Thanks, Kit. Par for the course, that feels like something the Center might do. . . but also like something that could have just happened organically.

Pastor Tim took time out in the middle of Paige's baptism to praise her fierce commitment to the political actions of the church. . . like the protest where he arranged to get himself and a bunch of his parishioners arrested outside a military base.

My favorite moment of the episode was when Elizabeth complains that Paige's misplaced faith in religion has her "living in a fantasy world!"

Philip learning about the submarine sinking was, for me, one of the most interesting moments in the show. He was angry about it, but also almost dismayed. The full sweep of the American plot, once it was revealed, displayed a depth of knowing malice and superhuman cunning that was both above (and below) anything we've…

I'm not sure he's going to do that, but there'd still be a show if he did. Philip wouldn't be allowed to simply defect and live in peace. He's done way too much for that. The FBI would run him as a double agent and force him to trap as many Center people as possible.

Actually, I thought their reactions were more complex. When Pastor Tom talked about how defiant and stubborn and devoted to Jesus Paige is, I thought I caught a glimpse of Philip smiling sincerely while Liz scowled (because he's in favor of anything that will keep his daughter out of the KGB, including the church).

I know- I loved the way she kept misunderstanding him (in a different but totally plausible teenage way) each time Philip tried to clarify what he was really trying to say.

I wouldn't bet on Nina getting released just yet. . . all she has is a KGB interrogator's word on that, and it's far from impossible that he's made a false offer of clemency that he has no intention of honoring.

I think what's going to end up going wrong is that Kimberly's parents will notice the new gold earrings she's proudly sporting and ask to see them.. .whereupon they'll notice the tiny brand name stamped on them in Cyrillic.

Speaking of Pastor Tim, am I the only one who suspects him of working for the Center? I forget the exact details of how Paige got brought into his Church, but wasn't it basically someone running up to her on the street and handing her a flier? It seems more than coincidental that out of all the churches in Washington,…

The Center seems to keep a pretty close eye on them, and probably brings them in for further training and instruction as needed. The good news about the travel agency is that they just have to look like they're running it. If they're not making enough money to explain their middle-class lifestyle legitimately (which…

Only Time Will Tell. . . .

Her parents could actually make Paige's religious zeal work in their favor. . .if they knew anything at all about Christianity. Given their superhuman ability to blend in and move smoothly through every other part of American culture, their bone-deep ignorance of this one is a serious and conspicuous defect.

Exactly. The way the shot was set up, I thought for a moment that Stan was going to find something up in the ceiling. . . and then the toilet paper dispenser broke, causing Stan to tumble ignominously down to the floor. Having this all take place in a bathroom somehow made his obsession even sadder than it already was.

That's the world they live in. I'm pretty sure Philip didn't just wing it when he was pulling teeth out of Elizabeth's head with a pair of wirecutters, and that Elizabeth didn't just trust him to do that job blindly. I think they were trained to do that, for reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with dentistry.

That kind of is what the show is about. The amazing thing is how it somehow manages to keep the protagonists sympathetic. I think part of it is the knowledge of how desperately overmatched they always are.

The job the KGB wants her for isn't as dangerous as her parents' job, but it's still extremely dangerous. US Counterintelligence doesn't play nice.

OR the process should already be well under way and we just don't know about it. If the Center is really smart, the priest in charge of Paige's church is a KGB plant.

This show doesn't necessarily spin that YA plotline the way everyone else does. . . "the last kid killed his parents."

Honestly, that's about as good as Soviet dentistry ever got.