Back to New Non-Utopia/Sacker’s Walden Pond.. whatever!
Lee is up on a perch playing lookout while Amanda fiddle with her shoe and laces..
![3.07 UTOPIA NOW.avi_001332482_thumb[1]](https://justwalkwithme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/3-07-utopia-now-avi_001332482_thumb1.jpg "3.07 UTOPIA NOW.avi_001332482_thumb[1]")
Lee: How’s it going?
Amanda: Fine. Okay, now I’m just going to tie a bowline so it won’t slip. Right?..
…The rabbit comes up the hole, goes around the tree, back down in the hole.
hey – it’s great to see Amanda doing knots again! Lovely call back to ‘the first time’!
Lee: Don’t tell me.
Amanda: What?
Lee: Junior Trailblazers.
Amanda: Yah.
Lee: I thought so.
[okay everyone!!! what do you make of Lee here?! I love that Amanda is unapologetic about the good old trailblazers!]
Amanda: Okay. Come on…
[Amanda fiddles with the lace and boot]
…Just let me get this out some more. Wait a minute, it’s not out—
Lee: Are you ready.
Amanda: Yah.
[they line up the shoe.. countdown to throwing it.. ]
Lee: 1 – 2 – 3… (the shoe misses the mark) …Damn!
Amanda: Okay, it’s just a little short, that’s all.
Lee: Just a little short. A little short…
[too cute! Lee is a ‘little short’ here too! 
Lee is all frustrated.. and Amanda is trying to calm him.. they compliment each other well! now it’s Amanda’s turn to in a way, encourage Lee to stay focused on the goal!]
…Okay, maybe if I get down lower.
They throw it again, this time the shoe lands in just the right spot for them to pull it back toward them, collecting the knife as they go. Love their shared joy in the middle of this moment! fleeting.. but very cute!
Together they manage to get the knife close enough that Lee can reach under the door to collect the knife.
Lee sets to work with opening the knife: All right, let’s see—
Amanda: Just— [Amanda takes the knife to select an implement]
Lee: What?
Amanda: Just use the, um, use the little tweezer.
It’s Amanda’s knife! she knows what is has to chose from! I like that Amanda speaks up and tells Lee what to use! 
especially when picking locks! tee hee.. is this a hint that Amanda has begun to have lessons on lock picking?? that she could possibly know what to use?
Amanda selects the correct implement and Lee takes back the knife to work on the lock.
We cut to Hollis and Sacker walking and talking..
Hollis: Look, I say we let ‘em go. If we keep ‘em out here, somebody’s bound to miss ‘em and they’re going to send somebody else out here.
Sacker: I say we can’t take any chances. We’ve worked too long and too hard…
… In two days our teams are gonna put a major crimp into the communications network of Washington. But only if we have the element of surprise.
Hollis: You’re the boss….
…I’m just saying that if somebody comes out here snooping around, it could screw up this entire operation.
[I’d say they’ve already come snooping around no? that’s why they are having this discussion! LOL though it’s good to see Hollis is actually trying to work here on Lee and Amanda’s behalf]
Sacker: In two days they can come looking all they want. It won’t make any difference then. Just— get rid of them.
Hollis: I can’t just execute them out here. There’s a few people in this community that won’t take kindly to killing civilians. They’ll blow up anything you want but they’re not into murder.
[Hollis’ tactics here don’t make sense to me. Why not just say yeah I’ll get rid of them, then he can take them out of the camp and set them free – no one needs to know. Why argue about not killing them?! lol okay I guess we have to make Sacker suspicious of Hollis somehow.. and give the audience a hint that Hollis is not all bad!]
Sacker: Then lose them. Quietly. There must be a dozen places in those back woods where bodies won’t be found for a decade or two.
Hollis: Okay.
Oh wait.. maybe this is all in aid of us worrying that maybe Hollis is about to kill Lee and Amanda after all? though really.. I find that a bit of a stretch – how about you?!
Back to Lee and Amanda working on their own escape.. Lee works on the lock while Amanda puts her boot back on.
Okay Lee hand fans! Is this Lee’s hand?!
Lee: I got it. (Ahhh magic fingers!)
Come on.
Amanda: Let me get this stuff here.
Lee notices someone is approaching.
To Amanda, Lee : Get down!
Hollis enters the room, not noticing Lee hiding behind the door.
Lee: Hollis!
Lee surprises Hollis with a right hook –whoa!!! Bet that felt good huh Lee?!!
Hollis hits the ground.. and isn’t getting up. I notice Lee is getting quite good at the one punch and the guy is out move nowadays.. remember season 1 and all 
those drawn out fist fights?! [BB must have had his contract changed! haa]
Lee to Amanda: That should validate his cover, huh.
[yeah! A few kicks and a couple more punches could make it totally validating! and feel good!]
Lee and Amanda rush out.. Holding hands!!!!
err that will validate their cover ahem!
We cut to Sacker and Rogan in the room we saw Lee and Amanda checking out earlier.. time to learn the evil plan..
Rogan: It should go like clockwork.
Sacker: Better.
Rogan: We have 5 easy unprotected targets. You only need to hit three and PREDEC 2 goes into effect.
Sacker: And then the President gets evacuated to the underground White House.
Rogan: And you get a chance to revenge an old grudge.
Rogan is sooo tough! (on food caught between his teeth!)
Sacker: Hmm, well, since you’ve guessed. If blowing up the leader is the only way to make political change in this country then that’s that I intend to do.
[whoooooo he’s bad! he’s really really bad!]
The bearded baddie enters and interrupts them (named Pickett): They’re gone.
Sacker: What?
Pickett: The film people. They jumped Hollis and took off.
Sacker: Put out an alert. Simple, huh?
Pickett leaves the room and goes outside to whistle.. rounding up all the hired mercenaries..
He shouts to everyone: Hey, those film people, they’re gone. I want you to find them!
In the foreground we see a truck.. in the background we see the men scattering with the guns ready.
Whoa.. actually, I wouldn’t want this bunch racing after me! big guns!!
The shot widens and we find Lee and Amanda are crouched down in the front of the truck.. Lee is getting the wires ready to hotwire it.
LOL you’d think one of the baddies would have gotten in the car to look- but nooooo lucky for Lee and Amanda, they all prefer to search miles and miles on foot.. 😉
Is this the first time we’ve seen Lee hotwire a car? I think it is!! I can’t think of another time.. can you? ( I guess Amanda stole the vigilante and that car when she got amnesia.. but Lee?! okay. he stole a motorbike in Munich.. but.. did he hotwire it?? or did he magically have the keys in the ignition?)
Lee: I’m gonna get this started. You get on the CB – try to relay a message to Billy. I’ll give you the channel and the call letters.
All right.
[We don’t see Amanda’s face here.. do you think that is really KJ in the front of that truck?]
Amanda: right.
[Amanda knows when to take orders! and Lee takes the lead…]
Lee: alright.
(he starts the engine) – why didn’t they wait a bit longer before starting it??!!! all the baddies were scattering!! they could have used the time to check the map and figure out where to go before they drew attention to themselves.. ah well..I guess this way is more interesting!
Why does Lee not have a door next to him?!
Pickett notices and yells: I’ve found them! Over here!
Cue the screeching tires and flying dirt..the chase is on! 
LOL check out this shot I took totally at random.. where the Pickett character jumps sideways out of the way of the truck!
Inside the truck, Amanda is on the CB (that practice with Travis has come in handy! )
Anyone else expect to see the General Lee come tearing around a corner?!
Amanda: This is an emergency. Somebody come in please!
Breaker Breaker!! Bo and Luke 
Duke?!!! you read me?!? We are made by the same studio.. come on!!! (there they are! Yeeee haaaaaaa!)
Okay everyone! I better stop here.. back with more soon!! Soooo what you thinking of this ep??!!! any thoughts you’d like to share?? anything you’ve spotted?! There’s plenty I don’t see or hear or mention here.. go for it!! byeee!!
"Just walk with me.." 
I just want to point out that I LOVE how close Lee and Amanda stand together when he’s fishing for the knife. They both have their arms/hands through the little opening. It would have been a lot easier if Amanda had given him space, but for MY sake, I’m glad she didn’t.
Also, I love the analysis of hand holding, touching, and BB’s hands… oh, and “swoony swoon swoon” lol
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#2019 rewatch
Lee has physical strength, is good at strategy and has superb knowledge of The Agency’s jargon. Amanda has extensive practical knowledge, is good at directions and picking up on the lay of the land. Lee and Amanda are both gutsy risk-takers. They keep honing skills that complement each other, which increases their success at problem solving. It’s wonderful to watch them continue to improve at relying on and supporting each other.
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I agree, iwsod…love that Amanda does not give up on the JTblazers and that she doesn’t let Lee’s “mickey mouse” opinion of them affect hers. Good for you, Amanda! I must admit though, I don’t like this shoe-throwing scene – the execution, not so much the point of it and the interaction between the two. I do love that Amanda jumps in and tells him which knife implement to use too. I think this is her increasing self-confidence in herself as a professional showing through. She feels confident to jump in and make contributions whereas early on in the series she’d sit back and let Lee take the lead…unless he was tied up of course 😉
That looks like Lee’s hand! But I’m not 100% sure. So it’s a definite maybe. But wait…where’s the watch? This warrants further investigation….just checked, the watch is on the other wrist, so it could be Lee’s hand.
It’s the General Lee!! LOL! Not only were they made by the same studio, they were on at the same time! Weren’t they even on back-to-back on a Friday night at one point in the U.S.? Dukes at 8 them SMK at 9? Or was it the other way around? I can’t remember if SMK aired first on Fridays or Mondays.
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Watching Lee and Amanda work together here shows just how well their partnership is working. This scene is a great response to Francine’s snarky “housewife for a partner” comment. Francine would have been horrible in this situation and I think she would have made it more of a competitive, who’s the top-dog agent, situation. Amanda is showing that she truly can be a partner. She is supportive and a team player. She is not dwelling on the negativity of the situation, but ready to help in her own escape. She is proving just how much of a help this housewife partner can be. There has been more assistance from the Junior Trailblazer side of this than the Agency side–from the map to Amanda’s tool to Amanda’s knowledge of the area to Amanda getting help from a Junior Trailblazer to Amanda knowing which tool to use to pick that lock. I’m not going to mention the lame finding of that safety cap. This was supposed to be Amanda’s assignment in the first place.
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Great point, Valerie! This is Amanda’s assignment – Lee is there to help her. Amanda has always done anything she could to help Lee and be a ‘partner’ to him even though she is just a housewife, and he denied that’s what she acted like his partner. She was never in it for herself, but always to help Lee and the country defeat the bad guys. Francine, on the other hand, would help Lee too, but with the added behavior of competitiveness and a who’s in charge attitude.
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Boy do I remember the days of the CB radio (alas before the days of affordable cell phones). I was in college in the 80’s and my senior year I bought a car (couldn’t own one before that because I was on scholarship). My car broke down the first time I drove the 7 hours home so my fiance (now my husband) bought me a CB radio. My handle was “Moon Shadow”. It was fun to listen to the truckers and their weird names… something like Internet usernames lol.
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They work together so well, neither ruffles the other, they even get each other’s tenseness. I love the way Amanda encourages Lee when he misses with the shoe the first time, I love his cranky response and how it doesn’t make her flinch. I love the way he lets her pick the tool to use and then he takes the lead.They are so balanced and one with each other.
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I really love the way they cooperate too, and Lee doesn’t act threatened anymore when Amanda takes the lead like he did at the beginning of the adventure (with the maps) He seems to have developed an even better appreciation for her knowledge and abilities.
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Yep, just like chocolate and peanut butter 😉 They are just so good together!
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Love how they are working together so much more intuitively now, and also supporting each other, e.g. Lee comforting Amanda when she was beginning to worry about being late home, and Amanda calming his impatience and frustration at missing the knife and twine on his first throw.
Re the Junior Trailblazers comment, I think Lee learns quickest and most from Amanda because she doesn’t gloat or force her way of being on him – she just carries on naturally and normally and Lee gradually takes on board the lessons to be learned. I think he now appreciates that the Junior Trailblazers has a lot to offer and he has under-estimated them. Just as he learned throughout the first and second seasons that Amanda has a great deal to offer and he shouldn’t under-estimate her abilities.
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This goes along well with the idea of underestimating the importance/danger of the assignment (and maybe underestimating someone like Sacker).
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I think the Junior Trailblazers comments it the type of half-irritated/half-affectionate comeback that you make to someone you really love and know very well; the type of comment that you wouldn’t feel ‘safe’ making to someone you are less comfortable with because it might be taken the wrong way
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I agree, kiwismh. Amanda is so good at teaching Lee things. I think she doesn’t even realize just how much he is picking up from her because he is so far above her from a trained agent/spy point of view. But good for Lee to realize what he can learn from her and to actually pay attention and learn. I think it also tremendously helps that Amanda is not a threat to Lee professionally and that she has always been supportive of him, even in the worst of times in Burn Out.
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Thanks for including the General Lee! 🙂 There must be a “Lee” pun around here somewhere, but I can’t put my finger on it right now.
Sacker seems to run an interesting organization. Not only are some members not into murdering people, the group is also pretty racially diverse for the evil Virginia countryside. I guess tax reform is a great unifier.
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LOL!!! If only that were true today!!!
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I know how to tie a bowline, and that’s exactly how they taught us to tie one in girl scouts. I still remember how to do it because of that little memory trick. Go Amanda!
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We also learnt it with the same memory trick in Girl Guides. I didn’t retain the ability to tie a bowline though – in fact, all I can remember is the reef knot.
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So careless of the bad guys to enticingly leave the knife and twine right there on the table. Classic rookie SMK baddie mistake! (Imagine Face Palm emoticon in this space)
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Yep, they’re in the running for the best of the worst baddies of season 3. 🙂
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