We find Lee and Francine talking in the bullpen, rofl when Francine mentions ‘the Stemwinder case’ – errr yeah that makes it sound so understated rofl! Lee thinks Rostov might know something about Christina Golitsyn, because he was the DC chief for Russia in the 50’s.
Lee: ….But knowing Rostov, it’s gonna take a little persuasion.
Francine: Persuasion?
Lee: Yeah, nothing heavy. Andre has fallen in love with the great American shopping experience. His information can usually be bought for a, uh, cashmere sweater or a case of champagne.
[rofl they make it sound beneath them when really they should be cheering he’s that easy 
Gone american soft has he??!! … Still hate your parents buddy?]
Francine: With Harry out in the cold, doesn’t it make sense that he would try to contact some of his old family?
Lee: You’re probably right. If they are watching me, I’ll have T.P. do the long-distance work. [Does Francine know who TP is?]
Francine: OK in that case, I’m gonna reroute your call to six bogus locations. If anybody’s listening, it’ll keep them very busy.
Lee (to Francine): Good.
(into phone). T.P.? Scarecrow. Listen, I need some legwork done… [oh? soooo TP takes orders from Lee now?!]
…We have an eyes-and-ears problem here,..
[I love how they say this with tons of agents milling around them hearing what they are saying and looking busy. There’s even a dude sitting between them while Francine says she’ll use bogus locations. haaaa.]
…so from now on, we’ll use the Lisbon rules, OK? All right, Amanda will leave the information at the drop in 20 minutes…Good.
[Lisbon rules? Pleaase tell me this is different to the Lisbon variation???!!!! whahaahaa… because if it’s the same this means TP is going to be pretend to date Lee no?! Noooo haaaa]
Off to Fort Dexter Lee goes with Francine to visit Rostov….
Rostov: Any word on my stereo speakers.
Lee: Studio Monitors are pretty hard to come by, you know that? But maybe I can grease some bureaucratic wheels if you can help me out. (Lee takes out an A4 manila envelope, opens it and gets out some white A4 paper). Take a look at this. 
(He takes out a black and white photo of a pretty young woman.) 
…Poltigar (?) reckons her name is Christina Golitsyn. She was a courier for the Russian Embassy in the 50s.
Francine: She was supposed to have been killed when she returned to Russia 27 years ago, kay? Then this other picture turns up last week.
Lee shows Rostov the photo that Billy had, of an older Christina and Harry, dressed in black.
[So hilarious they are both looking directly at the camera]
Lee: Do you know the woman?
Rostov: Yes of course. Christina Golitsyn….
[yeahhhh derrrr because you just showed him the photo of young Christina Golitsyn oh rofl. shouldn’t they have just showed him the new photo and seen if he identified her??! oh that’s too funny. I have no idea if Rostov is legit here can’t remember this plot at all..]
… Many years ago, I heard she’d been sent back to Moscow to be executed. Uh, supposedly she was killed in a car accident before the dirty business was completed. But of course she’s obviously still alive… I must say that this could upset some people.
Francine: Why do you say that?
Rostov: Have you ever hear of the Khrushchev List?
Lee: Why?
(Rostov seats himself at a park bench as he continues..)
Rostov: In the late ‘50s, Khrushchev must have realised that eventually he would lose favour with the party, because it was rumoured that he had, uh, formed a private spy network for political leverage. The spies involved were all young American government officials with promising futures.
Lee: That’s a hell of a rumour.
Rostov: Yeah. And some years later I heard more rumours that the documents were hidden in Washington, that named the Americans involved.
Francine: Christina would have been highly placed if she’d been connected to the Khrushchev List.
Rostov: Oh no, Christina was only the courier. But none the less, she was one of the few people who knew where the documents were buried.
Lee: It’s probably why she was marked for execution.
Rostov: Huh, huh. It’s an effective way to keep a secret.
(He chuckles). If the strong box containing the documents is not opened properly, it is rigged to explode.
[Ah maybe this was why Rostov was laughing, it seemed a little creepy at first!]
Francine: Does Christina know this?
Rostov: Oh, no. It’s not the sort of thing a courier would have been told.
Ahhhh interesting plot twist this! Sooooo Lee has to either warn Harry and Christina, or get to the box first. cool cool.
Outside a building with an American flag flying, street scene. 
[Have we seen this before? Any ideas for keeping track of locations/ buildings when we walk through again?! I’m all ears.] 
Inside, the building has high arched, decorated ceilings.
Man (Singer): Nice work. You made page one on the CIS report. Every intelligence agency in this town is looking for Harry and the woman. And they’re all very curious.
Man 2 (Quisguard), who was listening to Lee’s phone recording in the dark red sedan): Relax, Singer. You’re internal security counsel. You get every update on Stetson’s investigation. I’ll pick up his trail after you get the next report…. 
Oh, uh, by the way. Does the Russian woman know any of the names on the list?
Singer: No.
Quisguard: Good.
Singer: We’ve got to be certain that she never finds out. Some of my associates on the list are getting nervous… [Umm dudes why are you talking about this in a public space with people walking past, high ceilings and fab acoustics?!]
…And I’ve worked too hard for my position to be jeopardised by my second career coming to light.
Quisguard: Just get those reports and there won’t be any problems.
Singer: If you take care of this, you could have a very enviable career. But Christina Golitsyn has got to be found and dealt with now or there won’t anything left for either of us.
Quisguard: Done.
Yeahhhh you two evil dudes are so done.
We see the corvette pull up outside a farmhouse…
Do you think this is the place where Harry was staying in Tail of the Dancing Weasel? I don’t think know, not sure..
We hear Lee and Francine trying to figure things out as they pull up out front. 
Francine: He’s (Harry) probably worried somebody on that list might still be alive and working in high government positions. He couldn’t trust anyone. Although that does not explain why he tried to contact you this morning.
Lee: If he’s after that list, I’m the only one that can deliver it.
(Lee calls Billy on his car phone.)
Lee: Billy, Scarecrow. Listen, Francine and I are on our way to check out a hunting cabin that Harry sometimes used as a safehouse.
Billy (in his office): Apparently, one of the CIA sources has also linked Christina Golitsyn to the Khrushchev List. And the CIS has put the report on their last transmission.
Lee: That’s just great. Now every fed eyeing a promotion will be on this.
Billy: Yeah. And because Harry has gone underground, some of the other agencies are suggesting he might be planning to blackmail the people on the list. [whoooo stemwinder part 3?! This time it’s Harry selling out to the Russians?!]
Lee: That’s not what you’re thinking?
Billy: Of course not. I sent a request to the internal security director for an exclusive on the case. We don’t want this thing to turn into a three ring circus. 
[awh go Billy!]
Lee: It already has. I’ll talk to you later. Out.
Outside the ‘hunting lodge’, the Corvette door opens. Lee and Francine get out.
Francine: According to Christina’s file, she and Harry were romantically involved.
Lee: You’re kidding? [why tell Lee this as you creep up the front steps gun drawn?! rofl. ]
Francine: No.
Lee: Harry used to caution me about getting romantically involved with anyone I worked with.
[rofl. so sex would be fine. just don’t do the romance Keep it PG Iwsod!]
Francine: Hehm! I seem to remember a couple of times you ignored that bit of wisdom. [Whooo hoooooo]
Lee: Oh?
Francine: Yuh.
Lee: Well apparently Harry didn’t take his own advice either.
[I think Harry gave the advice because waiting decades to be with the woman he loved due to all the dangerous complications was heartbreaking.. and he didn’t want Lee to experience that… Hmmm.. if only Harry had advised Lee against secret marriages.. that I could see the wisdom in!! 😉 ]
They approach the front porch, then split up and Lee enters, picks up a gold atomiser, 
and is then confronted by some guy with a gun 
who is then confronted by Francine with a gun. Surprise! 
Lee: We’re from the Agency. (He raises his identification card). I suggest you start to explain what you’re doing here.
(Man raises an identification card with CIA written on it.)
Man: I’m CIA. I’ve got nothing to explain.
[Is it just me or is it flippin hilarious how Lee’s ID kind of flops in his hand when he hears this guy is CIA? 
haaa. You can feel the UUUGGGHHHH radiating off Lee lol!]
Outside, we find Billy has his cranky pants on as he pulls up in his car, we can tell because the car squeals so loudly when he pulls up. Ha! There’s two CIA agents there.. and the hunt for Harry is on. No wonder they call this a hunting lodge
The CIA female agent walks up to Billy.
Billy: Listen to me, Jenkins. I want you and that other clown you call a field agent off my turf.
Jenkins: Your turf? Come on. Harry Thornton is fair game and you know it.
[Whoooo Sally Spectre is now working for the CIA? gold!!! So what do we think- Is Jenkins the winner of the Biggest Shoulder pads in SMK award?? They are positively massive and barely fit into the shot.]
Billy: You got my priority dispatch saying the Agency was going to be handling this.
Lee approaches from behind Billy.
Jenkins: Yeah, sure I got it. But a couple of the boys out at Langley were a little concerned, you know? They were a little concerned about how thorough you might be while investigating one of your own.
Billy: If you’re even hinting that I would take part in a cover-up, I’ve have your job so fas-..
Lee:..Hey, Billy. Billy, Billy. Forget it, huh? The internal security director’s on the phone. He wants to talk to Jenkins.
[huh? oh no Lee don’t cut Billy off. I liked where that was headed! ]
Jenkins: Thank you. You better face it, Melrose. Good old Harry just got bored. He got bored staying home and watering the lawn, watching the TV with the game shows and the soap operas, you know? And he and that lady friend of his, they saw a chance to blackmail a few of America’s less-than-finest. So, they just went into business for themselves, that’s all.
[She does quiet threatening well. Helped by those shoulder pads no doubt]
Billy: I suggest that you answer that phone before I do something that I won’t regret.
Jenkins takes one last hard look at Billy, then walks up the stairs away from them.
On to the farmhouse.. another farmhouse.. ohhh okay so it was another farm house where the fantastic four were hiding out making their plans to break in…
Gretchen: Now according to the duty roster, the guards only check the rear storage areas every other hour. There’s no surveillance cameras. So we really shouldn’t be looking at too many problems.
Harry: Good work. Just like your mother.
Meatball and Gretchen walk onto the porch of the house to a tin bucket. Meatball picks up a champagne bottle.
Christina: What is the alarm system?
Meatball: Uh, it’s a standard Heidman-Palmer that can be cut without alerting the back-up system. After the guards make their rounds, we’ve got at least… at least 90 minutes to dig up the strong box.
Gretchen hands round glasses while Meatball pulls the cork from the bottle and joins them and everyone has some pleasantries before the get down to business.. 
The scene ends with Harry saying: …Tonight, we hoist the giraffe and tomorrow, Khrushchev’s legacy will be known to all.
Giraffe? huh. oooookaaaaaay!
Its so weird how now all of a sudden Amanda is not Lee’s partner and Francine is.
I wonder what viewers new to smk today make of this change… if they don’t know the context at the time. Anyone able to speak to that?
I just miss Lee and Amanda as a team.. it is the show… this just feels like a second rate replacement.. (the scarecrow and Francine mini series shown out of ratings period haaaa). Maybe this is just me, but it actually helps me to be okay with the show coming to a close..
Any thoughts so far??? Anyone??
"Just walk with me.." 
Did anyone see this?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2023/08/03/jaclyn-smith-kate-jackson-reunite-wedding-charlies-angels/70525649007/
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You talked about how having Lee and Amanda together less made it easier for this to be the series close. I know what you mean. I HATE series finales when they’re planned — the only one I liked was Full House because they made it a poignant episode but not a true “ending” so you could imagine the characters living on. One of the things that I do like about the premature cancellation is we don’t have to deal with an episode showing Lee and Amanda leaving the field or retiring altogether and we can imagine their adventures continued on for years — we just never got to see them anymore because those files are “classified” and “need to know”!
I actually made a point of watching these episodes and saving a different one for last (Santa’s Got A Brand New Bag) so it wouldn’t hurt as much. But then I was doing the math and realized I’d probably seen that ep as well as these last four when I was watching in syndication at age ten. (Family Channel sometimes skipped the Christmas ones but I know they had to show it that time because I looked at the days and dates it would have been on and I distinctly remember the days of the week I saw two episodes, and that was the only way they’d line up right.)
So I actually don’t know which ep I saw last and that feels REALLY good. It’s like it never truly ended for me.
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And because I know how weird it sounds that I’d remember the specific days:
– Night Crawler was my favorite episode and I didn’t want to watch the series because it had “stolen” Father Dowling Mysteries’ time slot. However Mom was working that night — and the mall was only open late Thursdays and Fridays. I was feeling lonely without her, so I joined the rest of the family in the living room and meant to just read since it was on, but I got pulled in.
Mission Of Gold had to be a Monday because we missed the wedding by ONE day thanks to an annual vacation we took. And I distinctly remember how mad I was about that when they said “honeymoon”. We always came home Sundays, the series was on Monday to Friday, so Mission Of Gold was clearly a Monday. And the only way that would line up is if you include Santa’s Got A Brand New Bag. Otherwise Mission Of Gold would have been on Friday and I’d have missed it too. (That ep made a HUGE impression on me at age ten because it was the first time I learned you could survive being shot in the chest).
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I would like more background on what happened to Rostov after Stemwinder. Why is he in this federal prison (minimum security, from the looks of it)? Did he not have diplomatic immunity?
It is also quite shocking how much useful information Lee and Francine were able to extract from Rostov with no persuasion whatsoever, other than a promise to try to secure some stereo speakers. Really, the former KGB station chief just casually admits that there is an actual list of U.S. government officials who were secretly working for Khrushchev, secured in a strongbox somewhere in DC? I’m surprised at the way the Agency seems to immediately accept this at face value. It could easily have been a lie designed to instill mistrust and lead them on a wild goose chase.
I guess we can conclude that Rostov’s comrades back in the USSR have abandoned him and he harbors zero expectation of being traded back to Moscow, because — wow.
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I never understood how some of the bad guys got diplomatic immunity and some didn’t. Was Rostov with the embassy?
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Did anyone see this? Kate at her costars son’s wedding….
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2023/08/03/jaclyn-smith-kate-jackson-reunite-wedding-charlies-angels/70525649007/
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Just saw the comment re the cashmere and easy way to buy affection and I think it’s also a bit of disgust because that just proves his lack of loyalty to his own country and lack of morals. Whereas you almost have a grudging respect for someone who remains loyal because that shows some integrity.
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Why would Lee hate his parents? I’m confused.
I think choosing this ep as the final one was an interesting choice — it’s about helping the person who started The Agency AND we have a villain back from the season 4 premiere. He definitely doesn’t seem as threatening though.
I think it’s safe in The Agency itself because all their lines are swept and stuff. It’s just that any other way T.P. or Harry might try to contact could be dangerous.
I like the nods to involve Amanda when we don’t have her onscreen — saying she’s delivering instructions and Billy’s comments in the next post. (As opposed to A Matter Of Choice, which still annoys me — they couldn’t spare ONE throwaway line between Francine making out with Rocks In His Head to account for her absence? Just: “Why won’t you let me help you?” That’s what we wanted to know too!!!)
And as far as the partnership is concerned — the Francine scenes with Lee are actually supposed to be Amanda according to the original script, so they’re written with her in mind. Which for me makes this ep easier to watch — I just mentally replace Francine with Amanda and imagine it’s the original way it was written and I’m a happy girl!
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‘Still hating his parents’ refers to Rostov. It’s a point that was mentioned in his dossier in Stemwinder.
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Oh I’d forgotten about that. Thanks!
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Christina Golitsyn: I think the actress who plays this character is absolutely beautiful. She and Harry make a lovely couple. When I hear the name “Golitsyn,” it makes me think of the first Mission Impossible movie with Tom Cruise; “Golitsyn” was an American attaché at the embassy in Prague who had supposedly sold a list of agent names. Now, doing some IMDBing, I see that the actress playing Christina was a star of the original Mission Impossible TV series, so that is a funny coincidence. There was also a famous KGB defector to the United States named Anatoliy Golitsyn (he defected to the CIA in 1961). I wonder if that was a coincidence.
Harry Thornton: Delighted to have him back. Wish we had seen more of him in Season 4.
Rostov: I can’t believe they brought back a character from one of the best SMK episodes of all time and wasted him in this episode. Some kind of Stemwinder follow-up would have been amazing.
All Of These Other People: Okay, I am overstating it, but there are SO many characters in this episode, and I have always found it to be totally confusing. WHY do we need to introduce these “Gretchen” and “Meatball” characters on top of all of the other stuff going on here? It also annoys me that they call this guy “Meatball.” We already have a “Leatherneck” and a “Ragmop” at the Agency. Enough of these stupid nicknames. Overall, I feel like a LOT happens in this episode – like they were just trying to cram so much into the plot, and in the end I always feel like I just watched two episodes-worth of plot.
Amanda: Honestly, I do not enjoy her in this episode and wish they had just left her out of it. Sorry if that sounds harsh. Her personality change is complete and I no longer find her recognizable when compared to pre-Season 4 Amanda. Sadly, I think other commenters are correct that making her a full-time agent just didn’t work out. I don’t really have an alternative idea as to what they should have done with her. I know her character needed to continue to evolve. I just wish that they had figured out a way to keep the Amanda = “regular world,” Lee = “spy world” dynamic.
If I had a magic wand and could go back and change things, I would have never have had Lee and Amanda become engaged, much less married (and certainly not “mystery”-married) in Season 4. I would much rather have seen them enjoy a year of a “can’t keep their hands off each other,” adult dating relationship.
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I get what you’re saying. When I watched shows like Chuck or Fubar I think of SMK and wonder if those storylines would have worked here.
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I thought I was the only one who didn’t like the way her (Amanda) character evolved. I didn’t care too much for her either. Seems like she was trying to be like Francine, a bit harsh, business, and not really caring. In one of the episodes of this season (4) when she was talking, she almost sounded like Sabrina Duncan. I had to make sure I was watching SMK not Charlie’s Angles. Not that I didn’t like her as Sabrina, I did, I absolutely loved her. She was my favorite. Seemed as though her character didn’t smile enough. I do understand about her character had to grow, since she was now an agent, grow yes, but not harsh and uncaring. After, do you take this spy? her character and the show went downhill.
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Nope, you are definitely not the only one. I think your comparison to Sabrina Duncan is very apt. I have only made it through the first season of Charlie’s Angels, but as soon as I saw Sabrina in action, something clicked — I felt like I was watching late Season 4 Amanda! The lack of smiles is a big part of it. Even the darker hair color is similar.
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My reaction to reading this???
Relief!!! So agree. Where is our Amanda?! 😉
I think they could have kept the charm the suburban take on things while reducing her bumbling silliness.. I don’t think we had to lose who Amanda is for her to become professional..
But.. it is what it is…
Hmm I’m torn. I’m with you here Peacockdancer but if I had this, I would not have had the wedding ceremony… that wedding kiss.. Lee’s adoring dimpley smile to be the happiest groom ever..
I would rather I got what I have than miss out on that..
oh and that little tap on the pillow along with the Do Not Disturb sign – so smk… and I wouldn’t want to miss it 🙂
Maybe they should have ended the show with that. Rofl.
I agree though at the same time – we can never have too much of them not being able to keep their hands off each other. whooooo haaaaaa!!!! tee hee.
Love where this is headed haaaaa…
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I should have added that my magic wand would also be able to have prevented Kate Jackson from getting sick. Combine that with a more compelling plot and character arcs, and I feel certain the show would have been picked up for a fifth season. I would have started Season 5 with a two-part Night Crawler, and ended it with a two-part episode that included both a wedding (WITH their family and friends) and a “flash-forward” five years to see where everyone ends up.
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How great would it have been, if KJ was fine a couple years later and we got even a movie or extra 8 episodes like some shows do today? Magic wand indeed!
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The problem is that Kate Jackson had breast cancer in real life and couldn’t keep up the production schedule, so that made a difference. However, I agree with the evolution of the character and their relationship. They went from talking about a big wedding and a new house in season 4, episode 9 to having to live in 2 separate places and not being able to tell people they were married. It was fairly annoying and not a good ending.
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Welcome T! Glad you can join us.
Yep everyone here now has the benefit of hindsight & knows of Kate’s health battle. It results in a jarring finish huh! It is what it is…
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We all know about Kate’s health issues now, but that is slightly different to the ‘cold’ superspy that Amanda became. We know that some of Franceen’s scenes were Amanda’s-but the Sabrina Duncan references were accurate. They changed Amanda AND Kate became sick. Was this character development planned regardless or it was easier to slot once scripts had to be changed?
I know some of this is chicken/egg stuff, but it COULD have been done differently. Or perhaps Kate wasn’t up to fluffy Amanda scenes. I guess we will never know.
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Yep I agree it was not totally down to Kate’s health, I think that’s fair! Maybe the character development misstep and Kate’s health issues combined were unfortunate timing… but yeah I can total see the Sabrina Duncan influence too! 🙂
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I agree with making her character grow, in fact, that is what I liked about the show. The Amanda King character was always a giving and loving person, even in season two, when she was goofy during mid-season, then towards the end of the season, that goofiness went away (I’m glad). In season Four, she became very hard and almost non-caring. Maybe due to KJ’s health and the toll that the radiation treatment took on her body, she didn’t feel like being the caring and loving Amanda (understandable), They could have just had her become a little softer. Think back to Episode 4, No Thanks for the Memory – the scene in Lee’s apartment, she’s sitting on the couch and picking at her food. Lee asks if something was wrong because she barely ate anything. I love this episode and scene because it shows where her character has grown, yet she still has that caring side. If the character had stayed like that it would have been great.
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So True! That’s the tragedy in this. Could have had at least another season or two. It was a fan favorite, as you said, we will never know.
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Agreed! The episode, “The man who died twice” made no sense to me. Each time I watched it, I tried to like and understand it, but I couldn’t. So based on Lee’s friend, the double agent, their whole marriage plans changed. That and along with the transformation of Amanda’s personality (she went from caring Amanda King to an emotionless Sabrina Duncan version, even Sabrina had emotions.) Very stupid. Again, this last season had some of the stupidest episodes. It was as though the writers wrote anything to fill the season.
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Too true. They even went against their own plot lines. There was a Christmas episode where Lee came over and spent Christmas at the house with the family and then in the next episode he was introducing himself.
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That one we can thank/blame the network for. They showed them out of order for some reason. I’m guessing there was a political event or a football game or a St. Jude’s special the night Any Number Can Play was supposed to air. Back then if something got pre-empted, they went with the air dates they’d planned on, especially if it was a Christmas episode.
Nowadays because so many series have continued plot arcs, they keep everything in order. (Other than Pan Am in 2011-2012). A few years ago there was some event that screwed Tuesday night programming up so they just bumped everything a week down. (For which I was thankful because the ep they screwed was the one I was most excited about! I’d have been livid if they’d skipped ahead!)
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Now that is funny! spending Christmas with the family, then the next episode introducing himself.
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One thing that helps that conversation in Man Who Died Twice make more sense for me is to think of it in the context of the previous episodes. Lee says “That could be you one day” and “One of us might not come home for dinner…ever.”
I think it’s been a long time since Amanda thought about the danger and Lee probably thought about it when he was pushing people away, but didn’t worry about it applying to him since he wasn’t going to have a family. Now he is and here’s the reality staring them in the face. Combine that with what had happened in the last few months:
– They didn’t come home for dinner for a whole week — maybe longer, because of being on the run in Stemwinder.
– Amanda didn’t come home for days and Lee almost didn’t either thanks to Birol.
– Lee just learned that the reason his parents didn’t come home when he was five years old wasn’t an accident.
And think about the last two: Birol took Amanda to get to Lee. Imagine if Lee had had a family at that time. He was evil and psychotic enough that he probably would have taken the kids in the right circumstances.
And Blackthorne was out on the sidewalk near Lee without Matthew and Jennie around. How easy would it have been to coax little Lee down with some candy and throw him into the car?
Put those together and it’s kind of no surprise they panicked.
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I do notice some of the old caring Amanda even in the later eps.
Hugging Lee on A Matter Of Choice
The way she was with the villain who died on Rumors Of My Death
Her support to Lee on Bad Timing
Her supportiveness with Laura on One Flew East
Caring for her mom on Any Number Can Play
I think she always has been more serious than Lee — it’s just that it didn’t seem that way because her solutions to problems were so naive and lighthearted. You don’t really think about it.
I think a lot of what we see in the later part of the fourth season is a reflection of someone who is used to being a wife with an absent husband, the only parent, and what were probably considered “traditional” values for a wife and mother. She’s used to having to be “the strong one” and unconsciously she’s falling back into that old pattern. Joe was never there to lean on and you don’t show your children your anxiety.
So on Bad Timing, she hides her fear and emotions for almost the entire thing until we see her break down with “I want more time.” She knows this has to be even worse for Lee, so she’s going to just be there for him and wait to fall apart. (Although she may have taken the chance to meltdown when Lee was meeting Fritz in the park.) She also doesn’t want to distract Lee from how important this is by worrying about her.
It’s the same when Lee gets stressed about the secretive marriage. As much as she hates it too, she doesn’t want to be the stereotypical law enforcement wife nagging him about the demands of the job, she wants to show she understands why they do this, and no doubt there’s the residue of what happened with Joe that she’s trying not to repeat.
She’ll lean on Lee on the job, but at home she feels like she needs to be there for him to lean on.
It’s an interesting contrast to note between her and Lee. On both Utopia Now and Filming Raul for sure, she tells Lee she’s scared and he doesn’t try to be the heroic one. Both times he honestly admits he is too. In that respect he’s more open than she is.
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I agree that Amanda’s personality didn’t have to change for her to become a professional!! In fact, they could have continued highlighting the fact that her different perspective and people skills were successful and beneficial to the team. And that is the Amanda Lee came to appreciate and Love . You can grow without changing who you are……
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I know what you mean. I was so used to seeing Lee and Amanda work together, then when Lee is working with someone else doesn’t seem right. That’s part of the reason I couldn’t watch the last four episodes.
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It is bittersweet indeed Juaneca Harris!
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I actually find those four easier to watch without Kate than I did Promises To Keep because the storylines lent really well to a Lee-focused, Amanda-light episode. (If there had to be one).
All That Glitters was a regular “team” case but since they had to pull an ex-girlfriend out, we were spared the jealousy drama. Suitable For Framing is about clearing Lee’s name (and Francine’s) and while that felt like Amanda should be there, keeping the focus on Lee’s emotional reaction helps take some of that feeling away. (And thank goodness we don’t have Lee and Amanda’s first meeting tainted by the KGB reusing it like the original script — for the character’s sakes I am SOOOO glad it was Francine and not Amanda!) Brody was Lee’s nemesis more than Amanda’s and Harry Thornton is Lee’s mentor, so this would be much more personal for him.
Whereas Playing For Keeps was a “regular” case that wasn’t personal for either character. So Amanda’s absence jars more. It’s like at least by having Bruce need to miss filming the tag for Wrong Way Home, at least it was an Amanda-focused ep. It feels way weirder not having Lee on the tag for Saved By The Bells. After everything they went through on that one together, we totally deserved a Lee/Amanda backyard moment!
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Don’t get me wrong — I prefer having Amanda there. But writing-wise, if it had to happen, these were some of the best scripts for it to happen to.
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I remember watching this episode when it first aired. I was so confused and disappointed there wasn’t more Amanda, although knowing now what Kate was going through, I’m just greatful there were a few Lee and Amanda scenes.
I think Amanda’s progression from fish out of water to competent beginner agent was only natural, as she’d been working with Lee for four years at this point. She couldn’t remain the same naive housewife that she was in the beginning.
Had the show continued, it would have been interesting to see more of Lee as the fish out of water in dealing with family life (assuming the secret marriage was finally revealed).
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Thanks for sharing this experience Honeybee!
I agree! she’s a fast learner, it would have been weird to have her stay the same.. the fish out of water thing had to change yes but I think we could have still seen her juggling the demands of motherhood vs her career etc. it seemed to go too far in the other direction – IMHO.
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When my father and I first watched SMK between 1986-90 (first airing in Germany) we were absolutely disappointed about these last eps from season 4. We didn’t know about the reason for the lack of Amanda in the eps and that this was the last season. Thus when we watched the re-runs starting around mid-nineties we expected another season. We only realised that this was actually the end when immediately after this ep the next re-run started with TFT. Usually we skipped these last eps later. There was a ‘kind of endless’ re-run on a cable station that lastet till about 2000/01. A reason why I remember most eps very well (except those not aired in Germany ) but not my first impression.
For this post I didn’t remember that Rostov was in this ep too. Random notice Lee mentioned him as Andre whereas the dossier in Stemwinder has his first name as Sascha.
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Whoa. Mandalee that sounds so strange!!!
LOL maybe JWWM will become and endless re-run. haaaaa..
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I agree with both of you. So hard to watch those last episodes. What drew me to the show was the relationship between the two main characters. Without one of them, not really interesting. Must have been one of the most disappointing and saddest end to a great tv show.
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This is just painful to watch cause Lee without Amanda is like pizza without cheese, it’s just wrong on so many levels,the writers should have had some kind of explanation to why Amanda couldn’t be there, she’s on desk duty since her shooting,but Lee talking to Francine about not getting romantically involved with people he works with and her reply of him doing it twice,so she’s lumping herself in there cause unfortunately they played backgammon back in the day,looking back and knowing why Kate had to work less but the Lee and Francine show is just boring,what really made the show was the chemistry of the leads and watching them fall in love!
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Too painful to watch. The writers seemed as if they threw anything together to get through the final episodes.
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I thought the last several episodes were terrible. A double combo of Kate’s illness BUT more importantly, when she appeared it was as an equal, not a fish out of water. That plus the developing attraction was the charm of the show. They confirmed the romance but killed the charm. Total stupidity imo. A confirmed romance did not spoil it, but Amanda’s characterisation did.
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I have a big pet peeve every time I watch this episode. Christina Golitsyn is not an accurate Soviet name. The correct translated spelling of her given name would be Kristina and as a woman her surname would be Golitsina. That’s on the writers since it’s like that in the script and credits but it still bugs the crap out of me. Just like spelling Alexei “Alexi” and saying Serge Krutiov instead of Sergei and Alexis Tolst instead of Alexei or Alexander.
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I agree 100% that the last episodes were awful. I couldn’t watch any of them in their entirety. There was no chemistry between Lee and Francine.
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