5/5 Season Four:Episode Sixteen- Do You Take this Spy?–Scarecrow and Mrs King

35 thoughts on “5/5 Season Four:Episode Sixteen- Do You Take this Spy?–Scarecrow and Mrs King”

1. I missed bantering with all of you when this was posted. Reading this post and comments tonight is the perfect way to relax! Thank you!

   When I watch the wedding scene, I see Bruce and Kate as well Lee and Amanda. After four years, I think B&K know each other very well and they know Lee and Amanda, so when they finally get to play this scene, B&K, a well as L&A are ready. I think the actors are having as much fun as the characters are and it makes this scene shine. It is also well written to give us this extra long intimate climax. End of S3 with the first real kiss was cut short, but made up for it here.

   The tag is my favorite scene in all four seasons. The actress who played the maid was perfect! She seems unfriendly and knows they are waiting, yet, she seems to be saying that they’ve had a long courtship and there will be a lot of waiting in marriage, too. Then she leaves and pats the door as if to give them a little blessing. She comes across as callus, yet, in the little pat, we catch a glimpse of a caring woman who is wishing them well—- just as each of us feels.

   As far as Amanda’s “wow” and little sqeal, let’s just say that what caused that isn’t on the bingo cards.

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   1. A very cute analogy to sum things up. Yes, their first real kiss, Season 3, Episode 22, they duped us on that, and yes the (real) wedding they somewhat made up for it. KJ once said in an interview after filming the “Ship of Spies” episode, that the kiss should have been longer.

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      1. A longer SoS kiss? For a kiss between two people who were ‘pretending’ to be in love, get married, etc.? KJ wanted a longer kiss? I’m puzzled but not disappointed in that remark. 🤔 😁

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         1. Sorry for the lack of clarity, during the interview, she was asked was Bruce a good of a kisser as it looked like they were really into it (during the SOS episode). Kate’s reply, with a smile, was, it should have been longer. It was cute because she was blushing at the question.

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            1. Oh, I figured it was a good reason. 😁 I’m just laughing because of the nature of the relationship when it aired, etc. She didn’t hold back this time!

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               1. She definitely didn’t hold anything back.

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2. Loved reading all your thoughts.. Guess I should get a move on with finishing the next episode huh! It’s underway and I”m working on it.. I would hope we will walk through it April at the latest, but don’t hold me to that at this point..

   Hope you are all well!!!!

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3. I figured someone would raise the ship of spies (SOS) wedding ceremony here, and left it out thinking hmmmm someone might go there with this! Usually any excuse to insert a pic from that ceremony I take it haaaaaa but this ceremony was so swoony all on it’s own I didn’t need it.

   Curious to hear people’s thoughts on this if they have any… how do the two compare?
   I am guessing they took great care to make this wedding very different to their cover wedding – which may have been another incentive to go for the whole low key vibe.
   no meringue dress for Amanda! And interesting that Lee turns up with a bouquet and then, Amanda does even hold it during the actual ceremony.

   Here’s my little take on it.. but super keen to hear what you think too..
   Both wedding ceremonies were big moments for the characters and their relationship, both were significant, both were dripping in romance… both had a little humour injected (I’d say in DYTTS they attempted it but the lady falls flat for me. the bored priest in the SOS wedding is flippin hilarous!) lots of similarities… but they are still very different – I think it’s well done.
   The vows are very different.. which was a good call.. and we get to see both of them deliver their full vows – if I remember correctly we only heard one set of vows for SOS.
   The SOS ceremony is full of potential between the two, and realization that uh oh there are real feelings here!!!
   This DYTTS ceremony is full of the actualization/realization of that previous potential, and a mutual full embrace of those real feelings that have since grown and matured to their full potential!!!

   Thoughts everyone?

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   1. I liked both wedding ceremonies, though the wedding in SOS looked like the real thing. When I first saw scenes of this episode, I actually thought they were getting married for real. I must say, the vows in DYTTS seemed more genuine. Lee and Amanda’s expression, you could feel the love they had for one another. I really didn’t feel that in the SOS nuptials, maybe because they only said one verse, whereas in the REAL one you heard both Lee and Amanda saying them. Even though the DYTTS was supposed to be the secret marriage, I would have loved to see it look more like a wedding. In SOS, Lee’s expression when he start the vows look as if he’s unsure, it didn’t look as genuine as Amanda’s expression. Although both ceremonies were completely different they were beautifully well done. The minister in SOS was hilarious, In DYTTS, Mrs. Bowman, she looked too serious, not excited for them, except when she tells them, “you can kiss now”, and the Clerk did nothing for me. Both episodes are amongst my favorites. Love them both!!!

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   2. It’s sort of hard for me to compare the two weddings, in that one was “real” and one was not. I do prefer the outdoor setting for the SOS wedding. I also wish that Amanda had worn a dress instead of a suit for the real thing. If I were designing my own “secret” ceremony for them, I would make it outside, somewhere pretty, at dusk – just Lee, Amanda and the officiant (and witness if we must have her). And I would have put Amanda in that lovely white dress with the white flower in her hair that she wore in Three Faces of Emily. Lee looks wonderful in his suit – I would have kept that the same as DYTTS.

      I am deeply grateful that they allowed these characters that I love so much to have such a dignified, lengthy and heartfelt ceremony. I wrote plenty about that in my post below. But I will admit that my dismay over the “secret marriage” plot does mar my enjoyment of it, a little bit. If I could only choose one of these two episodes to watch over and over – even if it were just the wedding ceremony – it would be SOS, without question. I dearly love that episode.

      Here’s another thought… SMK has a huge, active fandom. So many people are still sharing their thoughts about the show – on forums like this one, message boards, social media, the MKC podcast, etc., etc. I must have read thousands of posts about SMK. And in all those posts, NOT ONCE have I ever seen anyone say, “I think the secret marriage was a great idea!” No – the public reaction to this plot arc is completely, overwhelmingly negative. I have to think that if the show were made today, in the age of the Internet, they would not have gone that route. There would have been so much more opportunity for the public to make its feelings known immediately. Secret marriage = STUPID IDEA. And they would have been pressured to do something else.

      Perhaps I could have gotten more on board with the secret marriage if there had been some sort of a clear “off ramp.” For instance, there could have been a specific international spy/criminal who was “out to get” Lee and Amanda, and once he was caught, they could stop with the secrecy.

      But now I have wandered way off topic. In the end, I’ll just say again that I am very, very grateful they gave us the marriage, and thank goodness we have fanfiction to make up for the rest.

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      1. I’m going to hope/imagine that they have a vow renewal some years later at a beautiful venue that fulfills all our dreams. 😀

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         1. Yeeessssssss!!!

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      2. I agree, I love the SOS wedding ceremony much better than DYTTS. I also wish they would have put her in a white dress instead of the suit. I don’t know, they just had her look so plain. As you said, the white dress she had on in the “Three Faces of Emily” episode. I thought she looked absolutely gorgeous. It almost seems like the writers in Season 4 was deliberately trying to sabotage the season. It absolutely made no sense to me. What they were thinking, why? I guess we will never know. Thank god for platforms like this where we can voice our opinions.

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         1. The suit is very pretty, and better for another event. I wanted to see her in a dress too. Not necessarily the SOS dress, but something elegant and flattering. What I like about SOS is the element of surprise in that they both didn’t expect to feel that way when they were going through this. Same could be said for the real wedding, in some respects. I think it exceeded their expectations. I also think it would have been great if Amanda or Lee brought up that SOS day and the kiss during this episode. Maybe even a flashback or two to show them thinking about it. It could have been a very interesting conversation anyway.

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            1. That would have been nice to see. A flashback of their kiss after the nuptials, and that surprisingly look on both their faces.

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      3. Interesting! I think one of the aspects of this that interests me is the idea of one being ‘real’ and the other being a ‘cover’ – however, between Lee and Amanda something real happened between them at both.

         Ohhhh such a cool insight – you’re right I’ve never seen anyone say the secret marriage was a great idea! haaaaa..
         Oh yes, I think if SMK was made today we never would have gotten the marriage in the first place.

         Also really interesting ideas about the ‘off ramp’ !! Can we come back to this more once Season 4 has ended? I really really want to talk with you all about this but I”ll hold off till the end of Season 4 I think.

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         1. I see the series Chuck as the updated version of SMK and they end S4 beautifully. One of the charms of Chuck is the SMK family feel and the love and marriage is valued.

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4. I put all the complications/ consequences of the secret marriage away and just focus on their sheer joy and delight in one another.

   Iwsod, that is such a lovely way to view the wedding scene and you have inspired me to enjoy it in the same spirit. This scene is like a special gift for the viewers who have come to care so much for these two characters. In the end, it is easy to put aside my problems with the overall plot arc and just focus on The Love. This show is about the journey that Lee and Amanda have taken and the love and fulfillment they have found in being together, and for now, that is all that matters.

   This is the longest wedding ceremony I remember watching on any TV show ever. It is so genuine and heartfelt. I love that they each go through a lengthy recitation of vows. The happiness and emotion that these actors are able to convey — it is all such a joy to behold.

   For me, the wedding brings to mind what are probably my two favorite scenes in all of SMK. The first is in Night Crawler, when Birol throws Lee into the room where Amanda is being held and he is finally reunited with her. Even in that most dire of circumstances, there was such great joy and gratitude in Lee’s expression. In that moment, all that mattered was that the woman he loved more than anything was alive and he had found her, and asking her to marry him was the easiest and most natural thing in the world. Here in this wedding scene, I see the same joy and peace emanating from Lee. He has grown from a man who was carrying many demons with him, to one who is no longer adrift. He has found meaning and purpose in loving Amanda.

   And I am also reminded of the scene in the Triumvirate where Lee and Amanda were in the Cumberland hotel suite, having a conversation about “why they do this,” and there was so much love radiating between them – even though they weren’t yet ready to put their feelings in words. The reason I’m reminded of that scene is because of the “soft focus” lens that they are using on the camera, and the backlighting from the window. It just instantly transports me back to that scene at the Cumberland, which I found utterly captivating.

   Really the series could have ended here and I would have been perfectly satisfied. (But I’m glad it didn’t, despite everything.)

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   1. It was a TRUE! love story.

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   2. To my knowledge the only longer weddings have been on soaps and they don’t count because they stretch EVERY DAY out longer! (Anyone here ever try to watch Days Of Our Lives where a day essentially lasts a whole freaking week? LOL)

      But Lee and Amanda’s wedding is just so beautiful and heartfelt. It felt like they really wrote this one with the fans in mind.

      And I’ve always justified the secret marriage and lack of family at the wedding as being similar to one of my favorite actors, David James Elliott, got married. He and his wife couldn’t afgord a real wedding so they just did a civil ceremony like this and then years later, they did a big wedding for all their family and friends. I could see Lee and Amanda doing that as well after the secret finally comes out. And when I remember at the coverage ET and the magazines did for David & his wife’s big wedding, I honestly feel content with that kind of outcome.

      Plus this has never been a traditional courtship or relationship. Other than the past couple of eps where we saw Lee with Amanda’s family, this has been a secretive relationship from the beginning. In a way it’s very symbolic to make the wedding a secret too and it’s kind of special making it just about the two people who were involved.

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   3. Hey peacockdancer, enjoyed reading your take on this episode, ceremony etc.
      Ending the season here? hmmm now that’s an interesting idea – I don’t remember what is ahead for the show sooooo I’m going to play around with that idea while we continue the walk to the very end!

      Good call on the vibe being similar the that dreamy cumberland conversation.. yeah the lighting is very similar. I love this.

      The longest ceremony on TV? I hadn’t thought about that before.. gosh I can’t think of the last time I actually watched a tv wedding full stop!! haaaaaa..

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5. I forced myself to wait to read this till today for the anniversary and it was so worth the wait! That wedding was so beautiful! I could watch it over and over.

   I don’t remember whether the cake is in the script but instead of the annoying maid we got Amanda bandaging Lee’s GSW and Nick shows up briefly

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   1. Such discipline & self-restraint!! 🙂

      Whooo thanks for the script insights.

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      1. You’re welcome! And I went and doublechecked and no, the cake scene wasn’t included. I did see an article saying that the cake was brought on set as a surprise for the actors but I don’t know if that’s true.

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         1. Thanks for the update! I have been trying to find the episode with that scene. Glad to know it wasn’t in any of them.

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            1. You’re welcome. I wish we’d gotten it as a scene too.

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               1. Me too!

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6. I liked this episode-but so disappointed that they made it a secret. It was plainly dumb. They moved on from fish out of water stories which removed some of the charm of the show-but I’m scared for my wife/husband publicly could have restored some of that charm. Instead we got superspy Amanda, which the start of the show was never about.
   Still, we don’t know if Kate’s health issues took her eye off the prize but this superspy Amanda was not a great move imo. (Just pre and post wedding)

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   1. I can see how the writers wanted her character to grow and develop into an agent. Afterall she was now working for the Agency on a full time basis. With Season 4, the writers were all over the place. I do agree that the concept of the show changed during the last season.

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   2. Hiya Janetpc, great to hear from you!
      so true, I’m thinking we will definitely have a discussion around what the difference between season 4 and the rest is… and the implications etc.
      but yes already you can see they have moved on from the fish out of water charm as you so well put it!
      Can someone remind me about this at the end of Season 4? I do really want to discuss this once we are done with the whole season!

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      1. I would love to discuss.

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7. Such great moments here. Kate and Bruce knock it out of the park! I remember that cake-cutting scene from a TV guide article or something about the episode. Anyway, I’ve seen the picture before and I haven’t peaked at the scripts. I think, going back to my last post, they really could have done more with this episode, even with the two of them being spies. Some cake cutting, champagne toast, etc., What we got is cute but it’s rushed. Also, that final scene is epic and adorable!

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   1. Yes, Kate and Bruce definitely knocked it out of the park. The chemistry between them was wonderful. My favorite episode of Season 4.

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8. I love this scene! everything about it. The wedding itself is sooooooo sweet, they look absolutely adorable, and anxious. Yes, Lee looks so darn yummy! After the nuptials and they kiss as Mr. and Mrs. Stetson, they look as if they’re thinking, this day finally came. Now, inside their room, and the maid is taking her sweet little time, Lee and Amanda are looking as if they want to tell her to get the heck out of their room. My take on their gestures as they wait for her to finish, they’re not tired, but very anxious, they want to get their sexy time on as Mr. and Mrs. Stetson. Kudos to Lee and Amanda, such a lovely wedding!!!!

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   1. loved reading your thoughts neckieh! This ceremony, is a gift!!!

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