They did not explain. It's been speculated that they were hoping that he might be willing to share some secrets as he was fired from his job and therefor might be disgruntled. Maybe they were hoping to offer him some money for information, etc.

I'm leaning towards the idea though that Stan was playing Oleg. He knows that traditional methods aren't going to turn him, and so he's relying on his instincts and going off book a bit.

I think it can go the other way however; Paige saw her mother try to diffuse the situation by offering up her wallet and saying they didn't want any trouble. Then the guy draws a knife and lets them know that they're about to be assaulted/raped/murdered. Only at that point does Elizabeth act *in self defense* and…

Quick point though: Elizabeth first tried to defuse the situation by proactively offering her wallet and saying they didn't want any trouble, then the guy drew the knife and in effect stated they were also there for assault/sexual assault/murder.

I think that because Gaad was a private citizen, it would be rather easy for the KGB to find out if he's going on a trip if they were interested in talking to him - Phillip's info was just a nice bonus as it saved them some legwork. I don't think the fact that Stan mentioned it to Phillip will be a huge clue, but I…

Prior season he was crossing all sorts of boundaries regarding Paige. Speaking as a parent, there's no way his behavior was ok. (This is not to say that it had any child abuse angle, not at all. But you don't flatly insert yourself into a child's life like that and start asking them over for dinner and driving them…

Loved his gleeful of action of rubbing his hands together after hanging up his coat. You could just hear his inner dialogue: Yes!! I'm getting lamb tonight!!

I think the Pastor Tim and Alice situation is exhausting for her; and as she said to Paige, the two of them feeling guilty for their behavior towards Elizabeth and Phillip when Tim got lost is actually *helpful* for them. It gets them off their back a bit, so to speak. So I think Elizabeth is trying to build off the…

Um, you're supposing a lot here.

Agree with your first point, but I think Paige will actually come away with this from knowing how much her mother loves her and will protect her no matter the cost. And importantly, Elizabeth offered the attackers her wallet and told them that they just wanted to walk away. *That* matters to Paige.
Elizabeth was…

Love the podcast - wish it was longer! And had more Matthew Rhys. And Noah Emmerich. Both their episodes were terrific.

This wasn't murder. Elizabeth plainly tried to proactively defuse the situation by offering her wallet. After they took the wallet they made a move to attack them. *Then* Elizabeth reacted forcibly.

I agree, and I also wonder if they would assign guilt to Gaad for the mail robot - that he and Martha colluded in this.

I think it was pure shock and she was paralyzed. I believe the aftermath of this will be sobering and she'll have residual fear about a situation like this repeating itself (which nearly any woman will recognize; perhaps Elizabeth subconsciously was unbothered by parking in such an area, but the majority of women…

Agreed. And Elizabeth was devastated by being ordered to go through with it.

I don't think she could have "easily" taken him down. She had Paige there - her daughter who doesn't know how to fight, and who could easily be grabbed and hurt or raped or killed by either of these men.
The first guy that she punched was quickly back on his feet; in that split second she couldn't know if that other…

I agree; Gaad is a private citizen now, if the KGB followed him for about a week prior to the trip they'd know where he was going. Plus his wife would certainly tell her friends as well. Stan mentioning it to Phillip and then concluding the KGB found Gaad because of that? Doesn't add up.

Aren't the podcasts great? I really wish they were longer.

While it goes without saying how meticulous the set designers and producers are about period details, I love seeing things like a set of encyclopedias on their shelf in the picture above. That's something you'd see at (nearly) everyone's house back then, (oh how I remember sitting behind the couch and just pulling…

I was ten years old at the time, and I did not see it. But I distinctly remember the feeling that the Soviets were a real threat.