We cut back to Francine and Duffy who have found Sacker’s version of Walden pond.. Francine talks to Billy on the CB radio..(can’t other people hear then on that? hmm guess it’s a high security version?)
Billy: I hope Amanda’s little friend is right…
[whoa! man this dialogue is lame!!! He hopes the kid was right and she ‘went that way?!’ whahahaahaaa!! I think that’s why we only hear Billy say it- if we’d seen him we would have seen he couldn’t deliver that little line with a straight face!! Amanda’s little friend?! As far as they know, the kid recognised her and said that way!! They don’t know she made a friend!]
…. Strike team alerted.
Francine: Just waiting for your orders. [Unlike Lee 😉 ]
Billy: Let’s do it!
Francine (on her other short range radio): Initiate contact.
We cut to a soldier delivering the orders to his teams..
Soldier: Red Team, move out.
Blue Team, move out…
(we see lots of soldiers stomping toward the Walden pond)
…Come on, flank ‘em, come on.
Sacker’s man: We’re under attack!
How embarrassing! that Baddie just got raided while hanging out his washing?! whwhahaahahaaaa!!!
Lots of shooting.. and looks like the soldiers totally win!
We cut to Lee and Amanda huddled under a bridge. Lee is still working on his cuff with that wire.
We hear Rogan call: Come on, they must have doubled back.
We see them stomp over the bridge Lee and Amanda are hiding under.
– Lee and Amanda look up.
They share a look..
Maybe it’s – Come on Lee get that cuff off!!
Pickett is the last baddie.. and is lagging behind a bit.. He’s yet to cross the bridge- but because he isn’t with the others, Lee thinks the baddies have all passed 
them.
Thinking he is free to make noise, Lee noisily works on the cuff – 
Lee gets the cuff open- hooray!
Lee: Got it!!
Pickett hears the noise and stops.
He quietly edges closer to the bridge..
Lee immediately gets ready to nab Pickett as he leans over to check under the bridge – 
[ummm how did Lee know Pickett was there?! A second ago he acted like he thought the coast was clear? me confused..it doesn’t pay to look at these action sequences closely does it?!]
Pickett lays down.. getting ready to surprise them.. what a dummy!!
When he leans over Lee pulls him down. Sooo funny! He just kinda dangles down there to let Lee grab him! haaaa.. I love these polite baddies!
Rogan sees what’s going on and approaches cocking his gun- as soon as Amanda hears this she scrambles under the bridge- go Amanda!!! she’s learning what a machine gun being loaded sounds like haaaa…
Rogan shoots in their general direction.. why I don’t know.. a warning?
He takes a step forward and that super flimsy trip wire twine actually works.
Rogan activates it, and a tree whacks into his back
– it sends him flying over the ledge down next to the bridge- Sooo funny!!!! haaa..
What luck that he would be standing there, right at that moment..and that he so conveniently crashes down to the ground right in front of Lee and Amanda –Splat!!.. haaaa- ohhh smk you crack me up! [and the suddenly paunch-free Rogan who did the stunt? awesome!!]
Love how Amanda scrambles straight for Rogan’s gun.. without Lee needing to direct her 
But wait! there’s more!! 
All the other baddies have come back, and Lee pulls a gun on them all.. [not thrilled about how Lee waves that rifle right at Amanda!!]
Lee: Hold it!
Ummm shouldn’t Lee be pointing one of those guns at Rogan on the ground?
Amanda aims an uzi at them (The look on her face is hilarious!) It feels like we’ve entered an alternate universe!
Lee: All right, now you tell your boys that the game is over, and we won. [Lee sounds what 8 when he says this!! Now I’m the king of the playground!!! and don’t you forget it!! Pal!!]
Ah so now he is sort of pointing the gun at Rogan!
Rogan: No way!!
We see the group of baddies ready their rifles to shoot..
Ummm why don’t the baddies just shoot? It’s not like Lee and Amanda are using Rogan as a human shield or anything.
But who cares right?! because we then see Amanda look at Lee… 
and then she sprays a bunch of bullets into the air.. to warn them off..
(Like Lee gave her a nod to go for it maybe)
I think she intentionally does it (though not really with great confidence- what do you think? the script I vaguely remember had her doing this by accident.. ugh!!)
Goooo Amanda!!! (She’s no ‘burden’ now!!)
Rogan: Throw down your weapons.
Rogan has a toothpick in his mouth? eh?? He had that in his mouth when he tripped, was tackled by that tree and then fell?? that toothpick could have killed him! It should have ended up halfway into his brain! Or at least up his nose 😉
[now who is sounding 8 years old?!]
Lee: Into the stream…
(all the baddies do as Lee says..
Oh my.. he is sooo in command here- it’s smokin! Lovesmk has done an amazing banner of Action Lee lookin good.. I’ll share it soon!!)
(to Rogan) …All right, now you get up…
(and be careful with that toothpick while you do it!)
… All right, we know what’s going down and you’re gonna tell me where.
Whooo Lee is in his I eat baddies for breakfast mode!
Wait a second!!.. I thought Lee and Amanda knew about the cleared land.. knew about the hand held missile.. knew about the president going to predec 2 and knew about the underground White House nearby.. Ummm.. I thought they had figured it out and that’s why they doubled back – to errr stop them??!!! Shouldn’t they already know where?? lol maybe I’ve given them too much credit!
but well then.. why didn’t they just knock on the underground white house’s door (tee hee) and warn them?! Me confused…
Rogan: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
[ROFL!!! He doesn’t look convincing.. I think it would have been hilarious if he had said the place is surrounded! (or ‘would you believe I’m just a suburban mother of two small boys with a stationwagon and a baseball team on a losing streak’?!) ]
Lee looks.. soooo… gooooood! Don’t mess with him Rogan.
Lee: The President damn it! Sacker’s gonna try to kill him, now you’re gonna tell me everything you know or you’re going up as an accessory.
[‘going up’ err okay! Umm did Lee just threaten 
Rogan with being turned into a pair of button earrings?! 
]
As Lee has come to expect- If Lee wants to know something.. the baddie will simply tell him! Whahahahaha!!!
Rogan: There’s a slope, about a mile behind the camp. We cleared the trees. I think he’s 
there.
[lol actually Lee and Amanda should have been able to guess that location!!?!]
Oh.. my..nice close up.. whouawg;awhgwan
Lee: See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?…
[not bad at all!! ahoaguaahoanan]
… Okay, now you’re going to take us back to where you left your truck. Now move it!
Lee is umm all scruffy and umm… Hot here!!!
[Such a shame Lee doesn’t have any stubble?! After a night in the woods?? Rather neglectful (or kind?) of the baddies to not take away Lee’s portable electric razor Estee Lauder would be proud! ]
Amanda gives the baddies a nod to get moving – with a tough face – you know the one she puts on when she has to scold the boys?!
Love Amanda acting tough and moving on the other big 6 men haaaaa! She gives Lee a sideways glance like – I got it!!!
-And don’t mess with her boys, you interrupted her long awaited kiss last night!!! she ain’t happy!!!
I couldn’t resist.. I made another gif meme
(I went to town with Amanda and the gun!)
I think the similarities between this and Ship of Spies already is huge!!!! Amanda was really scared for her life in Ship of Spies.. and ends up holding up Gillian at gun point (with the pole) – she helps Lee keep the baddies at bay just like she does here… I think this is all deliberate and sadly because I’m so time poor right now I haven’t been able to fully explore that.
Same writer of this ep and Ship of Spies by the way – so I think it’s extremely intentional!
Maybe if any of you agree – you can take this and run with it.. though understandably some exploration of this will need to wait for the tag..
Back to Utopia Now.. at the Walden pond compound, they are rounding up the baddies.. ROFL!! Love how 
Francine just takes the tissue out of Hollis’ mouth- so realistic looking- not! haaaa..he’s had a tissue in his mouth all night and they take it out and he’s just fine to talk?!!! whhahahaaha – It should have been stuck to his tongue!
Hollis: Listen, I think I figured out Sacker’s revenge plan…
[Yes because with the rocket launcher, and the cleared field.. you should be able to figure it out!]
…Come on. I hear the President’s helicopter.
Hollis and Francine run for the jeep. [with the wonky windscreen wipers?! and side view mirror!! ;)]
We see Duffy turn to watch them leave – Duffy- you’ve been replaced! (Phew he thinks maybe looks like he’s doing the paperwork on the captured baddies) 
I’m going to stop here.. What do you think of Amanda with the machine gun eh?! And how good did Lee looks bossing Rogan around?!
Byee all!!
"Just walk with me.." 
#2019 rewatch
So true! She’s still wearing her earrings and her watch … her eyeliner’s not smudged and her white long-sleeve turtleneck is … still white. Won’t Francine be jealous!
Meanwhile, Lee’s shirt and hunting vest are stained. He even sports a bruise on his upper right cheek and a ruggedly handsome five o’clock shadow. Those two close-ups of Lee deep in “intimidation mode” are sizzling hot!
Now the race is on! Which of the two Agency teams will save the Commander-in-Chief from Sacker’s revenge?
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A few random thoughts:
– I’m proud of the baddies for doing their washing. But don’t they wash their underwear??
– Pickett is quite cute – but not as cute as Lee 😉
– I think Amanda and the shooting by accident in the script vs the way it was filming was another e.g. of KJ ‘moving her character forward’ and avoiding the writers dumbing her down (which might have felt a bit like ‘A Class Act’ – shudder!)
– no stubble but perfect hair? Mine would have been flattened down and have tufts of grass sticking out of it after that night. And I bet they were both desperate for toothbrushes.
– it can be seen that, while happycamper worries about the twine, I have become obsessed with the personal hygeine issues faced by the characters in this episode.
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I think it’s funny that Hollis now says he has figured out what’s going on and that he knows Sacker’s plan. All this time spent with the little Utopians and not a clue. Instead of helping and working with Lee and Amanda initially, he assumes they want credit for his potential breaking of the operation and refuses help. I guess his night of being gagged and tied up gave him some great intuition and revelations as to what is going on. Wait a minute….Lee and Amanda had some revelations too…
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I’ve spent an unreasonable amount of time trying to figure out how that trip twine could make the tree hit Rogan like that, and have come to the conclusion that it couldn’t. Not mechanically possible, at least not without a much more elaborate set-up than Lee and Amanda have time to make.
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Happycamper, life’s too short to ponder such things. Fortunately for you, the Doctor is “IN”. Lie down on the couch, help yourself to the wine and chocolate, close your eyes and now simply imagine… imagine Rogan running back to see what’s become of Picket, tripping on the twine and falling over the edge.
See, no stupid elaborate makes life so much easier for us and for L&A. 😉
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This is a great way to deal with those silly consternations. Thank you, Kiwismh
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Chocolate . . .
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Yep! the laws of physics do not apply in smk land!! 😉
[that applies to the ‘trip twine’ and to Lee’s missing beard! 🙂 ]
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Amanda and an oozie! The last time she had a gun in her hands Lee yelled at her, this time I am thinking he was pretty proud pf her and a tad impressed to. What a woman! I can’t imagine shooting that thing by accident, I would think that would be more traumatic to the gun hating Amanda than if she had sprayed the sky over their heads with bullets on purpose. She is an adult, she knows the risks. I like the way Lee didn’t seem nervous about her with the gun, maybe he didn’t now what she would do with it, but I think he knew she would work with him. Just another illustration of how they are working out their teamwork and whose strengths are best in which moment. I ignore the rest of the silly plot holes. I can only imagine Lee thinking, “That is my girl! Is she? could she be? does she want to be? Do I want her to be?”… tee hee
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whooooo these kinda throw back to what I figured Lee might have fleetingly asked himself after Ship of spies!!
Drat I wish I had time to get my teeth into this ep and engage with your comments guys. So sorry I can’t right now! but So wonderful to hear from you all!!!
byeee
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Yes! But maybe these thoughts aren’t so fleeting now?
I hope you get a chance to comment soon, Iwsod. But I know how RL goes.
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Turning Rogan into a pair of button earrings?!? Ha!!!
“Going up” may be short for “Going up the river”, as in, up the Hudson River from NYC to SingSing prison. http://stuffnobodycaresabout.com/2012/05/27/where-did-the-saying-up-the-river-come-from/
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haaaa nice try LASinLA! 🙂
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🙂 I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch. The “going up as an accessory” phrase seems pretty common in police shows.
But maybe that’s where Francine and Amanda get their ear buttons — they are all former bad guys who’ve been transformed into tacky jewelry . . . whew, this comment is going in some weird directions. I’ll blame it on a coffee and chocolate cake overdose. 🙂
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Whooo hoo!! keep on consuming coffee and chocolate cake LASinLA! that’s all I can say! 😉
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This scene depends on the hope that the viewers have instant memory deletion… We have to forget that Francine has been out all night but still looks amazing. We have to forget that Lee and Amanda slept on the ground, waded through a swamp, ran from baddies, haven’t brushed their teeth and haven’t peed in days… but still look amazing and don’t appear to smell.
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Yeah I was looking forward to seeing a slight beard on lee. Make him scruffy looking
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Hey Greyfool great to see you stop by – it’s been ages!!!
Not too scruffy I hope?!
sorry, couldn’t resist 😉
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Agghh, no! chanting Burn Out, Burn Out!
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Ugh, when will i learn not to postpone a reboot request when I’m about to start a long update. Restart takes on a whole new meaning >:-((((
I agree that Lee is positively gorgeous in this episode. Those dazzling shots are reminiscent of a couple from Mongoose and Playing Possum. Lee looks his best when he’s in tough guy mode!
I think :Amanda, too, has never looking more beautiful as in this episode. Love her hair and that red checked shirt — so comfy and natural!
I’ve never read the script, but I always thought Amanda’s firing of the gun was accidental. I figured when glancing at Lee she accidentally shifted or something and squeezed the trigger, thus her surprised flinch afterwards. However, I can certainly see (and have entertained in the past) the possibility of her doing it on purpose and the reaction being because of the kickback. (While never having personal experience, I suspect that kind of gun would have a bit of one!) Amanda firing the gun by accident and whipping the stupid baddies into shape is very much a S1 style of scripting. Lee and Amanda silently communicating and then Amanda putting her newly developed skills into practice is much more this new S3 style. This reminds me of something BB said at the reunion about how important a little ambiguity is in acting, allowing people to put their own interpretations on it. A fun scene either way!
I like to think that the toothpick still in Rogan’s mouth after the fall is a little SMK nugget for our amusement. It fits the American southern stereotype that a true redneck never is without his toothpick! (Does redneck translate?)
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agreed! Amanda looks lovely (err for being lost in the woods overnight!) I love her in red!
Enjoyed the BB quote raffie thanks for sharing. I think he doesn’t give himself enough credit.. he wants to put things down to our imagination?? I think he contributes a lot to Lee Stetson.. more than just ambiguity – though I do see what he means.. we can take an inch of ambiguity and run a mile into an idea!! 🙂
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My favourite part of this scene is Amanda shooting the gun to scare the baddies into submission. The script has her shooting accidentally but I like the fact that the filmed version makes it a deliberate ploy on Amanda’s part. I like to imagine that by now she is at least a competent beginner with guns, and even though she may not like using a gun, she is professional enough now to know when a shot across the bow is called for and she’s not afraid to do it.
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Like I imagine them not chained together, I also imagine the stubble … Estee Lauder grunge look… OMG 😯 …. coherent thought gone …. swoon helmet ready …. back later when I have recovered… Thhhhhwump!
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It occurs to me that this episode calls for a great deal of imagination – everyone is looking stunning despite the fact they should all to one degree or another be looking somewhat bedraggled.
L&A have been on the run for almost 24 hours, fallen over, waded through a swamp, slept on the ground yet their clothes are still pristine and they both look stunning – not that I’m complaining about Lee looking stunning… ahem 😉 I’m glad he hasn’t dirtied up his chambray shirt. 😀
Francine has been out all night on patrol but not only does she look like she hasn’t lost a night’s sleep, her make-up and hair remain perfect. How does she do it?! Must be Agency training…
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Hey Kiwismh – your comment had me lol’ing!!! Agreed!!!! 🙂
Glad RL is letting you stop by and enjoy admiring Lee in the great outdoors 🙂
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Random Ramblings Oh My Heck! I totally missed that Rogan had the toothpick in his mouth the whole time. That is one Awesome Badguy Skill to have for sure!
I didn’t realize that the same writer did this and SOS. I can forgive the plot holes in both episodes 😉
And drool inducing screen shots, as always.
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Hey Cindy! thanks for reading and sharing some feedback.. so encouraging and put a big smile on my face 🙂 err that and Lee all scruffy lookin…
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