Walk 1-2/3 Season One, Episode 10: The Long Christmas Eve

19 thoughts on “Walk 1-2/3 Season One, Episode 10: The Long Christmas Eve”

1. I love Amanda’s brave white-flag speech. KJ has a way of cracking her voice when she speaks with emotion that I find so endearing.

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2. #2018 rewatch
   I feel bad that I haven’t been keeping up with the rewatch on this one because it’s such a favourite episode. 😦

   Re Iwsod’s Billy’s “Jeanie and the kids” comment, I know that I am guilty of still calling my twenty-somethings “the kids” so Billy probably does the same – and maybe they are all at home with grandkids because Billy is certainly old enough to have at least one, by now.

   I do love the recurring theme in the series that Lee has a terrible sense of direction and poor map reading skills. That probably explains why he so often shows up in Arlington when he should be at home.

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   1. #2018rewatch
      Clagjanet wrote:
      I do love the recurring theme in the series that Lee has a terrible sense of direction and poor map reading skills. That probably explains why he so often shows up in Arlington when he should be at home.

      😂😂😂😂😂😂 Brilliant, Clagjanet! Maybe also why Lee was so sympathetic in an episode entitled “The Wrong Way Home”? 🤣

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3. #2018rewatch
   Amanda: Lee! isn’t this a little sudden? I mean shouldn’t we talk about this, this would compromise our whole professional relationship!

   Ok, just coming off of our rewalk through Gift Horse, this has me thinking. Amanda seems to respond pretty quickly with these comments, doesn’t she? I have never studied Amanda’s journey of her feelings for Lee as in-depth as Lee’s for her. But this moment + her comment in Gift Horse to Penny about dangerous being dangerous…maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I see these comments as evidence if of a pretty major internal struggle and conversations with herself regarding her feelings for Lee (she even admits later to Rudolph she asks herself why she’s in the biz, so we know she talks to herself about that much). I love that in the woods she doesn’t just flat out say something like “Lee get off of me!”, it’s instead, “shouldn’t we talk about this first“. Just makes me thinks she is pretty into this man and is perhaps feeling like her fantasy about spies is about to come to fruition? Or at least she is feeling like she would be willing to discuss the possibility?

   Did that make any sense whatsoever???

   Iwsod said: Love how Amanda strokes his hair.. when she first sits Lee down.. ahhhh… Lucky for Lee, Amanda is at her best, her most courageous and resourceful when people that she cares about are in trouble.. and she cares about him. He is one lucky guy..!!!! I could just watch this scene over and over.. and over.

   My sentiments EXACTLY. You said it better and more succinctly than I could’ve (or am), Iwsod. 😁

   Also, Amanda in this truce speech…it’s probably one of my absolute top Amanda moments of the series. What a courageous yet compassionate person to do something like that. And with no Lee to keep her safe (I guess there’s Rudolph, but he just got some stunning news that she’s really not his daughter so he’s probably still a bit in shock). She is really so bravely, boldly putting herself at risk for Lee. It’s really such a beautiful moment to me, particularly when she gets choked up…”so that I can help him…so…”😢 and again as she talks about Christmas Eve…ah, so precious. I think this defining moment propels her into realizing what she can contribute as herself to the Agency.

   I’m sorry for this long post. Just floodgates here.

   Rudolph watching Amanda when she is serving Lee and Ivan is really sweet. He seems to get a glimpse of her bravery and compassion that really no one else at the Agency really gets to see to such levels: Amanda’s grace and courage and nurturing and professionalism all at work at once. Wonder what he says about her to the Agency when they get out of there.

   Looking forward to hearing from y’all!

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4. First of all, I made that Mission of Gold connection when I watched it the other day also. No spoiler alert, but I am really looking forward to sharing my thoughts of how these two episodes relate to each other when we get to that episode. If I remember. (Remember, me, remember!)

   Secondly, why Amanda loves this spy biz…is it for Lee? I think no. And yes. I am a stay-at-home mother of four kids. I love them. And love being this person. But I do know there are parts of me that are just not being utilized during this season. And I think Amanda loved being a housewife, and so much of that remains in her always, even as she develops professionally at the agency. But I also think what started when Lee met her at the train station sparked such an exciting part of her that maybe she had never even tapped into, that it was just something she wanted to do more and more and get better at as much as possible. It ebbed and flowed, as any job does. But here’s where I say it does also have to do with Lee: her work is so tied to Lee, to the missions they carry out together as a team, and although she does well on her own (as seen so clearly here with the truce she beautifully manages to make happen), there is something about Lee AND her together…it’s like a current of electricity that goes back and forth to spur the other on to excellence [though usually in an unorthodox way]. Even at this point in the series. They have solved some pretty amazing cases and saved each other’s lives several times now. That connection is important, I think, to how Amanda sees herself in that spy biz. Not so much solely why she does it, but I think would’ve been totally different if Francine or Fred Fielder had handed her that package at the train station. As someone else mentioned, she may have worked her way through the agency via a different path. But Amanda and Lee are just a doggone great team. Professionally and personally.

   Now that was a ramble! Sorry! Hope it made sense!

   I love this episode. I love Christmas, so I think that may have some to do with it. But just love Lee and Amanda in this episode so much!

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6. Glad Iswod that you brought up the fact that Amanda is not just in the spy business for Lee. My mom who I started watching this show with always thought she was just doing it for a man. I totally disagree. While I think she is totally devoted to Lee as a partner and a friend and probably wouldn’t be able to handle the spy business so much in the beginning if she didn’t feel she had someone she trusted so much looking out for her, she didn’t do it just for him. I think she did it because it made her feel important. At this point in her life she had a husband who left her, 2 kids who were getting older and didn’t need her the way they use to, and a boyfriend who left her feeling tepid at best.

   I think she saw the agency as a real way to make a difference in people’s lives. In that way she was needed. She certainly didn’t do it because Lee needed her because back then he denied that tooth and nail, though intuition may have told her otherwise. When Lee did start to realize he needed her it just meant all the more that she was important to someone she really cared about for the first time in a long time in her life.

   And maybe just maybe she didn’t like always just being seen as a frumpy housewife. Everyone understands when men need excitement and adventure in their lives, but guess what women can need that too.

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7. Yowza! Lee–that’s no way to treat your packhorse… throwing her to the ground like that. (Did you even check for poison ivy/oak/sumac?) I know you were just trying to save her from the sneaky guys in the orange hats, but come on, man.
   Hmmmmm… is it just me, or does the baddie/hunter with the big sunglasses look like Bernie (from Weekend at Bernie’s) in Iwsod’s screencap? (Again with a Bernie lookalike!)
   Ooops! I had an inverted hemisphere brainfart here with the moss scene. I was thinking to myself, noooooooooo–they got it wrong–moss grows on the SOUTH side. (Yep–I learned that in school.) 😀 Good thing I haven’t got myself lost in the woods here the USA yet… AND I just love that they found the one tree that had a large, very neatly shaped, patch of “moss” (it looks like someone got it from a bag at Home Depot or stole it from a floral arrangement and super-glued it to the tree)…. :p And what is wrong with Lee? He points to where west is, then points in the opposite direction to that and says that’s where they need to go, but he’s already said that they need to be “north by northwest” from there… which would be less than 90 degrees from west whether it meant north by west or northwest by north… not 180 degrees from west. (North by northwest is not an actual direction–just a Hitchcock movie… I wonder if this was a BB flub? http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/macslog/BoxingtheCompas.html ) I think that lying on top of Amanda scrambled Lee’s brains!
   Ah, yes–the joys of hands being not where they’re supposed to be in the front shot vs the back shot. They never did manage to fix that… it kills me when even in seasons 3 and 4–when Amanda has her hands on Lee’s lapels when… well, you know… (awwwww…) we see her hands go up to his shoulders in his front shot, but in his back shot, her hands/fingers are nowhere to be seen. Gah!!! C-o-n-t-i-n-u-i-t-y, people, please!
   Yikes. The evil creepy man has moments when he actually sounds like Dr Smyth! Ugh!
   Iwsod–I think you’re right about the cabin. They’ve added shrubs and made some decorations to the outside in MoG, but the front of the roof is pretty distinctive.
   Loving this episode–Amanda is awesome! 🙂

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   1. … what is wrong with Lee? He points to where west is, then points in the opposite direction to that and says that’s where they need to go, but he’s already said that they need to be “north by northwest” from there… which would be less than 90 degrees from west whether it meant north by west or northwest by north… not 180 degrees from west. (North by northwest is not an actual direction–just a Hitchcock movie… I wonder if this was a BB flub?)

      We know KJ usually has yellow flowers on set as a nod to her mother. It’s very possible BB gave a nod to a renowned film director as his character trudged through the woods, being given directions by his Cub Scout Handbook wielding wannabe partner. In Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest” (1959), a civilian is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive.

      There is precedence because the “Service Above and Beyond” episode was clearly influenced by Alfred Hitchcock’s “Notorious” (1946). The scene with Lee carrying a deathly-drugged Amanda down an elegant staircase mimics Cary Grant carrying Ingrid Bergman.

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8. So super organised Lee didn’t even pack a rucksack?! His uncle would be sooooo disappointed. Repeat after me Lee, Amanda is NOT a packhorse.
   Love his tackle on Amanda and her little spiel about affecting their professional relationship. My feeling is he wasn’t really paying too much attention. Given previous interactions Lee isn’t above curling his lip and moaning at her so I suspect he’s too preoccupied about who those men were. Perhaps he’s started to learn to switch off from Amandarambles 😉
   I think yet again Amanda does rather well pretending and lying through her teeth to be someone else. Her downfall tends to be she speaks from the heart.
   So Lee the susperspy disarms one Russian but happily walks around with his back to where the other one is likely to be hiding. Hmmm with moves like that no wonder he got shot!
   Ah thank goodness a bullet hole has ruined that awful jumper and shirt. Lets see the silver linings in everything shall we 😉 Amanda sounds so worried, scared and desperate to help poor Lee it’s rather touching. BB does a good job of grimacing in all the right places. I have to say they are the cleanest, whitest rags I’ve ever seen 😉
   I love KJ’s acting in her truce speech. Loaded with emotion who could fail to be moved by it 🙂
   Lastly why is Amanda in the spy biz? I am not sure there is one single reason but many, she devoted herself to raising her boys and looming after a husband who ultimately decided she wasn’t enough. Maybe TFT gave her the idea of doing something for herself, not related to the boys interests or the PTA. And she feels she is contributing, even if its in a small way. All pretty noble reasons on top of being able to work with Lee. Even if he is a cranky pants 😉

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9. I just love that question: Why is Amanda in the spy biz? I cannot resist.

   I agree that Amanda, given her ever-helpful, hands-on nature, would have done that little favor at the train station for pretty much any person who had asked so adamently, but that doesn’t explain why she continued involving herself in the business beyond episode 1. Early on, both she and Lee seemed pretty comfortable assuming each time they worked together might very well be the last. So what happened…?

   First, I look at that snapshot of the life of Amanda King we saw when she was introduced in TFT. She was “frazzled”, burned out on living a perfectly-ordered, perfectly-decent life that collapsed on itself dispite her best effort to preserve it. I think she was ripe for a radical change in her life. She was tired of sleepwalking through it, settling for whatever came at her (e.g. Dean) that fit the mold she had set for herself. It’s interesting to consider that the cookie-cutter life of the suburban homemaker Francine so liked to mock really didn’t suit Amanda either. That’s the paradox. Amanda was living a lie when she was conforming herself to the expectations of others, like her mother and her neighbors. As we get to know Amanda through the seasons, it’s clear she’s got nerve, and drive, and a bohemian spirit that will do what makes sense to her regardless of what makes sense to just about anyone else. Her only downfall, if you want to call it that, is a sincere desire to please and not disappoint the people she cares about. Whether she’s living the Arlington dream or going 007 on it, she’s not going to show her inner disposition to anyone whom it might scandalize.

   Secondly, beginning with TFT, Amanda experienced some pretty heady gratification doing something enormously out of her ilk. She not only can hold her own as a wannabe spy, she excels. She can run with the best of them. Every mission only proves again, to her if not to Lee, that she was made for something more challenging and more far-reaching than bake sales and little league. And after a few experiences of putting her life on the line, I think she was invested in that venture.

   Lastly, Lee. He was such a departure from any man she had been with, and certainly from Dean. He probably wasn’t the driving force in continuing her work with IFF initially, but she had a soft spot for that man from day 1. He was so full of contradictions: self-sufficient yet begging her to help him; ladies’ man yet alone at the holidays; works alone yet mourning a fallen partner; larger than life and so adorably flawed! You know when I think she was gone on him? If Thoughts Could Kill. He was such an ornery little nincompoop and she wasn’t going to give up on him for anything. After all that, I think she must have known NO ONE could possibly care for that man except her.

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   1. Love it!! you make some really good points!! I think this show gets underestimated in terms of it’s depth – and you bring up some fantastic points.. It is a great irony – the life of the American housewife was not what Amanda was looking for..

      She’s pretty darn good at it though hey! 🙂 She ticks all the boxes, and prides herself on that role – but she wanted to be more than just that..

      Ornery nincompoop? tee hee!!! I always thought she put up with him being so awful in if thoughts could kill because he was not being himself – and she knew it…

      Your post was such a lovely read.. quite poetic! thanks for sharing your thoughts Paula! 🙂

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   2. Great insights and thoughts on why Amanda stays in the spy biz!!!

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10. Hi again!

    My, how many superiors Billy’s section has… And how stone cold most of them are! They care about national interests and classified information only. Agents do not seem to count at all: They are not people but consumable material to them. All those Dirks and Dr. Smythes seem to meet in this point. Don’t you think? Anyway I love how Billy stands up for Lee and declares he has complete faith in his top man. You can tell from Billie’s face he understands the graveness of the situation. Yet he backs up Lee and tries to resolve all doubt. Bless him!

    Meanwhile Lee storms through the woods. Amanda follows him a few metres behind, panting and finally calling for “a little breather”. Oh my, Lee is still in his military mode: “You’re the one who wanted to be back by five o’clock…” Alright Lee, I think everybody got it. Give us a break. Looks like he really wants to get done with this assignment a.s.a.p. He seems to be way out of his comfort zone, probably because all this Christmas stuff gets to him. I think he regrets the things he told Amanda in the car… After all telling someone how you usually spend Christmas and how you used to spend Christmas as a child is pretty personal stuff, isn’t it? That’s why he tries to button up again and be nothing but the cold professional he was trained to be.

    Well, at least he shows a little mercy when he consents to a little stop. He spots the two Russian red hatters and – wheeeeeeee! Lee tackles Amanda! It is sooooooooo funny how she reacts to that. She never fails to crack me up with her “shouldn’t we talk about this” speech. What was she thinking? That the super spy was suddenly so overcome by lust that he couldn’t restrain himself?? Hilarious!!!! (ROFL)

    With the good sound quality of the DVDs I can now hear Lee gives a little grunt too when they both crush down on the ground. I believe he understands perfectly well what she is talking about. He even looks at her face briefly (it is oh sooooo near!). But he is determined not to pay heed to her words. All he wants is to check the situation and see if there is any danger. Then he stops her from rambling on by putting his hand over her mouth. I love how he says the words “shut up” and pauses a little before he adds “please!” For one or two seconds they silently look into each other’s eyes, with him lying on top of her. Wow, is it hot in those woods or what? ;-P

    Welllllll, the moment is over very soon. Lee helps Amanda to get up. Amanda brushes grass and leaves from her parka violently. Maybe to cover up she feels embarrassed by her complete misperception. Lee was only trying to protect her! Lee underlines this by asking her “What else would I be doing?” Too funny how she clears her throat and tries to blow something invisible away from her face (maybe a hair or a cobweb). She is priceless! Of course Lee switches back to military mode immediately and rushes forth. His behaviour is really rather reserved, challenging, almost aggressive. Can you see how Amanda grits her teeth to that?

    Although I am a little incredulous that Lee should be unable to find his way through the woods, I am happy the next point is Amandas. Especially because Lee mocks her for the “Micky-Mouse spy course” and all. Not nice, Lee! It serves you right that Amanda and the Cub-Scout handbook prove to be right in the end. But I like that dirty look he gives the moss. Haaaaaaaa!

    My, that cabin in the woods looks rather ramshackle, doesn’t it? We meet Janus (Mr. Rudolph) as he oils and cleans his rifle. Probably the right ouverture to the drama that will soon take place… Teheeee, I think it is funny how the grey socks Lee gave Amanda earlier now hang from one pocket of her parka as they approach. It is so sad to see how suspicious Mr. Rudolph already is when he meets Lee and Amanda… and then they betray him in this coldly calculating way. I know they are only following agency orders, but isn’t it just awful what they do to this man? Oh errr, wait… hold on a sec. Are Lee and Amanda really holding hands as they approach Mr. Rudolph? The are, aren’t they?? Alright alright, that makes up for almost everything… =))

    Poor Mr. Rudolph. He really believes that Amanda was his daughter Karen. Look how confused and deeply touched he is. And look how keenly Lee observes the fake “reunion”… Poor man! (To answer your question Iwsod: As I got quite attached to my handle it feels a little weird now to hear them speak about Karen…).

    I simply adore the following scene. Lee follows every single word that is being exchanged between “Karen” and Ted Rudolph. You can tell he would almost want to prompt the lines Amanda’s supposed to say! Of course he fears Amanda might risk her neck by careless talk and ruin the whole setup. Instead, Amanda gives him a good look into the mirror by repeating his own little speech about Christmas. 24 hours long, the sun rises, sun sets…. Bwahaaaahaaaaaa! Look at Lee’s reaction! Gosh, I think I know this feeling myself. It can be embarrassing at times to hear someone else repeat your own beliefs and convictions. It can end up in making you realize how much rubbish you’ve been talking… ;-P I like how he silently smiles to himself when Amanda rambles on about the guacamole dip and the bottle of champagne. He’s taking it pretty well I think 😉

    Whoa, Amanda almost blows it! She says she doesn’t know what it is like to spend Christmas without your loved ones. Lee lifts his head to that with a warning expression in his eyes… Uh oh… Beware, Amanda! Whew, she catches herself just in time. Lee says they should be getting back to Washington, but Rudolph has some more urgent things to tell Karen. He explains to her why he has to leave her one more time to get a new identity and establish a new life. I think Amanda does not know how to react to that. The look she gives Lee is almost calling for help. And what do you think of the knowing look and the silent smile Lee gives to himself here? How would you interpret that? I tend to think he knows so well what Rudolph is talking about that he feels touched… He knows that this is standard procedure in his line of work. He knows all the consequences of an agent’s life. I think he feels very related to Rudolph here. And although Lee hates to speak about emotions, he really understands Rudolph well. What do you think?

    Uh oh, Ivan and Dmitri show up with their automatic rifles. I guess at this point Amanda’s face starts to show all the feelings that we, the viewers, would probably experience in her place. Concern, fear, even anger because Lee and Rudolph are unwilling to listen to her. They do not want to call for a truce. Looks more like they are preparing for war! Look at Amanda’s face as she watches Lee load his gun… I think she is really concerned and afraid. To make things worse Rudolph says they do not have a chance with a 22 rifle and a handgun against automatic weapons.

    Yep, things are getting pretty serious now. Lukas informs Billy of the “other solution” the Security Committee has decided on… He quotes “the man himself” (puttin on airs, isn’t he??) and is awfully cynical about the whole business. That’s why I too feel sorry for Francine when he winks at her after she rejects his invitation to a party on the 4th floor. Ewwwwww! What a repulsive creep.

    I don’t remember who pointed it out first, but isn’t it really amusing how the men draw a map in order to make a plan? Why can’t they think of a plan without drawing odd symbols on a piece of paper? If it existed those days I bet they would first have made a power point presentation, LOL!

    Okay, stop joking Karen. Lee and Rudolph prepare for combat… And Amanda can’t stop them. Lee is not a man of many words here. He asks Rudolph: “Now are you ready for this? Huh?” And a little later: “Let’s go.” He closes the zipper of his jacket and walks over to the door. This is probably one of my most favourite Lee Stetson hero moments. His face is so grave and yet determined as he cocks his gun! Instead of saying anything else, he just silently nods into Rudolph’s direction and walks out the door. He knows his plan is very dangerous, maybe even madness. Yet he shows no sign of fear and does what needs to be done. Gosh, how brave and tough he is swoon

    As Lee tries to disarm Dmitri Ivan sneaks around them. Watch out Leeeeeeee! If it hadn’t been for Ted Rudolph Lee I think our favourite spy would have died here. But Rudolph is there and shoots Ivan in his leg. Lee makes a desperate jump in his effort to escape. But since Ivan sinks to the ground as he pulls the trigger, one of the bullets hits Lee. Oh no! Didn’t we all feel something bad was likely to happen? Lee struggles to his feet and staggers back to the cabin… I think the way he runs with his body bend forward and the way he literally stumbles into the cabin tells Rudolph he is not okay. Amanda seems to sense this, too! Look how she turns her head to Lee immediately: Her eyes wide open, her eyebrows lifted as if in alarm. She feels something is wrong!

    Rudolph: “Are you all right?”
    Lee: “Yeah…!”
    Why does Lee deny he’s been shot? Does he try to lie to himself? To comfort himself by pretending things are not that bad? Is he still to high on adrenalin to realize he is seriously wounded? These are only a few ideas that come into my head. I would love to know what everybody else is thinking.

    Rudolph continues to watch Lee closely. I think he does not believe him. As if that animated the pain to rage through his body, Lee lifts his right hand to his wounded shoulder… Suddenly he looks like he was ready to collapse. He stops breathing, maybe suppresses a groan… and adds rather miserably:

    “Ohhhhh… Maybe not.”
    I feel so sorry for him here. One moment before he was so fearless and strong… the cunning agent ready to face every danger… And now… :’’(((

    The producers chose a very clever outfit for Lee, didn’t they? 😉 With his dark red parka you can’t really tell how bad the wound is. But when Amanda helps him to sit down on the chair and opens the zipper, I really gasped to see his white pullover soaked with bload – like probably most of you did. I believe I was every bit as shocked as Amanda when I first watched this episode. I repeatedly thought something like: “Oh my God! Oh no! It cannot be!” If you don’t understand what I am trying to say, just take a look at Amanda’s face. It is all there. She is totally shocked… Her voice sounds strangely out of tune and almost shaky when she asks Rudolph for towels.

    Well, I guess I watched the following scenes over and over for reasons you know very well. How Lee turns his head towards Amanda, how she runs her fingers through his hair… How she holds his head as he tries to fight back the pain and finally blacks out… Oh my gosh. I think BB does some fine acting here. I totally believe the shock of the wound and the difficulty of breathing. Can you see how a muscle in his face seems to twitch involuntarily when Amanda opens his parka? Gosh, that really makes me believe he is in pain. Poor Lee! We always suspected you were deeply wounded… And now you really are. There is no doctor who might cure you, no hospital where you might find healing. Talk about drama. O gosh, this episode is sooooooo amazing!

    The Russian general gives orders to a bunch of soldiers… Bla bla… What is it with Lee? Come on! That’s what we want to know! The Russian agents are still out in the cold. Ivan is struggling with his wound. Ahhhhhhhh, Amanda strokes Lee’s hair as he lies unconsciously by the fireplace. What is it with seeing a larger than life man like this? You can tell he is struggling with his wound as well. I wonder how Rudolph and Amanda got him there? Lee is very tall and strong. I can see the white pullover on a stool nearby, so they must have taken it off somehow. I wish I knew.

    I love Amanda for everything she does here. Isn’t it obvious how much she cares for this man? She is really worried about him. How lovingly she caresses his hair, oh swoooooooon! Then she makes a quick decision. She jumps up and puts on her anorak. I love how she fights with Rudolph. “I don’t care about national security! All I know is: I don’t want him to die.” Go, Amanda! Ahhh, she is almost as determined as Lee was before he walked out the door to fight two Russian agents. She does what has to be done! Nothing will stop her! The way she blows her cover really tells you that she doesn’t give a damn about agency business in this situation. But poor Ted Rudolph! That is such a blow to him. He can barely move. Love how you can see and feel Amanda’s compassion… and how she begs him to “take care of Mr. Stetson while I’m gone”. Amanda you are fabulous.

    What a great little speech she holds with that broomstick in her hand! She is so honest and sad and a little awkward and touching at the same time. Love how her voice almost cracks and she needs to clear her throat to carry on. That is probably one of the greatest things about SMK: The characters (and the story writers? Producers?) always manage to light up the drama before it becomes overly emotional. Ahhh this is such a great episode. Even Francine displays her best as she tries to comfort Billy. She tries to convince him Lee and Amanda will get out of this mess all right. As much as we all love to hate her, I think she is really okay when things balance on a knife’s edge.

    Awwwwwwwww, another great scene with Lee and Amanda. This time, Lee is awake… at least sort of. She pours a cup of water for him. Oh boy, he seems to be longing for water very much. Look how his eyes are fixed on the cup in Amanda’s hands. He even licks his lips. Awwwww, Amanda still caresses his hair… But Lee is still too woozy to understand what’s going on. His breathing still looks and sounds heavy. He readily accepts Amanda’s confirmation that everything is all right and drifts off again.

    I love how Amanda is gentle and kind to Ivan as well. Bless her! And is sooooo sweet to hear her tell the story of how she met Lee. Look how her eyes shine! Don’t tell me this woman is not in love with that man! I am not sure though why she joined the agency. Is it only for Lee? He may be one important reason, but I think that isn’t all that attracted her. She probably felt she needed a challenge in her life, something that would help her to advance to another level or another intensity of life. But of course this is only my guess.

    Amanda puts her foot down with her rule of “no guns in the cabin”. Yay! Meanwhile units of the Russian army and the U.S. army storm through the woods. I always wondered if that scenario could possibly be realistic… I tend to find it non-credible. What do you think?

    Man, I have been rambling away without end. Hope I did not bore you to death. But I simply couldn’t resist. I love “The Long Christmas Eve” and I am dying to know what you’re thinking.
    Byeeeee! Karen

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11. “So why do you think Amanda is in the Spy Business ????!!!!! ”
    My thoughts on this has changed a bit over the years. At first, I thought she was in it primarily because of Lee, but now I don’t think so. The first question I asked myself was whether Amanda would have helped anyone else at the train station that day. And I think the answer is yes. Amanda is a very caring, open person who feels compelled to help anyone in need (just look at all the voluntering the woman does for the neighborhood, hospital, school, her boys, etc.). So almost any other agent would have been successful passing the package to her. Perhaps she would have started working for the agency, but probably in the steno pool or moving up to doing cypher work or simple courier runs. And I think she would have been (lower case h) happy. She would have a job (which she was actively looking for in ep 1 and 2) in an interesting field and felt like she was making a difference.
    But the man with the amazing eyes passed her the package and the Shriners happened to be in town that day. (ASIDE: I am assuming it was with sober second thought that Amanda surmised that Lee was maybe a drug runner or connected with the mob. Would she risk jail, or worse being a young single mom if she immediately thought that Lee was involved in something illegal? (But then again, she tried to hold up amed bad men with her ‘finger’ gun and almost crashed a helicoptor, so what do I know?) And despite Lee accusing Amanda of being a rule follower in “If Thoughts Could Kill”, she takes some pretty big risks even before they meet at the club. Why didn’t she go to the police or FBI? She sure an amazing confidence in her ability to read people.) I think she was excited to find her niche, to be able to do something for herself rather than everyone else and to have a part of her life that was secret. And she was very good at it in her own unorthodox way. I think working with Lee was a huge plus (and she found him vey attractive), but if he were the only reason she kept coming around, I don’t think she would be as quick to call him on his behaviour in season 1.

    I could blather on and on, but real life keeps intruding. I’ll try to do a drive-by posting later.

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    1. Looking forward to seeing a drive-by posting Cindy! LOL!

       I agree with you and your take on Amanda.. very well put! yeah.. you are right – right from the start she has an unshakeable belief in Lee and whether he is a good man (deep down, on the surface he appears to be a bit of a bad mannered brat sometimes early on!!) – She trusts her life to this belief in Lee right from the start, and risks her life to protect him. She does read him right doesn’t she.. {saviour is coming soon..that ep touches on all this}

       Yeah, you are right working with Lee was a huge plus ( aside from the gorgeousness) – his presence gave her the reassurance and confidence to give things a go.. and I think early on, his determination to not see her as particularly useful to a spy? Spurred her on to do better and prove to him that he is wrong – which is why it bugs her he doesn’t admit it at the end of Magic Bus!

       Nooooo you are not blathering! I would love to hear all your thoughts! If you have more to share..when you can- do tell! 🙂

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12. The scene of Lee tackling her and her reaction always cracks me up. I love her self confidence (OK, he was so overcome by lust that he couldn’t restrain himself) HA HA HA HA HA! I am trying to figure out if she’s been reading too many of her spy fantasy romance novels, thinking A LOT about the cover kiss or so used to being hit on by various men that this seems par for the course. And yes, poor Dean. Amanda’s reaction to being thrown to the ground and jumped by superhot spy is “this will compromise our professional relationship” – not “Get off me-I have a boyfriend!” . I think it’s even more telling that Dean gets demoted to “friend” when she is talking to Janus. But, all and all, she should be grateful for Dean and his dissolvable car (I am assuming it is soluable because why else would he refuse to drive it to the train station if it might get wet?)

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    1. That scene of Lee tackling Amanda cracks me up too!!! About Dean very telling Amanda says to Dotty, “I am fond of him”. Not love, like, but fond of? She seems to be reminding her self of his good qualities when she lists them off to her mom. Funny ‘dissolvable car’ 🙂

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       1. I don’t know if there is a way to describe your feelings towards someone that is more boring than “fond”.

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