5/15 Season Two, Episode 21: Burn Out-Scarecrow and Mrs King

2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000830397_thumb[1]Amanda: I still don’t believe Lee’s a burnout.
Francine: Aw, come on Amanda. He’s got all the classic symptoms. Erosion of skills, lack of confidence, depression… [Given how badly Lee performed on that courier drop- I can’t blame Francine.. it could have been dangerous – they nearly shot each other! Agents put their lives in each other’s hands- I wouldn’t want to be in the field with a burned out agent either!!! So I don’t find it disloyal of Francine to have drawn this conclusion.. maybe she too is a realist.. ]
…Have you noticed how defensive he’s been lately? 2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000838405_thumb[2]Then there’s the little matter of his, uh ….


[Francine makes a drinking motion with her hand]


2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000840807_thumb[1]Amanda: You know Lee’s just a social drinker.

[I love that Amanda defends Lee to anyone and everyone about anything!! we all need someone in our corner like that no?]
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Francine: Well, then let’s just say he’s been socializing an awful lot lately.

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Amanda: Isn’t it possible this is only temporary?

[yep! Winking smile ]

Francine: Out of all the agents that I’ve ever seen hit the wall, I can’t think of one who’s ever really made a recovery.
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Amanda:  Well. Lee will. I’m sure he will.
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I think Amanda sounds determined to help Lee here, but not certain of the outcome.. [which is true bravery no?!..] but she won’t admit that uncertainty to Francine I’m sure.
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It’s pretty scary for Amanda to watch Lee spiralling out of control. He’s always been her rock- now she needs to be his.. She is such a good friend!
Back to Billy’s office..
2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000861628_thumbLee: I’ve been playing washed up for two weeks now… 2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000868134_thumb[1]
Okay, Lee has been acting this way for two weeks? and Amanda has only just noticed?? seems Lee and Amanda didn’t see each other much during that two weeks.. hmm.. I always picture them as seeing each other daily – but maybe at this stage they don’t. or.. maybe Lee avoided her.. or.. maybe it means nothing! Winking smile  They are so comfortable with each other in YODT- it feels like they see each other daily- maybe that episode comes after this one.. maybe? thoughts? Any reason why YODT should come before? I’d love to hear it!
Lee: …But I swear to you,  I’d do it for two years if I could just crack this thing.
Billy: I’ll go along with that. We have to stop this pattern.
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Whoa – Lee would do the role of washed up agent for two years?? and Billy is on board with that??!! Feel free to disagree, but I find this disturbing! I actually think they are both making a mistake here in thinking they can do this for two weeks much less two years. This is all for a very worthy and important cause, but after two weeks- Lee is in a very precarious situation.. He is consuming a lot of alcohol, working alone without back up to catch an unknown enemy, and he has isolated himself from everyone – with the exception of Billy. He is being asked to wreck his life by the agency- He is not as in control as he thinks  he is (we’ll see!).
I find this ironic… the case is about protecting burnt out agents. And getting the guy who is preying on vulnerable agents when they are down (as we are about to hear) – but there is no concern for Lee burning out. Both Lee and Billy seems to think Lee is capable of doing anything to get the job done for however long it takes with nooooo limits – if you ask me, that is a perfect recipe for burn out!!! Both Lee and Billy seem to expect Lee to be super human- this is a big mistake.. Lee is a very good agent, loyal to the agency and determined but…Lee is not super human! Everyone has their limits.
Lee: Yeah. Three big agency operations blown and all within weeks after some top agent [is there any other kind?! there are no mediocre agents! Winking smile ] …has been demoted from field duty to office work. It happened in Munich, Mexico City, and here in Washington.
[I think Billy knows this Lee.. or he wouldn’t be on the case Winking smile ]
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Billy: Somebody is specializing in these poor guys, 2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000885752_thumb[1]getting to them while they’re vulnerable and bitter, then recruiting them.
[yes thanks for explaining to us the audience.. LOL I think Lee already knows this Billy or he wouldn’t be on the case Winking smile It’s so funny how they have this conversation, when it would have been a conversation they had two weeks ago when they put this plan of theirs together! LOL!! See now that’s why Amanda should be involved – so they can both explain the plot to her and not look like they both have a short memory- actually Lee has been drinking heavily maybe this is for his benefit! Winking smile ]
Lee: Is there anything further on those three? Are they 2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000894561_thumbstill listed as missing?
Billy: Well, the agents from Munich and Mexico City are still missing but the DC police brought this in last 2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000899366_thumbnight. They found Jamison’s body in an alley, shot in the back.
2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000904971_thumb[2]Lee: So that’s what happens to them when they stop being useful.
2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000908975_thumbBilly: I really want to nail the scum that’s running this show.
2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000912979_thumbLee:  We will. I got a nibble today. I think I’m gonna to be approached.
Lee feels it’s too soon to give details.. but he’ll get back to Billy (when he needs back up Winking smile err that is if he ever asks for it.. ahem.. )
Lee jokes he has to go back to ‘ losing my self respect 2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000927027_thumb[1]and screwing up my career’ –


2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000929562_thumb[1]Billy: oh? where does one do that?


Lee: Nedlindgers of course!…
[hey!! that’s the bar, not the forum- the forum is for really cool people.. not losing their self respect haaaa!!]

…where else does one go to slide down the drain.. [whooo the forum is where one goes to slide down the rabbit hole!!! 😉 ]
2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000934601_thumb[1]Billy laughs.. yes ha haaa.. umm I’m not seeing where any of this is funny! Time to put on a performance again.. Lee and Billy exit yelling..
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I think Lee overdoes the dramatics here.. LOL Billy should have fired Lee.. instead.. being a tough boss, Billy puts Lee on report. Winking smile
Billy: That’s it, Buster. You’re on report.
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Lee: Aw. I’m devastated.
[I think that is a reasonable response given what a wimpy boss Billy can be haaa! Love ya Billy!]  Lee blows Billy a kiss and storms out.  [whoooo!!! Scruffy Lee! blow me one while you’re at it!!! 😉 ]2.21 BURN OUT.avi_000953820_thumb[1]
Amanda hurries after Lee calling out: Lee! can I talk to you for a …
Amanda doesn’t get Lee to stop. He keeps on going.. and leaves her there..
Francine: I don’t think you’re getting through to him.
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Amanda: Well, I will. I know I will.
Ahh Francine feels she has to set poor naive Amanda straight. In her own way, I think Francine thinks  she is trying to help Amanda.. I think Amanda is officially freaking out!!!

Okay. I’ll finish up here for the moment… the next post is THE big moment!!! eek!!!! I’ll post it in two or three days time as we are slowing down a bit over the holiday season 🙂 Looking forward to hearing your thoughts if you’d like to share.. any questions? suggestions? gripes?  byeee for now!

30 thoughts on “5/15 Season Two, Episode 21: Burn Out-Scarecrow and Mrs King”

  1. I don’t have any issues at all with Francine being faked out by Lee’s behavior and the phony courier drop. Yes, she’s supposed to be his friend and all, but in this job where life and death is routinely on the line they’ve got to think about themselves and situations more than worry about their co-workers feelings and how they’re doing. And since Francine isn’t and has never been Lee’s partner I wouldn’t expect a very close working relationship.

    I think Amanda sounds like she’s just not ready to believe Lee could ever truly become a burn out and have it be permanent. At this point I think she is still determined to do everything she can to help him. This is Lee Stetson, one of the top American agents here! He can’t be burnt out for good! Amanda believes all these good things about Lee the agent and about Lee the man (ARS) – she knows he is worth saving and she’s going to do what she can. She is a great friend! I wonder if she thinks what Lee thinks about just how concerned she is for him.

    No comment on the episode order for me – I’d need to go watch YODT right after BO to make any kind of comment on that I could back up.

    At this point Amanda is still a part-time civilian agent so I don’t think she sees Lee every day. Perhaps she’s been busy with her volunteer work these last couple of weeks – with the Mothers for A Safe Environment that we see right around the corner?

    iwsod, I’ve always taken the two years thing not so literally. I think Lee is just trying to emphasize how badly he wants to get these guys. Two weeks, two years, two centuries…see what I mean? Speaking of Lee being unhealthy and an alcoholic, did anyone see the article online about James Bond and how is lifestyle for this long would leave him unable to do his job the way he is portrayed in the movies? As if we all thought it was real anyway ?? 😉

    I do agree though that if they both really were ready to do it for 2 years, then I don’t think they’d be successful. Lee isn’t superhuman. Super good looking yes! LOL – Fred Fielder is the only mediocre agent!!! Can’t forget Fred! Or is he just bad?

    I don’t get why Lee doesn’t want to share anything on ‘the nibble’. I mean, what if something were to happen??? Billy wouldn’t know who was after him, where to look, or anything? Lee would have to hope that his housewife friend continues to stay all over him so she can help him out! AGAIN! 😉 C’mon Lee!!

    Awww, Francine is actually trying to be nice to Amanda! Mark this moment down. I like her better though when she’s making funny retorts!

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  2. It actually wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to have Amanda not notice Lee’s “burnout” for two weeks, because it would have been coming on gradually. First, there would be mistakes out in the field, carefully planned, of course. The mistakes would need witnesses to get the office gossip going, but Billy wouldn’t send Amanda on those missions, because she wouldn’t be one to spread gossip about Lee. He would probably keep his behavior under control and professional on the job for most of the two weeks, maybe a bit cranky and withdrawn, but Amanda has experienced that before when he’s wound tight. After hours, however, she would go home to her family and he would spend his time at Ned’s. After a few drinks he would probably loosen up and start complaining to any and all who would listen, which would certainly include some Agency people. The in-office explosions, rudeness, and insubordination would have been the final touch.

    I might be in the minority here, but I didn’t see anything too complicated about Lee’s treatment of Amanda, and her being left in the dark about his cover. We know he can really get into a role sometimes when he’s playing a cover. We know that he doesn’t mind letting the other agents think he’s really losing it. He’s just treating Amanda like any of the other agents in not telling her, although I think his perspective on this changes drastically midway through the episode. I think when she comes to Ned’s to find him, he treats her the way he does because she is jeopardizing the mission; Harris isn’t going to get real close to Lee with an Agency watchdog around, and Lee obviously can’t welcome her with open arms when he’s at war with the Agency and everybody in it. Again, his perspective changes; IMO, this episode is a major turning point in Lee’s realization of what Amanda means to him – in a different way than the threat of losing her brings out.

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  3. I was watching YODT and Amanda asks at the end if she can stay dead “till Tuesday” so I take this to mean she regularly goes in to work at the agency. Maybe she was sent to another department or on vacation. Personally I think the writers were eating those, ahem, fancy brownies again and found their way to those doors in Billy’s office to check out more plot holes dimensions. 😉

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  4. Yep, I always figured Ned was diluting the drinks for Lee.
    I always thought Amanda’s defending Lee and other behaviours coming up was bordering on some serious denial and enabling. But that is OK, I don’t consider this poor writing, I find characters more believable when they are well rounded and ‘flawed’ and her actions aren’t out of character from what we’ve seen before (eg. Charity) and what will come (Wrong way).

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    1. hiya Everyone!

      Yeah it Amanda could have been bordering on enabling. I hear ya Cindy! I figured she was defending Lee to others, but would not have supported the behaviour in private and like Lee said, eventually she would have booked him into detox 😉 tee hee.. I agree love these characters!!

      The idea of Ned being in on it, or giving Lee a drink from Lee’s ‘special’ watered down bottle of scotch is interesting! I agree that Lee didn’t seem drunk at all when visiting Billy the second time. But.. I figured this could be because they rearranged the ‘Lee coming into the agency’ order and frequency of visits in the script – as Melissa R shared with us.

      To me, Lee at the agency is superficially much more put together – his hair, his skin, they look healthier or tidier- and I see part of the episode as a visible physical decline of Lee and his ability to stay on top of his cover – up until the upcoming big moment.

      Plus I figure, if this cover is serious enough (and I agree it is!) that he has to not tell Amanda, then he can’t take the chance and not be drinking alcohol like he appears to be. He’s got to smell like alcohol… be flushed like he’s drunk etc. I figure Lee is Method acting the role of burned out agent – because these baddies have lots of experience with them- and will spot a con a mile away so in a way Lee ‘becomes’ a burned out agent.
      I get Lee and Billy’s logic behind all this and why it is so important – I just think it’s a mistake! 😉

      I am not so sure Ned knows about the cover or Lee being an agent. Ned is a source that Lee is using to fool the baddies.. The baddies found out Lee’s name – I’m figuring from Ned at the bar- but we also see coming up the baddies discover Amanda’s full name from someone other than Lee – again I’m guessing they ask Ned for this info.. I don’t see Ned passing on Amanda’s information to these guys if he is in on it, or I don’t see him passing on Amanda’s full name to anyone if he is an agent or knows she is (or he would flag it and tell the agency maybe).
      This is just the vibe I get about it all… and some of this is based on how things play out and how it best works out overall.. So that’s the perspective I’m viewing things from.

      I think Ned isn’t in on it. Lee is being physically affected by the case, and by the alcohol. Though I do think he exaggerates a lot with the dramatics how drunk he is, a few drinks is enough to reduce someone’s inhibition or cloud their judgement.. so he doesn’t have to be as blind drunk as he sometimes looks for me to think it is a factor in what transpires.

      I agree with everyone that Lee is acting out to get Amanda to stay away from him- but (there’s always a but?!) I think at the same time Lee is using Amanda and her concern for him to make the cover believable to observers – if Amanda’s reactions are genuine then it is more likely his cover will be believed. Plus, I think after Savior Lee should know Amanda wouldn’t just do what Francine does and say – ahh what a shame. yep no one recovers from that-bye!
      Soooo I think he used this knowledge about Amanda – guessed she could interfere and fuss. He thought that he could control this and use this to his advantage for the case. And yes, explain it all to Amanda later – maybe buy her dinner and actually say ‘sorry’ this time (not like in Artful Dodger 😉 ) tee hee..
      For me, there’s multiple things going on for Lee here – he’s a top agent.. one of the best.. he loves to catch bad guys – this cover and opportunity to catch them and put a stop to preying on burned out vulnerable agents invigorates Lee – it’s part of who he is! And I agree with BJo (in her comments to post 3) I love this about him!!!! However.. there is a bit of a snag to this scenario in this episode.. something isn’t quite right!! but we’ll get to that! 🙂

      I better head off and actually write the next post- I’ve been too busy with baking and shopping and Christmas parties 😉
      Byee all!

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    2. Ditto to all Cindy. Amanda’s in a bit of denial, but I find that normal. It’s not easy to believe negative things about those whom you are very close to. Her impulse to help Lee is worthy and displays her unselfish and generous character. Don’t we all want someone in our corner who is so fiercely loyal and honorable? She’s Lee’s biggest fan and supporter.
      Okay, back to losing my self-respect and screwing up my career. Oh wait, I’m retired 🙂

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  5. I never thought that much about the “poor thing” comment. It seemed to me to just be one of those expressions that you hear people say, like a cliche’. It’s like an automatic response to something, especially if you’re not sure of what to say. Every once in a while my students will respond to a situation by repeating something they’ve heard an adult say and they either misuse it or say it the wrong way. It ends up being kind of cute, because what they are trying to do is express concern. With Lee’s lack of emotional maturity and it being Amanda and all maybe that was the best he could come up with.

    That two weeks bothers me too. With the last couple of episodes you can see the Lee and Amanda have gotten more comfortable with one another and become closer. In Dead Pigeon he comments that the house doesn’t look right and how Amanda usually has him come in the back and we see evidence of that in YODT. They had to have seen each other in those two weeks unless they gave Amanda more than that day off to go to the amusement park. Maybe she got more time off because of all the drama and trauma she’s recently gone through. But with money being so tight for her I can’t see taking two weeks off.

    I think that Amanda believing in Lee so strongly has been based on all that he has done in protecting and taking care of her thus far. He has committed treason for her, carried her out of a life threatening situation, put her house and family under protection before she even asked for it, rescued her on several occasions, and has believed in her innocence when others questioned it. I think Amanda is just as distraught by this situation as Lee was with hers in Spider Web. In her mind she is thinking that Lee didn’t give up on her so she is not giving up on him.

    Francine is interesting how she sits back and comments but doesn’t get involved in trying to help Lee. She just seems content to let the chips fall where they may. Down the road she does jump into a situation without hesitation when then it’s not really her business. Oh well.

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    1. ” I think Amanda is just as distraught by this situation as Lee was with hers in Spider Web. In her mind she is thinking that Lee didn’t give up on her so she is not giving up on him.”
      I like this. There is something about the mutuality of their relationship that gets revealed in this episode. I think that is important.

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    2. I always kind of picture Lee’s burn out routine started low and slowly kept building. IMHO a lot of times I think it takes those we are closer too longer to see something happening mainly because we are in deniel that they are doing something harmful until it goes too far.

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    3. Valerie, I think I’m in the same camp as you when it comes to the ‘poor thing’ comment. I do see what other folks are saying, but I think Lee is using it more as a cliche because he doesn’t know what else to say or how to deal with it.

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    4. I agree with you Valerie….i feel that remark, “poor thing” was said with a degree of regret….I took it to mean that he regretted what she was going thru on his behalf and felt bad that she was so worried about him and that he couldn’t let her in on it…I don’t get why that remark caused such a stir!
      I hated that Lee was such a total ar$ in much of this ep…but if he was going to be believable as a washed up agent he needed to play the part 100%….it’s unfortunate but in his line of work maintaining the cover takes precedence.
      Each time I’ve watched this ep, I never thought all the booze was real,(guess I was thinking he was faking it) but I guess it would have to be if he was to play the part and look washed up…..i suppose he could have really been tipsy with as much as he was drinking….i will have to revisit that thought, and what happens next with Amanda….

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      1. poor thing in the context wasn’t bad.. but to me it’s like giving someone a pat on the head 😉 I think the stir was because it was in a tricky part of the episode – I’ll be interested to hear what you make of the rest of the episode Gruvy Granny – this one sparked many strong views – a tough one to watch at times.. but ohhh so valuable! 🙂

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  6. IWSOD I am like you, I always assumed A and L saw each other every day. Plot holes, schmot holes 😉
    Can I say I find it funny when Francine lists the “symptoms”…….lack of confidence?! Erm Lee doesn’t look like a man without any confidence, quite the opposite.
    I admire Amanda for sticking up for Lee but there is a part of me that thinks she sounds a little like a fan girl and that she’s almost trying to convince herself at the same time. Must be hard to maintain a belief in the face of such appearances.
    I like the way Lee is seeming to relish “losing” his self respect. I guess as undercover gigs go spending all your time at Ned’s is one way to go 😉 He does seem to enjoy pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes.
    Do they not think realise it looks a bit odd to have this quiet conversation and to be suddenly screaming at each other as he exits the office?
    I love his kiss to Billy, brilliant 🙂 Blow one my way while ya at it 😉

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    1. I wondered what people thought about the quiet lull and then the big bad storm that came. I agree the kiss is a nice touch 😉

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  7. “He’s always been her rock- now she needs to be his.”
    They’re each other’s rock (though, generally, he’s been the physical rock and she’s been the emotional rock)… just, lately, he’s been hers more than she’s been his…

    “Lee has been acting this way for two weeks? and Amanda has only just noticed?”
    Can you say: giant plot hole!?!?!?! 😀 I do think that she would have seen him during the past two weeks… unless he’d spent the entirety of it at Ned’s? Hmmm… Suspension of disbelief. Carry on.

    “He is consuming a lot of alcohol, working alone without back up to catch an unknown enemy, and he has isolated himself from everyone – with the exception of Billy.”
    Yes to the others, but I’m still not convinced he was really drinking so much, unless Leatherneck really did have a super-duper alcohol metabolizing agent/antidote thingie… but then Leatherneck would be in on the secret, too. Or, perhaps, Ned is in on it and has a special bottle that he’s pouring Lee’s drinks from…
    *shrug*

    “Lee is not super human!”
    Yes, he’s just a man, as Amanda will tell him in WOTSTW (stopping there so I don’t need to apply a spoiler alert–LOL). 😀

    So nice of Billy and Lee to make sure the audience knows what’s going on. 😀

    “the forum is for really cool people.. not losing their self respect haaaa!!”
    Speak for yourself. I think I might’ve lost a bit of self respect there… 😀 😀 😀

    You know, the pic with Lee blowing the kiss at Billy is funny with the snow… –> when Hell freezes over. Tee hee hee…

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    1. Hey KC! Ohhh I don’t think we’ve done anything that any other self respecting smk fan wouldn’t do haaa 😉 right? RIGHT?????!!!!! 🙂

      In a way I agree – they are each other’s rock. I can’t say Amanda hasn’t been there for Lee up till now – and in spiderweb we learned Amanda is Lee’s north star and all that.. However, in Burn Out I think Amanda steps up to be Lee’s rock in another sense.

      Lee is in even more danger than in Savior IMHO because of how much alcohol he is drinking.. he drank at least three (looked like double shots to me) in that first Neds scene..Plus I doubt Harris would have approached Lee before he had already downed a few!
      At the start of this episode I don’t think Lee sees Amanda as his equal partner at the agency who can watch his back like an agent can.. Maybe this also comes back to why Amanda wasn’t involved in the cover (which I seem to be a little obsessed with! sorry!), and why Lee felt he was fine to do this cover alone without his ‘partner’ – not a very partner thing to do.. and I am not saying here Lee doesn’t see Amanda as his partner, he does! Just not as an equal at the agency partner.. you know? Gosh I hope I’m making some sense here. Not trying to change your mind KC- just attempting to explain my throw away line more fully! [though with this episode I suspect like many things it’s a case of – this will be more fully understood further into the episode!]

      I do agree they are each other’s rock – but at the start of this ep, Lee is Amanda’s rock more than vice versa..and the quality of that ‘rock-likeness’ differs between them..
      Maybe this is a bit too nuanced on my part, but I think this episode is partly about Lee fully realising and accepting Amanda as his equal [‘The poor thing’! 😉 tee hee] and his need for her. I feel this is Amanda’s time to step up – and fight for Lee. He needs it IMHO but he doesn’t think he does!.. Gooo Amanda! 🙂

      I’m interested to hear what you all think on this!

      ugh. I’m exhausted from being very Amanda-like and baking Christmas cookies.. hope all your Christmas preparations are going well everyone! byeeee

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      1. “Poor thing.” you know I think it is funny that in one of my comments earlier I referred to Lee as “Poor Lee.” I think Lee feels the way about Amanda that I do about Lee here, responding to something that they do not have full realization about the truth of.

        Maybe Amanda was on a spring vacation with the boys for some of those two weeks? Any thing to explain that one…

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        1. “Poor thing” does strike the ear oddly, but it’s better than “Poor girl,” which would seem to be the alternative. As for the two week issue, I’m not sure Lee and Amanda do see each other on a daily basis yet. We know Amanda is still classified as a part-timer, and apparently on an “on call” basis – so if Lee didn’t want Amanda to know about his cover, he and Billy would have agreed not to call her in for those two weeks. (Though that doesn’t explain why she’s at the agency now; maybe she was concerned about the lack of contact with Lee and found an excuse to come in.)

          Also, we’ve seen that Lee is occasionally sent out of the country on assignment without Amanda. I could see her assuming he was on one of those assignments if she hadn’t heard from him in a while.

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          1. I could get behind the idea that she thought he was out of town. Even in season 3 he was sent out of town without her and she wasn’t in the know ( Eyes). I just think if she had been around him, she would have noticed something was off. Amanda is a pretty good study of Scarecrow/ Lee, both. Even as early on as ITCK she knew him well enough to know when he was off, even if others didn’t.

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      2. I think Lee views Amanda as his “civilian partner” Kind of gives him the best of both worlds. He can have a helper/partner and still be the lone top agent…at least for now. Actually I think this carries on for a while into season 3.
        I think it is true that Lee sees himself as “there for Amanda” to protect her especially because he was the one to get her into the business. But he hasn’t really tapped into all that Amanda is for him. He has become aware of some very qualities that Amanda has. The last few (actually he short hair episode really highlight these qualities)episode highlighted some. She is a lady, she is one of kind and her life is very important to many (her family and to him). She is trustworthy with and true blue both with National security and personal stuff. But does he know that she is all that just for him, when everyone else would desert him, she is even willing to go along with… oh but we haven’t got there yet. She is a rock and she is willing to be his rock.
        I think I may agree with those that think that Ned may be in on it in some way. How could someone drink that much, be stumbling drunk like Lee was when Amanda was trying to get him looking good to go back to the office, and then have a rational, unaffected discussion with Billy? It would make sense to me that Ned knew to dilute those drinks.

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        1. I agree with you Morley that Ned knew to dilute the drinks. For some reason I think Ned knows that most of the people that come in there are agents. Maybe I get that feeling from ‘The Mole’.

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          1. I think Ned must have been diluting the drinks or else Lee had some special top secret agency drug (which today exists in the real world and is not even top secret) that prevented intoxication. He is not drunk in Billy’s office, but even more important, there is no way an agent can perform at the level Lee needs to perform here if he is drunk …. risky and ineffective. No way! (IMHO 🙂 )

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            1. Add Raffie to the ‘Ned is in on it club’? well.. at least to the ‘ or at least the ‘Lee is not even a little drunk’ club..

              I feel Lee being under the influence of alcohol [though no ‘drunk’ works well with how I see the rest of the episode..
              LOL I’ve listed my reasons so I won’t bore you – but thanks for sharing your opinion Raffie – many felt the same way you do 🙂

              I remember this episode is a fave of yours Raffie, so I’m thrilled you can stop by and share!

              When Lee slaps Amanda -Raffie do you prefer this was done sober?? or while under the influence of alcohol? we had a few different preferences on this!
              Hope you are well!

              Hi Everyone, I guess the sun is settling on Christmas for you guys.. for me it’s boxing day 🙂 Hope Christmas has been great!

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        2. Love this Morley!!! Your description of Amanda as Lee’s partner is what I had vaguely in my mind but couldn’t quite pin down! 🙂 thank you!!!!

          though, I respectfully disagree re the drinks – I think they were real 🙂

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          1. The more I read your opinion of why Ned probably isn’t in on it and that the drinks are real I now have to agree. I think it’s hard to think Lee is drunk and on the edge of burn out himself because I’m in denial 🙂

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              1. I know, as much as I want to believe that Ned is diluting the drinks I guess he probably isn’t. But Lee must be adding a bit of acting on top of his buzz, because I still think there is a marked difference in his rational, seemingly sober behavior in Billy’s office and his over the top, tripping over himself behavior when he reenters Ned’s. But the idea that he is under the influence enough to be able to lose that fine edge of self control and smack Amanda hard enough to send her head spinning makes sense.

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        3. Morley, I really like how you sum up all the Lee has recently realized about Amanda here! Now it just all needs time to sink in and settle about 18 inches lower.

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So what do you think??? :)

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