It’s night time and Amanda arrives home to find every light on in the house (!) and Dotty reading the paper, and the boys presumably in bed.. bit of a long day!
Amanda: Hello, Mother.
Dotty: Hi, Sweetheart. Another late night? [I guess this is a hint that Amanda has a lot of those]
Amanda: Oh well, yeah, you know the film business. [I wonder if this is a message from KJ and BG – that they work long hours! 
]
Dotty flatly: Not really.
Amanda: Oh.
Amanda plonks down her bag and falls onto the couch.. giving Dotty a big whiff! lol..
Dotty: awh! Amanda!!
Amanda reaches for Dotty’s feet and starts giving them a rub.
Amanda: what?
Dotty: Owh. You smell like a three-pack-a-day smoker.
Amanda: Well, I’ve been in the editing room all day. [My goodness, Amanda has the cover story down pat now!]
Dotty: You know, Amanda, you do things today that you never used to do. I mean, sometimes I don’t even think I know you any more.
[whooo we come back to the theme of secrets!!! This ties in nicely with Dotty’s comment in Sour Grapes about the wine on Amanda’s dress and rushing out after Penny’s phone call and saying she’ll ‘probably explain later’. Dotty responded: Sure you will. (as in- I know you won’t!) ]
Amanda: Oh, Mother, come on. You know me better than anybody in the world. What are you reading?
[Amanda seems to have come to terms with the part of her job which requires her to keep secrets from her mother.. Does Dotty really know Amanda better than anybody in the world? or is that a lie too?
Hmm.. I think at this point, Lee might know Amanda just as well.. what do you think?
I love how Amanda changes the subject.. good one Amanda!]
Dotty: Ohh…
[We see see a close up on the Senator and the leaked photo LOL at the article’s title “Rub-a-dub-dub Hot Tub…”- if you try and read the actual article it’s funny! it’s all general blurb about nothing which could be true of anything.. the first paragraph says: “the facts regarding the situation remains the same, state the authorities. Details concerning the action have been given a preliminary investigation but it is felt that only by a more detailed study will the true facts become known.” – so funny!!]
Dotty: Another FBI report on poor Senator Connors. [Another? lol I still want to think this photo shows Senator Connors helping an old guy with his towel 
]
Amanda: Oh, in the hot tub?
[I guess this is the second time the photo has been in the press- since at the IFF meeting yesterday we saw this photo in Lee’s slideshow at the meeting and he said it had already been leaked.. I guess that makes sense with Dotty’s use of ‘again’ too..]
Dotty: Yes. I mean, you know, I was like everybody else, I was intrigued…
…For about 10 seconds…
…Then I was ashamed of myself.
Amanda: Oh, why?
Dotty: Well, because. I mean, you know, 
we’re talking about… We’re talking about real people, with real families, with 
real careers…
[Whooo this diatribe of Dotty’s is a good one.. way to go Dotty – this statement is as true today as it was back then.. Sadly, I think this is happening more in the press these days…. not less, and more and more people are reading it.. I’ve always wondered if this wasn’t all some kind of jab at the press for reporting on Kj’s love life or something.. or Groan! How Kj is ‘no angel’ and all that rubbish!]
Amanda: Right.
Dotty: Well… I just don’t think that they should print that 
kind of garbage. Do you agree?
Amanda: Yes.
Dotty: All right, good.. I’m glad you said that.
Amanda: Huh.
Dotty: … because I want you to sign this.
Amanda: What is this?
Dotty: This is my letter to the editor, complaining.
Amanda: Oh!
Dotty: I mean, somebody has got to do something.
Amanda: What do you mean, Mother? Don’t you have an inquiring mind?
[I’ve always thought I missed the joke here.. is Amanda referring to something of the time in the 80s with the ‘inquiring mind’ reference?! Or is this a dig at The National Enquirer maybe?? and an article about KJ or BG?!
Any ideas anyone?]
Dotty: Amanda, will you be serious? Let 
me tell you something, honey. If you would take some time for a real cause, you would feel wonderful. Trust me.
Amanda smiles and nods at Dotty,
Amanda: You’re right, Mother.
Amanda gives Dotty the piece of paper she signed, and brushes her hands together – in what I guess is a ‘there! take that’ kinda motion?? what do you think? Again! I felt like this one went a bit over my head- is it a reference to something I don’t know about?! I’m not really getting the joke.. but okay whatev!
Dotty: Ohh!
Dotty is exasperated with Amanda.. and the scene finishes here..
It’s a little sad, that Dotty can’t know that Amanda already knows first hand the joys of fighting for a real cause – and for the ‘real people’ – this focus on real people is something Amanda often values herself.. it’s evident here where Amanda has learned her values – but at the same time, it’s sad that Amanda has to keep this a secret from Dotty.
I guess some secrets are kept for the good of others (and the script says keeping Ronson a secret from Mary was good too).
Other things should remain secret for the sake of national security, and some secrets should never be recorded or it leaves people open to blackmail.. I guess the world of spies/government etc. sees secrets as being for good or evil.. maybe Dotty’s reference to not wanting to hear about senator Connors also underlines this – some secrets are best left where they are?
Whoooooo plus- Dotty seems to realise Amanda is no longer being as open as she use to be, while she may not like it, she doesn’t press Amanda, and so maybe she realises Amanda’s secrets are hers, and she can choose if and when to share.. maybe??
What are you guys all making of the whole theme of secrets?]
Moving on, we see Evil Nick walking down the street, in his hat and dark glasses..He’s smoking!! He’s up to no good!
Nick enters a phone booth and dials Ronson’s number.
It seems Ronson’s office is in the pentagon. i.e the man is connected.. 
Ronson’s phone rings.. LOL why does he look at it like that?! does it not usually ring? whahahaaha.. LOL I guess he was probably waiting for Nick’s call..
Ronson: Hello?Nick: I’ve got some fascinating reading here, Captain…. 
…Address…. Phone numbers…. Maybe I’ll go see your daughter at her boarding school.
[Someone punch this jerk right in that mouth!
Mary was conceived in 1966.. this would be what.. 1985? which makes Mary about 19 yrs.. would she still be at boarding school?]
Ronson: Don’t even think about it. I’ve got what you want. What took so long for you to call? I’ve been waiting all day.
Nick: Relax, relax. Just getting my ducks in a row.
Ronson: While I’m twisting in the wind, wondering whether I still have a career and a family? Damn you!
[I don’t know what it is about Ronson here.. but his disgust and anger over the phone at Nick just doesn’t seem real.. the acting seems very wooden and clunky to me.. but.. whatev!
No wedding ring on Ronson? I thought he said he was married..]
Nick: Things’ll be just fine, if you’ve got what I want…
[Ah there it is! Nick Cross philosophy of life summed up in one sentence!]
…A phone booth—corner of 22nd and Chesapeake. 45 minutes.
Ronson: Bring the file. All of it!
[Oh dear.. this was never going to work out.. how does he know Nick won’t make a copy? or leak the information once he gets what he wants?
I remember thinking at this point – why not just go tell Mary the truth?!
If she’s 19 years old, she’ll be okay. I mean sure it will be shock, but maybe she’d like to know her biological father?? and she’s not going to be disadvantaged in the 80s by being born out of wedlock and all that – much better than having a biological father who sold state secrets to a low life!!! ]
The scene ends with Ronson hanging up on Nick and taking a deep breath.. what to do huh.. Umm.. just tell Mary already!
We see a shot of Lee driving the corvette past the white house.. We hear Billy’s voice off camera talking to Lee in his car: Listen; I just got a call from Ronson. Cross contacted 
him. They’re going to meet in 45 minutes, at the Chesapeake pipe factory.
Lee : All right, then I want a dozen men (oh? no women need apply?!) at 22nd and Chesapeake, in 30
minutes. And I want a sharpshooter. The best you’ve got, Billy.
Billy: You got it.
Lee orders it? Billy gives it! tee heee.. I find Lee the boss funny.. but lol I do see that really, Billy is giving his top agent what he needs to do the job
Hope everyone is well and all ready to celebrate Christmas with friends and family.. Christmas can be a tough time.. and a very special time – full of many mixed emotions – here’s hoping your Christmas leans more toward the good times than the not so good times..
Anything you’d like to share about this part of the episode or the episode so far??? I’d love to hear whatever you’d like to share byeee!
"Just walk with me.." 
Something that just occurred to me after looking at the way she writes letters to the editor — imagine what Dotty’s Twitter account would be like! WOW!
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That account would be hilarious to follow
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I love this!!! What a great idea. Someone should write that!!! 🙂
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I’ve also always found Ronson to be boring and wooden. Perhaps that’s the actor’s idea of how a military guy would act, but I disagree and it makes me want to hit the fast-forward button every time he’s on the screen. (However, if Lee is also in the scene, I find that urge resistable.)
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Hey Raffie! Yes that’s a good theory.. military man = wooden! (poor military men!)
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This episode is full of little oddities. The foot rub seems weird to me – but may be that’s just me.
Nick is really an unappealing baddie – he looks seedy, he dresses seedy, he’s into dealing in people’s seedy secrets. So far he scores high on the Ick scale but low in the seriously scary baddie stakes.
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I’ve always found the foot rub a bit out of place too! And Nick is not attractive, nor is he even magnetic/compelling like some baddies are. Agnes, you can do so much better!
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Indeed! Agnes can do way better!!!
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kiwismh I found myself heartily agreeing with this entire comment! 🙂
foot rub to me has too many err other connotations – I found it weird too but was thinking it was just me! lol!!
Nick is totally ick! you’ve nailed it – exactly!!!
Not even Bjo would have a crush on this baddie.. whahaahahahaa.. BJo- when you stop by, we’d love to hear what you make of Nick tee hee…
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LOL! Yep, not even I would have a crush on this baddie! You are correct, iwsod. I do think he has some cute moments and I like his sense of humor – the writers gave him some good lines. But overall he’s heinous. I do think he’s smarter than your average baddie though, so I’ll give him points for that. And he has his own code of honor, which I also give him points for. He could have done something way more dastardly to Agnes instead of cuffing her to the pipe to be found by the fire department. So all in all he’s not doing too badly. The dry cleaning-baddie in VM was awful…I don’t think I could give him any points. He was a psycho.
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I think that the National Enquirer had a slogan in the 80s of ‘Enquiring minds want to know’, so they are probably making a play on that.
IMHO, Amanda in this scene is just letting her mother think she is really doing something about the pictures by writing her letters, when in truth Amanda is doing more by actually pursuing Nick. I always took Amanda’s hand slapping as a way of saying that I signed the petition and I’ve done my part. Irony, I like that 🙂
Honestly, this is not one of my favorite episodes although I do like some of the gems between Lee and Amanda.
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Ahhhh thanks everyone – Patricia (whose comment was held up in moderation for half a day) & Melissa for clearing that one up!
Oh phew glad it’s not just me Melissa.. this ep has a few fab moments in it. but as a whole it kinda falls flat. Love your honesty Melissa! Indeed the gems between Lee and Amanda are very precious gems indeed 🙂
I can see why this ep and reach for the sky were held off until a bit further into season 3 – if they had opened the new season with these – I’m not sure we would have gotten a season 4!!! [ which for me gives further fodder for the argument that these two eps were much earlier in the season but pushed back]
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Dotty knows Amanda, but not quite as well as she’s always thought, and I don’t think it’s just because of Amanda’s work with the Agency. Amanda confides things to her mother, but I don’t think she’s ever confided everything, probably because she didn’t think her mother would understand or approve.
In the early episodes, Amanda really wasn’t in love with Dean, and her mother could never quite figure that out. Amanda liked Dean, and he was probably an okay guy (even though he did seem to think that bookends were a romantic gift), but she didn’t really love him, and I think she had trouble explaining that to both Dean and her mother. She mostly kept saying that she wasn’t ready to get married again, and neither of them really understood that, either.
I think people in general, when someone they know doesn’t really express their feelings about certain things (or have feelings that are difficult to understand), kind of fill in the blanks with what they think the other person should feel or what they would feel themselves. Dotty does this all the time, assuming that Amanda’s odd behavior and sudden disappearances are probably all about love affairs, because that’s what it would be with her (she has very definite priorities there). I think she only just starting to pick up on the fact that Amanda’s priorities aren’t quite the same as hers and that there’s a part of Amanda’s life that she really knows nothing about.
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I like your thought process here, Jestress. Dotty’s one of those people who assumes she knows people. I love her dearly, but she doesn’t look much below the surface\read between the lines. She believes what she wants to believes.
Amanda is one of those people who comes across as very open (because of her charm and her ‘giving’ nature) but she actually protects herself – by not disclosing a lot of her deeper feelings – even from the people closest to her.
She fits in a lot with what other people want of her and we only occasionally see flashes of the more rebellious Amanda (eg with some of her snarky comments to Francine) or what she really wants for herself. I think we’re starting to get hints of what she wants at this stage in season 3 (as she asserts herself more professionally), but she’s not yet letting on what she wants from her relationship with Lee. In some ways, she’s just as closed off as Lee.
And I agree with iwsod that Lee may well know Amanda better than Dotty at this point.
On a side note – doesn’t KJ look beautiful in this scene?
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Yes I liked your comments too Jestress!!!
I think both Jestress and Learjet have some very interesting comments here on Dotty – all sounds good to me!
I guess Dotty knows Amanda’s core values.. it’s how Amanda actually carries out those values that dotty has no clue about.. but.. then again – why did Dotty think Amanda was having an affair with Bud Marcher?! lol.. or is that Dotty thinking Amanda can sometimes act out of character because everyone needs a little romance now and again? lol think I’ve just talked myself into a circle! haaaa
Love these comments about how feisty Amanda is being revealed – she’s blossoming at this stage isn’t she.. with her newly expanding career and the potential love match with Lee – whooo haaaa look out!
Not yet letting on what she wants – iwsod must bite her tongue.. for now!!!!!!
Agreed KJ looks gorgeous.. there’s a few moments in this ep where both BB and KJ just look gorgeous.. a still more moments to come..
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I agree – am liking this conversation about Dotty. I think that when Dotty fills in the gaps of missing information on Amanda’s life, she is having Amanda act and think like she (Dotty would act and think.) I think that’s what Learjet said.
As much as Amanda loves her mother, they are from a different generation. I think Dotty comes across as being pretty “hip” for a grandmother, especially for the 80’s. She’s very youthful. But still, I think Dotty really could not relate to Amanda’s desire to be a professional woman. I think Dotty’s idea of a woman professional is a traditional one such as secretary, typist, nurse, teacher, etc. and not a spy. I think Dotty might think that a bit scandalous perhaps?
I think that Dotty thinks Amanda’s working for a film company is probably also a bit scandalous because of the hours and having to work with “those film people”. “film people” are not normal people, at least not in Dotty’s mind – I must agree with her to a point 🙂 But Dotty takes it in stride and lets her daughter go. Although I think she has no idea just what changes are happening inside Amanda because a)Amanda can’t tell her and b)because Amanda probably wouldn’t want to tell her too much because she probably thinks her mother wouldn’t approve or understand, I do think she sees changes for the better in her daughter. Surely she must notice that Amanda is much happier in some respects. She seems a happier person to me.
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Yep, I completely agree! Right down to the point about Amanda seeming open but actually not disclosing her deeper feeling and being as closed off as Lee in some ways.
Dotty really continues to be the stereotypical product of her generation. (It was sort of trendy and tiresome humor in the late 70’s early 80’s to tweak with the stereotype by bestowing these older generation women with a sexual appetite.) But what Dotty wants for Amanda is a good man to complete a happy, romantic life. I think she has the capability of deeper thinking, but prefers not to. That would take her to places that would challenge her ideal of what a happy home looks like, and she’d just as soon stay in her comfort zoned. I continue to appreciate the show’s juxtaposing of Dotty’s character and Amanda’s blossoming new character in this way. The dynamic evolves across the seasons, but the undercurrents are still always there.
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Great insights Raffie! 🙂
Good call with Dotty and her not wanting to be challenged too much.. especially when it comes to her daughter!
Then again – in her reaction to the article about Senator Connors – we saw that Dotty showed some self-reflection here which made her uncomfortable… she realised she was not happy with her reaction to the article.. and she challenged herself to do better and be better – I wonder if we are beginning to see with Dotty a more aware/less head in the clouds Dotty – IMHO Dotty seems to have been grappling with Amanda’s career, and keeping secrets lately.. and Dotty seems to be starting to accept this.. maybe she’s accepting reality – lol maybe this has some kind of parallel to Agnes’ own journey of having to face reality here in this episode.. hmm! interesting!
byeeee
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I just wanted to add that the National Enquirer advertised with the line, ” inquiring minds want to know.” and thats why Amanda says that to her mother.
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You beat me to it 🙂
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