Back at the office and Billy, Lee and Francine are searching the files for who could be their leak-(So funny they have actual folders with everyone’s personnel information? errr in 7 episode’s time- You only die Twice- personnel files are kept on computer discs!! weird maybe this case inspired them to upgrade their records 😉 )
Uh oh.. Larson arrives..
Larner: How’s it going Billy? [‘Billy’? hmm that’s interesting.. the first meeting he was ‘Mr Melrose’ –twice! Now all of a sudden they are friends?..I guess Mr Melrose is for when Billy is in trouble? 
As in Mr William Melrose! You get in here!! )
Billy: well so far we’ve come up empty but we’re gonna stay on it.
Larner: Don’t bother. Margaret!
ROFL!!!! It’s like he is saying it’s Margaret- the leak!! Margaret hands him a folder.. yep.. he needed his secretary to carry 1 puny little folder!
[Okay- another excuse to let the baddie pass by all the top agents!]
Larner points to his heavy folder: Here, right here is your security leak. Right here! I didn’t think you’d mind if I put my own team on this.
Billy: you found the leak.
[Interesting: Billy has reading glasses on his desk.. do we ever see him actually wear them?]
Larner: I did- Amanda King!
Immediately it cuts to Francine and Lee.. wow… their reactions are fascinating!! 
Lee: Amanda?!
Lee is immediately on his feet.
Francine is laughing: You’ve got to be kidding!!! 
( realising herself!)
… err… sir.
Billy sits stunned!
Larner: No, I’m not kidding Miss Desmond.
Lee looks around mouth open in shock!
Billy: wo woooo wait a minute, are you saying that Amanda King is a double agent???
Lee: that’s impossible! She’s not an agent at all, she isn’t even a trainee in the strict sense of the word. She just helps us out.
Yeah.. just helps out Lee and saves his life all the time between doing the filing. Love it! [Wait a minute… I agree with Larner- Amanda is a trixie double agent! nahh.. just kidding]
It’s interesting how Lee describes Amanda here to Larner.. is that really the way he sees her now?
[I’m thinking she is more than that to him, but he knows she is seen that way by the agency]
Larner: and because she just helps us out she was never given an all out security check!
In response to this- Billy gives an ‘ ohhh boy’ look here, Like: what have we gotten Amanda into here IMHO
[*** IWSOD has deleted this content referring to Season 4 episode Photo Finish, and it is now included in post 3/7 of the walk through Photo Finish ***]
Francine: they never would have found anything anyway. Her life has got to be one big yawn..
Yeah real professional Francine..(not to mention judgmental!)
Lee: Look! Sir! You don’t know Amanda King. We do! She simply doesn’t qualify, I don’t care what you’ve got in that folder!
She.. she didn’t even apply for a job at the agencyyyy..
[BB does a fantastic job here… you can just tell Lee is thinking back to the ‘Just walk with me’ moment awh!!]
…sure…
…her working with us came about from an accident.. errr..
Lee seems to be barely hanging on to control of his emotions here as he defends Amanda ( bless him), not only is Lee confronted with this shocking idea, but he is also confronted by his sudden intense emotional reaction to this idea – he seems a little lost in this moment.
Larner: accidents can be arranged! (Francine laughs at this) Oh?! You don’t think that that’s a very real possibility Miss Desmond?
Francine: well! sir! Actually, I think that would make Amanda King a lot smarter than I think she is…
[I love to watch Lee’s reaction to this declaration!! Lee knows better than that now!! ]
….I mean okay, maaaaybe she could tell you how to 
starch your socks with egg whites but ah haa I really don’t see her dealing with classified information. Besides, she doesn’t know anything about Spiderweb. [ yeah one for the sisterhood Francine
..not.. sometimes she is simply awful – Although, it is sweet justice in a way season 4 spoiler removed
Larner: Never mentioned it? Never asked any questions about it?
Lee: yeah she did.. she mentioned it in passing this afternoon.
I guess Lee was obligated to say huh.. Lee is starting to think like Amanda : tell the truth even when it looks bad!!!!
I don’t think Lee believes it for one second..but.. I’ll expand on that in light of a later scene..Lee looks so confused here trying to make sense of what he’s hearing, he turns to Francine and mouths absently – wha????
Francine isn’t going to help Lee make sense of this… she doesn’t really care! … Poor Lee, it’s so hard to think when your heart is being devastated and you have no idea why!
Larner: and before you say coincidence! She was with Bryce Topping. Who happens to be legal council for 
about five senators, three cabinet members and a very prominent defence contractor- that is nice cover. Not to mention a rich source of information.
I tell you what..that is ridiculous logic!!! It could work either way – it could mean that Amanda is innocent that she was with a credible guy. Lee might consider this too- if his head wasn’t mush right now – Bring Bryce Topping into things?? and Lee really is in a tizz!! Larner has a bad case of confirmation bias –
[who would have thought smk could help me in my psychology studies?! ]
Amanda asked a question about it? guilty!!!!!
She was at the restaurant with a good guy? guilty!!!
Larner: …Aaaand there’s the matter of where she was from November 1982 to Mid January 1983 – you see there’s a big blank in her record during that period.
Watch Lee here, he keeps going to say something..but he can’t get any words out!
I find it really lame just how easily these top agents can be manipulated! They know they have a leak and it’s someone in the agency – If someone is in the agency- they have access to personnel files! To Amanda’s personnel files!
Would a double agent leave a big gap in their record so that they could get found out like that?? No way.. they’d be sure to have a file that would qualify them for a ‘merit badge’!
It’s ridiculous logic.. but then, I put this down to confirmation bias, exasperated by their desperation to latch on to any hope they can of plugging the leak.. and of course, Margaret has probably been in Larner’s ear (like Grima wormtongue in the Two towers! ) – but still it is a little scary just how easily manipulated they are!
Francine responds: do you think she could have been recruited during that period?
Man.. the sharp look Lee gives her!!
I think Lee preferred it when Francine thought Amanda was dumb at least then she was arguing for Amanda! The music kicks in here.. it’s scary how quickly things can turn ominous!
Larner: possibly, that would help to explain the $10 000 dollar deposit to her bank account in February of 83!
[Ridiculous!! Maybe she won itin the Irish sweepstakes like Agent Go did in The Mole! and why would a double agent deposit money like that where it can be traced and identified???!!!]
Lee: Sir, that is all circumstantial!!!
[Lee is spot on! but how do you tell your boss- ‘your stupid’?! – and ‘go back to Macgyver already’! ]
Larner: as you know, we run periodic spot checks on 
all personnel. would it interest you to know that we’ve made a check on Mrs King, during the past two weeks.
[my my.. how handy.. what a coincidence! It’s almost like someone went looking for evidence- if you look hard enough and long enough with this logic: you’ll find something!]
Billy: wo wo- hold it Mitch! [first names for him too?!] I can’t believe that anything of an incriminating 
nature-
Larner: Is it incriminating if she has been seen visiting the czech embassy? A visit which lasted for fourty-two minutes? Mrs King was seen leaving the 
embassy carrying a large manilla envelope- Contents! Unknown!!!!
duh duh duhhhhh
…we have our double agent.
[uh oh.. no investigating required eh.. Larner is a real dummy..no wonder Margaret has been pulling one over on him for years! and no wonder she holds them in such contempt! ]
…we have her- Dead! Bang!!… and you are going to prove it!!!!
Whoa.. we have her- now go ahead and prove it?? what is this the keystone agency??!! Larner needs to go to investigation 101 class..
At this, Larner storms out of 
the office, leaving Lee, Billy and Francine a bit shell-shocked.. Billy looks worried,
Francine looks thoughtful- yeah! maybe it is Amanda!!! and Lee? looks around at Billy and Francine’s reactions – but IMHO he knows this is not right.. and he sees that with Billy and Francine not fighting for her- Lee’s going to need to battle for Amanda!
I love this scene.. fascinating dialogue.. dense, with lots of different layers.. so I didn’t want to cut any out!
I think the title ‘Spiderweb’ is referring to not only Operation Spiderweb (the operation to bring in three defectors), but also the web the baddies are weaving, and trapping Amanda and the agency in: ‘Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive’ – this quote sums up this episode perfectly! [It’s Sir Walter Scott- I think!]
Any thoughts? ideas or insights you’d like to share about this episode so far?? Thanks for reading – I’ll be back with more when I can!
"Just walk with me.." 
I recently watched this episode with my eight year-old niece, to whom I introduced the show when she visited earlier this summer. (And now she’s hooked!) Here’s how it went:
NIECE: “So someone thinks that Amanda is a spy?”
ME: “Well, this one character has suggested that she is – a spy for the Russians, a double agent. [Explains what a double agent means.]
NIECE: [Shocked] “What?? And Scarecrow and the blonde lady and the boss believe him?”
ME: “They mostly don’t…but he’s planted this tiny seed of doubt, and they need to clear things up.”
NIECE: [Outraged] “This is ridiculous. Amanda is a good person!”
Super cute. Also, she keeps walking around humming the SMK theme song and asking what happened to Dean…and based on her commentary when we watch other stuff, she evidently now thinks that every brunette in an ’80s TV show/movie “looks like Kate Jackson”. It’s all pretty hilarious…:)
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That is so awesome!
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lol… I would answer:
“Dean Who?”
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Ha ha ha ha ha! Love it…
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I always thought “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive’ was Shakespeare. I learned something new today!
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Yeah it is often attributed to Shakespeare but it was actually Sir Walter Scott that wrote it.
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BTW- did you guys see my comments on spiderweb (post 2) thread about swapping the order and doing a relative situaton and car wars before we get to a little sex a little scandal ( rofl! that sentences sounds very dodgy!!) err the episode titled ‘ a little sex a little scandal!! whahahaaa!!
What do you think?
yeah I read that it is often attributed to shakespeare.. which is how I just managed to dodge that one – Shakespeare is quoted so much he can do with one less 😉 tee hee.. although half the time I don’t realise I am quoting a shakespeare original because they’ve become so normal!! ( good riddance! Seen better days!! You’ve got to be cruel to be kind.. etc..)
It makes my head spin!! and wait.. ‘All the world’s a stage’ was Shakespeare before if was smk wasn’t it??
Any other smk Shakespeare references? do share if you spot any!! 🙂
Any Shakespeare fans? that could be a fun post someone could do.. if you’re keen let me know! 🙂
byeee! I’ll try and get another post up soon.. bit busy with my studies – drat! 🙂 but hope you are all well and loving your comments!!!
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Yes, I think they should come before ALSALS, I like to watch Car Wars right after Brunettes (I think it comes after in production order?) I makes sense to me?
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How ever you want to blog them…I will enjoy your analysis of the episode. I was excited to see that I had figured out what your major in university is by the way you can dissect Lee and Amanda’s relationship. Myself I was a straight mathematics major so the psychology stuff is a little abstract for me 🙂 Keep up the great work!
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LOL, Melissa, you just cleared up why I need Iwsod to explain all these subtle things to me. I’m a math major too, and I can’t help but think with logic rather than emotion. So great that we can all complement each other like that.
I’m not sure where I’d place Car Wars relative to other episodes, but I do see it as a later-in-the-season show. Lee is so tuned in to Amanda, well on his way to deep friendship with her. He has learned to field her rambles gently, they have any easy-going trust, and they are respecting each others’ different personalities. There is just so much growth in their relationship by that time, that placing it too early just doesn’t work for me. Can’t wait til we get to Car Wars!!!!!!!
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I agree that it can’t be too early! That they seem to be really good friends.
Glad to meet a fellow math person 🙂
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The last time I watched season 2 I watched in the production order and put the European episodes where they were in the televised order for no reason other than to try it. It was interesting that way, esp because it seemed like Lee was applying lessons learned in Brunettes to the situations that came up in Car Wars. But I would try it in any order anyone else suggests. I am looking forward to how IWSOD thinks it should go and then I can rewatch it that way (operative phrase is “rewatch it”). This is just plain fun!
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whooo that’s cool Morley! if you have any thoughts on it from your watch through in production order let me know.. I have roughly worked out an order.. based on the interior of billy’s office.. Amanda’s hair length… things like that.. so we’ll see how we go.. I wouldn’t come to a decision in my mind about things until I’ve gone through the episodes up till each point where I know no episodes can be earlier.. ( like Amanda’s hair) so maybe after relative situation we can discuss the season 2 order up to that point.. I’d love some input if you guys are interested!
I must go – sorry I’m short on smk time at the moment, but I really look forward to hearing from you all! byeeee!!
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Hi Morley, thanks for responding about the episode order.. Yeah it is surprising how early car wars was.. and it seems spiderweb is the last of the long hair episodes.. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Car wars.. it’s always been a fave.. but I can’t think of any reason why it wouldn’t fit after Brunettes and before ship of spies.. that’s where I’m guessing it fits.. but it will become clearer as we go through it I guess! You are correct about the production order.. it lists Brunettes are in, then Car Wars, then playing possum.. but I always figured two episodes were regularly filmed concurrently.. so it is possible playing possum could be before Car wars.. that pushes it back just a little bit more.. and Lee is lovely to Amanda in playing possum too 🙂
Hi Raffie – LOL.. happy if I can help a maths Major 😉 you do lovely sweet vids Raffie – is that your mathematical mind at work? 🙂
I can see car wars after playing possum.. I think all the things you said of Lee are true in ship of spies and spiderweb also.. but I can at least be sure spiderweb is the last – because of the street shot of IFF being in winter mode.. I figured that probably isn’t a mistake.. they keep those things consistent..most of the time.. Let’s see how we go.. maybe you can watch playing possum, then car wars, then ship of spies and see if it jars you Raffie!
You think after playing possum is too early Melissa R? I really think the difference is Brunettes.. after that- they are much closer.. and the next big shift is ship of spies.. ??
We’ll see how we go! 🙂 I’m open to ideas if anyone has any!
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Hi Melissa Robertson! – LOL! you are getting to know me 🙂 You can tell huh? Yeah. I can be pretty analytical – and probably go overboard somtimes! I just hope I don’t get too boring!
Never fear though – I don’t analyse any one like I do Lee and Amanda! and they’re not real-LOL!! 🙂
I love that you are a maths major! and you probably have a different way of thinking to me – that’s brilliant!! 🙂
Thanks for the encouragement! I am getting pretty busy with studies now.. am determined to keep posts coming – but probably won’t get to reply to comments as much: I’m sorry!!! 😦 but do please keep them coming – I read them all and just love to hear from everyone!!
Where’s Charley gone? missing Redgold too.. well byeee and feel free to chatter amongst yourselves!
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I’m glad that Lee is genuine in his facial expressions and dialogue that he does not believe that Amanda is the double agent. Sets it up nice for the house scene 🙂
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I wonder if there was a point during this episode that Lee thought about what happened with Eva?
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I wanted to add this in a post at the end of this episode, but now I see you already mentioned this Morley. I’ve been wondering the same, because even if he never actually suspects Amanda, there must have been moments when he thought “what if”.
While he is still in denial, his jealousy about Bryce and his overall feelings about Amanda must be throwing him for a loop here and above all he trusts her explicitly and the last woman he probably trusted (because of his feelings) was Eva who ended up being a traitor. I’d be surprised if that thought never crosses his mind during the episode, even if he wouldn’t be able to say why he makes this comparison; subconcious fear of history repeating itself. At least that’s how I interpret the moments in which Lee looks as if he might consider it and later on his relief.
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