Hooray! I can finally get on with writing another blog post here.. sorry for the delays everyone! Okay, soooo we left Lee and Amanda sneaking closer to Dotty and Zernoff with their boom box taping Dotty and Zernoff’s conversation 
Is it just me who finds Lee carrying that boom box with the headphones hilarious?!
BTW- looks like Lee parked in an actual car spot 
So… we cut to a view of Dotty spreading out the blanket on the grass.. She’s alone.. uh oh.. 
We cut to Lee and Amanda sneaking closer to Dotty..
lol very suspicious looking! tee hee..
Amanda: Where’s Dr. Zernoff?
Lee: I don’t know. Look I’m gonna go find out…
(Amanda takes the boom box from Lee)
…You wait here. [Lee has the headphones on- didn’t he hear Zernoff tell Dotty he was going for a walk or something and would be right back?!]
Amanda: Right.
(Lee takes off his headphones and gives them to Amanda.
He gives her a last look and leaves.)
Dotty hears a sound in the bushes- I think it’s Amanda putting the boom box down.
Dotty calls: Andrei?
(Dotty heads off to look for Andrei. Next thing we see is Amanda’s back)
Oh nooo! Dotty has found Amanda in the shrubbery???!!! well surely this has got to raise questions about what Amanda is up to?! rofl…
Dotty reaches out and taps Amanda on the back to get her attention.
Amanda turns and is stunned to see her mother has found her! This is it! I’m sooo busted! [It’s probably that nightmare Amanda has quite regularly 😉 ]
Dotty flatly: Amanda, are you following me?…
(She doesn’t give Amanda a chance to respond)
…Now don’t give me any mumbo jumbo…
[Hey what thoughts do you all think are going through Amanda’s head here?!]
…I think it’s sweet…
…and I’m very touched….
…But Darling, I am just fine. There is no reason to follow me. Now, I want you to go home…
…Thank you Darling.
[Love how Dotty says this – like she is indulging a small child who she adores ]
Amanda plays along and smiles..
And Dotty leaves her.
The look on Amanda’s face as she watches her mother leave? Flippin hilarious!!!!
I can almost hear the nervous laughter bubbling up from her.. gah!!!
Gee that was close..
Love the final expression as Amanda turns back around.. Whooo I kinda got busted!
Rofl – Did Dotty not notice Amanda had a boom box and headphones?! tee hee.. No thought for how the heck Amanda got herself to the park to follow her?!
For me, this scene sums up Dotty perfectly: She sees everything – but understands nothing! 😆
ROFL at how there’s no need for Amanda to respond!! Dotty just fills in the blanks all by herself whaaha…2+2=5! And in this instance: thank goodness! Rofl! If Dotty hadn’t what would Amanda say?
Is this not one of the funniest Amanda and Dotty moments so far??!!! I think so! I never fail to laugh at this – both KJ and BG are hilarious in this scene!!!
Such a close call for Amanda.. and for Lee too – I mean Dotty only just misses catching Amanda with Lee – lol.. wouldn’t that have been interesting I can’t wait to hear everyone’s thoughts on this scene – whenever you get to it.. posts are always open for comments
We cut to Lee in the bushes watching Zernoff arguing in Russian with a man.
Oh my.. Lee in the shrubbery – he’s lookin good!!!
What they’re saying is muffled…but clearly Russian.
(funny when earlier their phone conversation was in English!) … The body language says it all they’re not happy! Zernoff storms away angrily.
Lee re-joins Amanda as they head back to the corvette..
Lee: We’d better follow them huh?
[they just got to the park didn’t they? Are Dotty and Zernoff leaving now? weird.. but whatev]
Amanda: Right.
Lee: Now look. Take the car… (Lee hands Amanda his keys.. ahhh now that’s trust )
…You think you can handle it?
Amanda: Yeah, Mother only makes right turns.
[rofl! that’s hilarious!!! ]
Lee: OK I’m going to go back to the Agency and get another car. I just called Francine, seems my informant Jerry wants to see me again immediately.
[How is Lee getting back to pick up an agency car? How did Lee call Francine? Hmm.. I guess more time has passed at this park than it first appears.. I wonder – is there a difference here with what’s in the script? anyone?]
Amanda: OK
(Amanda gets in the car)
Lee: Now be careful!
Amanda: I will.
Amanda drives off and the scene ends.
I’ll finish up here for the moment – can’t wait to share this hilarious scene with you all and hear your thoughts! byeee everyone – thanks for reading!
"Just walk with me.." 
Quickly, before I read anyone else’s comments. Lee says, “Take THE car”. Not “take MY car.” I find that interesting. And I bet that Amanda is so happy that 2+2=5 for Dotty. I love her facial expressions during that. What does Dotty think Amanda is up to?
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Yes, very interesting that he uses “the” instead of “my” for the car. I commented on something Amanda said in a similar fashion in a later post…hmmmm….
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You would think that they could have found a smaller boombox given how difficult it was for Lee to get out of the car with it. Where was it while they were in the car? It’s not like there was a ton of space in there for it.
Yeah, but without the humongous hair on Dotty! ROFL!
And I think there is nothing going through Amanda’s mind there…zip, zero, zilch (sorry, Count). That is why she has such a blank look on her face. I think she can’t believe her mother has caught her!
That is hysterical, iwsod!!
And if Dotty had caught Amanda with Lee, would she have made the connection to Mr. Sampson? Perhaps Amanda or Lee would have brought that out as an excuse.
Lee does look good in shrubbery, but I think he is at his best in casual blue. Not sure if it’s up there now or not, but that ALLA banner at the top from where he brings the pizza to Amanda’s door is just gorgeous! I love Lee’s look head to toe in that one!
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Dotty is hilarious here – totally agree that she take 2 and 2 and gets 5. Dotty, look for the obvious solution to the problem!!! (How could she miss the boom box? It’s the size of a small house??)
I’m totally confused by who is the baddie, who is the semi-baddie, who is the goodie and who is the leak (and if the leak is a goodie or baddie) in this episode, but the Dotty/Amanda exchanges and the brilliant facial expressions by BG and KJ make this an episode I go back to again and again.
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Agree, Learjet – love that we get to see lots of Dotty in this one. BG was a great actress and I thoroughly enjoy her in this episode!
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And one more thing – I think Dotty is a reminder to Amanda and to all of us to sometimes not take ourselves too seriously. She is the “anti-Agency” force for SMK!
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I like your thesis 😀
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I like how Dotty assumes that she knows the reason why Amanda is there in the park. It’s just like how she assumes that a lot of Amanda’s strange behavior is to cover up for love affairs. When Dotty gets an idea (or sometimes a set of possibilities, like her multiple theories like in Agatha Christie stories 😉 ) in her head, she tends to stick to the most likely explanation (to her) and ignore anything else that would complicate it. Whether she noticed Amanda’s boom box or not, she seems to consider it a trivial detail compared to what she thinks the bigger issue is: that Amanda is concerned about her romantic life and that Amanda should realize that she can handle her own affairs. As far as these extra, trivial details or oddities are concerned, I think that they don’t matter much in Dotty’s mind because I don’t think that Dotty expects life or people to make perfect sense. My theory is that Dotty is accustomed to oddities and eccentric behavior and therefore tends to ignore them in favor of what she thinks is more important, not bothering to try to connect all the dots to see the bigger picture.
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I’ve been pondering this scene.. to me it’s hilarious yes.. but underneath the hilarity, it’s IMHO a big moment for Amanda.
I’m seeing this moment as Amanda’s worst fear coming to pass – Dotty busts her on the job in a situation she doesn’t think she can explain away.. I think she is faced with the likelihood her secret life will have been found out when Dotty finds her…
But what happens?
Dotty explains it away for her! 😉
this reminds me of Double Agent when Amanda is freaking out about lying to Dotty about Magda being in the house. Lee says “tell her the truth. she won’t believe you” – Amanda does.. and.. Dotty thinks Amanda is being evasive and ridiculous.. and.. doesn’t believe her 🙂 this was a small taste – whereas here it’s the main meal in terms of Amanda’s two worlds colliding.. [I hope I’m making some sense here]
Given Amanda’s conflict between her work and managing her family with the secrets, lying and sneaking etc…
Do you think this experience will impact on Amanda now and into the future? If so.. how?
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no one has responded to this so I’ll just finish my thoughts here – I’m thinking this could be a very liberating moment for Amanda.. She’s faced her worst fear when it comes to Dotty – and found it was fine.. Dotty will never understand what’s going on anyway!
This frees Amanda to move further forward with her career and the necessity of keep secrets from her mother 🙂
bye for now and hope you are all well!
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I was just going to comment about this in the next post and was playing catch up and came across this. I agree, sort of. I think I go back to the new post and comment further if that’s okay.
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Anything is okay Valerie 🙂 however you like!
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I also reminds me of Playing Possum when Amanda tells Dotty the truth and she thinks Amanda is telling tall tales. But really, why would Dotty even be able to explain Amanda’s actions with the idea that her daughter has become a spy. As fantastical as Dotty’s imaginings are, she can’t put her real life daughter into those scenarios. Maybe that was part of what Amanda had to overcome for herself (thinking of SAAB). But, I agree Iwsod, this has got to be liberating for Amanda. I am thinking that in this episode Lee comes to terms with Amanda’s relationship with Dotty and so does Amanda, in this” professional life careening into real life” sense.
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I agree, Morley. We would have to question Dotty’s sanity if she jumped to the conclusion that Amanda was a semi-professional spy! And Dotty’s head was in fantasyland at the time so I doubt she was inclined to do any deep thinking past her immediate circumstances.
I do love how the SMK writers framed this moment. KJ is brilliant … you can truly read her mind (“oh no, busted”) in the expression on her face. This immediately after mother showed up at the safe house unannounced had to really get Amanda into panic mode. She is really going to blow the agency’s investigation (even if it’s through no fault of her own!). Too funny!
I also enjoy seeing the efforts that our SMK writers go to in order to keep Lee and Dotty from meeting! Smiling as I think ahead in this episode …. dum de dum de dum.
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Like this, Jestress! Dotty is happiest when trying not to make sense of everything! It fits her perfectly! And is something to which I cannot at all relate – hahaha 😆 But I so enjoy her!
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Guess Lee was calling a taxi, or maybe he had another agent (Francine, Leatherneck?) waiting nearby in another vehicle, or maybe the Agency is just around the corner, or maybe that retro boom box does double duty as a jet pack… ah, who cares?
just go with it Kiwismh… this is SMK… plot holes and ambiguity are all part of the fun… 😉
Meanwhile, I am not loving those jeans on Lee. Normally he looks smokin’ hot in jeans (even 1980’s jeans) but these ones are just not doing it for me.
Love that Lee trusts Amanda with the ‘vette. Can’t figure how only right turns would be easier, especially if you’re steering from the left hand side of the car.
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Well, with right turns you have to check only in one direction – to your left – whether there are any cars coming. At least when you’re driving in the USA or most European countries. That’s because you drive on the right side of the road. In Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia and every other country where you’re driving in the left side of the road, left turns would be easier (since you only have to check to the right whether there’s other cars coming).
With left turns (in the USA), you have to check both sides of the road for oncoming traffic. So I guess Dotty finds right turns easier because she only has to check one side of the road. I prefer right turns, too, for the same reason. 🙂
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Khell’s right about the right turns. When making left turns, you also have to make sure you have the light (if there is one at that intersection) as well as an opening in traffic. It’s possible to turn right on a red light at most intersections (as long as there’s an opening in traffic, and there’s no sign to say it’s prohibited) because it would go with the natural flow of traffic. Therefore, beginning drivers or nervous drivers prefer making right turns instead of left whenever possible because there’s less to check and therefore less risk of an accident. Dotty hasn’t been driving for long and is still nervous about it, so she’s trying to make it easier on herself, even if it means driving in a circle before eventually heading in the direction she really wants to go. If people drive on the left side of the road where you live, it would be similar to making a left turn instead of a right.
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Hiya!
yeah I figured it was about turning across incoming traffic.. A 5 minute trip for Dotty must take half an hour lol.. think of all the fuel she uses! eek!
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This is why I didn’t drive when I visited the US last year – I would have single-handedly raised the yearly crash statistics by getting confused about which way to look 😦
edited by iwsod (if I’ve got it wrong let me know learjet! -changed your emoticon!)
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I drove when I lived in the US for a year.. and it didn’t take much getting use to.. the only situation that would occasionally throw me was driving down one way streets..
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I get confused by one-ways too. I think they should be banned.
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On our honeymoon we traveled to England. Right off the plane, tired and jet lagged, my new husband jumped behind the wheel. I closed my eyes and prayed loudly through the first ten rotaries…
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Bwahahaha!
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We’re now visiting my sis in your neck of the woods, ISWOD and she laughs every time we get in the driver’s side of the car thinking we’re going to be the passenger. We haven’t driven here, but crossing the roads as a pedestrian and checking for on coming traffic has been very entertaining.
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Reminds me of the time that my older two, teens at the time, were having car wars in England, continuing their ongoing battled carried over from home over who got to sit behind my seat rather than my husband’s (more leg room). My daughter handily won the battle and leaped in while my son gave in all to easily. Yep, he had remembered the driver’s seat was on the other side and she had not. The expression on her face, and his, at the moment of realization was priceless! Ah, it’s the little things we remember from our vacations, isn’t it? 🙂
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Of course, here in Michigan you would have to deal with what we call “Michigan Lefts”. In some places you can’t make a left turn. It’s usually where there is a median of a grassy nature. You have to make a U-turn on the left side at a designated area and then get over to the right and make a right turn. It sounds odd, but I’m so used to it I don’t think about it anymore.. I do get stuck in the roundabouts though.
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And I believe they do the opposite in New Jersey… Go figure
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Not liking those jeans either. Amanda’s bulky coat is not that great either. And it’s definitely the wrong color to be skulking around in the bushes. If Dotty hadn’t heard her she probably would have seen that coat not blending in too well.
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lol at the jetpack.. too right!.. we don’t really care – but it’s fun to play with the ridiculous 🙂
I like the jeans more than his double breasted jackets etc… glad to see him looking less stuffy and all but on the jeans scale – I’d give them a 4 out of 10 🙂
I think the less crispy and new looking jeans are much better.. So I long story short: I agree not my fave jeans! 🙂
This was a better jeans moment!
Hmm think I need to update the blog’s banner to pay tribute! 🙂
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I don’t like the colour of these jeans (a bit stodgy) but they are a bit snugger than the pizza jeans (a good thing IMHO 😉 ) Agree with Valerie about Amanda’s coat/jacket. But I do like both L & A’s hair in this scene.
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Hiya Learjet! Yeah true.. snug is good 🙂
True.. the coat is bulky.. maybe it’s the length that contributes to the chunkiness.. the one she wore that was shorter last week was much better..
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Agree – with you on those jeans – the pocket design on them makes me think they are cheapo knock-offs. Not that Lee jeans are expensive, but these came from the bargain bin and do nothing for him.
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