Everyone ready for Stemwinder Part 2? The episode opens with a recap of Part 1.. I’m not going to include that in the walk.. we really don’t need it. And….. I just want to find out what happens next!! 
tee hee.. I will just share that it’s hilarious how the edit of the recap has Billy telling Dr Smyth Lee is lying, and it cuts immediately to Lee telling Amanda that he loves her haaaaaa!!! Go see for yourself! 🙂
Thanks again to KC for transcribing the dialogue of this episode and sharing it with smk fandom – KC we salute you!!!!! [Thanks also Learjet for formatting the dialogue and saving iwsod loads of time!]
On with the show…
So the episode opens with Lee throwing logs into a drum fire. 
As the title is displayed,
a cardboard box pops open – Amanda’s inside!
Ta da! She crawls out.
[Was there room for two in that box?!]
Lee stokes the fire, and Amanda gets up to join him. 
Lee: You okay?
(Amanda seems to be trying to warm up her hands.
Guess it was a cold night. They join each other for a warming embrace.)
Amanda: I guess so.
[how can Lee’s clothes look so perfect?! those pants have no wrinkles?!!! and he has been roughing it in those clothes for the last two nights!!!! He’s amazing! Amanda’s in jeans so that makes more sense – she hasn’t changed for a few days either-or am I mistaken?]
Lee: Yeah.
Amanda: I’ve never been a fugitive before.
(they draw even closer to each other in their embrace)
Lee: I know…
[Lee’s very gentle with Amanda. and lol – Lee’s probably been a fugitive loads of times! 
]
…You ran the avoidance patterns as well as anyone I’ve seen. You know that?
[A compliment?! I’ll never tire of hearing this!]
Amanda: Well, it was my neighbourhood…
…I know where the loose fences and the mean dogs are…
[Glad you agreed to Amanda going on the run with you now Lee?!
But.. how did they fall off the trellis and not get hurt? Amanda must have known where the soft dirt is, it’s her yard tee hee..
Love the cuddles and the stroking. Very sweet! After Unfinished business – I really like the vibe between these two when UB is first!! ]
…They think we’re traitors.
(Lee nods)
Lee: That’s exactly what Alexi wants. He’s constructed this frame like a Swiss clockmaker building a masterpiece. But we’re gonna beat him, I swear it.
Amanda: It’s not just Alexi; it’s the Agency, they’re all over the place.
[Amanda’s certainly seen the agency for what it is now! this is the part that seems to upset Amanda the most.. A cunning baddie she can grasp, a cunning baddie agency is a whole new concept.
BTW- dirt on Amanda’s sleeve?! but Lee.. nothing 😉 tee heee..
It’s mad.. but they both look really good here!]
(Lee looks around to check the surroundings.)
[After all, the agency is all over the place ]
Lee: Yeah, well, I’ve got a couple of rocks they won’t be able to turn over…
…While you were asleep I… got a call through to one of my family. My civilian eyes and ears?
[‘family’ how interesting! Any pretence of the agency being family seems to have faded ]
[I could share photos of these two cuddling for a whole post – just that! nothing else! It’s wonderful to see them together like this!]
Lee: The Agency doesn’t have a complete list of them.
[Whoooo he’s good!!! ]
Lee: We’re gonna get a place to hide and then we’re gonna collect my insurance policy.
Amanda: Right. What’s your insurance policy?
[Lee took out an insurance policy with optional ‘Russian frame up protection’ with no excess! Every spy who has ever arrested a Russian should have one!]
Lee: It’s money… firepower…
…I always keep a cache hidden away just for emergencies.
[Whooooo he’s really really good!!!! Way too good to rob a safe and leave his fingerprints – which is so amateur it’s ridiculous the agency could believe it of one of their best agents!]
A van pulls up to disturb the lovely romantic moment. 
LOL I love how Lee doesn’t even notice at first haaa.. he’s just enjoying holding Amanda!
Amanda reacts to the van’s arrival, and so he notices it too.
They look over..
The driver motions.. and holds out what looks like a bag of food..
Lee : You stay right here.
(Lee seems to be expecting this visitor)
Amanda: Yeah.
(Lee heads toward the van, looking around for danger as he does so) [Interesting that 4 minutes into this episode we are still seeing the credits! I guess they were kind enough not to show the credits when they were cuddling and lookin good?!]
Van driver: We’d better make this meet a touch-and-go.
Lee: Problems?
Van driver: Not sure.
Van driver : I spotted a couple of UFOs; maybe it’s nothing but-
Lee: You shouldn’t have taken the risk.
Van driver: I couldn’t leave you hanging, man; you’re gonna need this.
[The driver hands the bags over to Lee.
What a contrast between Lee’s ‘family’ and the agency. His ‘family’ goes out on a limb to look after him! Even when Lee tells them not to! ‘Leave me’ he says ]
Van driver: Now, there’s ten grand under the chow mein, and two pieces under the Peking duck. Good luck.
[Mmmm num num.. that must be the best tasting chow mein and peking duck ever!]
Lee: Right.
(The driver leaves..)
We’re going to pause here guys.. before the next series of events..
What were you all thinking at this point when your first saw this? And.. what are you thinking now? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
"Just walk with me.." 
I just think this may be peak Lee Stetson. He looks so gorgeous in this scene–as unrealistic as it may be that he should look perfect–I love it nonetheless. I always thought he looked best in a tux, but this is a close second 😉
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“Lee took out an insurance policy with optional ‘Russian frame up protection’ with no excess! Every spy who has ever arrested a Russian should have one!”
😄😄
“…While you were asleep I… got a call through to one of my family. My civilian eyes and ears? [‘family’ how interesting! Any pretence of the agency being family seems to have faded]”
They did get called that in TEHI, too, so this isn’t new.
“Lee: The Agency doesn’t have a complete list of them.”
Whew! So we finally have the answer to the burning question about whether the Barnstorm list was complete or not!
“Whooooo he’s really really good!!!! Way too good to rob a safe and leave his fingerprints – which is so amateur it’s ridiculous the agency could believe it of one of their best agents!”
The plot holes in this episode…..oh my! I couldn’t keep up even if I tried! It’s a very exciting, swoony, and maybe even “fun” episode only if you have REALLLLLLLY good Suspension of Belief skills! Fortunately for me, I do 😉
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Whew, Lee is soooooooooo smitten with Amanda here. When you watch just him and his expressions in this scene, it is super powerful the way he is looking at her. Whew! Take a fan with you if you watch it! Yowza!
About this…:
Lee: That’s exactly what Alexi wants. He’s constructed this frame like a Swiss clockmaker building a masterpiece. But we’re gonna beat him, I swear it.
I never saw where anyone commented about this in Episode 1, so sorry if I overlooked it. When I was into SMK as a young girl, I never gave anything much thought but Lee & Amanda’s relationship. Now (especially after finding JWWM), I think about so many more elements to the show. When I watched the episode this week, I was thinking, “Is Stemwinder a real word, and if so, what does it mean?” I wasn’t familiar with it, maybe all of the rest of you are. So I did a little digging and very interestingly, found this:
If you were in the US in the years just after the Civil War, the latest and neatest thing to possess was a stem-winding watch. This had been perfected by a French maker, Adrien Philippe…Before his invention, watches were wound like clocks, using a key. This was an awkward procedure and wise watch owners kept the key on their fob chain to be sure of not losing it. M Philippe added a knurled knob attached to a rod (or stem), which was permanently connected to the spring mechanism, making it much easier to wind. Hence stem-winding watch or stem-winder…
This particular use of “stem-winder” really caught my attention, because I remembered this particular line of Lee’s referring to Alexi as a master Swiss clockmaker. So interesting. So up to this point of the Stemwinder story, I see Alexi as the one winding the stem(s) (Lee and Amanda) in accordance to his master plan. I think this opening scene has a feel of a turning point in the air, though. For now Lee & Amanda are together for the first time to work to bring him down…hunter becoming hunted, prey becoming predator…As the Stems turn, Alexi, I have a feeling you’re about to see an even more beautifully crafted masterpiece by Lee & Amanda. Working together is something his lone wolf self does not do well (he plays Sonja, his own granddaughter, even, instead of working with her). Lee was such a lone wolf once. But add Amanda to his world, and their effectiveness together is about to take Alexi on a wild ride…
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And I learned something new today…. 🙂
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Ha! Well, I always doubt myself on these meaning things. Another definition said it means a long, boring speech. Didn’t think that one fit. 😉
I do think the war game name Stemwinder is the intended use of the term, in which case I guess the watch winding meaning could also be applicable, if thinking about how the U.S. was going to try to set up the Russians for phony radio frequencies. But again, understanding war games for me is like understanding Dr. Smyth.
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My first watch, which I received as a birthday gift the summer before 2nd grade, was a stemwinder. Thanks to your fact-finding mission, Amandarambler, a nearly-forgotten memory suddenly returned clear as a bell. The novelty of the wristwatch was supposed to keep me from dawdling as I walked to and from school.
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So cool, Nancy!!! Thinking about the clock master/stem winding angle really is adding to the way I’m seeing things in the upcoming scenes!
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I love it Amandarambler! what a wonderful insight!!! All gives ‘stemwinder’ new meaning and depth!
Yeah time for Lee and Amanda to do some crafting of their own!
I’ve been enjoying reading your comments about stemwinders so far – even if I don’t get to respond to all of them. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for the excuse to ponder a little on these episodes!
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Does anyone else think the mask or whatever it is on the hood of the delivery fan is kind of funny? I’ve never seen anything like it!
And in my version of the previews, Billy doesn’t call Lee a liar. I wonder if there are different previews for different disc regions?
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It’s a truck used by a Chinese-heritage businessman and masks are most commonly used in Chinese operas, Chinese New Year celebrations, etc. The background color of the mask has a meaning; for instance, both gold and silver symbolize the mysterious supernatural (good or evil) beings. The facial features add nuance. The large mask on the hood is likely a protection to ward off trouble.
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I think the issue is that “He’s mine” can sound a lot like “He’s lying”.
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Has anyone ever wondered how Lee got a message to his family?
●No cell phones back then
●Did he leave Amanda alone in the cardboard box at night to go find a phone?
●Did he have the place already scoped out just in case he would be on the run and made prior arrangements for the Chinese food drop off?
Too many questions
Why didn’t we get to see how they evaded the Feds when the trellis fell??? That would have been some good nail biting moments on the show.
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I don’t know what word press is doing, but this is GruvyGranny…ugh
[iwsod updated handle to GruvyGranny]
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hiya Gruvy Granny, I can see you’ve signed in using your wordpress account. And that’s given you the j*******4 handle. Maybe try and edit your wordpress handle. I’ll go ahead and change your name on these couple of comments for you.
High everyone! Loving reading your comments this morning as I drink my morning coffee and get into the work day. Such a great way to start the day hearing from fellow smk fans! 🙂
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What I love about this part is that despite the bad situation they are in, they both seem genuinely happy to be with each other. I think they are both still realizing that they no longer have to hide their feelings anymore and how great that feels. It’s, honestly very SKMK. They seem to thrive (more Lee then Amanda) in situations when their backs are against the wall. But most importantly, they have each other, really, for the first time.
Not your usual date but for them, it’s perfect.
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“Not your usual date but for them, it’s perfect.”
😄😄😄 So true!!
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All I can say is, whatever Amanda’s “one more question” was in Unfinished Business, the look on her face says she’s got all the answers now! 😉 (And that’s another reason UB needed to come first – after all this and the exchanged “I love you’s”, what on earth could she have left to ask him if it had come after these episodes?
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I agree with you- I was always vaguely annoyed by UB, until I watched it in the context of coming before these episodes. Then I enjoyed it so much more!
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How did so much time go by! And I am mossing the best part. Inconceivable!!!
Sometimes I have a hard time matching their dialogue with those screen caps. If I turn of the sound I can imagine some very different dialogue here. But the fact that they are looking so comfortable and even blissful in each other’s arms during a moment like this is rather striking.
I need to go back all the way to where I left the blog in order to truly respond to what I see here, but so much has happened between these two to go from where I left them at Blackthorne’s and here.
We really get some insight here into Lee’s relationship with his work. This is more than just being a member of the Agency. And it sheds some light on who he was even in the very beginning. That Lone wolf mentality seems a bit different to me after realizing that he has always been aware that he might have to defend himself even from the Agency and had even prepared for it. It also sheds some more light on this relationship we have watched him build with Amanda and how remarkable it really is. Even becoming so personal and admitting that he loves her. She transcends everything in his life now, because she is even here with him, wrapped up in his arms and heart and he is sharing all of it with her. That is pretty amazing, and made even more so because we put Unfinished Business before this. And they both have a full understanding of his parents legacy of sharing life and work in this business. You know, that story line could be so cheesy, but it doesn’t feel like that to me here.
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Agree wholeheartedly with your thoughts here, morley! Amanda “transcends everything in his life now” because, in a nutshell, Lone Wolf Lee is not alone anymore! You beautifully make the reasoned case why “Unfinished Business” MUST play out before “Stemwinder.”
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Wow! Beautifully said!
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Love the screen caps and the strength you can see in the connection between Lee and Amanda.
I like that Lee compliments Amanda and sort of reinforces her decision to come with him.
What’s sad is Amanda’s full realization about the Agency. Back in ROTP, Amanda was upset about Lee’s supposed death. She mentioned that she needed to be objective and professional and that the hardest part was the feelings. Lee had told her not to get involved. However, that has never been Amanda. Hopefully, what’s going on won’t change her too much. The other sad part is that Lee knew it was necessary to keep the names of some of his “family” members out of Agency hands. He knew to prepared for something such as this. At least he knows there’s some unconditional support.
I don’t think Alexi is much like a Swiss clock maker. I think the Agency is just too quick to believe that Lee would become a traitor and all of sudden has become so inept as to leave his fingerprints all over the place.
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” I think the Agency is just too quick to believe that Lee would become a traitor and all of sudden has become so inept as to leave his fingerprints all over the place.”
My tendency is to blame the rather cynical Dr. Smyth, who definitely has an axe to grind against Lee (and Amanda). We all know that the very effective Scarecrow is portrayed as an very unconventional, versus by-the-book, agent. That being said, the only defense for Dr. Smyth HONESTLY assuming Lee turned traitor is the first season episode “If Thoughts Could Kill.” Since Lee was MIA for many hours, Smyth has to assume KGB mind-altering drugs are a probability and Billy Melrose has to know it’s a possibility.
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Also wondering if Dr. Smyth (and Billy to a lesser extent) is/are still carrying some bitterness over what happened in Unfinished Business. That caused some tension or fall-out between agencies. Dr. Smyth seems to be the type to hold a grudge for a while.
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Agree with your assessment that Dr. Smyth has grudge-holding bitterness tendencies. His first episode, IIRC, was “Reach for the Sky” when he wanted to write off Billy Melrose for a drug-induced gap in time while kidnapped. Lee fought Dr. Smyth for 24 hours (I believe it was) to clear Billy and succeeded. Bottom line: I get the impression that Dr. Smyth wants his Agents and Section Chiefs to make him look good without ever getting his own hands dirty. It’s awful that, when Agents’ hands get dirty digging out the most heinous criminals, Dr. Smyth will let them “hang out to dry” in order to maintain the “appearance” that his hands are clean.
PS: No need to go into my 99.9% soap contrast about him again.
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“… how can Lee’s clothes look so perfect?! those pants have no wrinkles?!!! and he has been roughing it in those clothes for the last two nights!!!! He’s amazing!”
I really like that suede jacket Lee is wearing; love how his hair is not so styled and that they are filmed in natural light. Besides the wrinkle-free, baggy pants (definitely prefer Levi’s instead), he is also clean-shaven. Lee is a top agent; so, like a modern day prepper, he has his resources! Best of all, he is so very handsome snuggling with Amanda, whose makeup looks fresh btw. Even facing danger, they make the effort to look sexy and find comfort in each other. The very end of Part 1 where they declare their love is priceless, but Part 2 where they’re together is what I favor.
“… Van driver : I spotted a couple of UFOs; maybe it’s nothing but- …”
Does UFO here mean Underhanded Federal Opportunists? Or maybe Ubiquitous Food Observers?
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😀 on the UFOs, Nancy. My guess is “Unexpected Federal Operatives”….Anyone else with any guesses?
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Wonderful screen caps (as always). I remember being at the edge of my seat and wondering how this was going to all work out.
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Me too. But I also wondered if the money was carefully sealed in a ziploc bag. Wouldn’t want chow mein-smeared dollars to use when you’re on the run. But then my attention is always diverted when food appears 🙂
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I also wonder why Amanda didn’t grab a dark jumper before she climbed out the window. That white blouse is 1) conspicuous and 2) no amount of stain remover will restore it to its pre-on-the-run pristine state.
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Wouldn’t they then be considered “marked bills”? hahaha
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In the preview, I thought Billy said, “I trusted him as a friend… He’s mine.” But that was two parts lumped together. I assume Billy said “he’s mine” in response to Dr. Smyth ordering the D-1 manhunt. Billy wanted to be the one to oversee it.
Excited for the rest of this episode! I like all the pictures of them huddling close. The last time we saw this was Utopia Now. Now they’re not just “seeking warmth.” 🙂 I’ll be back to comment on the rest of this post a little later.
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They’re seeking openly seeking both emotional and physical warmth here. I think that in UN, they’re pretending to just seek phsycial warmth.
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