7/29 Season Three, Episode 11: Wrong Way Home–Scarecrow and Mrs King

17 responses to “7/29 Season Three, Episode 11: Wrong Way Home–Scarecrow and Mrs King”

1. BJo | February 24, 2015 at 11:48 pm | Reply

   Quartermaster – what a word?!? – it’s basically the supplies guy. Or gal – whatev – “guy/guys” to me is not necessarily gender specific. For some reason, I like this word. I don’ t know why. I also like the man who does the job and his name – Leatherneck – very nice sounding, very manly – guess he was a marine? I love these guest stars – especially the ones who play good supporting characters. I also have a bit of a weakness for some of our blue-eyed baddies, but no one is perfect 😉 Leatherneck just seems so casual and calm – very even and stable. I like that in a man. It makes him very handsome IMO. I think I’m also a sucker for his bit of an accent. And I love that he can teach you to take out the baddie with a gun and arm you with crazy chewing gum! Okay – that’s enough gushing about our Quartermaster.

   I’m thinking that this ID card – is just that – an ID card that says who he is. There may even be an Agency affiliation on it or something, but I don’t think it’s an employee badge. For that he’d have to go through background, etc. I think this ID card is probably not very different than the one Amanda wears. I would doubt it would give him access to anything.

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   • learjet1 | February 25, 2015 at 8:24 am | Reply

     What accent does Leatherneck have???

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     • BJo | February 25, 2015 at 8:33 am | Reply

       I need to go back and listen again and the scene in OTL, but I think it’s sort of a drawl – but not necessarily southern. Maybe Texas way? Anyone out there from that neck of the woods confirm?

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       • learjet1 | February 25, 2015 at 8:45 am | Reply

         BTW, I also find Leatherneck attractive….rugged yet wholesome. He’d be able to hunt for food, fix your burst pipe but also have an intelligent conversation with you.

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         • BJo | February 25, 2015 at 9:04 am | Reply

           That sounds a little familiar 😉

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       • valeriejw | February 25, 2015 at 9:42 am | Reply

         The actor who plays Leatherneck is from Oklahoma, so that might explain the accent.

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         • BJo | February 25, 2015 at 11:23 am | Reply

           Thanks,valeriejw! I’ll score that an outer bullseye!

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2. morley | February 22, 2015 at 2:13 pm | Reply

   You know, Rag Mop had on the same hat that Leatherneck just gave Shamba.I do like Leatherneck, he doesn’t have any of that Agency stuffiness that some of the others have. He seems like a nice guy, tough but nice.

   I wonder if Lee wanted to get as far as he could in the case before he saw Amanda? I am sure he is all kinds of anxious to see Amanda. Eager, nervous etc. His “how much does she know?” Could be to assess the case and Amanda’s emotional state, as well as his own. This episode is a perfect blend of their personal relationship mixing with their professional one. That is tough.

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   • BJo | February 24, 2015 at 11:54 pm | Reply

     That hat is making the rounds! 😉 Lee also wore it in SBTB – when he was playing a janitor before he tackled the “nun”. I wonder just where else we’ve seen it. This was before the Nationals came to town, so it’s the only home baseball team to cheer for.

     I do think that Lee needed some time to rein in his emotions after discovering that Joe King was Amanda’s ex. I wonder if he volunteered to go pick up Shamba from the airport so he’d have time to think about this and come up with a plan or an approach. Poor guy, he’s got to be wondering and just a little bit afraid of just what he’s going to find behind this “locked door” of Amanda’s.

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3. happycamper | February 22, 2015 at 9:32 am | Reply

   It had never occured to me that Shamba’s ID card was an Agency badge. I thought it was some form of (fake) ID to help him not stick out as a foreigner, just like the credit card and used cash. I see the humor in this scene not as an attempt to stereotype foreigners, but the joke’s on us: we think, here, have a baseball cap, credit card(!), slang book and chewing gum, and that’s all you need to fit in as an American. Leatherneck acts as though he could turn Shamba loose and no one would notice that he didn’t know his way around. For some reason, this line of Shamba’s about “just because it’s superstition doesn’t mean it’s not true” reinforces the ambiguity about him. Is he a bad guy or a good guy? Who’s playing with who, here? He also rolls his eyes as he takes the stuff from Leatherneck, leading me to believe he’s thinking, “these Americans are swallowing it hook, line and sinker!” Ah, I see Lee thinks the same as me. And what is it about the chewing gum? Is chewing gum more stereotypically American than I realize? Or was in the 80’s?

   I take Lee’s question about “How much does Amanda know?” to be, not “does she have any information for us?” but “Is there anything I’m going to have to tell her?” And while Billy may be making an assumption when he says Amanda doesn’t know anything more than they do, it’s not a really big assumption. Amanda says she heard from Prescott, and Prescott doesn’t know anything more either. And really, the only thing Amanda knows that they (maybe) don’t is that Joe is in DC. She doesn’t know where to find him, and he actually gave her less info than Prescott did.

   I agree with whoever was pointing out that both Lee and Amanda seem glad the other knows about it without having to tell them (one fringe benefit of working at a spy agency). I can imagine that each is thinking it would be an awkward conversation, especially if, as it seems, Joe has been an off-limits topic.

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4. 2Goldens | February 22, 2015 at 4:10 am | Reply

   Yes, but just because it is superstition, doesn’t mean it isn’t true.

   I love this line of Shamba’s, both in the context of the episode and on its own. It makes a wise point about respecting the beliefs, customs and behaviors of other cultures. Just because you may not believe the things that I believe (maybe thinking they have no validity based on your knowledge or experience), doesn’t mean they don’t have truth to me. I think it makes an excellent point out of all this goofy stereotyping that’s been going on with Shamba. Over all, this episode seems to have a lot more intentional subtlety than many that we’ve seen.

   I also really like the way Shamba says this line. He says it with a lot of gravity and a knowing look. To me it hints that there is much more depth and wisdom in this person than he’s currently choosing to show.

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   • Cindy Davis | February 22, 2015 at 3:40 pm | Reply

     Always loved the superstition line and the way Shamba says it. It gave me a “ahhhhh” – much more to this character than meets the eye’ moment.

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   • raffie5 | February 23, 2015 at 12:12 am | Reply

     Well said, 2Goldens! I love the little nuggets of wisdom that SMK sprinkles in among all its lighter-weight humor. And the line was well-placed, just at the point that we viewers may have decided that Shamba was not to be taken too seriously.

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5. Valerie | February 22, 2015 at 1:14 am | Reply

   So much good stuff in this episode in such a short time. I was thinking back to Lee being the one to escort Shamba around and his statement about not usually being the one to have to do it. With the Mr. Brand episode we see that hosting or escorting a visiting fellow law enforcement official is something that the Agency does as a courtesy so that the same courtesy will extended when the Agency visits another country. We also see that Amanda has been one of those doing the hosting and escorting. And Lee is well aware of what she’s had to go through, especially with the octopus from Interpol. When Amanda found out Brand was an accountant she told Lee he owed her for it. In a way this is Lee returning that favor. Amanda is his case, his special assignment and he is going to do whatever it takes and put up with whatever he has to to help her.

   I also think it is interesting that Amanda and Lee haven’t really seen each other. Neither of the parts of this little triangle have actually seen each other. For most of this season, and this series for that matter, we have watched Lee and Amanda become more and more attuned to each other and more in sync with one another. And just when we start to really see some progress it all gets thrown out of whack with Joe’s arrival. It was bound to happen sooner or later, either by his appearance or by a conversation they would most likely have to have.

   This lack of seeing one another just builds more and more anticipation. We know how Amanda reacts and responds to Lee and so far we’ve seen her being pleasant to Joe on the phone, offer to help him, and then defend him to others. I think it helps us to get a glimpse of what must be going through Lee’s mind. There is hesitancy and curiosity in all aspects of this. We know from what we saw in the beginning that Joe didn’t do any shooting, but what exactly was he doing there? Is Shamba on the up and up? It’s also interesting that while Billy and Lee talk about Amanda and Shamba they don’t discuss Joe at all. Billy doesn’t even ask if Lee has learned anything new. I like how Lee sort of pauses and turns to Billy when Amanda’s name is mentioned.

   I’m not sure if I paid any attention to the stereotyping when I first watched this back in the 80s. I think that was typical of a lot of shows at the time, even in some shows of the 70s, not that I agree with it or liked it. I think shows are more careful in this day and age because of the reactions and responses they would get to those stereotypes. The show itself is sort of a caricature of the spy business and maybe a bit tongue in cheek in some aspects. I try to overlook some of the more obvious ones and just focus on Lee and Amanda.

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6. learjet1 | February 21, 2015 at 7:47 pm | Reply

   I’ve watched this episode rather more times than is healthy – and I’ve never noticed how long it is before L & A are in a scene together. I think it’s a testament to how compelling that back story is that I don’t feel the lack of together action.
   I think your interpretation of the stereotyping is generous, iwsod. I hope you’re right, because the African drums and “westernizing” comments irritate me. Considering that the writers stereotype both American and so-called African culture, at least the stereotypes balance each other out.
   That aside, I love this scene with Leatherneck (especially the aside “Lee, what about the zebras?” – great SMK moment 🙂 ) – he’s one of those characters I wish we’d seen more of. The guest pass for Amanda/photo ID’d card for Shamba is no doubt a device to get Shamba out the way and inject more humour into the episode, but I share your frustration, iwsod!

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7. kiwismh | February 21, 2015 at 7:18 pm | Reply

   I like that brief hint of the sinister or mysterious (could be either) from Shamba. The writer is keeping us guessing about this guy.
   I guess Shamba gets an ID badge as he is a law enforcement official, albeit from another country. I suppose it is like the way Interpol operates – official law enforcement officers (or “sworn officers” as they are called in NZ) are recognised to a certain extent as colleagues and partners. Amanda is a civilian – a so far unofficial colleague and partner.
   Billy is completely confident that Amanda can be relied upon to be open and completely honest in matters in Agency-related matters, and he also knows that she is someone for whom lying or withholding the truth does not sit comfortably. I think on this occasion Billy has assumed that Amanda would have told him if she knew any more. Amanda’s disposition is one of a person worried for someone close to them (which is genuine), not someone who might be nervous of being caught in a lie of omission (which is good acting or at least good concealment on Amanda’s part).
   Billy perhaps under-estimates how well Amanda has learned the intelligence game – particularly when to reveal and when to keep info to herself. As I mentioned previously, I get the feeling that Amanda is not going to throw Joe under the bus without knowing a whole lot more about the facts. I think she has probably made that call based on her close personal relationship with Joe, which may not be the best basis for withholding info from the Agency. However, maybe she is also being a good intelligence operative by trying to tease out more information, which could ultimately be more beneficial regardless of whether Joe is guilty or not.
   I suspect Lee’s earlier phone call was omitted simply to fit the episode into 46 minutes. If I was writing this episode as a novel, I would include the phone call as I think it fits well with where L&A are at in their relationship that Lee would endeavour to contact Amanda as soon as possible – not just to find out what she knows, but to offer comfort and support. I also think he would have an underlying anxiousness about this whole scenario – having Amanda’s hitherto completely absent ex-husband suddenly burst onto the scene at this point in his and Amanda’s relationship is unsettling for him. Having said that, I think his concern for Amanda’s personal and emotional well-being, as well as his professional interest in this case, are his main drivers at the moment.

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   • BJo | February 25, 2015 at 12:04 am | Reply

     Hi kiwismh – I completely agree with you on what you say about how Billy views Amanda. He seems to trust just as much as Lee does. I also think you’re right in that he probably doesn’t give her enough credit for her understanding of the spy game. I also think that even though she defended Joe in his office, he also trusts that if they were to uncover something unpleasant, Amanda’s loyalty would be to the Agency and not Joe. I think that about her character as well.

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