Back at Thatcher’s farm… TP is staying in the car.. lol..
We see Amanda at a distance on her walkie talkie reporting that they are all talking in the field, and that TP had gotten into a limo. 
Lee: …Let’s hope he stays there. Anytime you’re ready.
[What, stay in the car? whahahahaaa!! is that deliberate?!]
(TP watches on from the limo as the men have their meeting. 
Jordan identifies TP as the problem they are having with their business.)
Jordan: …Mr. Aquinas is nothing if not careful. Surprising he tipped his hand… [I have no idea how he has tipped his hand, and what it is that’s given him away!] …Alright, get what information you can out of him, then make a very public example of his death. Gentlemen, we’ve used up our time.
(The yellow van approaches.
[Stealthy! haaaa! I guess its actually handy to grab their attention…]
The three baddies decide they can take it on as it’s not the main forces – so they don’t flea they hunker down.
[Why didn’t they question why someone was arriving ahead of the main team? whatev.]
Amanda is guiding the yellow truck by remote. and it gets shot up by the baddies big time.
[Hope those horses don’t get hurt!!] 
They find the truck empty when it comes to a stop. 
[Then, there’s a massive fly that enters the scene.]
Buzzzz Buzzzzz Buzzzzzz…
Oh wait, no that buzzing is Lee on his gyrocopter! He flies around and draws fire.. shooting happens… Lee shoots… 
the baddies shoot.. 
The machine gun jams. [What luck. When are baddies gonna learn to stop buying their guns at baddies r us?!]
We see evil genius Jordan get in the limo driver’s seat, the same limo where TP has been told to stay. LOL
TP leave the limo out the back door, and Jordan drives off 
– TP leaves his folded up coat bomb on the back seat. 
Lee lands as Jordan drives off. 
Lee shoots at Jordan as he drives away but it makes no difference.
Lee takes off his helmet and yells to TP.
Lee: get out of the way TP! He’s headed right for ya!
[how that is possible when he literally just got out of it I dont know]
With the limo headed for TP, TP presses the button. [Not the panic button! The coat button….oh hang on, no that’s not right…. the ummm coat bomb button!]
His bomb goes off…
[a moderately sized boom boom. Funny the cabin was a more impressive boom boom…]
Lee rushes over to join TP. 
TP seems to be a bit stunned.. 
also a little gleeful?? relieved and pleased?
[What’s going on for Lee here? 
I like to think he’s remembering his own little moment of getting to kill his parent’s killer!
Lee puts a comforting arm around TP.. and the scene ends.)
[Soooo is this murder?! It didn’t seem like the car was that close..
Hey! we still don’t know how TP gave himself away!!! Or LOL maybe I just missed it, that’s always possible! Was there anything in the script about this?
Well let’s put all this revenge, justice, tragedy etc. behind us: it’s tag time!
(Back to the agency, we find Lee and Amanda in the elevator.)
[Wow. I actually have zero memory of his tag. Usually I have at least some vague recollection of it!]
Lee: TP called from Honolulu.
Amanda: Oh?
Lee: Yeah, suffering from his forced vacation. I told him the review board ruled it justifiable homicide and the DEA wants to take him to lunch or something. You know TP though. If it’s not in the encyclopaedia, he’s not impressed. 
[Justifiable homicide. Hmmmm… I think this is one of those ‘don’t think too much just go with it’ moments! Okay. all good. me happy.
By the way, there’s something ironic about seeing Lee and Amanda exit the coat elevator, after TP took out Jordan with a coat!
Jordan was…coated! in Explosives!!!] 
(They exit the elevator and head down the corridor together.)
Amanda: Well at least he got what he wanted.
[wow they really brush this off. yep he happily blew someone up but hey he deserved it!]
Lee: yeah.
{Francine appears at one end of the corridor.}
Francine: Amanda! 
Almost simultaneously, Billy: (from bullpen door) Scarecrow! 
{After a beat of confusion, they split, Amanda towards Francine, Lee towards Billy.}
Francine: How’re you holding up?
Amanda: (fakes a sigh) Oh, pretty well, all things considered. 
Francine: Oh no, what happened?
(Together they head down the corridor and into the bullpen as they converse)
Amanda: Well not much really. I’m just not sure whether or not I did the right thing…You think I did?
Francine: You broke up with Lee.
Amanda: It’s for the best.
(They have reached the Bullpen)
Francine: You’re damn right it is…
(very excited) …Now I want to hear all about it….
[Others may see this differently to me.. probably highly likely! For me?
I can’t say I mind one bit if Amanda lies to Francine about all this.
Francine totally deserves it.]
(Lee exits Billy’s office and watches Francine and Amanda from across he bullpen)
…Was it really ugly, did you have like a big shouting match and everything? Did you really give it to him? Really good? 
[Francine is lucky she doesn’t get a coat bomb! Justifiable homicide?! I think the argument could be made here…haaaaa] 
Amanda: Francine, thank you. I took care of it.
[Go Amanda! I think she’s able to really sell this lie as it’s exactly what Francine wanted to hear.] 
Francine: (beaming) good! 
(Francine is basically squeeeeeeing at this break up! Oh boy..
[Does Francine think she has saved Amanda a whole lot of heartbreak?!]
{She turns and leaves. Amanda sighs, 
then turns to see Lee smiling at her.}
[Lee you just broke up with her you are not supposed to smile at her like that!] 
He gives her a big wink. Okay! Here’s a gif of this one!!!![wink3GIF_thumb[1]](https://justwalkwithme.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/wink3gif_thumb1.gif "wink3GIF_thumb[1]")
[Another wink?! How many winks does this episode have? three I think? Anyone? where are they? Molly, did you say there are four? Do tell!!!!
This must be a record!!!!] 
{Amanda looks disapproving} 
[yeah come on Lee she just lied to Francine and said you had broken up, you can’t be winking at her across the bullpen like that!!! That’s how you got into this position in the first place! She is soooo going to tickle you once you two are alone and not able to be interrupted!!!!! Get him Amanda!!!!! ] 
{Lee keeps grinning, unrepentant.}
(The episode ends here!)
Was there a scene in the script where Lee and Amanda talk about Amanda telling Francine they broke up?
Winks…so many winks… I think it makes sense why I had forgotten this tag now. I was just too swoony over Lee’s wink to remember it! It was all too much!!
Do you guys think Francine wants Lee? I’m thinking she doesn’t, and wanted him to experience some scorched earth of his own! But.. I also think that just because she didn’t want him, doesn’t mean she is okay with Amanda getting him! I see Francine as a big jumble of lots of competing thoughts and emotions – so much cognitive dissonance going on she doesn’t really know what to do with it at this point, and finding out about Lee and Amanda seemed to send her into a spin! lol!! I look forward to continuing to walk through future episodes and seeing what happens with Francine! [Dont tell me!! I look forward to exploring it with you eventually
]
Any thoughts you’d like to share? Can’t wait to hear from you!!! Wonderful to walk with you all!!!!
Next episode? Rumors of My Death – we’ll be starting the walk through this episode the first weekend in June!!
"Just walk with me.." 
A while ago we were talking about the Francine/Amanda dynamic and I just remembered something that made me think of how I see her relationship to Lee.
World Champion Canadian pairs skaters Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler dated early in their partnership but broke up because of how it affected their on-ice relationship. In the second book they did together, Lloyd revealed he always thought they’d end back up together. And he talked about how hard it was when Isabelle married another skater — not just because of that but also he knew their relationship was going to forever change. Till now they’d been best friends and the first person each other would go to. Now, Isabelle’s husband would be the first person she’d go to.
And that’s how I see Francine looking at Lee and Amanda. Not necessarily that she and Lee would get back together romantically, but that Amanda would eventually leave and their old dynamic would return. We see hints of that with her comments “Just like old times” on Playing For Keeps. And then on Promises To Keep, I think that’s when it really hits for her. This will be a permanent change. Their friendship won’t ever be quite the same and that’s what upsets her the most.
Anyway, it was so nice to remember this other concrete example of what I’ve been trying to outline with Francine. It made what I was seeing easier to understand.
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SQUEEEEE! It’s the first Saturday in June!!! That means more reading material, right?
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I’m so excited. Rumors Of My Death is a good one but after that we get the big 3: Bad Timing, Do You Take This Spy, and Mission Of Gold!!
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I didn’t know how to take the ending at first. But I guess it kind of counts as justifiable in the end even though that wasn’t T.P.’s original intent because it came down to their lives being in danger. And I’m not convinced T.P. was really “in his right mind” because of his grief. Loved Lee’s hug of support.
It’s not one of my top eps but there is a lot I like about it. I just wish they’d left it at only killing his wife — the part about the son felt too heavy for an SMK ep to me. But anything with Lee winking that much is a good ep. And that tickling scene was pure gold!
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Jordan: … Mr. Aquinas is nothing if not careful. Surprising he tipped his hand… [I have no idea how he has tipped his hand, and what it is that’s given him away!] …Alright, get what information you can out of him, then make a very public example of his death.
In my opinion, Jordan ASSUMED it was Mr. Aquinas (T.P.), who “tipped his hand,” but in actuality it was Dr. Smyth pulling the strings. His plan? Let T.P. die killing Jordan, who’s wanted by the DEA on 30 indictments. In part 6 of 7 Smyth told Lee in retrospect: … “I knew you’d find Aquinas, Scarecrow, so I had you followed. Keeping up with him after that was like playing pin the tail on the donkey … without the blindfold.”
In part 4 of 7 Smyth had that lady bump into T.P. noting: “According to our sensors, Mr. Aquinas now has enough spydust on him to light up a fluorescent tube.” It was Dr. Smyth, who “tipped his hand” by having his own people tail T.P. That’s also how Dr. Smyth knew T.P. had given Lee the wrong farm location, which let Smyth place his own camouflaged team where he would be able to insure that Jordan, Peralta and Foster would be captured or killed. With the Agency team at the wrong location and T.P. presumably dead, the egotistical Dr. Smyth would be able to take full credit for masterminding the entire operation.
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I don’t think Dr. Smyth thought Aquinas had any plans to kill Jordan. I think he assumed based on his earlier photo surveillance that T.P. was working for Jordan, i.e., that T.P. was one of the bad guys (consistent with his penchant for distrusting his own agents, like he did with Lee and Amanda in Stemwinder). He expected to arrest Aquinas along with Jordan, Foster, and the rest of the entourage, and like you said, take credit for masterminding all of it.
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Yes to all the comments so far! Everything about the episodes sits badly with me, the justification of murder and the whole kit and caboodle with Francine just seems like the unraveling of the previous growth in character and relationships. Boo to the writers. stomps off back to the happy place in the gutter with chocolate in hand
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I’ve got enough for all🍫🍫🍫!
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Yes — four winks total. Once with Francine in the Scorched Earth scene, twice in the truck before his little coughing fit, and then here. LOVE IT!
I’m trying to keep a list of all the times Lee winks in the course of the series so I can put a compilation together.
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This was always one of the episodes. I do not really like. My main issue is that for at least my sense of justice T.P. got away with premeditated murder. He had planned the whole thing with even testing the bomb. I would agree wwith mitigating circumstances but never justified homicide. But maybe Americans has a different view on this.
I also never understood what Francine was aiming for.
Warning Amanda of Lee? Why? Amanda stood right beside her when Lee made the confession about his 4 black books. What bigger warning could there be? Why now? She caught them before like in NtK.
Jealously? I don‘t see it. In ROTP Lee said that Francine and he hadn‘t played backgammon for years (means at least 2Y). Then any affair would be more than 5 years in the past. From all I get Francine and Lee always seem to be more like siblings competing who‘s the best/Papa Bear Billy‘s number one without harbouring any old hurt feelings.
Maybe enviousiness of Amanda professionally and/or personally? Professionally because Amanda seem to make a carrier out of the blue. While Francine had had to work very hard get where she is now. Could be. Personally well I don‘t think Francine was looking for children and a house in the suburbs. But personal happiness probably yes. And Amanda a divorced mother finding this with Lee Stetson (of all man) might make Francine feel what do I wrong? Just a guess a beside some hints of fleeting affairs we do not know much about Francine privately.
And finally that whole ‚break-up‘. Why telling Francine if you do not act like that (smiling, winks). Even if Francinee didn‘t notice that right away it should not take her long to see the break-up wasn‘t for real. But I do not want to jump ahead.
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I hate this tag because It! 👏 Makes! 👏 No! 👏 Sense! 👏
I understand the logic: they wanted to play up the mystery relationship and Francine always made a pigeon ripe for the plucking with their little jokes, but the episodes in this season have been giving Francine a new layer of friendship and acceptance that is completely undercut by this plot. She just helped him commit treason (again!!) to save a woman he is obviously deeply in love with and whom she likes enough to help. They have even set up a joke that Francine doesn’t even react to walking in and finding them in compromising positions anymore (“Don’t bother to explain, it will only make it worse.”).
So what would have been the harm in having more coworker teasing? Her mother knows they’re dating, Billy is encouraging him to settle down, Francine has figured out they’re getting closer – none of it makes sense! If I was writing the fix-it fic for this one, it would be that yet again, Amanda does something so smart that Francine is impressed all over again and then ends with Francine giving Lee a shovel talk because she caught him absentmindedly flirting with one of the steno pool and doesn’t want him screwing up a good thing. Lacking that, there might be a case to be made for shifting the “Need to Know” episode with its “Don’t explain” line to follow this episode and make it obvious that she caught on to their shenanigans and is still mad at them for teasing her.
Rant over. Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 😆
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1,000,000. YES! THIS. “It makes no sense” is exactly right. In the interest of perpetuating the “mystery relationship” plot, the writers have decided to reduce Francine to a caricature and forget that four years of character development ever occurred. When scolding Lee earlier in the episode, Francine’s words were: “She is just a housewife from Arlington!” Really?? After all this time, after everything they have been through, Francine still thinks exactly the same way about Amanda as she did the day she first met her? It is not believable. It is lazy writing.
The very fact that the writers are digging in with the “mystery relationship” is part of what makes this subplot with Francine so distasteful to me. This is where Lee and Amanda move from keeping quiet about their relationship to actively lying about it. Their emphasis on keeping this big “secret” – something that started back in Stemwinder – has morphed into a kind of pathology. Why are they lying to Francine? Do they really want her to think that Lee is an irredeemable womanizer and that Amanda is foolishly naive? How is that helpful to them in any way? What is the point of keeping their relationship a secret from their coworkers, especially Francine? This is never explained!
Is it because of “safety”? If they want Amanda’s family to be safer, surely it would be better for their trained Agency coworkers – the few people who actually know what they do for a living, and whom they routinely entrust with their lives – to be in on their secret, so that they are more cognizant of the risk and can help protect them better. Yet instead, it seems that Lee and Amanda have decided the exact opposite: they will let Amanda’s family know they are a couple and in love, while lying to their coworkers. It makes no sense.
YES. I think it is very appropriate to bring up Night Crawler here. However poorly Francine may have behaved toward Amanda in the past, she has more recently shown herself to be a true and loyal friend. In Night Crawler, Francine disobeyed direct orders to help Lee save Amanda, putting her career and her life at risk. She is the one who found the Habib brothers, she served as Lee’s backup when he tried to rescue Amanda from Birol’s safe house, she called in the cavalry when things went awry, she carried out the plan to put the tracking device on Magda, thus saving both of them… She did these things because Lee is her close friend, and she will support him without question. And now Lee and Amanda are lying to her about a very fundamental part of their lives, and laughing about it behind her back? This just makes them seem like jerks.
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I’ve got more to share on this episode, but time keeps getting away from me. Had to let you all know that when this episode aired, my mom decided she wanted to have dinner out. Of course, 14-year old me was not happy about dinner out on SMK night. So like any fan, I’m rushing through dinner and we get back just in time for the tag. I had missed the entire episode and was in a panic hearing that they had just “broken up.” The wink was meaningless to me at the time. I ended up calling another SMK fan who explained things and I finally caught it during repeats. So this might be my least favorite tag for that reason. It’s still in my memory.
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