7/19 Season Three, Episode 20: Dead Men Leave No Trails–Scarecrow and Mrs King

46 thoughts on “7/19 Season Three, Episode 20: Dead Men Leave No Trails–Scarecrow and Mrs King”

1. I think Miss Newbie Agent is a smart aleck for the sole purpose of giving her real life brother grief and those in the know something to laugh at. I’ve seen a few series where a star’s real life spouse has a short guest role and they almost always get to have some fun at their spouse’s character’s expense in some way. JAG had Nanci Chambers’ character say about David James Elliott’s character “He doesn’t do anything for me” when in fact they were married in real life. They also had a CIA agent get demoted and make the sarcastic remark “It could be worse — it could be Canada” — a nod to the actor he was talking to being from Canada!

   This one definitely took the cake though.

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   1. This makes me think of the Thanksgiving episode of Friends when Brad Pitt guest-starred. He and Jennifer Aniston were happy newlyweds at the time, but he played a character who hated Rachel’s guts because she was mean to him in high school (something she didn’t remember at all). He spends the entire dinner seething at her from across the table, and she has no idea why. LOL.

      As for Agent Smartmouth… I always thought the scene with the “Dad shoes” and this part where she mocks Lee for thinking of 1968-69 as being “fairly recent” were done very deliberately, that they aren’t just some joke at Bruce’s expense. I think they put these interactions in there so that we can see Lee hit with the realization that he is no longer the young, “cool guy” at the Agency. That is the way he thought of himself for a very long time, and he used to relish it, but he realizes that “young, cool guy” is no longer his identity. And it’s okay. He is getting more mature and perhaps it is time to think about settling down. It’s the tail end of his evolution into realizing that it is time to get serious with Amanda.

      I didn’t know until reading this blog that the actress was Bruce’s sister, but I still think of these scenes as being rather important and not just funny asides.

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2. I think knowing how close Amanda comes to peril at the hands of Silent Staring Sallee scares the beige right out of Lee.

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3. This is scene is so good, first Agent Snippy, then Amanda shows up late to the class and then the “what?”… Lee has no authority, LMAO. I do wonder if just for a second he thought “Is this what Billy feels like with me”. And it actually got me thinking that all this might be a little payback from Billy who usually has to deal with Lee acting all bossy toward him, bwahaha.

   Anyhow, I’m surprised you would make fun of a superiour who might have a say in your later assignments and where to locate you…Tegernsee for example, nothing ever happens in Tegernsee as we all know 😉

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4. Okay, so they were Sallee’s eyes. But we didn’t really see his eyes in the picture. It was sunny and he was squinting because he wasn’t wearing sunglasses. It’s hardly comparable to the eyes Amanda saw while the subject of his death stare.

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5. Lots of thoughts here, many touched on by everybody.

   That cheeky “recent history” comment – When I first started homeschooling my kids 9/11 interrupted the beginning of one of my first school years. My youngest child at the moment was a baby. Now it is in the history books I am using with my youngest two and that baby is a teen who just thinks that awful day is a fact. Meanwhile it rattles my sense of the world each time I think about it. I can see Lee and this young cheeky thing both responding this way. Somehow the older we get the faster time moves and the more important the people in our lives and the details of our interpersonal relationships become. Life changes, history marches on… but those people that we want with us during the rest of time, the things about them slow. We can’t be in a sure fire hurry to change them, we slow to love them in the details. That is what I see here in this post. That connection between Lee and Amanda, when she steps in the conference room and at Millicent’s, that is the enduring thing and I think both of them know it.

   And that hug becomes a mutual hug. And there is no awkwardness about it at all – for either of them.

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6. I didn’t read through all of the posts, so if I repeat something just forgive me.
   There isn’t much I can add, other than thinking Amanda wearing that belt backwards just looked dumb….now maybe it was suppose to buckle in the back, but because they had her wearing lots of dumb stuff during the 4 year run, and I often questioned the wardrobe department’s sense of style, I figured it was just another wardrobe malfunction!

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   1. I had several ‘Wonder Woman” inspired belts that fastened at the back. I know I wore them * hangs head in shame * but for the life of me, I don’t remember how I put them on.

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7. First of all, the “fairly recently” comment from the smart mouth made me think of all the times I’m teaching and say the same thing. The kids always give me a look because it’s not recent to them. Secondly, I would think these newbie agents would be a little more respectful seeing as they are new and risking possible future assignments. There seems to be a bit too much arrogance for just starting out. Someone posed the question as to whether on not Francine would like the smart mouth. In order for Francine to like her Francine would first have to see some potential for being an agent. But i also think that Francine would put her in her place and let her know she was being inappropriate.

   I love the look Lee gives Amanda as he walks towards her. He knows how she feels about finding someone dead and how sensitive she still is to this part of their job. This side hug reminds me of the one in TLODG when they leave the restaurant after finding Mariana. These two have so many ways in which touch is so important to them. I’m working on a hand hold post, but it was on hold because of my move. I moved a week ago and have been exhausted. Slowly starting to settle in. So happy when I can get back here.

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   1. Lee would rather not be teaching that class. I think if he was more prepared, he might have had a snappy come back for her. It’s more on point for the writers to show that he’s changed. Especially with the ‘shoes’ remark in the previous scene.

      Congrats for getting through your move, Valerie! Hope the settling in part goes well.

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8. I’m totally on board with that joke with the young agent snorting “recent history?” because I’m now of an age where things I think of as recent history are slowly becoming things that predate my grown-up children. You know, like SMK being on the air. Or the entire first four years of the Clinton presidency. 😀

   So in fact, it’s a good thing the Agency classes go over and over this “old” history because if we’re learning anything right now from the current election race, it’s that people can conveniently forget what the Nuremburg rallies were like without a lot of reminders.

   With the Olympics on, for instance, does anyone remember that the US boycotted the Moscow Games because the USSR invaded Afghanistan? Oh, the irony!

   And those who forget history are doomed to meet international assassins in the parking lot of the hardware store, I guess.

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   1. “And those who forget history are doomed to meet international assassins named Alan in the parking lot (again).” There, fixed that for you!

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      1. Though, to be fair, killing seemed to be more of a side job or hobby for Squires.

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         1. baddies don’t deserve any fairness 😉 especially a baddie in that artless episode! 🙂

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   2. I spent a few minutes pondering whether Agent Smartmouth would have been Francine 10 years before. The lack of tact is similar, but I think the things Francine says are intentional, based in insecurity and calculated to keep people at a distance. Agent Smartmouth just seems young and clueless. Hopefully her first assignment won’t be on a diplomatic detail.

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      1. Maybe Agent Smartmouth is teaching the class in 20 years and has a young Lee-type person in her group. 😉

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         1. Like “Oh wow Agent Smartmouth! My grandma uses a special cream to hide the wrinkles around her eyes!”

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      2. Lord I can sympathize with Lee here, the other day my hubby and I were at the grocery store checking out and “Ice Ice baby” came on their radio, and I was like “Hey, honey, it’s vanilla ice!” and the young clerk, about 20 or so was like “who?!” it was then we realized we were old … lmao.

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      3. rofl Agent Smartmouth on diplomatic detail?!

         Hey do you think Francine would like her?

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9. I would say that it’s a side hug…I find it very comforting when my husband gives me one in public (i.e. at church when a full front hug is not appropriate) it let’s me know that he’s there and supportive.

   I think Amanda’s looking very pretty with her hair styled that way and wearing light blue.

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   1. I know! I love it when my hubby hugs me like this, too 🙂

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10. I hope my name appears right on this. If it doesn’t, this is Jestress, and I just started a new WordPress blog about children’s books. I’ve been collecting them for years, and lately I’ve been kind of going through my collection. Since I’ve been wanting to experiment around with WordPress more, I started this blog about them. 🙂

    I was trying to decide the other day how beige differs from tan. Tan is warmer, isn’t it?

    I was thinking earlier that it might be fun to see this girl (she’s dressed like a woman but not acting like one) on her first assignment. She might not be this certain of herself out in the real world. It’s kind of like when you’ve done phone work and they make you practice with a script, but then you talk to a real, live person who not only doesn’t know the script but doesn’t even realize that there is one.

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11. Yes, I’d say that’s moving toward a full-on hug. Lee’s shoulder shifts forward in that last scene, like he’s reaching his arm around her. If they had extended the scene a tiny bit longer, we’d see her head on his shoulder. 😉

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    1. If they had extended the scene a tiny bit longer, we’d see her head on his shoulder.

       Whhhooo – I’d like that !! 😀

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12. This is quite a grim scene for Smk. Poor Millicent being murdered and the sinister hit man preparing to garrotte Amanda while staring coldly and determined. Yes, I agree with you Iswod, Lee and Amanda should not have separated going into the house (don’t they ever watch Scooby do?).
    The young female agent is really irritating and brash and rude. I do feel it is unlikely that she would be so rude to a very attractive man, (he isn’t that older than her). It would probably be more realistic to have a male agent making the remark. The side hug is nice thought.
    \the

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    1. Yes, I agree with you Iswod, Lee and Amanda should not have separated going into the house (don’t they ever watch Scooby do?).

       Hahahahaa!!! Exactly!

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13. I think it’s totally in cannon for amanda to remember the eyes, she has always had a flare for small details and he stared at her so long in the last sequence, and I am sure it kind of freaked her out, so it’s a “never forget ” kind of thing.

    The hug SQUEEEE!!! So sweet, esp how he is all like “hey” and BB delivers it in such a way that we hear all the unspoken things the character is saying “it’s okay, I’m here, I got ya…” (or at least that is what I hear lol). I also think Lee’s other arm is around her at the end.

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    1. The hug SQUEEEE!!! So sweet, esp how he is all like “hey” and BB delivers it in such a way that we hear all the unspoken things the character is saying “it’s okay, I’m here, I got ya…” (or at least that is what I hear lol). I also think Lee’s other arm is around her at the end.

       Yup, that’s what I also hear, Norma. He’s so sweet in this scene.

       I think, Lee’s right arm either is around Amanda at the end of the scene or he at least holds her hand or her forearm. But I prefer him having it around her. 🙂
       That would make it more than a side hug – more like a 3/4-hug. 😉

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       1. I know! when this scene comes up on my DVD’s I can’t help but replay it over and over again, starting with when she yells his name, and he comes in, gun out, with what I can only describe as a “if you hurt her I’ll kill you” look on his face, ready to defend her. Like in that split second when he practically crashes through the door, gun out, it was clear he was ready to defend Amanda with his life if it came to that. SWOON!!!!!!!

          It’s one of the many reasons why this episode is one of my faves, beige outfit and all 😉

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14. Hmmm, Jestress, I like your reasoning for having Sallee included in the presentation
    IWSOD – Don’t you meant four dopplegangers — Magda/Francine, Karen/Amanda, Tuttle/Townsend and GlenTucker/Joe King? 😉
    And talk about piercing scary eyes – Amanda is able to sense them in the photo even though it looks like his eyes are closed. She is truly super observant.

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    1. I dont think they were shut, per say, I think he was looking down when the photo was snapped. And I love KJ’s delivery. “He’s not dead …” “I just gave him $175.” And she says it so matter of factly and calmly LOL! And Lee’s response though non verbal is still equally a testament to BB’s acting ability; we see some of his ‘Oh, Amanda …!’ look in there, then we see realization as he entertains the thought of her possibly being so close to such a dangerous man.

       I also love the ‘poetic justice’ and how Lee gets a bit of Karma served on him again (I think he got a little taste of his past actions coming back to bite him in ‘Wizard’), now he gets to see what it feels like to have to deal with young hotshots, LOL.

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    2. Hmmmm… I’d call it three pairs of doppelganger (Magda/Francine, Karen/Amanda and Tuttle/Townsend). They at least act as a pair together in the same episode.

       Glen Tucker and Joe King never appeared in the same episode.
       I’d call it recycling of an actor instead of having a doppelganger. Otherwise you have to list all actors in SMK-Land who turn up more than once during the seasons (J. Armin [Weekend] / Karl Eagles [The Triumvirate] or Frankie Columbus [LOTP] / his doppelganger hasn’t arrived yet… 😉 )

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       1. I was being cheeky. 🙂

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          1. Mmmm hmmm… 😉

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       2. FWIW, SMK isnt the only series to do that a lot, Law and Order was famous for it.

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          1. Haha! Absolutely! Law and Order even crossed over between the three different shows to do it.

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             1. Yep, I think L&O was one of the ones who did it the most, that being said, I really dont think it was wise of the PTB to cast him as Joe after doing such a nasty baddie, maybe they thought we wouldnt remember? LOL I mean come on! he was the one who landed in the cake! How could we not remember that! 😉

                I think if they did cast him they should have casted him as another baddie, or something (not that he did a bad job as Joe, just … idk … lol).

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                1. Yep. Agreeing with you and Cindy both about Sam Melville. There’s no doubt that he’s a great actor, but aside from a serious appearance overhaul, I can’t see him as anyone other than Joe King when I watch MBF.

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                   1. I totally agree! waaaaaay back when (I started watching the show in the 90s) I actually saw WWH first, then when I saw MBF I was like “what the heck? that’s Joe King! lol

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                   2. A dumb dumb dumb dumb idea!

                      did I mention it was a dumb idea to try and pass off Tucker as Joe King? Surely.. they must be Joe-king 😉

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             2. All time worst for repeat guest actors had to be Hart To Hart. The same actor appears in four of five seasons as different characters. He’s a waiter in S2 and 3, a hotel manager in S1, and a museum owner in S5!

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          2. exactly – but I thought Glen Tucker/ Amanda’s ex-husband and father of her children a pretty extreme example. And sometimes a character will come back (Gregory) and you don’t know if you are dealing with a former character or a brand new one until his/her name is spoken.
             (The weirdest one I recall was on Days of Our Lives. I was flipping through the channels one afternoon and saw a scene with Wayne Northrop, Josh Taylor and Drake Hogestyn. Wayne was the original Roman Brady but was ‘killed’ off , Drake’s character showed up with plastic surgery and no memories and became to believe he was Roman Brady back from the dead. Then Northrop’s Roman Brady did show up from the dead (awkward! Hate when that happens!), the guy who thought he was Roman became John Black, Roman disappeared again (I had stopped following by this point, so don’t know why), showed up again a few years later played by Josh Taylor who had originally played lawyer Chris Kositchek. Then Wayne Northrop showed up again this time as (evil?) Doctor North and that is how I stumbled across the scene of three actors who were now or were previously Roman Brady.)

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             1. lol… I’ve heard of some crazy character twists, but that one takes the cake! I never watched Days (I watched As the World Turns). Speaking of dead men not leaving trails, the main villain on ATWT came back from the dead so many times. I think once he was played by another actor.

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15. In some ways, this is poetic justice for Lee. Life comes full circle! He snoozed his way through this boring newbie speech when he was a new agent, and now he sees how that looks from the point of view of the speech-giver. On the one hand, he can appreciate that this orientation is dull, and the new agents don’t want to be there anymore than he does, but on the other, he has some maturity now and can see how a cheeky young thing can get on the nerves of an older, more experienced agent. He was probably once an equally-cheeky young hot-shot. Even if his speech is a little awkward because he wasn’t really prepared for it, he’s still much more experienced than Miss Hot Stuff who’s mouthing off over there, and she’ll probably find that out soon enough.

    I figured that the reason why Sallee was still part of the orientation was because the guy who usually gives this speech just left a bunch of materials and scattered notes because he’s too accustomed to giving this speech to bother to note the more recent changes. So, there’s some old material left among his notes and slides that he just never bothered to get rid of, and Lee’s stuck with it because Amanda was late and didn’t help him to weed that stuff out. But, it’s fortunate because if Amanda had just weeded out the slides by label, without viewing them, she wouldn’t have found out that the guy she just talked to was Sallee.

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    1. Great synopsis,Jestress. I like the explanation of the old material not being weeded out of the speech notes.
       The smart-alec, immature female newbie is beginning to grate on my nerves. The comment about the shoes, okay, I can see a young person innocently making that comment, not realising how tactless she is being. But her comments in the meeting show an arrogance and lack of maturity – probably much like Lee might have been when he was younger. I would like to think that her behaviour will lead Lee to reflect how much he has matured, and how good it is to be more mature and settled. Having said that, that doesn’t mean to say Lee must dress in drab beige now to show he is mature and ready to settle down.
       While I’m on the subject, I sincerely hope that beige jacket suffers a horrid and irreversible fate before this episode ends.
       I like the side-hug moment at the end (it helps to take ones mind off the beige…shudder ) 🙂

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    2. I figured that the reason why Sallee was still part of the orientation was because the guy who usually gives this speech just left a bunch of materials and scattered notes because he’s too accustomed to giving this speech to bother to note the more recent changes. So, there’s some old material left among his notes and slides that he just never bothered to get rid of, and Lee’s stuck with it because Amanda was late and didn’t help him to weed that stuff out. But, it’s fortunate because if Amanda had just weeded out the slides by label, without viewing them, she

       Oh Jestress.. I love that you gave this a good go 🙂 and I see others have enjoyed this too!
       You know what was my reaction to this idea? Forgive me.. it was:
       Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!
       Not ANOTHER flippin coincidence!! 😉 tee heee..

       Sorry I’m at my limit right now with flippin coincidences! 🙂

       I mean yes it’s a coincidence she walks into the room right at that moment. lol. ugh!!!!
       But.. can we at least remove the coincidence of the image being included in the presentation at all?
       Take pity on Iwsod?! 🙂 tee heeee..

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