Look out! Joe’s making himself at home at Amanda’s! He’s got the comfy cardy happening!!!
Is that Amanda’s note he’s reading?
We hear a big sigh from the hallway and Dotty enters..
Dotty: Whooah. Hoo. The boys caught the bus with just seconds to spare.
[Joe pours Dotty a cup of Joe! haaa!]
Dotty: You know, that note their mother sent was the best thing that ever happened to them.
(Dotty walks over to the breakfast nook to take a seat)
Joe: Yeah, at least we know she’s all right.
Dotty: Joe… isn’t there some way that we can let her know that the boys are okay?
Dotty: That we love her and we miss her… I mean, you know… knowing Amanda, she’s just liable to walk in here…
…She doesn’t know that this house is being watched, they’re tapping our phone, opening our mail. Oh, huh. 
Dotty: Listen to me. I am beginning to sound so paranoid…
[that must be why she walks around with such massive talons!]
(Joe listens on quietly.. in his cardy..)
…Amanda is out there with a strange man. Alone. Now, isn’t there some way that we can let her know that we’re okay? That we love her?
[poor Dotty.. ‘strange man’! Little does she know he’s perfect! 
]
Joe has an idea.. [remove the cardy? nah..]
He picks up the newspaper sitting nearby..
Joe: Yes, I think there is a way. 
[Whoo maybe that ad on Job Stress was from Joe whahahahahaaaa!]
We don’t get to find out what Joe has in mind.. the scene ends here.
We cut to Rostov’s place.. Someone is at his door. he looks through the peep hole and see’s who it is. He pauses a moment and straightens his clothes.. then, he opens the door to…..
Alexi!!!
Rostov: Alexi. What are you doing here?
[Rostov sounds so kind and caring! lol! Me thinks he’s playing a game here- he seemed to prepare himself for this before he opened the door]
Rostov: Everyone’s asking what’s become of you. We’re so worried.
[lol as if!]
Alexi: What about Scarecrow?
[rofl. Alexi doesn’t seem to buy the concern, he’s a man with a singular focus!]
Rostov: Would you like something to eat?
Alexi: Not hungry. What about Scarecrooooowwww?!!! [love how he says scarecrow – like he growls it!]
Rostov: Scarecrow? Heh. That’s what brings you so far away from home?
[whooo Rostov plays dumb]
Alexi: Is Moscow taking the offer seriously?
Rostov: What offer?
Alexi : Offer!!!!
[Alexi waves the newspaper at Rostov. Ahhh Lee’s ad! I wonder if Alexi found it over coffee and a croissant?! and tee hee! Alexi is not happy with this move of Lee’s! (hoorah!!) This is not what he had planned to happen!]
Rostov: Heh. Scarecrow is a prize catch… If the offer is valid, uh, Moscow will give him whatever he wants if he defects. You know how that works.
Alexi: Oh, yes! A Western traitor can live life as a tsar. Women, money, the finest Black Sea dacha,…
…While loyal Russians serve as rat bait in Siberian dung pits.
[whoooo such disgust- Alexi is really not happy!!! This is really, really interesting to me!
Alexi is complaining that a loyal Russian gets treated like dirt – while dedicating his life to his country.
This is not unlike what is happening to Lee and Amanda right now. Seems the KGB and IFF both have issues with staff retention and job satisfaction due to their incentive systems! 
]
[KC notes-Dacha is Russian for second home]
Rostov: Please sit down.
(Alexi heads over to the couch, picks up a cushion and flings it on the floor. Then he sits down in a huff.)
[He looks about 5 years old when he does that! maybe it’s also because he is so big and the couch looks so small!]
Rostov very reasonably takes a seat, picking up that cushion and brushing it off. LOL.
Rostov: I never believed that you were guilty. Not for a moment. It was all so… unfortunate.
[wow. this is quite chilling, because I could imagine Billy saying this to Lee one day – if all this doesn’t get sorted out!]
Alexi: If Moscow proceeds, you will coordinate negotiations.
Rostov: Yes, I suppose so.
[Rostov is King!]
Alexi growls: Give him to me!!!
Rostov: Alexi, please. Stop this vendetta. It’s over and done. You’re a free man now. Enjoy your life!
Alexi: In Siberia…
…I met a man named Bachta. He told me a fascinating story about black market ring in Budapest. Run, he insisted, by KGB operative named…
Alexi looks back down at Rostov..
(drum roll!)
Alexi: Rostov!!
Love Rostov’s big uh oh I’m busted face.
Alexi: Black market offenses are still capital crimes, Rostov.
[Uh oh! Rostov is a pawn again!!! No way is Alexi going to just let Lee move to Moscow and live like a Csar! He wants him dead!!
Selling stuff on the black market is a death penalty? really??!! ]
Anyway, the scene ends with Rostov giving another uh oh I’m just a little pawn what am I gonna do face. 
What is he going to do? claim his prize with Moscow by handing over Lee? and maybe deal with Alexi some other way?
Or.. will he just hand Lee over to Alexi??!!!! eek!! You know, I honestly have no idea what happens! [rofl this is probably pretty obvious ]
It’s so much easier to speculate when you have no idea what’s going to happen!
I better pause here.. Anyone else find Alexi throwing the pillow hilarious?!!
Any thoughts you’d like to share?
"Just walk with me.." 
I really thought that at some point when Dotty entered the room, she was going to see Joe in that sweater and say that it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. (He so looks like Mr. Rogers here. I loved Mr. Rogers!!!)
Dotty: She doesn’t know that this house is being watched, they’re tapping our phone, opening our mail…
I wonder if they’d have the place bugged? Then wouldn’t they find out about this conversation and therefore the note Amanda snuck by them, and even more therefore their plan to communicate with her? (Obviosuly not since that doesn’t happen, Amandarambler.) [Oh, how funny, Sara! I just saw your potted plant comment! See, we think like agents 😎]
Man, even I get scared when the Old Bear comes into Rostov’s apartment (I wonder if he’s the bear that dances or the one who doesn’t?) – like a burst of cold air comes in with him when he enters. The music is so dramatic (again, love SMK music- even when it’s not my favorite musically, it is purposeful), like we are meeting the iciest baddie of them all. The way he says words totally chills me to the bone! Well, the ones I can figure out. So glad to read the transcript on this scene!!
Is it me or does Rostov seem to have many chairs and couches!?!?! Frankie Columbus’s fortune must be stuffed inside of them (Alexi throwing that pillow probably really made him nervous!).
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Hmmm, Dotty thinks Amanda is out there with a strange man alone. Why would Dotty think Amanda would make that choice? I’m confused here. I wonder what Dotty has been told by Joe – surely these two have talked some in the last 24 hours and Joe’s given her some sort of story. Her dialogue here seems off to me.
I wonder if Alexi at this point is suspecting that Lee’s ad could be a trap? Or if he thinks Lee is seriously considering defecting.
Smart on Lee’s part not to include Amanda. I wonder what Billy would make of him not including Amanda – we didn’t get to hear. After all, Gregory knows Amanda, so surely someone over there in Russia would put value on her?
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Although we haven’t seen it I’m sure that Joe has been around off and on since he’s been back. He’s probably been by a few times to see or pick up the boys and Amanda and Dotty seem to be quite comfortable with him being around. I have to look back on how well my own parents got along after their divorce to understand all of this. The one thing I can say is that they remained pretty good friends after they divorced and my mother even got along well with my stepmother. So I guess this friendliness and acceptance is all within the realm of possibility. Besides, Amanda is not the type to hold a grudge. Look how well she puts up with Francine.
So now we have a glimpse into what Alexi must have gone through while in that Siberian prison. Here is another similarity to Lee. He mentions being rat bait. Remember how Lee mentioned being in some catacombs with rats in Flight to Freedom. Alexi seems to have really aged. He seems to have lost his edge now that his plan has sort of been hijacked. When he first threw the cushion it made me think that he was disgusted that Rostov was living a life of comfort while he had been made to suffer.
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Obviously Dotty is dealing with her anxiety by going for a manicure. That colour does NOT fit in with the emotions she going through in this episode (or the outfit she is wearing). But it does kind of match Joes’ cardy. Which makes him look very middle aged (or older!) Lee in his snug blue t-shirt is a much more appealling proposition.
I do feel quite uncomfortable about how relaxed Joe is in Amanda’s home (presumably he used to live there, but he hasn’t for years). It just feels wrong.
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The thing with Joe is that Sam Melville is twelve years older than KJ, and while not quite as noticeable in The Rookies, by this age it was getting harder to smooth over that age difference. There’s a fic somewhere that points out he’s actually closer to Dotty is age (barely).
But I agree, invited over the threshold or not, I think Lee would have his “jealous person” face on if he could see Joe swanning around likes he owns the joint, because hey, Lee just co-signed a loan for the property taxes on this place, Buddy, so you can just back off!
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I agree Cindy about wishing I could know more from Dotty’s pov
Personally, I’ve always suspected that she knew more then she let on about Amanda’s “other life ” This certainly lifts the curtain somewhat for sure. Also – why wouldn’t Dotty try to pump Joe about what he knows, especially about Lee. Why wouldn’t she ask Joe how would he knew to leave an add in the paper?
I would suspect Amanda would get a good grilling from Dotty when she gets home.
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“why wouldn’t Dotty try to pump Joe about what he knows, especially about Lee.”
Oh, she totally would, but does Dotty know that Joe actually knows anything?
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I’m a little concerned that the usually vibrant yellow flowers in Amanda’s potted plant have suddenly turned white. Are they only yellow when she’s home and become depressed when she’s away? Are they channeling some sort of danger message? Did the Agency replace the usual ones with these that have listening devices hidden in them? This is a very worrying turn of events.
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I read something somewhere about flowers and meanings. Thought you might find this interesting.. I wonder if the SMK set crew had any intentions with the meanings, or if they even thought this deeply about them.
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This is off a website of course.
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The yellow flowers on the SMK set were Kate’s way to “wave” at her mother because she loved yellow flowers. Not sure what the switch to white would mean in this case. 🙂
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Ah… Okay. I may have read that here and forgot. My mistake. Thanks for mentioning it!
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I didn’t mean to stomp on your theory – it’s just one of those things I’ve picked up by osmosis over the years. 🙂 But to be honest, “Hi Mom” is a nicer message than “neglected love” in this case!
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Oh, I know. You all do a better job of remembering those little details than I do. What prompted my thought was a fanfic story I read long ago about the meanings of flowers and relationships. But having brought that up, I’m now recalling reading that somewhere along the Walk. And I agree that the “Hi Mom” sounds better. 🙂
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I think Morley wrote a blog post about the meaning of colours… but I can’t remember if there was one about flowers too.. I know different flowers had different meanings in the victorian era.
Thanks to a Horrible Histories skit I saw 🙂
Victorian Floral Messaging Service
[for follow up discussion of this vid, head to Nedlindger’s on THIS THREAD- for discussing random stuff that comes up on JWWM not related to the blog post or show 🙂]
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“Thanks to a Horrible Histories skit I saw 🙂”
Hilarious skit! Forget the tweezers, the poor, jilted lady should put the tongue-tied creep in a cage with a family of porcupines! Even funnier, did he jilt her for Francine?
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I remember when first starting the walk I was always watching the flowers looking for a change. these days, I’m too busy to- so I’m really glad someone is keeping an eye on them and sharing this with us all! thanks Clagjanet!
lol maybe! I do think the bug isn’t going to be effective if Dotty knows about it 😉
But the idea that Dotty knows of this spy stuff and clueless Amanda is going to walk into a trap (in Dotty’s mind) is pretty hilarious! She need not worry 😉
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hahaha! That’s hysterical! Listening devices in the potted plants! I wouldn’t put it past the Agency though! I just hope they don’t have any hidden cameras…now that would be disturbing.
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Me thinks Rostov better up his security on his suite. Who is the next person who is going to waltz in unannounced?
Oh wow – to get into Dotty’s brain- what must she be thinking? Amanda running off with a strange very good looking man (and Dotty must have been shown his picture by the agents), phones being tapped, mail being opened. Things must be clicking into place that her daughter is more than an editing assistant at a film agency.
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rofl! Yeah!!! It’s much like Lee’s first two apartments! the enemy can stroll on in there anytime they like! 🙂
I look forward to seeing how Dotty is in future eps!
I suspect it will all be too much for Dotty to take in, so she’ll add 2+2 and get 22 rofl.
yah will be interesting to see what her comments about Amanda’s work are like in future eps!
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“Dotty must have been shown his picture by the agents”
Well, it’s been a while since I watched it, so my memory of nuances could be off, but I’m pretty sure there’s an indication in a later episode that she was NOT shown his picture. Then again, whenever I start trying to figure out who in the civilian world knows what about who, and why or why not, I usually give up quickly for the sake of my health 😄 It generally makes about as much sense as the plot of this episode if I start to focus too hard on it instead of just enjoying all the swoony Lee & Amanda moments. 😉
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