I wouldn't necessarily say "realist", more like "fatalist". He's scarred by his past, and his past got pretty real. Now he sees it everywhere, including in Russia's future. Not something the Jennings really want to see.

I think that's "upthread" :P

You're both right, it contributes to her frustration and confusion but in the way her parents wanted and anticipated! Forcing her to rethink things and come out more on their side.

Oh man! He's "at the library". Ghostbusters starts in a library! IT ALL FITS!

He was all "shucks, the Americans wouldn't poison the grain" last week. I literally said "uh oh!" out loud when he asked "why can't we grow enough grain ourselves?". Then upgraded to "OH no." when he proceeded to "sometimes, what Alexi says…"

And the West reminded him of home :)

I doubt it's "for the benefit of the USSR", but it would certainly be for the benefit of farmers, and therefore the benefit of anyone who wants to buy wheat from American farmers!

This was my problem with the big reveal at the end of season 2, the whole thing seemed so absurd. They have played every little step with Paige very realistically so I've been pretty satisfied with how it worked out so far but every time a handler's like "so how are things coming with Paige" (or a commenter go "lol…

Yeah, but right now her need to lie is wrapped up in her resentment toward her parents' dishonesty and attempts to control her life. And one thing you should never underestimate is a 16-year-old American teenager's parental resentment.

But babushka dolls ARE often collected by / depicting grandmothers! Wait…maybe everything Russian has something to do with grandmothers…

Stan & Philip didn't have a scene together this week, did they? Even so, I applaud the sentiment.

I finally realized the word to describe my impression of Alexi last week: manic. In Russia he was so desperate he just flipped out and took off with his family, and now he's "riding high" from that insane decision as well desperate to justify it to himself and his family. I never feel like he's quite in his right…

In Mother Russia, K-Y seterces uoy?

Wait, are we talking about The Soup, or just soup? I'm not familiar with this incident and must find clips…

You said the title correctly, but he didn't:

This was fun. I'm counting "roller skating into a wedding and ruining it" as a Happy Endings reference, too.

I just can't believe the actress playing the stripper is named "Shakeshaft".

Then followed up with a truly dedicated performance while transitioning back from the ad break!

From the cut of that stripper outfit, it's not like he's packing loads of heat or anything but certainly not the micro-penis that's been implied haha.

Like I say, aggressive negotiating style :)