Excellent points! He's probably more interesting if someone takes an interest and gets him talking about the details in a normal conversation rather than just pointing at things and saying how they remind him of how terrible things are in the USSR.

Yeah, she didn't seem berating to me in this ep. She was telling her about the danger, laying out the facts, even praising her by calling her smart and brave—that's not berating. I think Elizabeth's actually reigning herself in a lot. Like last season when it took her a long time before she finally exploded and just…

Yup, he's 13. turned 11 in the season 2 premiere. Three years apart.

Update: Henry turns 11 in the first ep of season 2, which would take place either late 81 or very early 82 (in January). If he turned 11 in January 82 Henry is currently 13 years old.

Definitely a risk—but not as much as just being themselves, I guess. But also remember Martha and Clark and pretty wild sex and the wig didn't come off. She just studied it enough that she thought it looked like a rug.

I think Elizabeth said Henry was out, didn't she? So I figured it was Elizabeth teaching Paige about that sort of thing.

Damn. Guess I gotta own that one.

Thanks so much! Looking back on my posts with that in mind, I totally see how they came across and I'm actually glad I got the chance to apologize for them. I always look forward to your posts here so I really do hate that I was being insulting, even by accident. As somebody who loves to make and read long comments,…

Yeah, I agree. You put it a lot better than I did. It really is a parade!

Yeah, his operation is actually a lot more of a challenge so far, but he's still getting somewhere where a lot of people wouldn't. Doesn't mean either operation will bear fruit, but Elizabeth's first steps are a hell of a lot easier. She just had to show up and give the guy an opening.

I don't think we've been given really any information about how Mischa grew up, whether he lived with his grandfather, saw his mother a lot or ever. When she met Philip in NYC I think she said she'd been married, so did he have a stepfather? Or not? Who knows!

Yeah, Henry's real "OMG, look how he's grown!" happened last season. That's why, imo, they made sure to have a scene of Philip and Elizabeth talking about him being an adolescent in the first ep of s4. He'd literally ended S3 looking like a little kid and S4 started the next day and he was already taller than Paige…

I'm actually sure he probably did that already. He's been studying this particular backstory for years, even before he came to the US. He probably took a trip to Pittsburgh (and Elizabeth to Chicago) as soon as he got there. Now he can say he hasn't been there in 20 years.

Right, they reflect their parents that way too. Paige was looking for a Cause to devote herself to back in S2. The time Henry was motivated to do something really dramatic it was in defense of his family.

But Paige was 13 at the start of the show, so they'd still be 2 years apart. So he'd be 14. If he was 11 in 1981 he could be 14 now in 1984.

I totally agree. That's where all his problems started. He didn't even just lose time with them that made him feel like an outsider, but it made it harder for him to reconnect with them—or connect with people in general.

One thing about Stan is he's seriously compromised by all his personal feelings. His original approach to Nina was ruthless, but that's his job. Then he immediately falls in love with her and is in this whole fantasy thing. He goes off the rails in a personal revenge scheme against Oleg, now that Oleg's become a…

Could be some of that certainly—there's no reason to have sex with him until she has to. She'd want to put it off. But I would think dragging it out would also be a good strategic choice, just by default. Cement the idea that it's an ongoing relationship rather than just somebody you have sex with when she's in town.…

I always assume they do periodic sweeps for that reason. I mean, why wouldn't they be bugged?

But we’re talking about acting choices, not what scenes they’re in. There’s
not a different form of acting for supporting players and leads. Stan, Philip,
Elizabeth, Martha and Oleg are all supporting protagonists. They show what’s going on inside them the same way the
Henry and Pastor Tim do. Just as people do in…