Inside the elevator of the big bad high rise..
Amanda and Lee attempt to access the hidden floor. Whooo it’s the magical manicure set again.. twice in one episode?! Lee attempts to pick the lock. lol.. it’s umm not very high tech is it..
Amanda: You sure you can get it?
Lee: I don’t know. [Yeah! you’d think it would be hard, I mean.. it’s Cyclops!]
Amanda: Oh yeah, I’m sure you can. I mean c’mon, you were the only fraternity guy who could get into the back door of the Kappa House in ten seconds flat.
Lee: Did I tell you that?
Amanda: Yeah, you told me that. I was a Kappa.
Lee: You were a Kappa?
Amanda: Yeah, I told you that.
Lee: Yeah, you did.
Amanda: Yeah.
Love how Lee raises his eyebrows!
– come on everyone! What do you think Lee is thinking here?!
A cute little moment – love how they insert these little sweet character moments between the action- this is top shelf smk! What smk does best! Very coupley conversation huh.. sounds like they’ve been talking about more than just shop talk 😉
My guess? Lee seems a bit bemused when he realises he told Amanda that – I think Lee is thinking- man.. I told you that?! I’ve told you a lot.. and.. you’re okay with that?! 
Before it dawns on Lee that he told Amanda this stuff and his reaction to that– I think there is a hint of new admiration for Amanda when it dawns on him that she was a Kappa.. Lee likes Kappa’s.. and this new way of seeing Amanda that he is coming to embrace is helping to be open to enjoying these things about her – well that’s my guess at this point anyway… maybe you guys have a better way of seeing this that I prefer 
Lee: I’ve never seen anything quite like this…
[Amanda? or the lock? tee hee.. well this cracks me up.. looks like a piddly normal lock to me.. but talk up your skills there Lee I’m sure it will impress Amanda! Amanda did seem mighty proud of Lee’s record at breaking into Kappa house!]
(the elevator starts moving and doing it’s special lights on the display)
…A-ha!
Amanda: Ahhh.
Lee looks intrigued- ohh so that’s what happens…. Whereas Amanda’s reaction is – uh oh umm we are really doing this??!!! It’s moving!!!!
Lee pulls the key out..
Lee: There.
Both Lee and Amanda stand up and silently watch the lights do their thing..
Lee: You sure you want to go through with this?
[getting to know you better Lee?? or.. Cyclops?? I know which one I’d rather do ]
Amanda looks nervous and a bit scared.
Amanda quietly: Yeah.
Lee silently looks at her.. not sure..
Amanda turns to look at Lee and more adamantly responds: Yeah!!!
Lee silently looks at Amanda..
They make quite a point of this here.. that Amanda is choosing to do battle with Cyclops and go into this dangerous situation.. can’t wait to hear what you all make of this!
Okay! here goes!!! We cut to outside the elevator and Amanda exits and lets out a deep 
breath- no sign of Lee..
Security Guard: Hold it right there!
Amanda: Ohhhhh!!!! Thank goodness, another human being. [debateable!]
…I have been stuck in that thing for what must have been hours going up and down, up and down,…UP AND DOWN!!!…
[Love the motioning Amanda does here.. completely distracting and overwhelms the security guard – guess it leads him to conclude Amanda is no threat – just a superfluous annoyance – just like Francine sees her ]
…. I got on at six just to zip up to seven to 
borrow a little coffee from purchasing,.. [I think she’s had enough coffee…] ..and that thing ran away with me… [whahaha]
…Up and down, up and down, up and down! What floor is this anyway?
[Amanda is genius!!]
Cranky Guard: What floor doesn’t make any difference. It’s private. How did you get up here?
[err she just told you how]
Incredulous Amanda: I pushed the button.
(This directs the guard over to the elevator to investigate) [Good one Amanda.. ]
Amanda Sighs. as the guard enters the elevator..
[knowing what’s coming! and relieved the guard has fallen for it?] Lee punches the guard in the face..
Guard: Oomph!
Lee: grunts or something. [hilarious transcribing BJo!]
Now that punch in the face looked real! Lee exits the elevator shaking off his hand he must have used to deliver the punch. Seeing he’s successfully knocked out the guard, Lee turns to Amanda.
Amanda gives another big sigh and holds out her hand for Lee to give her five..
Lee doesn’t hesitate – it’s like they wordlessly say to each other – Good job partner!!!
Then Amanda gives Lee five
What a team!! I like that this moment is all non verbal.. wondering how it plays out in the script- anyone??
Wordlessly they both bend down to deal with the unconscious guard.
Back to Billy.. he’s groaning still.. under a lamp still.. but.. alive still!
Thanks for the reminder about Billy.. LOL I was too busy enjoying Lee and Amanda’s cuteness.. very naughty of me!
On to the Cyclops meeting…
Zorbel: Admittedly, there have been a few inconveniences, but we now have them well under control.
Baddie 1 (Curtis St. Clair in script): Inconveniences? Sounds more like serious complications of the entire project.
Canaan: Aghaney’s suicide raised a few eyebrows, and Melrose appears to be working on his own… [soooo did Zorbel and Daisy neglect to mention Lee the agent was at Zorbel’s?? I mean Canaan knew about Lee the bank investigator.. and new he could potentially be a threat. Or is Canaan lying to Cyclops?? who knows.. This makes nooo sense to me]
…He’s an old stag stumbling out of retirement. Nothing to worry about.
[Interesting.. so he has no idea who Billy is huh..]
Baddie 2 (Derrick Blount in script): One billion dollars is a great deal to worry about, Charles. I’m worried. Our associates are worried. You and we can’t afford to stumble.
Canaan: We won’t. (Canaan nods to Zorbel for him to proceed): The plan.
I best call it a halt here.. soooo Lee and Amanda working together here is a joy to watch no?! They are enjoying being a team!!! and I am enjoying watching them enjoy it too!
Okay everyone.. byee for now!!! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this ep so far – whatever you’d like to share!!!! byeeeeee
"Just walk with me.." 
I took the “I’ve never seen anything like this before” as to mean the way the elevator is rigged with the hidden floor.
I think it’s interesting that in the first scene we have Amanda taking a test to become an operative and now it’s like she’s really getting the full-fledged experience. Division of labor based on skills, nervousness about going up to go after the bad guys, not to mention what’s coming. I love that writing structure.
P.S. I don’t mean to spam your blog, honestly. I just rediscovered the series last month and hadn’t known about your site and it’s what I’d have loved for any of my favorite series, so I can’t get enough:)
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LOL you are not spamming the blog it’s great to read your comments as you walk through the blog/show.
You would see that we try to keep the chatter here focused on the episodes – preferring not to send it off track [this makes it difficult to navigate the blog and conversations a few years on as you will have noticed! this blog keeps on walkin and never ends! we can come back to an episode anytime!] So, off topic chatter can take place over at Nedlindger’s or the Yuku forum.. – addresses are in the side bar.
Also, if you ever want to make contact with a fellow smk fan here you can let me know and I can email them on your behalf to give your email address – and then, if they choose they can email you back. So if I can help out at all do let me know-my email is in the sidebar.
Just note – if I don’t respond after a week or two about something it’s highly likely I’ve overlooked something and I could do with a reminder -so do feel free to chase up things I miss – I know I am not perfect and sometimes can do with a reminder 🙂
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I could also picture the Kappa exchange that Lee temporarily forgot about as being part of some chit chat that they shared while L&A were on a stake out or something like that. I think I like this image just as much if not more than them sharing the information in a date as it suggests a relaxed, easy friendship that comfortably wanders many places during quiet moments on the job.
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Oh, and Lee/BB’s response to Amanda’s Kappa knowledge (“I told you that?”, etc) does sound like he’s just going with the flow, wherever KJ is taking it!
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The whole sorority and fraternity thing was never my cup of tea and thankfully there were no Greek societies at the university I attended.
I like how more of their personal conversations are being interspersed with their professional work. We get to see snippets of what is going on outside of their work relationship. They seem to have been having a lot of these ‘no shop talk’ dinners and they may not realize how much or to what extent all that they have shared with one another.
I think back to Amanda’s knowing smile in the tag of Sour Grapes. Something had to have transpired that we were not privy to see that has moved them a bit forward. We get to see that things have moved forward in their reactions and responses to one another, especially in this elevator scene.
In quite a few of these S3 episodes we have been able to see and make connections to episodes in previous seasons that show us just how far they have come professionally and personally. It the very first episode Lee asks Amanda to ‘walk’ with him. I’ve been thinking that that simple request has an even greater meaning now. Their relationship (both professional and personal) has not been one that has been rushed or hurried through, just as a walk is not a race. It has been a much more satisfying journey because of the stops and scenery along the way. We have time to savor what is going on.
Lee expressed immediately that he needed Amanda’s help. In the last post Amanda expressed to Lee how he still needed her. This walk is ongoing. All of these little asides that we get from time to time helps to build the anticipation and excitement for what is happening between these two. We are excited for the future possibilities.
Both KJ and BB knew these characters so well and knew what needed to happen to bring everyone else along on this walk. They knew just how much to give and how much to hold back. It’s nice to just kind of look back every once in a while.
I like the giving each other five, even though I think that even by the 80s it was a little played out. I could only imagine Lee’s thoughts and facial expressions as Amanda is going full on ramble in this. I can imagine the discussion and plan in the car on the way.
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I love what you wrote here, I could not have said it better myself!
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Love how Lee raises his eyebrows, love that smile on Amanda’s face. I have always wondered why Lee doesn’t remember exactly how she knew about him and the Kappa house o that she was a Kappa, but I like someone’s explanation that they had begun have so many personal chats that they can’t remember all the facts. Sounds good to me. They sure do seem even more interpersonal here than in SG, don’t they? The opening of car doors and grabbing keys has grown into these tight little flirty conversations and a whole new level of comfort with one another. They appear to be having no trouble combining their working and personal relationships, in fact the blending of the two appears to be an asset here in this episode.
Their being so in sync here also helps me to think that Lee’s comments in the last scene about Amanda being lucky etc. were out of old protective patterns. Here he seems thrilled to have her by his side. He appears to be the one encouraging her and has no doubts that she can pull it off. He doesn’t show any signs of being reluctant to give her a share in this and instead he is embracing these new aspects of their partnership fully. It sure is a joy to watch.
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Love this little Kappa conversation in the elevator. They have indeedy been talking more than shop in their time together. That’s telling. Not so sure there’s anything special about being a Kappa, unless that was the only sorority on Lee’s campus at the time. Do UVA Kappa’s have a certain reputation?
Love how Lee is looking at Amanda here. I think he is very confident in her to pull this off. More confident than she even is in herself. I guess that’s why he doesn’t put up much fight…he knows her intuition is pretty darn good and will help him get his part of the job done.
This is one of my favorite Amandarambles!! KJ is hysterical here! Glad you like my noise transcriptions, iwsod! Hahaha – I had no idea what letters to use to make that noise phonetically…. I love seeing them really work as a team here. I think the more confidence Lee has in Amanda as an agent, the more he can trust her. The more he trusts her, the more I think he falls for her. I think Amanda has been earning lots and lots of trust so far in S3, and it all stems from her exponential professional growth beginning with the latter part of S2. So great to see!! This is my favorite part of S3 so far, I think, watching Amanda grow and watching Lee watch it, value it, and trust it.
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BJo thanks so much for responding to my posts.. I always look forward to hearing your feedback – whenever it is you get to it (no pressure, life’s busy! I get it!! 🙂 )
I was giggling away while I incorporated your transcribed sounds into the posts tee hee!!
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Those Cyclops baddies sure are sneaky! They hid the missing 41st floor penthouse on the third floor! Look at the floor marker to the left of the elevator doors when Amanda gets out. It clearly has the number “3” on it. No wonder that elevator just kept going up and down, UP AND DOWN! 😉
In my mind, I’m imagining them doing several takes of the “Lee Picks the Lock in the Elevator” scene, and in each one KJ ad-libs something different. (What did she say? Anyone feeling creative?) I wonder if Lee’s look was partly Lee thinking “Wow, we’ve told each other a lot!” and partly BB thinking “Wow, that one came out of left field!”
I totally think Canaan is trying to soft-peddle the “inconveniences” to protect his share of the take and save his own hide. No honor among thieves.
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KJ is absolutely flipping brilliant!
You know, I have a mental image (well, mental film-strip) of the Kappa house ad-lib scene… it’s probably not going to translate very well, ‘cos my brain is a scary place, but it goes something like this and it involves the cliche/metaphors–“getting on the band-wagon” and “missing/chasing the bus” (thanks to kiwismh for the Benny Hill milk-cart image in my brain, so the band-wagon is a cross between the milk wagon and a golf cart [a la the hostage swap scene in SBTB):
Amanda: Oh yeah, I’m sure you can. I mean c’mon, you were the only fraternity guy who could get into the back door of the Kappa House in ten seconds flat.
(Kate scurries off and jumps onto the milk wagon golf cart.)
Lee: Did I tell you that?
(Bruce thinks WTF and looks sideways.)
Amanda: Yeah, you told me that. I was a Kappa.
(Kate yells as she starts driving the cart away.)
Lee: You were a Kappa?
(Bruce starts running behind the cart.)
Amanda: Yeah, I told you that.
(Kate’s smiling at Bruce trying to keep up.)
Lee: Yeah, you did.
(Bruce catches the cart and climbs on board.)
Amanda: Yeah.
(Kate keeps driving. Bruce holds on to his seat and raises his eyebrows.)
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KJ was definitely in the driver’s seat…
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Oh, nuts. (#&$@+/?6&$!!!)
I didn’t mean to like my own comment. 😦 Stupid kindle…
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Whooooo!!!! This makes perfect sense KC!!!
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Good catch on the third floor 2Golden!!!
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I liked the interaction of Lee and Amanda in the lift, even though I didn’t understand, exactly what they were talking about, with Kappa. I was waiting to see the text written down. What is Kappa? it might make more sense if I knew what it was…Does it mean they went to the same University?
Love the UP & DOWN scene too!!
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Hi Carol, “Kappa” refers to one of many societies for university students which, in the US, use Greek letters for their names. This particular one is all female.
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To me it’s always seemed weird that Amanda gets out of the elevator to be confronted by a guard carrying a serious machine gun (more specifically what appears to be a Tecuzi-9 submachine gun) and doesn’t blink an eyelid. Instead she just seems to treat this as normal and launches into her cover story. Surely a civilian getting out of a lift in a commercial or commercial/residential building would at least initially be taken aback by being confronted with a machine gun toting guard?? And he’s got the gun pointed at her the whole time! Yikes! 😯 Looks like the sort of gun that could shoot 30 Amandas a second!
The script says the guard’s name is Ernie… and he drives the fastest milk cart in the west! 😀 Ha, no, I added that last bit courtesy of Benny Hill. (I’ll post the video over at Neds.)
The script says :
Amanda gestures to the panel inside the elevator. As Ernie leans in for a look, Lee jumps through the maintenance panel in the ceiling which has been removed. Two silent, efficient blows and Ernie’s down and out.
Ernie the milkman had similar bad luck. 😉
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LOL I”m not sure about the Benny Hill reference.. but you have a great point! it is not normal to see a guard with a machine gun!!! She should have been exclaiming eek!!! Good call!
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I don’t understand “fraternity” and “Kappa” so I can’t really get much of a handle on how these two concepts might be significant to L&A. Perhaps our American friends can enlighten myself and others who aren’t familiar with this slice of American University(?) life.
I do like the implication though that L&A have had so many non-work discussions (dates) now that they have clearly shared a great deal of personal info – too much to keep track of obviously. Probably the exchange of personal info has been helped by a glass or two of wine as well. 😉 (Is that why they are “forgetting” how much they have told each other?)
Lee is impressed with Amanda’s bravery here. They know that Cyclops is a serious criminal organisation and they have already seen that it is capable of some violence towards anyone who gets in their way, but Amanda is not flinching from doing her part here.
The Script
The dialog in the lift is extremely brief :
AMANDA : Can you get it, Lee?
LEE :I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything quite like this…
(something clicks) Aha! Open Sesame!
(beat)You sure you want to go through with this?
Amanda nods, her face flushed with excitement. Lee releases the STOP button, manipulates the pick and the elevator starts upwards.
Then cut to the lift opening, Amanda emerging to be confronted by the guard.
No talk about fraternity and kappa. Maybe this is another example of last minute ad-libbing or script re-write by BB & KJ?
I think we can all agree that what was filmed in this case is sooooo much more satisfying. 😀
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Hi kiwismh,
I was just struggling with the same thing. We do not have these fraternity thing so much here in Germany and if they do have different names. So I was looking up Kappa and what I found is this German Wikipedia Article:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_Kappa_Gamma
As you can see, Kate Jackson was/is a member. With this I am quite sure it was ad-libbing.
I really like it. Brilliant!
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Thanks MarA! The snippits of the script and this information highlight how much KJ and BB added to the goodness of SMK. I always had the idea ‘popular girls’ belonged to sororities. Interesting, as Iwsod implies, that Lee comes to see that Amanda actually might have been the kind of girl he ‘pursued’ in his youth.
To get back to Amanda’s performance about the lift going up and down, I think this is possibly KJ’s best solo comedy mini-scene in the whole series. It cracks me up every time! (I do wonder find myself wondering why she would have taken a lift from floor 6 to 7 instead of the stairs 😀 )
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I have looked up fraternity and sorority on Wikipedia. I don’t quite get the point of it all but I do like the idea that you have here Learjet that “Lee comes to see that Amanda actually might have been the kind of girl he pursued in his youth.” I now have a better understanding of the conversation thanks to your post. Cheers! 😀
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Also reference the movie Animal House, which involves frats and sororities and a younger Martha Smith… 😉
Toga! Toga!
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That plot makes me think of Lee and Francine playing backgammon. Brain bleach please!
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No problem:
http://mindbleach.org/
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I’ve been thinking about Amanda being a Kappa and being the kind of girl Lee might have pursued in his youth. In Mongoose we learn that Amanda was a cheerleader, she even showed off her pom-pom fluffing skills in SD. But even though she was popular she still had time for Conrad and made him feel better about himself. So maybe her sorority was one that had more than popularity going for it. It would certainly attest to the type of woman she turned out to be.
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Wow!! what a fantastic find MarA! You make a great detective!!! Or was it luck? guesses?? (lol let it go iwsod 😉 )
Seriously though – when you start digging into smk and the content you just never know what you will find – welcome to the rabbit hole MarA! haaaaaa!!!
I think your idea about the kappa thing being about KJ and ad-libbing is genius!
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Hey iwsod, you are very kind, to be honest this was pure luck. I was just trying to find some more information on this Sorority Kappa thing and I was very surprised to find KJs Name in the Wikipedia article.
However, I really like detective work and digging into details. Also my MBTI results were saying this, when I did it a few years ago. 🙂
I am so glad to have found this rabbit hole and that there seem to be enough space for all of us. It is such a great place that I find myself more and more down here and sometimes really need to kick myself to get back to RL.
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I was teasing you with the Luck reference 🙂 If you had not gotten curious and gone looking – you would not have found it.. so I say you had to be looking to find it – plus you came up with a great conclusion about what it could mean.. not luck! 🙂
LOL yes I know what you mean.. must be disciplined to not spend too much time on smk!!! that rabbit hole is mighty tempting sometimes!! 🙂
I’m just getting ready to post the next post now..
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Don’t feel badly for being confused over fraternities and sororities; I’m from the US and I don’t exactly get it either. Part of the reason is that there is so much variation among them. Some are academic or honor societies, and some are more social. Some have a reputation for wild partying and/or pranks and hazing. It’s a cliche that fraternity/sorority members are attractive to the opposite sex; explains why Lee was so good at getting in. So, it looks like his lock-picking skills pre-dated his spy days? Good catch, MarA, about KJ being a RL Kappa member. I’m with you in thinking that makes it pretty certain this was an ad-lib.
I think we can see in this episode how comfortable KJ and BB are working with each other by now, and I think that contributes to the feeling of L&A being so comfortable with each other, as well. I love so many of the little things in these last few scenes; the ease with which L&A banter back and forth (You’re a cab), Lee still trying to keep Amanda out of danger but his ready acceptance of his need for her when she points it out to him. He’s come such a long way! The Kappa dialogue is great, as well as KJ’s “up and down” rant and the silent double-five they share after Lee takes out the security guard. And oh, I know it was a few posts ago already, but I love Lee’s blank look and “shrugging” his thumbs when Amanda points out that she’s as unofficial as it gets. The teamwork has just been getting better and better; although they’ve always had a lot of non-verbal communication going on, they are just about able to read each others’ minds in this episode. So much friendly subtext running through what they say and what they don’t say. In my mind that is so crucial for a relationship to progress, so it makes it really easy to believe that these two are hovering on the brink of big changes.
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LOL, I never understood fraternities or sororities either. My husband belonged to one long before I met him and I can’t even repeat his rather storied adventures, so not PG! 😉 When I went to college we didn’t even have them, it was a much more anti-establishment college at the time, small and politically active.
This is one of my favorite Amandarambles too, “up and down, up and down!” runs back down the rabbit hole with hot chocolate and ipad in hand to watch more SMK goodness- see y’all there!
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