifth episode as Phillip and Elizabeth’s new handler Kate — and Claudia she’s not. “We spent a lot of time talking about who the new handler should be,” shares exec producer Joel Fields. “And we thought, ‘Well, if we’re running the center, and it didn’t work out with Claudia, who would we send? Let’s find Claudia’s polar opposite. Let’s send somebody who is going to keep Phillip and Elizabeth happy and encourage them to do their job well.” Adds fellow EP Joe Weisberg: “There’s no reason a handler has to be dishonest or particularly manipulative. There’s no reason not to try to be fundamentally open.”
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F

FUBAR McDangles

Member
Unrelated, but I'm extremely interested in seeing how accurately Fargo portrays life up here.

The movie did a decent job even if I did not like it much.
 
F

FUBAR McDangles

Member
Anybody think those construction people are actually construction people?

Obviously they are alluding to them not being legitimate, forcing us to expect them to be real, but then they could throw a curveball and have them actually be bad guys...
 
T

Tamanon

Banned
I'm digging this episode. It's a good mix of character building and plot expansion, all wrapped up in a pretty tense atmosphere.
 
N

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
FUBAR McDangles said:
Anybody think those construction people are actually construction people?

Obviously they are alluding to them not being legitimate, forcing us to expect them to be real, but then they could throw a curveball and have them actually be bad guys...
Click to expand...

I just assumed that, and that Elizabeth was just being paranoid. Would be nice if they actually were surveilling. Kind of funny that you call them bad guys though :p


Edit: Well that guy's screwed.
 
T

Tamanon

Banned
I like that they feel comfortable enough to end an episode without a big twist or transition event. Just a simple discussion of fear in the bedroom.
 
R

ReturnOfTheRAT

Member
Cornballer said:
Phil with his Rust disguise tonight.
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That was also the first thing that came to mind. A cleaner, healthier version of him.

Heshinsi said:
Umm...they weren't speaking Arabic, they kept talking about Afghanistan, and when Philip left the place, there was an Afghani flag on the building. The rest of your post I agree with lol
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Yes. I was way wrong on this one.

I for one am happy that the commonplace ending of Philip and Elizabeth talking in their bedroom was the ending. After everything they've been through for the first two episodes, those two deserve to be in the bedroom talking to each other about the storm that's hanging over their head. Good stuff.
 
S

Steelyuhas

Member
Philip as Rust Cohle was awesome.

I feel like the first two episodes of this season feel more serialized than the first half of season 1, which I like.
 
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