Tag Archives: Scarecrow and Mrs King

Moving on.. we find Lee and Amanda eating ice cream..
but not saying anything to each other.. Are they okay? After the last scene, I’m not sure how they are travelling at the moment! Have they talked about it?
or is this a case of – not needing to have a conversation, just needing time to deal with it, and.. ice cream helps?!
They round a corner and there’s T.P.
T.P. : I’ll call you back.
[T.P has a phone in his briefcase?!]
Lee: Well, T.P… there’s a tongue over at the Library of Congress says that, uh, you’re spending more time here than over there. This your new office? [A tongue?]
T.P.: Man must surround himself with the sources of inspiration, Lee…
(hearing about inspiration we see a close up on some disgusting bowl of inspiration. I’m guessing it’s something resembling ice cream)
…Besides—with my briefcase phone, any tabletop is my office. Oh! Uh, Mrs. King—I would recommend the tutti frutti; it’s the best in town.
Amanda: No, thank you. This is terrific, Mr. Aquinas.
[Awh. we finally see a real smile from Amanda again!
Oh boo. I wanted to know what flavours Lee and Amanda chose for themselves! Or did they just get shakes or something? anyone? Hope they are not choco blockos! 😉 ]
Lee: Look, there’s this guy that I bumped heads with a few years back that has this nervous habit of… walking a coin back and forth over the back of his hand: Alexi Makarov?
[LOL he could be referring to the bad dude from ship of spies! this is quite the tenuous clue IMHO but hey, at least it’s not based on coincidence or luck so I’ll take it!
Also, ‘a few years back’ would have to be at least nine years ago!]
T.P.: Ah, the Sorcerer… [Whoooo the dude is legit! He has an ominous nickname!!! whoooo!!! He’s right up there with the puppetmaster!!! whoooooo. I love that now it’s TP who knows everyone!]
…He used to do that trick with the coin to keep his hands limber…

… Oh, and what wonderful hands.  Yeah—he fell out of favor a few years back, uh… thanks to a, uh, sting organized by our Scarecrow.
[Just who the heck is this TP? and how does he know all this top secret stuff?!]
Amanda: I read the case report. [huh? why would Amanda have read that case report at this stage? Has she read up on all of Lee’s cases?!]
Lee: Well, I just met a woman who does the same coin trick. Now, I was wondering—could there be a connection? Is he still alive?
T.P.: Well, it… it might be difficult to get that close to the Gulag to find out.
Lee: Well, poke a stick around that hole anyway, would you, T.P.?
T.P gives a look as if to say he’ll try.
Lee and Amanda share a look. [Looks like Lee’s itch has been temporarily scratched 😉 ]

Maybe they are on to something!
I guess we know the sorcerer is involved, but we don’t really know Alexi and Sonja’s game yet… (other than coin tricks).. Maybe Lee isn’t living up to his code name after all, and he’s noticed there is more going on here- given Sonja first approached him!

Moving on. We see this building exterior:
[Anyone know what this building actually is? In smk land, it’s not labelled.. It’s like they forgot to add the caption]
Lee and Amanda walk through the foyer.. toward a guard at a sign in station..

Lee: Hello.
Amanda: Hello.
Lee: Stetson and King, to see Mr. Dart.
[Oh right. the guy running the war games, who gives the radio frequency.]
[Is this the state department maybe?
Which we saw back in Tail of the Dancing Weasel?

So glad Lee has no need for the glasses
I guess this ep could be: Tale of the Dancing Peacock!]
Gus: Stetson and K-.Okay, uh… Name. Destination. Time in, please. One signature will do.Wear these while you’re in the building.
(The guard [apparently named Gus- thanks KC!] hands them the book to fill in the details.. While Lee does that – Gus hands Amanda two guest passes saying ‘Visitor’.)

[Ahh how satisfying!! tee hee.. ]
(Amanda puts one on Lee haaaaa.. )
Amanda: All right. Thank you.
Lee: Thank you.
Amanda: Thanks a lot.
Gus: You’re welcome.
(Amanda puts her own visitor badge on as they walk off. Hmm they go through a metal detector do they?)

[Lee is not armed? Whooo and.. now Amanda is an agent – is she armed?!] Is it just me or is this not very secure if only Lee needed to put down his name and sign in?

Okay I’m going to pause here – I’m keeping posts shorter so I can publish a little more often – can’t wait to hear from ya!

We move on to Billy’s office.
The tape recording of the peacock dance with the Lisbon variation is coming to an end..
Sonja (through the tape recorder): … And then we can mix business with pleasure.
As the shot widens, we see Francine is there along with Lee, Amanda and Billy.
[Is it just me or is listening to this with everyone really really ick????!!!!]
Francine seems to look over at Amanda with a smile. Hmm.. Amanda doesn’t look at her, and Lee has his back to her. [Me thinks Francine enjoyed hearing this. Ugh..]  
Amanda seems quite stoney faced.. and not her usual upbeat self. Lee is looking at her, but she isn’t looking at him.
[Billy is no dummy, surely he has noticed.. just what does he make of all this?!] 
Billy: I think we’ve got ourselves a carrier pigeon.
[rofl Lee’s been downgraded from a peacock to a pigeon! 😉 Bet he feels the goose! 😉 I wonder if this causes Lester the (damn) duck flashbacks! and it’s so ironic.. as scarecrows are suppose to scare the birds away! haaaaa!!!]
Amanda gives Billy a little smile
[but IMHO it’s a courtesy smile, she’s not feelin it!]
(Billy gets up)
Lee: Yeah, maybe….

…There’s something about this Sonja…

[Francine is interesting in this scene.. can’t wait to hear your thoughts all! Hearing there is something about Sonja – she seems amused by this.. Hmm.. Francine thinking that Lee is up to his old tricks? Enjoying this perk of the job?!]
…It’s just an itch…
(this remark has Francine raising her eyebrows! It certainly gets Amanda’s attention!)
[OMH. this dialogue is wrong. Just wrong. Especially after seeing what Lee and Sonja were getting up to!!! Okay okay.. Maybe Lee is hinting that his antibiotics hadn’t yet put a stop to the Russian flesh eating bacteria he’s been forced to come into contact with 😉 haaa okay probably not! ]
….I’m gonna see if T.P. Aquinas can scratch it.
[OMH!!! this dialogue is hilarious!!! No itching and no scratching around hanky panky you hear me??!!! Actually now I think about it, I guess TP is probably an excellent way to put a stop to an itch..]
Billy: All right; keep me posted. Meanwhile, I’ll phone Dart and see if I can arrange to get you those radio frequencies ASAP.
Lee: All right. [Thank you secretary Billy!]
Billy: Excellent!
(Billy hands the recorder back to Amanda, making a special effort to acknowledge her)
(to Amanda): Excellent work, Amanda.
Amanda: Thank you, Sir.
(Amanda takes the recorder back)
[Lee seems to be paying close attention to her reacting, and he seems pleased she is saying thanks for the well done..]
(Billy heads to the door..)
Billy : A successful Lisbon variation depends on teamwork.
[Everyone give a hip hip hooray!….
*crickets chirp in the silence*
Yeah.. Billy I’m not feeling there is much to happily celebrate her right now! 😉 ]
(The moment the door is open, Amanda shoots up out of her chair, not looking at Lee at all, and responds to Billy as she leaves)

[I think Lee immediately senses she’s not happy!!!]
Amanda: Yes, Sir…
…Lee did all the dancing.
(She quickly exits. Francine has a chuckle at this one.. Billy gives nothing away.. and Lee has lost his smile! )

The scene ends there.. no one responds to Amanda’s quip!

Whoa.. just how are things between Lee and Amanda at the moment? so many questions unanswered!! Much tension here!!! Lee seemed to be trying to connect with Amanda here in this scene, but Amanda was not happy and didn’t give him a thing back!
I think she would have preferred Billy not paid her a compliment with her contribution ahem!

I think the scene is fantastic to watch while focusing just on one character.. so much going on that’s non verbal! Francine doesn’t even have any dialogue- but she’s a part of this interaction! Go watch and let us know what you all think!! Can you pause at the end of this scene? or is it too hard to stop and wait for the next post?! 🙂 

Okay guys I’m going to pause here!!!! any thoughts you’d like to share?

Moving on and it’s night time.
We see a suburban street we don’t recognise – but a car we all do: the vette!
Next, we see Amanda crouched down in I guess the vette, listening to some soft music from her headphones. Huh? maybe not.. what is she listening to?

[looks like maybe Amanda is recording as well?]
Uh oh. We cut to where this soft music is coming from and.. what else Amanda is listening to! We see candles! gah!!! we all know what that’s smk code for!!! Hanky panky! And a single red rose? whoooo that’s serious hanky panky!

Um wait. I don’t want to go on! gah!!!
The camera slowly pans across the room. Nooo don’t pan!!! I don’t want to see it!!!! Not looking!!! Not looking.. focus on the candles.. or the err silverware! Whooo pretty lampshade! Whoooo lovely Degas!

Uh oh.. I think I’m going to be sick!
Thank goodness Amanda didn’t have to watch AND listen!
Sonja pulls herself out of their errr embrace (gag).  At least they spared us a close up!
Lee: What’s the matter? [What a first line. Lee is asking us in the audience what’s the matter right?! because this is seriously awful to watch!]
Sonja: Mmm… nothing…  Everything…
(We cut to Amanda)
… I’m very nearly eating you alive. [ewww Sonja is quite insightful! Sonja= the flesh eating Russian bacteria resulting in necrosis, deformity and death (of my eyeballs)]

(We see Amanda react to this.)

[She’s such a trooper! I hope Lee has some strong antibiotics he can use!]
Amanda: Oh, damn it.
[Poor Amanda! this really can’t be easy!!]
(We cut back to a close up of the two of them kissing. Ugh I spoke to soon about close ups! Ohhhh look at the pretty drapes.. and errr the pretty cushions! ahem.. )
[Drat. A close up of Sonja eating Lee alive.
‘Oh damn it’ is right!]
(Sonja pulls away again)
Lee: Wait. If it’s what we both want, what’s wrong with it?

(She pulls away and moves off the sofa)
[What is that top she is wearing?! Bit like Leslie wore no? Massive shoulder pads!]
Sonja: It’s not that simple for us.
Lee gets up and walks around the room..

Lee: Sonja… uh…  For people like us, every day is… complicated. It comes with the territory…
(Lee pours himself a drink)
…Besides, as good as it is… I haven’t spent six nights in a row over here for the food.
[Six nights???!!!!!!! Six??!!!!! Lee you need some antibiotics stat! Thank goodness we were spared from watching that! But.. Amanda has been in the car like that for six nights in a row?! Nooooooo!!!!! When Lee says it comes with the territory- I wonder if that is a message meant for Amanda also – as he knows she is listening.. and this is tough!
Anyone else at this point thinking- dang. Couldn’t Lee accidentally leave his briefcase with the radio frequencies in it unguarded while he uses the men’s room?! enough already!]

Sonja: I haven’t had you over six nights in a row so I’d have an excuse to cook, either…
…I’ll tell you a secret. I bought it all, anyway…
(We cut back to Amanda)
[LOL I’m guessing she’s thinking – ha! she probably can’t cook! I would have cooked! 😉 ]
….Once I discovered America’s greatest treasure:

(Amanda reacts to this line.)  [Ugh!!!! ROFL at Amanda’s reactions!! It’s ick, but Amanda’s reactions are pretty funny!! Or.. is it just me? haaaa quite possible! ]
…-the gourmet supermarket.
[Thank goodness she didn’t say America’s greatest treasure was this hunk of spunk she’s been ‘cooking’ for!]

Lee: Then what can possibly be wrong, huh?
(Sonja gets up and joins him.)
Sonja: It’s my superior. His name is Rostov. I don’t know, he… dislikes me…
…Perhaps because I’m young…

(Shot cuts to a close-up of Sonja’s right hand; she’s flipping a gold-colored coin back and forth across her fingers)
[KC notes-  as Alexi did in Scene 2.
Iwsod notes- only this time we cut to a close up so it’s done with much more skill by someone probably other than this actress!]
… aggressive… a woman? Uh, who knows why? But he’s threatening to send me back to Russia.
[All this seems pretty obvious – The approach, identifying herself as a Russian with her freezing vodka drink, it seems too obvious that she is wanting information before Lee even had a chance to ‘fall’ for her. but maybe it’s just me. I guess her charms were suppose to be powerful enough that Lee would desert his country to get some. Ugh! ]
Lee: What?
Sonja: To convince him that I’m worthy of staying, I need something… substantial.
Lee: Listen, I don’t wanna lose you. Maybe I can help.
[rofl! Is it just me or was that really really easy??!!!]
Sonja: You mentioned Stemwinder…
[Ohhh he did did he?!]
Lee: Yeah, it’s the hottest ticket in town.
Sonja: I’d be a hero.  Then Rostov would have to let me stay. 
Lee: I can get access to Stemwinder’s radio frequencies.  Front row… center seats.

(Lee ups the tenderness here.)
[Gag. You know this Lee Stetson is awfully good at acting like he really is into someone!!]
Sonja: You’d do that for me?
Lee: Yeah.
(We cut back to Amanda)
[I think she’s about to scramble for her sick bag!]

Sonja: Can you get it by tomorrow? I mean, I know that’s fast.
Lee: Don’t you worry; I can get them.
[Yep! It was very fast!!! and IMHO way too easy to get Lee to betray his country – six cooked dinners is the price huh?! lol..
this is all so easy. Seems Sonja knows this was what Lee was wanting to do all along, and it’s all some elaborate way for information to be passed without saying so- she’s doing to him what he’s supposed to be doing to her. but.. I’m not sure what this all has to do with Alexi. Still have that game within a game going on that I don’t understand yet!]
Sonja: And then we can mix business with pleasure.
[Uh oh… the hanky panky starts up again. Looks like the mixing is already well underway! Please, no more mixing business with pseudo pleasure! Noooooo!
Iwsod refuses to publish another flippin photo of this Russian Bacteria eating Lee alive!]
but.. poor Amanda has to listen to the kissy kissy noises. ew..
Amanda (very flat): This is a real drag.This scene ends here. 

Oh Amanda.. I’m right there with you!!!! [Anyone else?]
Amanda is a very strong woman! I’d be in tears I think! Or I’d be off my food for a week!
I wonder if Alexi or Rostov is listening to this whole evening also? separately of course.. Maybe they both are! It’s the hottest ticket in town! 😉 

Ohhhh I cannot wait to hear what you all think!!! 

I can see that this is part of the spy biz, Lee is playing a role, it means nothing.. but why the heck does Amanda have to be the one to have to listen to it?!!!! Personally, I think it’s asking too much!! 😉  How is Amanda going to cope with this?????!!!!

What’s the plan once Lee has handed over the information? Is he suppose to continue to be an asset for this Russian spy? If he just broke it off wouldn’t that lead the Russians to suspect he had just been stringing them along to hand over info without making it look like he was handing over info they wanted to?

I’ll pause here to give us all a chance for our anti-nausea strategies to kick in.. Anyone feel strong enough yet to share their thoughts? 🙂