Next morning, back at IFF…
Billy retrieves his gun from his desk (whoooooo he means business!)
Francine: At least three lines of sight, unprotected parameters….
(The map looks like a stadium of some kind yes?)
…I don’t need to quote you the Agency TAC manual.
Billy: Then don’t. We don’t use backup…
(we cut to outside Billy’s office door..)
[uh oh. Dr Smyth lurks!]
(He lets himself into Billy’s office unannounced)
… Not after last time.
Dr. Smyth: I hear your boy’s coming by again…
(Francine moves the map down to her side so Dr Smyth can’t see it)
… Amidst the ducks. This time we get the Kewpie doll, okay?
[No Kewpie doll for Dr Smyth!]
Billy: Just exactly how did you hear? So far I’ve only told Desmond…
[Interesting, Billy assumes Francine is not leaking information. If I hadn’t seen Dr Smyth listening in – I would not have made that assumption! 😉 ]
…Did your ferrets tap my phone?
Dr. Smyth: “Mind your manners.” The old recognition sequence. Thirty five number groups. I got the Crypto boys out of their warm beds, but so far—zip city.
[No women in crypto huh. No wonder they can’t break the code 😉 ahem. sorry couldn’t resist..
Lee would have planned for this scenario. He ain’t called scarecrow for nothing! err… wait a minute.. something isn’t right in that sentence. Err Lee isn’t the agency’s top spy for nothing!]
Dr. Smyth: Some kind of private code?
Billy: Is that a casual question, or is there something special you want?
[rofl. Billy asks Dr Smyth a direct question – and Dr Smyth doesn’t answer.
Dr Smyth asks Billy a direct question – and Billy doesn’t answer 
Two can play that game.
Francine wisely stays out of it!]
Dr. Smyth: Yes. About ten pounds off your backside if you don’t break this code for me. Presto.
[whoa. Dr Smyth does want something special after all! 
Is this a merchant of Venice reference? This is getting intense!!] 
Billy: Francine, wait for me in the motor pool.
[Billy is all calm intensity. We cut to Francine taking in this exchange..
Her reaction is priceless!]
(Francine doesn’t leave.. she looks between the two men)
(Billy is in a glaring match with Dr Smyth, but glances at Francine.. )
Billy repeats: Go.
[All things considered, Billy is sounding pretty even and controlled toward Francine. I think there could be an element of – get that blueprint of the meet location out of here now before Dr Smyth sees it!]
(Francine lets out a bit of a huff, and then scoots out of the office – taking the blue print with her. 
We see Billy close the blinds to his office.)
[Uh oh.. this is serious!! Love how Billy calmly, slowing turns those blinds closed making Dr Smyth wait.]
Finally Billy turns to Dr Smoke up his butt..
but no! He’s not ready to talk yet.. he walks over and puts his jacket on.
The whole time, Dr Smokey watches Billy – this silence is a bit of a battle of wills here. Fascinating! And a great way to build the suspense here.. 
Just how is Billy going to deal with Dr Smokey?!
[by the way Dr Smyth has a magic cigarette! in 1 second it went from long to short! that was quite an inhale! keep it up Dr Smokey!! breath those death sticks up!! 😉 ]
Billy calmly starts: You’ve been in my face from the start…
…You scrap the rules when it suits your personal purpose. You turn Lee’s friends against him. You spy on me!…
…All in the name of justice!! …
…Your kind of justice. I don’t believe that Lee’s guilty; I’m gonna give him every chance to prove that!!
So if you’re gonna stop me you’re gonna have to stop me yourself…
… right here and now!!!!!
[Note. Billy is currently armed!!!]
(Dr Smyth doesn’t answer. He just puffs away on his cancer stick.) 
[Though, he is looking much less cocky than earlier.]
Billy heads out the door.
Dr Smyth continuing to watch on.. as the door closes. lol.
The scene ends here.
I guess Dr Smyth hopes to follow Billy? Billy would have to be a dingbat not to anticipate that.. Looking forward to seeing how this all plays out.
I must say, seeing Billy stand up to Dr Smyth like this is awesome!!! He has really come through for Lee and Amanda! Maybe with a boss like Billy, it’s possible to work in this crazy place.. err maaaaaaayyyyybe!
I think when Lee and Amanda are found to be innocent (okay I am assuming this will happen – they are after all the title characters!), I think there should be consequences for Dr Smyth – his actions could cost the agency a very highly prized asset. Someone with Lee’s years of experience, skills and knowledge is extremely valuable.
Okay – Well two assets- I think Amanda should be highly prized also even if the agency doesn’t really acknowledge this! [hey she has a medal and a plaque to prove it!]
What to make of Francine here? she seems to be on Billy’s side – I’m still not thrilled with her, I think she’s not working for Lee and Amanda, it’s more she’s working for Billy – who is working for Lee and Amanda. I’m not sold on Francine’s investment in the wellbeing and innocence of Lee and Amanda – but she is certainly invested in Billy. Francine fans may disagree, but that’s cool there is room for many views feel free to share your thoughts whatever they may be..
So I’ll pause here before we move into the next scene.. What do you all think? And.. what do you think about IFF?
"Just walk with me.." 
This is my absolute favorite Billy moment of all 4 seasons. I love the way he calls Dr. Smyth out on his phone-tapping, calmly ushers Francine out of the room, closes those blinds (intensely like he did in Burn Out), and then remains silent and makes Dr. Smyth uncertain as to what’s about to happen! Woohoooooo – go Billy!!!!! I think this is such a huge moment!!! IMHO, Billy exemplifies what I think is becoming more and more rare in the world today: respect for authority and authority worth respecting. I think Billy’s respect for authority is seen when he closes the blinds and has Francine leave, because as much as he may dislike Dr. Smyth as a person, he is Billy’s boss, and if he’s going to approach him, he wants to do so in private so as to still protect the respect Dr. Smyth’s position of authority deserves. As for Billy being authority worth respecting, he has always seemed to somehow channel a spirit of approachable authority, willing to be flexible, aware of how and when bending the rules could be effective or appropriate, but also making it clear when he gives an order to be followed without question.
He cares for Lee greatly, and is ready to take some precise action to reflect that level of care. Add his feelings of fondness and maybe even kinda fatherly-responsibility for Amanda to the mix, and then his feelings for Lee & Amanda (together) to the mix…Dr. Smyth, you just created a recipe for one determined Billy, and he is going to call your bluff. Billy’s character is so very critical to this show, IMO. And Mel Stewart hits it out of the park here!!!!!
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Beautifully written – Billy is a badass class act, all the way.
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Thanks, Cindy! I think SMK was so well cast, and each character brings so much to the table. I love Billy!
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Woo! You go Billy! I totally forgot about this scene, but I’m so glad it happened. I love how Billy tells Dr. Smyth the way it’s going to be. I just wish he would have also told him to “stuff it”! I also thought Billy figured Dr. Smyth would be tapping his phone. I think Lee thought so and that’s why he used their code. I think Dr. Smyth fully expected Billy to tell him what Lee’s message meant. Ha ha sucker!
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I think Billy is so awesome in this scene. I have been waiting and wanting someone to give this man a piece of their mind and Billy does it so well here. I think that Billy may have also put the brakes on Smyth in such a way that maybe he won’t follow Billy this time. He makes a few interesting statements about Smyth and how he has handled this investigation.
Smyth’s whole motivation regarding finding Lee hasn’t been about saving the Agency, but saving his own butt and job. He finds job hunting de’classe’, which may mean he got his position through some sort of connection. Smyth seems to have not followed some sort of protocol in how he has handled this and Billy points this out in his statement to Smyth. He even says that Smyth spied on him. Billy is now showing that he is no longer willing to just take this abuse of power from Smyth. After this is all said and done Billy could choose to make an issue out of what Smyth has done, especially since Billy has now fully come down on Lee’s side. Smyth may not want to have to deal with the repercussions of his actions or he really will be firing up a resume’.
I think that Francine is a by-the-book type of agent. She seems like she is trying to talk Billy out of what he is proposing to do. But I also think that she listens to and follows what Billy says because he is the one that will help her achieve her future goals. It’s a means to an end. When Billy was missing, Francine took on the leadership role. I think that Billy would be that male figure that would support Francine in moving forward into a supervisory position. I’m not seeing that she is now jumping on the Lee and Amanda are being framed bandwagon. I think she is just doing what she thinks she is supposed to do as Billy’s right hand person.
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I also think that the reason Francine had been OFF the L&A bandwagon in the first place was because she’s gotten so used to betrayal and disappointment that she’s become jaded (I went into this in a lot more detail earlier this evening on one of the earlier parts of this episode.) It wasn’t necessarily that she disbelieved Lee, personally. And I don’t think she WANTED to believe that he’d turn. But she’s seen it happen so many times before that it seemed like the most realistic answer, given the evidence presented to her. As I recall, she had no problem buying his Burn Out act, either. So, ok, if Lee (& Amanda, who I’m sure she sees as an afterthought, at best) has become a bad guy, then she should follow the protocol that goes along with that. Now, however, she’s been presented with further evidence that suggests that a different answer might be the more realistic one. And as a by-the-book, objective agent, she’s quite willing to go with that possibility if that’s what looks more probable. So ok, if Lee (& Amanda) is still a good guy, then she should follow the protocol that goes along with that. Of course, none of this protocol involves ignoring things like lines of sight, unprotected protocols, and the TAC manual, but hey, you gotta do what the boss says. Especially if he’s clearly in his “don’t mess with me!” mood!! 😄
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Interesting how Billy speaks to Dr Smyth. Surely Dr Smyth is his superior so he needs to be just a little more cautious about how he addresses him, ven if he feels Dr Smyth is in the wrong? (I certainly wouldn’t risk speaking to my boss this way as I want to keep my job). Actually, it reminds me a bit of Lee dealing with Billy – sometimes you’d think Lee was the boss, not Billy 😀
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Haha! True. But I think Billy has reached a point where he is willing to put his job on the line to prove Lee’s innocence. I also think Billy believes he’ll be able to prove it, so in the end would not lose his job. The look on Dr. Smyth’s face makes me think he may be wondering what Melrose knows that he doesn’t. And since Dr. Smyth does not want to look bad, he now how has to decide his next move in the game. It would not look good for Dr. Smyth if he had insisted Lee was a traitor but Billy could prove he was not. That would mean dusting off his resume and lowering himself to job hunt.
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Oh dear, there’s a discrepancy between 13/19 [Lee: Five number groups: 8311064822.] and 14/19 [Dr. Smyth: “Mind your manners.” The old recognition sequence. Thirty five number groups.] I watched the Stemwinder Part 2 DVD with subtitles on in order to listen and see. Yes, indeed, Lee clearly said five number groups and Dr. Smyth clearly said thirty five number groups. So that means the Crypto boys, as Dr. Smyth calls them, will never figure it out correctly. Teehee! Not sure whether: (1) Dr. Smyth misspoke or (2) the minion we saw jotting notes for Dr. Smyth made a (purposeful or honest?) mistake. In any event, Billy Melrose did not correct Dr. Smyth, who is kept in the dark. HOORAY! Things are starting to look up for Lee, Amanda and Billy aka “the good guys.” Can’t wait to see Amanda, Billy and Francine riding shotgun for Lee.
Francine has finally aligned herself with the winning team and a job well done surreptitiously keeping the stadium blueprint away from Dr. Smyth’s prying eyes. Then she scoots off, per Billy’s instructions, to the Motor Pool. Very clever of Billy to stall for time, closing the blinds so Dr. Smyth can’t watch Francine walk away. Then, he silently puts on his jacket to give her time to get their car warmed up, ready for a swift getaway that will leave Dr. Smyth far behind. Finally Billy, in no uncertain terms, reads Dr. Smyth the riot act till Dr. Smyth is totally flummoxed and even his obnoxious cigarette is in full retreat!!!
[FYI: There was an official Riot Act in 18th century U.K. In modern times it means to give a harsh reprimand with a warning to stop behaving badly. ]
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Awesome analysis!
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lol Nancy this comment is hilarious! 🙂
yeah! 2) works for me..
the note taking agent is a colleague of Lee’s who Lee once saved in a shootout so he anonymously returns the favour and pays his debt! 🙂
Or, Lee shared one of his successful pick up lines with him to throw him a bone – it worked on who is now the anonymous agent’s much beloved wife! 🙂
That.. or Lee set them up on a blind date once 😉
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I know, I know – she’s not really good at this yet, but at least Francine is choosing Billy, and thus Lee and Amanda over Dr. Smyth. That should count for something, surely?
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lol. this is a pretty low bar 😉 but.. yes it is something! 🙂
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Love Love Love Billy here!
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