2/16 Season Four Episode Three: Unfinished Business-Scarecrow and Mrs King

72 thoughts on “2/16 Season Four Episode Three: Unfinished Business-Scarecrow and Mrs King”

1. While I understand that what Lee has is private, if I was Amanda, I’d feel rejected by his sudden attempts to get rid of her. Of course, Amanda has a brave face, but him closing the door on her must have stung big time.

   (I just joined like yesterday and was posting with the name Christi, but I changed it today.)

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2. As much as I’ve been trying to go through the walk as it was for you all when you were doing it by not commenting ahead of the post I’m reading, I think according to the rules I’m allowed to say this since the walk has passed the Stemwinders. (If not, please delete!) And of course, I actually haven’t read past here in the walk so you all may end up having said this already in a few posts, but here’s my two cents on how I understand this scene.

   As much as I don’t like the step back in their relationship this episode is when put after the Stemwinders, I’m not yet convinced that it doesn’t belong there. It’s a step back either way whether it comes after ATWAS or the Stems, and in some ways, it’s a little easier to understand after the solidity and safety they both have with each other after the Stems than before. Lee has more reason than ever to believe they’ll be ok and she’ll forgive him for needing some space to deal with this alone.

   I’m in the camp of those who see him a little giddy at the beginning of this episode that he’s got everything caught up (after the chaos of Stemwinder) and they can just have the day together out of the office. (They must miss all the alone time they had on the run during Stemwinder.) I think he requested the stuff from the CIA a while back, and with all the red tape and bureaucracy, would not have known when to expect to hear back from them. So I see everything in him changing when he opens the envelope and realizes what it is.

   But the things that make it the hardest for me to see this before the Stemwinders are her desk and her official name tag. It just makes sense to me that she gets those after Dr. Smith makes her full time at the end of the Stems.

   All that said, I enjoyed reading your very different perspective on this, Iwsod, and can see where you are coming from even if I don’t see it that way…yet. I love the kindness and respect we all know we’ll get when we share differing opinions here in this little community! There are very few other spaces in this world where I’d feel so free and unafraid to share a different opinion about something I knew people were passionate about. This might seem a little over-the-top, but there are days when this little community restores my faith in humanity. 😁

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   1. All that said, I enjoyed reading your very different perspective on this, Iwsod, and can see where you are coming from even if I don’t see it that way…yet. I love the kindness and respect we all know we’ll get when we share differing opinions here in this little community! There are very few other spaces in this world where I’d feel so free and unafraid to share a different opinion about something I knew people were passionate about. This might seem a little over-the-top, but there are days when this little community restores my faith in humanity. 😁

      Awhhhh I’m so happy to read this: this is exactly what I am to foster in this little smk space – I really value people being free to think what they like and feel free to share their thoughts about it!
      It’s when we hear new, different ideas that we see things we never saw before! Or… we sometimes understand better why we see things the way we do, while disagreeing with each other: either way is a win in my view.

      I confess it has been ages since I’ve watched UB and I feel like I’ve really lost my immediate connection with the detail of the characters in early season 4 – I enjoyed what you wrote and I think that you have good ‘evidence’ for why the order you prefer works better.
      As I realised when playing with the order of OTL and WOTSTW – either order can work… so people can go with the airing order as the default, or just whichever order they prefer. We have that luxury!!
      This does lead to dilemmas when I have to chose an order to blog in.. oh well.. such is life.. but maybe the next time we go through the show we can just stick with the airing order and that’s that. we can all discuss how we want to do a future walk together.
      Once I’ve written up all the episodes there is nothing to stop us from going back, republishing them and starting over – which could be a faster paced walk because the posts are written. I’ll not get ahead of myself though – got to finish the current walk first. then, we can figure out how we would all like to do a future walk!

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3. I don‘t think that Lee had anything to hide at first. Not from Amanda at least. When we hear him on the phone he is telling someone that he is very busy. And as soon as Amanda arrives he tells her that he is completely free. So it was about telling others he would be busy to have time for Amanda. He wants them both to leave the office and enjoy a day without anything to do.
   And then Amanda gives him the envelope and he realises what it contains – and this is the point where he suddenly wants to get rid of her.

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4. It’s been a few years since I’ve watched any S4 eps, so seeing UB first now is like seeing it with new eyes. I’ve always been confused by this opening scene with Lee and Amanda. All I know is that I don’t like how Lee seems to be hiding something from her on the phone (because he rushes to get off before she comes in), then tries really hard to get her to ditch (which doesn’t seem like something Amanda would be ok with), and then literally shuts her out of something that is clearly affecting him. If I were Amanda, I would go straight to the bullpen and use my eyes and ears to see if I could pick up on anything.

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   1. It’s been a few years since I’ve watched any S4 eps, so seeing UB first now is like seeing it with new eyes.

      How cool BJo, me too!! 🙂

      looks like we are on the same page here 🙂

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5. Anything looking different in the bullpen for season 4? I’m disappointed I can’t really dig into this! But.. I’m just too busy in RL to do it.
   If anyone is interested in taking this and running with it- please do! [but of course, no pressure!]

   Iwsod… Just quickly, I remembered Amanda sitting at the same desk in The Eyes Have It in the beginning of the episode (post 1/15). She’s working on Lee’s paperwork, Francine walks up and they have a conversation. Later, she walks to Billy’s office and is standing outside his door. We get another peek at the bullpen behind her. It’s not a great shot to use to compare both scenes, but they look fairly similar.

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   1. Sorry… After she’s inside Billy’s office, you see the bullpen in the background.

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6. Again I’m going to say Wow! It’s amazing how a scene can be seen so differently either by different people from different perspectives or because of growth, change, or maturity in those viewing the scene. When I first saw this scene back in the day, I viewed Lee as being excited to see Amanda and wanting to continue to explore this burgeoning relationship with her. His whole attitude about Amanda has changed so much from the beginning and he just seems excited to want to spend time with her.

   But I can also see now, there there would or might be more to his behavior. That there might be more just lying under the surface is certainly possible and most certainly probable. Lee is all over the place, but we know that Lee has never been able to handle emotions well. He is a creature of habit and has liked things to be a certain a specific way.

   It’s obvious something is going on and he seems to be fighting going back into that lone wolf mode, but at the moment the lone wolf seems to be winning out.

   I like how Amanda says she’s not looking, but she really is.

   Even though the scene might be for exposition purposes I do like that a snippet of Francine’s life is highlighted. She’s always been a name dropper and wanted to be a part of the high end social scene. But here she seems like she wants a bit more than that. Although, part of her seems to be a realist. She doesn’t call it a little black book, but she tells the reporter to remove her name from his “little phone book”.

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7. I’ve been fascinated reading through this discussion about the interpretations of Lee’s behavior. Usually I don’t pay much attention to episode order because real life people are never fully consistent anyway, plus truth be told, my memory and powers of observation are too lacking. However, in this case, I think positioning this as the first episode of the season, butted up against the budding new romance that ended S3 makes a tremendous difference in how this scene is likely to get interpreted. I had totally seen it as many others had, Lee giddy about seeing Amanda, but as I read your interpretation, Iwsod, I was totally in the boat and as usual I was thinking, “why had I never noticed that before?!?” And the answer was because we are now viewing it in a totally different context as the S4 opener, and in this case it makes a very significant difference!

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8. I’ll have more thoughts on Lee as we move further into this episode. For now, I agree with the thought that Lee’s still adjusting to the relationship and that partly explains his behavior. You can tell from that grin how smitten he is. For Francine, yes, I’m glad to see even a glimpse into her social life. I don’t doubt it’s a plot set-up, but it would be nice to see her find someone. All of them look great here.

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9. Love this opening scene with Francine. Yes, they’re probably using it as a “plot device” to introduce Sinclair etc etc, but I enjoy seeing single girl Francine struggling with her single life. I like that she stands up to the guy, but I think there is an undercurrent of hurt and frustration in her behaviour too. And it’s hilarious how she treats Billy as a “girlfriend” (haven’t we all done that with colleagues, but hopefully not with our bosses?) Agree she looks lovely in that colour – very striking.

   Lee looks like a new man here, admiring the homegrown flowers etc. What a transformation from the nervous, tentative Lee of ATWAS, and the man about town of before him. Must be something serious for him to shoo Amanda out like that. No wonder she’s stunned!

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   1. I like that she stands up to the guy, but I think there is an undercurrent of hurt and frustration in her behaviour too.

      good description.. a man putting his work ahead of a date with her. Hmm interesting.. it’s certainly a new thing we are seeing.. I’m curious to see if this is a one off or the start of a new trend with her!

      And it’s hilarious how she treats Billy as a “girlfriend” (haven’t we all done that with colleagues, but hopefully not with our bosses?)

      Err no!! lol. now that’s hilarious! There have been moments my boss has forgotten I’m not a girlfriend and I’m the one trying to keep it professional! eek!!

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      1. Not only was Francine in girlfriend-speak mode, but she happened to pick a word that was heavily used by men in the African-American community to express a sense of brotherhood. An awkward moment which I am sure had no underlying intent, and Billy is gracious enough to move on to the real subject at hand, Francine’s overall distraction!

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10. I think Lee is nervous about the letter arriving and the contents in it. He is probably keen for Amanda to not be around because she will instinctively know something is wrong and won’t give up until she finds out everything. Perhaps he is worried about his reaction and how it may affect their relationship

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    1. Hi Bluewire, great to hear from you again!

       Perhaps he is worried about his reaction and how it may affect their relationship

       Maybe! Though in this scene here, once he opens that envelope, he seems incapable to me, of thinking about their relationship – all his thoughts are in overdrive about this envelope.. gah!!!

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11. hi all! I’ll be back to respond to comments soon as I can.. but loving hearing your thoughts everyone!

    Maybe you all like to know how many days you have till the next post is published? is that a good thing? let me know if you like that and if it helps you to join in the conversation 🙂

    I’m sure we’ll have lots of ideas about Lee and Amanda in this post – but I’m also reeeeeeeally curious to hear what you make of Francine and her lobster for one moment?! I’m not quite sure what to make of it, or why it’s there..
    Then again, I guess it’s possible this may be yet to be revealed and I don’t know it.

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    1. I think in Dead Ringer, Francine was kidnapped after she bought some ingredients for a meal so I suppose she can cook ( although she looks more a dining out type). The thought of cooking lobster is horrifying to me so I don’t know if it is meant to be romantic or impressive or whatever. As to why it’s there, I don’t know but perhaps the writers want to highlight her single status and her search for love now that Lee and Amanda have got together. Or perhaps it is to show a thaw in the Icy exterior?

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       1. Totally agree about the horrifying thing, Michele. 😦

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    2. Maybe we are going to learn a bit more about Francine in this season. We got a glimpse of her in FFFT, but I get the vibe that we are going deeper with her. The lobster for one and her trance seemed to be a bit more of the inside of Francine that I think we have seen before. Maybe that locked door at the end of ATWAS shook her up a bit? If Lee is doing what she might be thinking he is doing, that might cause her to begin to view her own life a little differently. Maybe? We will have to wait and see.

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    3. I get email notifications when I new post is coming up, so I am good either way if you want to give us a count down to the next installment or not. 🙂

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    4. You know, I think that the lobster for one scene is supposed to show a growth in Francine’s character. I think she’s in that phase of her life where people are settling down (Lee must be giving off a vibe, no matter how hard he tries to hide it) and I think she’s beginning to think that someone steady in her life might be a pleasant change.

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       1. One more thing, wouldn’t Thomas Blackthorn be the same age as her father? He looks REALLY good for someone that age. 😄

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          1. I have always struggled with Blackthorn’s inability to age. He must have the One Ring in his possession (yes another LOTR reference) or else he somehow landed in the SMK worm hole time warp continuum thingy…

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             1. Maybe he was frozen and thawed like Austin Powers and Dr. Evil.

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             2. Maybe this guy in the newspaper is Thomas Blackthorne Jnr 😉 tee hee..

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                1. And this episode is really a study in the uncanny tendency of DNA to be as if cloned from father to son…

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                   1. Exactly! If it’s good for Lee and his dad.. it’s good for blackthorne 😉 tee hee..

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       2. Hmm.. Francine is growing. I don’t know. I’m not really sure what she thinks is going on with Lee and Amanda – I’m finding her a bit confusing at the moment.. but I’ll continue on and maybe it will become clearer 🙂

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    5. I’m also reeeeeeeally curious to hear what you make of Francine and her lobster for one moment?! I’m not quite sure what to make of it, or why it’s there..

       I suspect this is no more than a red herring to set up the plotline which is obviously going to involve Blackthorne and Sinclair. Time will tell if Francine’s gushing over those two as heroes will pan out, but I smell nothing more than a plot setup at this point to bridge from the flashback. We need Billy and Francine to discuss them, so she is overheard breaking a date with a reporter who is after the story of a lifetime involving said characters. But it’s Francine so she isn’t making pot roast, she’s making lobster… because even Francine can boil water! 😀

       I will grant you that it’s intriguing that she was smitten enough with this one to cook for him instead of being taken out to dinner. Perhaps she goes by a two-date rule instead of the apocryphal three-date one, wink, wink, nudge, nudge? Or maybe she suspects that Amanda has lured Lee with the old through-his-stomach routine and is branching out her repertoire?

       Whatever the reason, I’m pleased we’re finally starting to see more than two dimensions to Ms. Desmond!

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       1. Interesting thoughts clagjanet,

          Yeah it is an interesting way to do a little exposition. Never an easy thing.. and I guess they are trying to add some humour before the bomb hits with this envelope!

          rofl. I can boil water and I can’t cook lobster. I’d overcook it for sure! 🙂

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12. The other Sinclair was in Brunettes are in. The horrible man who pretended to be blind.
    I think I lean more to Iwsod’s interpretation of Lee’s behaviour- even before the envelope arrived, he seemed edgy and unlike himself and a bit uncomfortable – classic signs of being up to something. Lee is normally very confident and focused and open with Amanda. Despite being a spy, he never seems comfortable with deceit (which I love him for). He was a bit like this in the beginning of Dancing Weasel when he was trying to hide things from her.
    I think there can be a little bit of awkwardness when you are getting close to someone about how far you trust the other with something or how much you pry into something- the balance can be tricky and I think this is the vibe I’m getting here.
    Love that Amanda has a desk but why such a baby desk? I really hate that she puts the flowers on it. A recipe for disaster ( well it is possible that she isn’t as clumsy as me- of course she isn’t as clumsy as me, she is perfect).

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    1. The more I think about it the more I think you are right. Maybe it is a mixture of both. I am starting to think that Lee is very nervous and preoccupied with what is in that envelope and when it may show up. Maybe he wants to get out of the office with Amanda to distract himself while he waits for it to come. I also think he is very certain that he wants to be completely alone and alone for a long while when it does indeed come. I don’t think he is being disingenuous about his joy at seeing Amanda or his desire to spend time with her, or even his pleasure with the flowers, but I do think there is something else that is making a very loud and annoying buzz in his head and it has to do with that envelope. Even Amanda knows something is up, doesn’t she?

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       1. Oh that’s cool!
          Good to see I’m not the only one who changes their mind 🙂 tee hee..

          Yes I like this idea that he is distracting himself with Amanda. it’s not just about getting her out of the office 🙂

          I don’t think he is being disingenuous about his joy at seeing Amanda or his desire to spend time with her, or even his pleasure with the flowers, but I do think there is something else that is making a very loud and annoying buzz in his head and it has to do with that envelope.

          I agree – the smile is genuine, but it’s over the top..
          That loud buzz ends up totally taking over Lee’s thoughts and he can’t even form a proper sentence to get Amanda out of the office. I find it quite distressing to find him so… disassembled.
          I can’t imagine how awful it would be for Amanda to see this – and then have a door slammed in her face. Such a sad start!!
          Me thinks I might need some tissues for this ep!

          Even Amanda knows something is up, doesn’t she?

          I’m thinking she knows yes. She knows him very well.. but I’d guess she has no understanding of what’s going on.. she can just identify that something is.. hope that makes sense 🙂

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          1. I just noticed that I keep repeating myself… can’t even remember my own thoughts from yesterday! Oi!! So I will just say, yes! That makes sense! 🙂

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    2. Yep, I agree with you and IWSOD. His smile seems to be forced and he is a little too enthusiastic. When my kids act like this, I know something is up.

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    3. Indeed that Sinclair was horrible!!! 🙂

       Thanks for sharing your thoughts Michelle.

       Despite being a spy, he never seems comfortable with deceit (which I love him for).

       I love this comment Michelle, and I agree, it’s a lovely quality 🙂

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    4. I think Lee is perfectly fine with deceipt, in general. He’s just not comfortable with deceiving Amanda. 😊 (See also “They think I’m an astronaut” and “Oh, he told you he was a cello player!” 😄)

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13. I find it interesting that we begin this scene with a discontent and jilted Francine.
    And I think it is rather poignant that t the end of this scene we are left right where Billy was at the end of season 3, outside the Q Bureau door after Lee had locked both himself and Amanda in, not to be disturbed by any more interruptions. But now it is Amanda who has had the door shut on her and Lee is once again alone in the Q. This is heart breaking to watch…. What must be going through her head? I wonder if she may be thinking to herself that the sweet time with Lee was much shorter than she had even imagined it would be and here is the beginning of the end because he is resorting to his loner ways. But knowing Amanda she wouldn’t give up on him so quickly, instead I am sure she is trying to figure out what could possibly be affecting him like that. Maybe she is even trying to figure out how to snoop and find out what was in that envelope.

    And what on earth could be throwing Lee into such a frenzy. We just saw three very different moods from him in one brief scene. What a difference from the man who was in that same office at the end of last season. Could a summer of serious getting to know Amanda better have messed with him? Can he not handle such a close relationship? All questions that would have run through my mind…

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    1. You know Morley, it’s interesting that you said that you found this scene heartbreaking. It never occurred to me to see it that way. I love hearing these different perspectives. I always thought that Amanda used her mom-tuition and figured something’s up but was willing to wait. After all, doesn’t she have a key to the door?

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       1. I was just reading the script and it states that Lee was speaking to a woman named Tammy over the phone and giving her the permanent brush off. I wonder if they were still aiming to make this impression?

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          1. Whoa!!! get out!!! Really??!!

             Thanks so much for looking at the script iluvsmk! These days I don’t look at all at it, as I know I will go down the rabbit hole and I haven’t the time 😦 so I love it when people share script insights with us all!

             Call me crazy, but I would have been surprised to see that in All the world’s a stage, much less the next season – I figured he’d extricated himself from all his lady friends a while ago.
             Maybe that’s why they cut it?

             Drat, I was hoping there might be something in that call that would add to the plot.. so sounds like it doesn’t!

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             1. Maybe she was like Celeste in “The First Time” and just got back in town and he didn’t send her flowers.

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             2. Yes! I would think that all Tammy’s and Cindi’s etc would have been put on notice around Playing for Keeps… at least. But I suppose if an old “lady friend” that hadn’t been around for while to notice that there had been a change in Lee had come back into town and called him trying to drum up some excitement for the day, he might have given her these lines.

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             3. I wouldn’t read too much into the fact that Lee’s still having to shed old girlfriends. After all, he would probably still be having to do the social scene for work much as he always had, and a) he couldn’t always go with a date if he was aiming for another impression and b) Mother-of-the-Year-(Almost) Amanda wouldn’t always be available to go out either way. All to say that, there are probably still women hitting on him (as we all would be) or Lee is still having to flirt at parties, leading to him having to extricate himself.

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                1. True. Showing up at every event with the same woman could be dangerous… So many things for a spy to consider when he starts acting like a “normal” person.

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          2. I had never considered this a possibility until I read iwsod’s post. Walking through this episode first made me wonder if he was giving an old flame the brush off. He sure is acting like it – he knows Amanda is coming, doesn’t want any questions about who he’s on the phone with, and so he rushes to hang up and look cool and casual in his chair. I can believe that he would still have women from his past hitting on him – there are three black books’ worth!

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    2. beautiful Morley, I agree, to suddenly see Lee shoving Amanda out like this is tough to take after the wonderful step forward they took together at the end of season 3!
       It’s all quite unsettling – I would have liked to see what they are like together now when things are normal you know? but then, I wonder if that’s part of the suspense and confusion here – it is amplified for the audience maybe because we haven’t yet really seen what is the new normal…
       Of course, if you view this and think Lee is the new normal right up till he gets the envelope handed to him, you will not see it this way at all.

       I too am full of questions – as your wonderful comment has explored.. Everything has been tossed up in the air here in this scene – where is it going to all land???!!!

       Poignant is a great word- yes the very next scene we see of these two in the Q bureau is this!!

       I wonder if she may be thinking to herself that the sweet time with Lee was much shorter than she had even imagined it would be and here is the beginning of the end because he is resorting to his loner ways.

       Love how you’ve put this Morley! I wonder the same thing – and will she respond with doubt? withdrawing herself? Lee’s behaviour is curious and worrying, but Amanda’s response is going to be very interesting!
       Can’t wait to have this all unfold 🙂 So glad you are able to join us Morley – More Save the Clams for Morley!!! 🙂 tee hee..

       This is heart breaking to watch….
       again – so agree! My heart breaks for them both here. Clearly Lee is beside himself and Lee shutting Amanda out like that is so hard to watch..

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       1. “Of course, if you view this and think Lee is the new normal right up till he gets the envelope handed to him, you will not see it this way at all.”

          I am beginning to view the complexity in Lee’s behavior here as we discuss this. I still haven’t been able to watch the scene, but, I still think he isn’t all disingenuous with Amanda here. Those smiles may be exaggerated, but I think we are getting a glimpse of how he responds to her with joy and pleasure at all of her nuances. At least I think, or I hope that is how he truly responds to her… now I think it is all muddled up because of whatever it is that is sending him in three different directions at once and making him think the only option is to shove Amanda out the door. And she has a desk in there now! He just kicked her out of her own office too!

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14. Well, the first time I saw this episode was after Stemwinder I and II so I was really confused and going “What the heck!?!” – (don’t worry, no spoilers), but I am really happy we are doing this episode first. I’ll say more about it as we are going through the Stemwinder episodes.

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    1. yeah same here Cindy! I’m finding my reaction and how I am interpreting this episode is very different with this episode coming first.. and not having much of a recollection of the events in the stemwinders I’ve been able to so far enjoy this episode afresh!
       err if you can call being intrigued but saddened by Lee being so out of sorts and shoving Amanda out enjoyable! 🙂

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15. I think the guest pass comes and goes in the front half of this season we may have some ups and downs of real pass joy here. Lol

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    1. oh noooo don’t tell me that!!!

       But do point it out if or when you see it please 🙂

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16. (Amanda puts them in a vase on her desk.) [Oh wait- HER DESK!!!! Squeeeee she has a desk now!!!!

    Yeaaaah, Yippee!!! Amanda finally got her own desk in the Q bureau.
    😀

    Ooohho, Amanda doesn’t wear a guest/visitor pass any longer!!!
    But what is that red bar at the top of her ID? Is it a sign for being a trainee and still not a fully accepted agent?

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    1. This isn’t the first appearance of Amanda’s desk right? It was in the beginning of ATWAS when Leatherneck was teaching Amanda how to get out of her handcuffs. Or was that just a table?

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       1. That was just a table for Leatherneck’s features.

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          1. Yeah iluvsmk I’m thinking along the same lines as Lee&Amanda..

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17. I actually saw the scene with Lee and Amanda a little differently. I thought he wanted to spend the day with her. Like he was telling the person on the phone that they were busy so no one would give them anything to do and then he told Amanda nothing was going on so they could spend the day together outside of the office…but he knew she would never ditch if there was actually something they were asked to do. I didn’t get the feeling he was expecting the envelope but once he saw what it was, he changed gears and pushed Amanda out

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    1. That’s exactly how I read his demeanour too. He was absolutely getting everything set to convince Amanda to sneak out with him somewhere and pretending that he wasn’t. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t have some kind of surprise already set up – maybe a reservation at a secluded romantic restaurant? I don’t think until he started to read the note on the outside that he even twigged that this wasn’t just normal correspondence from a sister agency. That’s why he starts by reading it out loud, then stops dead when he realizes what it is (whatever it is, since we don’t know yet either!) and immediately tries to get rid of her ASAP.

       It says something for Amanda’s learning curve for accepting Need to Know that she isn’t immediately trying to break the door back down, given how rudely he just pushed her out. 😀

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       1. That is how I have always perceived this opening scene between them as well. It always seemed to me that Lee was just busting at the seams to see Amanda and spend some time with her and his huge smiles were just because she was finally there. I will have to watch this again, but after reading your thoughts Iwsod and realizing that Lee was probably expecting this letter from the CIA at some point, maybe his pleasure at seeing Amanda and taking her out for a bit may also have been a way to help burn some nervous energy as he waited for this correspondence from the CIA. It seems like it must contain something that has the potential to unnerve the poor guy. But I had never picked up on that before, I really always thought that now that he had let his feelings for Amanda show, he really couldn’t contain how much he enjoys her presence and desire to spend time alone with her. After all that is what “new love” is supposed to be like, right?

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          1. Hey thanks for considering my thoughts Morley!
             yes that the CIA letter starts with ‘Dear Mr Stetson, in request-‘ suggests Lee had asked for something from the CIA.. and his hesitancy to dig into it then also suggests he knows what the contents will be referring to.

             Thus, it’s already underway before Amanda arrives..

             I have no idea who he was talking to on the phone, but maybe we’ll find out eventually 🙂 or heck, we can always make it up 😉

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       2. He was absolutely getting everything set to convince Amanda to sneak out with him somewhere and pretending that he wasn’t.

          Funny! we are thinking the exact opposite. You are thinking Lee is pretending not to convince Amanda to sneak out with him.
          I think he was pretending when he was – and it was a ploy of his to delay his getting this CIA information – he was hiding from it.. and I think he was hoping to come back later alone to face whatever it is.
          Ominous!!!

          Sneaking out because you are in love is a much more enjoyable way to view Lee here in the opening scene lol! 🙂

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    2. I’ve always seen it the same way too. Lee is kind of terrible at this work/life balance concept, he’s either 500% focused on work or else he wants nothing to do with it because something else is more important … or in this case someone else, because Amanda. 🙂

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       1. Because, Amanda

          Truer words were never spoken!

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       2. hiya Jillyfae, I would agree that there is an element of the extreme here. But for me it’s Lee keeping something private – and shutting Amanda out…. So sad and tough to watch this!

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    3. That is how I originally saw it too- he’s new at this relationship thing & is giddy at the thought of spending the day together. Until the envelope shows up & he has a total swing the other direction. But I think it makes sense for him to act that way, since he isn’t used to having someone to share things with.

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       1. This all makes sense to me! It’s Lee in a new relationship.. that can totally work! 🙂 After all we’ve been given no picture of what the two are like at work now that they’ve officially and intentionally crossed that romantic line in their relationship!

          I can see this works… But for me I straight away thought he was hiding something – the way he hurried when he heard her entering, sat in his chair, totally changed his mood, and his smile was too big and it made me suspicious!

          I wonder if smk is trying to hint but not be too prescriptive here in what’s going on [we are free to see what we like anyway 🙂 ] – because the confusion felt by Amanda is also experienced here by the audience.. and it totally catches our attention as we start this episode – I think it’s interesting storytelling.. it’s certainly captured my attention! 🙂

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          1. There I definitely some new aspect at work between the two of them here. Something that is taking all of us and Lee and Amanda off guard… or putting Lee at extra guard? I like it, it gives us an unbalanced feeling at the beginning this new season.

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    4. Always love to hear a different view – and as you have seen Lauren you are not alone in seeing it this way 🙂
       It’s so great how we all can see things differently and share 🙂

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18. [What is that behind Francine, a map of DC?…]
    Ahhh, no! No map of DC – unless the Potomac changed it’s name into ‘Moscow River’ (btw, in German that river’s name is ‘Moscwa’). It’s a map of Moscow (city center).

    [… is it new?]
    Ahhh, yes, I think it is. Although I think we’ve seen it with an other map on it. Or is it just to come in Stemwinder and I’m confusing it? Hmm, not so sure about it any longer…

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    1. Yes, I noticed that too. Also, you can read “The Kremlin” in the middle. Seems like a map of DC would have made more sense!

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       1. Thanks L& A and Thanks Xiolaperry for answering this!
          You know, I had actually written – is it Moscow?! and I deleted it thinking – that would be silly! lol!! 🙂

          Yeah you can see Moscow written behind Francine!

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