17/19 Season Four Episode Two: Stemwinder Part Two

So Lee and Alexi have been playing a cat and mouse game around the inner workings of the stadium..
Where were we.. I was in the middle of using KC’s description of this sequence.. I’ll continue with that a little longer.. Thanks again KC!
Aie.. this sequence drags on..
(Lee ducks down and crab-walks alongside a windowed booth wall.
Alexi goes into the booth and looks down to where Lee is moving. He turns and runs out of the booth. Lee runs back to the booth windows.)
Lee: Damn!
(Lee continues running along the front of the booth back towards the interior door. Alexi goes through the door; Lee follows. Alexi runs along the interior roof of the locker rooms then climbs down to the floor.

Lee runs to the edge of the roof and fires.

Alexi fires back then ducks into the locker rooms. He looks around then moves behind a pillar. Lee climbs down off the roof and runs into the locker rooms. Alexi fires at the doorway, twice.
Lee ducks and rolls inside, to the other side of the pillar from Alexi and takes cover.

Alexi moves away from the pillar and goes behind a row of lockers. Lee stands on a bench, looking over the lockers.

Alexi looks around, holding his pistol upwards.)
Alexi: This is fitting. Just the two of us…. Perhaps it should have always been just the two…
…Heh-heh. Your Mrs. King has been a great ally to you.
[I wonder if he feels some envy at having an ally like this]
Lee: You’re trapped, Makarov. You’re gonna lose.
Alexi: Not so…
…All I need is you, and I win…
(Lee ducks down and moves closer to Alexi)
…What other recourse do I have? Deportation? Another trip to the gulag? [I hear Montevideo is lovely at this time of year]
(We see Lee sneaking around the side closer to Alexi)
Alexi: I’m dead now. I simply want you to join me. [Awh. Lee he’d miss you! He wants you to join him! lol.. ]
(Lee creeps forward and moves around the end of the next row of lockers, pistol ready. Alexi ducks behind the opposite end of the same set of lockers.)- thanks KC for the description!
Alexi : Whoa!
[back to my description.. I’ll summarise! I’m kinda over it! ]
Lots of weaving, peeking around corners, ducking, shooting etc… then, Alexi tries to shove a row of lockers on Lee and fails because a bench stops the weight from hitting Lee.

Some more ducking and shooting.. Then, Lee has to change his gun clip again.. Alexi seizes the moment and rushes toward Lee – but Lee kicks a bench toward Alexi and cuts him off. Lee rushes at him grabbing his gun.

Lee gives him a punch, grabs his gun and then hides behind the lockers again – why??!!! I have no idea.. But Alexi still has his gun too and we are back to the game of chicken. Only.. Lee didn’t get that full clip into his gun! He knows Lee’s gun isn’t loaded.. Alexi picks it up and throws it into some kind of water bath. Lee notices, and puts another clip in his gun so Alexi hears – maybe a bluff because Alexi can’t be sure if Lee had another full clip, or if that was Lee putting the empty clip in to fool him…

Anyway, this has gone on long enough. Meh. Finish it up you two! Lee puts his gun on the bench. He pushes something on one side of Alexi, and another thing down the other (don’t care what it is yawn. Get on with it!) – and quickly jumps over the lockers and on to Alexi –
they wrestle.. lockers go flying.. punches go flying.. Alexi goes flying.. my interest goes flying..
Focus iwsod!!!
Who is still with us?!!

Fiiinally, Lee grabs Alexi and shoves his head into that bath of water.. Billy rushes in yelling at Lee to stop with the attempted drowning..
Billy: Scarecrow. Scarecrow! Come on, it’s okay!
[whoo hoo! go Billy!]

(Billy wrestles with Lee, trying to release Alexi.)
Billy: It’s over! Let him up to breathe. [Must I?!]
(Billy shoves Lee away, and pulls up Alexi.) 
[In the distance we see Francine and Amanda.. I think Francine is suppose to be holding those two KGB agents at gunpoint. lol but she isn’t even looking at them! ROFL!! Aren’t they obedient! 🙂 ]
Billy shoves Alexi up against a wall- Alexi turns and looks at Lee.
[Alexi’s still obsessed. I think he’s like the terminator –he’ll always be trying to kill Lee! Hmm maybe the drowning isn’t a bad idea 😉 tee hee.. ] Billy subdues Alexi.

Amanda rushes towards Lee, [Ah I see Sonja is being held at gunpoint by Francine too]
Amanda takes in the scene as she rushes to Lee..

Lee seems exhausted and doesn’t see Amanda rushing toward him.
[LOL again – Francine is not looking at those baddies she is holding at gun point! lol!!]

Amanda reaches for Lee’s arms. Finally he realises she’s there..

There are no words spoken between them here..Lee gets up, while Amanda smiles a little,
and he grabs Amanda by the arms.. [I love that they are in their signature pose here.. Amanda with her hands on Lee’s chest, Lee holding Amanda by her arms!]

Billy calls out to Lee…
Billy: Okay, Scarecrow. Let’s take the catch of the day back to Dr. Smyth; I’m gonna enjoy explaining to him how Stemwinder was really blown. [Catch of the day? rofl!]
Billy (to Alexi): Let’s go. Come on.
(Amanda and Lee only have eyes for each other..
but Amanda manages a hearty agreement to Billy’s plan..)
Amanda: Yes, sir!
[There’s a poetry here to seeing a blurry Sonja in the distance – her hands bound.. and watching Lee and Amanda reunite and reconnect.. Sonja and the peacock dance with the Lisbon variation was never going to come between these two!!!
Though I do hope that Sonja defects and gets a better life! ]
Anyway, Lee and Amanda grin and grip each other.. (judging by the movement of Lee’s sweater, it looks like Amanda is gripping it) I sense they’re resisting getting too personal here in their show of affection..
In the end they go for a side hug…

as they walk toward the exit- awh!!

rofl. Francine still doesn’t have her eyes on these baddies. They are very obedient!

Everyone heads out, Amanda walks along the bench..
Lee gives her one last adoring smile as they head out the exit and the scene ends.

An interesting little image this one above– because Sonja is right between them!!

Phew.. this action finale was a bit of an endurance test! The game of cat and mouse in the locker room went on far too long.. but.. at least there was nothing too embarrassing amongst it all.

What do you make of Lee and Amanda here as they are reunited? I’ve heard at some point in smk fandom (and apologies I don’t know who came up with this idea first- it certainly wasn’t me), that Lee was thinking Amanda was hurt or dead or something, because maybe he didn’t hear Amanda tell him she had Sonja- because the microphone had come out of his ear.
I don’t know.. What do you think?
This is one theory.. this little moment here could mean that.
Or maybe it could just be a ‘wow- we did it! For real, it’s over!! I really want to hold you and kiss you and celebrate but we can’t in front of the others’ kinda thing..

They don’t say anything.. so either way can work in my book! If Alexi had been taunting Lee at Mrs King getting hurt because of him, and Lee launching himself at Alexi in anger at this – I’d be leaning toward the first theory.. but, there is none of that – and because there is none of that – I  prefer to put this final action of Lee drowning Alexi down to adrenaline.. and Lee was going to stop.. eventually lol.
And seeing Amanda – I think he was dazed by all the events and how things had turned out.. it had been a massive two episodes for Lee – and it’s all over hoorah!!! They succeeded!!!

As for Billy having  a word with Dr Smyth? Ohhh I would have loved to see that!!! Capturing Alexi, Sonja, Rostov (if he survived the gunshot) and two KGB agents is career making stuff! I bet Gregory (wherever he is) hears about this and curses Scarecrow and Mrs King!!!

Oh yeah and there’s that whole stemwinder war games mess going on too haaaaa.. forgot all about that!!
I hope Dr Smyth gets in a whole heap of trouble.. and is the dog the president kicks!

What are things going to look like in future at IFF for Lee and Amanda? After all this, will they be ready and willing to work for them again? anyone else wondering this?

Any thoughts you’d like to share?