So with Agent Chris dead, the FBI is extra super committed to retaliating against those responsible. Stan meets with Nina, once again demanding information. But this time, Nina is also making demands, since Vlad was her friend, and she wants Stan to tell her who killed him. Ummmm...
Chris Amador's final legacy (besides the whoopee cushion he left in his desk) is a giant middle finger in the form of his ring that he hid inside the trunk of his car, hoping it would turn up. Which is does, after the guy who runs the car-crushing lot where Gregory's team took the car finds the ring and tries to pawn it. So Stan roughs him up and gets him to identify the person who dropped off the car. It's someone from Gregory's crew, of course, and Stan somehow miraculously recognizes him from the projects in Philly. So the FBI is circling in on Gregory.
This is a problem for the Russians, since the Feds will lean on Gregory to give up his superiors. Grannie Claudia says they have to exfiltrate him to Moscow, but Gregory's not too keen on living out his remaining days in the shadow of the Kremlin. Elizabeth tries to make him see that this is his only option, but he says he'd rather walk into a hail of police bullets. Allowing him to do that is still incredibly risky, and yet that's what Elizabeth begs Philip to let happen. Fortunately (for them, not really for Gregory), Gregory does die in a shootout with the cops. Their hope is that the Feds aren't able to dig any farther past Gregory.
Previously: Philip/Elizabeth/Gregory was a whole thing, and Agent Chris Amador took a trip to that skeezy singles bar in the sky as a result of an ill-fated knife-fight with Clark the Love Stud.
After their terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day, Elizabeth drops Philip off at his terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad motel. She tells him not to replay the day in his head too much, wondering what he could've done differently. Instead, he decides to complain about his shithole new digs. Sorry, Phil -- that sad-sack routine isn't going to work so long as we all remember that you were the one who brought up separation as a viable option.
At the FBI, Special Agent John-Boy is addressing his troops, delivering information about funeral arrangements and such for Agent Chris. Stan is standing front and center, in casual clothes because he no longer needs proper work attire to look ruthless and angry. Agent John-Boy promises to use all the department's resources to make Amador's killers pay, yada yada. Afterwards, Martha approaches Stan to commiserate on their loss. She's kind of awful, so she ends up making this whole thing largely about her and how Chris was just the other night asking her out again, to no avail. Stan tells her that Chris liked her very much, and she's like, "...same" and then snuffles away, though not before telling Stan that Agent John-Boy wants to see him in the Vault. Inside, among some of the finest conference-room chairs I have ever seen, Stan asks about Chris's ring, which was found neither on his body nor in his apartment. It's their first lead, and I guess it justifies all that weird focus on Chris's pinky ring all season. Agent John-Boy just wants Stan to calm down, even when Stan gets pre-emptively defensive about the whole "kidnapping and then killing some low-level Soviet flunky instead of the Rezident" thing. But Agent John-Boy isn't going to yell at him about that. He figured they're in a war now, albeit a secret one, and in a war, blood gets spilled. He does want Stan to go home and get some sleep, so he can be at his best tomorrow.
Stan, of course, doesn't want to go home to his family, now or ever. So he ends up interrupting a towel-clad Philip at his dumpy motel room with a six of beer. Philip offers to go put on some sweats while the rest of us read way too much into where Stan's eyes are directed as Philip walks past him. Stan, who is maybe already a little bit drunk, mentions how the motel room is kinda super depressing and then gets really morose about things. Philip is on guard against... something. He's not sure why Stan is here, so he's definitely not getting comfortable. But Stan just seems drunk and rambly and willing to talk about how many cheap motels he stayed in when he was undercover with the white supremacists. Stan brings up his time with the white supremacists the way some people bring up their college trips to Amsterdam: can't seem to stop mentioning it, but never willing to go into details. He finally mentions that his partner was killed tonight, and Philip shows a pretty good poker face as he expresses his condolences. Then Stan decides that the most important thing to talk about re: Chris was that he had no secrets. Which, total coincidence, is an ironic counterpoint to Philip and his whole life! Amazing how that just happens naturally as conversation unfolds. I love it when people speak in thematically appropriate non sequiturs. Anyway, so Philip offers him a place to crash for the night and Stan's like, "In your bed? Nah," and besides, he's not in the mood for sleeping at the moment. Actually, the way he says it is, "I don't see a lot of future in my sleep tonight," which: druuuunk. And then he turns down Philip's offer of a ride home and insists he'll drive himself, because cops are the worst. He does manage to sincerely thank Philip for lending an ear tonight. Guess he really needed a friend. And that he genuinely does not suspect Philip at all.
After the break, Stan meets with Nina at the flophouse, where he once again is on her ass about what she knows about Amador's death. She still knows nothing, only this time she's not cowering. She has questions of her own, specifically what happened to Vlad. He was her friend, which is something Stan doesn't know. She knows something happened to him and that the Americans are likely to blame, but she has no answers. She wants answers. Stan vehemently assures her that he has no idea about this Vlad. He knows there's information about Amador out there, though. Nina tells him one more time that she doesn't know anything. "We don't kill FBI agents," she says, which Stan is able to rebuff pretty quickly by bringing up the scientist bombing. Nina reminds him that in that case, Arkady was in closed-door meetings all that day. Not so yesterday. Stan simply doesn't believe it, which is starting to feel pretty hilarious. Stan can't believe there weren't giant closed-door plans to deal with dumb Chris Amador. Get over yourself, Agent Stan. Anyway, Nina talks a bit about Vlad, how he only joined the KGB to make his uncle happy and that he was actually planning to leave and become a doctor. It's tough to tell whether Stan feels bad about what he's done in light of this. I kind of think he doesn't. It sure doesn't stop him from telling huge whoppers like, "We're not monsters, Nina." He promises her that he will find something out for her. She says she just wants to be able to tell Vlad's family something.
At the Jennings house, Elizabeth is especially frantic as she scrambles to get the kids ready for school. She asks them to, you know, help hurry things along a bit, to which Paige sneers, "You're the one who wanted it this way." That's almost tame compared to the crap she's been saying for the last couple episodes, but whatever it is, Elizabeth is not having it. She gets EXTREME Mom-mad and starts in with the "Do you know what my mother would have done...?" stuff, which: imagine what a hardass Elizabeth's Russian mom must've been. Philip ends up saving the day, showing up unannounced to give the kids a ride to school, and he's not interested in Elizabeth's request that he not make surprise appearances when they're trying to establish new routines. He turns on the sink faucet and gets to his real business, saying that Clark talked to Martha and found out about Agent Chris's pinky ring. She exposits that Gregory's team disposed of the car, but they swept it for any objects and didn't find a ring. Philip says the FBI is going to be all over everything, so she should tell Gregory to lay low. He also tells her about Stan and his drunken midnight visit. She asks him what he found out from the visit, and Philip's like, "Uh, nothing?" Elizabeth: "You're the one who wanted to be his friend." Love the sass on her right now. Philip decides to continue being a little bitch about the separation and then cockblocks Elizabeth from driving the kids to school. Yeah, try not to fuck any of your ex-wives on the way to the car, pal.
FBI. Stan is going through Chris's desk and comes across two items -- a cigar and a whoopee cushion -- that both sum up Chris and underline what a weird cartoon he ultimately became. Seriously, a CIGAR and a WHOOPEE CUSHION. "Oh, so he was a gross misogynist sex maniac AND a fun-loving jokester? OKAY!" Thank God Special Agent John-Boy stops things before we get to the massage oils and hand-buzzer. He tells Stan that they got a lead on the Telltale Pinky Ring. Some salvage-yard guy tried to fence it earlier, and now they've managed to find the car before it got cubed. Stan's on his way, but Agent John-Boy makes sure he takes two agents with him. I guess while Stan is forgiven for Vlad, John-Boy isn't taking any chances.
Elsewhere, Elizabeth calls Gregory from a pay phone and taps the receiver with a coin three times, signaling him that she needs to meet in person.
At the salvage yard, Stan is questioning the incredibly defensive owner, who's all "Sometimes people leave things and I don't ask questions! You got a problem with that?" Stan takes the steady, direct approach, asking who delivered the car and when. Once more, the salvage guy is really animated about how he doesn't know. He shows Stan where in the trunk he found the clue. Stan checks inside the trunk and -- judging by the cranny in which the ring was found -- determines that Chris put it there on purpose, to be found later. Stan then asks the other two agents to give him a minute alone with the yard owner, which quite predictably leads to threats and intimidation. He finally gets him to admit that a couple black guys -- drugs dealers, most likely -- occasionally drop cars off here to be destroyed. He doesn't ask questions or hadn't you heard? Stan then drags the guy off to go look at mug shots at the station.
Elizabeth meets with Gregory at a local bar. She gives him the update about the ring and tells him to stay safe and out of sight until this blows over. She also updates him on the situation with Philip and her kids. She kind of sheepishly admits that he kind of predicted this would happen. He puts a hand on her shoulder, then her face, but she tells him that's not a great idea as she's a mess. Instead, he just tells her she's going to be okay. She tells him they all will -- him included. It's all going to blow over. Gregory wonders what happens if it doesn't. She doesn't want to cross that bridge unless they have to. Lay low.
After the break, Salvage Yard Guy proves that he's not only short-fused and repetitive but also kind of a racist, as he observes that all these guys in the mug books look the same. But lo! He finds one who looks very much like the guy who dropped the car off. It's Curtis, Gregory's guy from Philly, who -- because this show is waaaaaaay more simple-minded than most people are giving it credit for -- is immediately recognizable to Stan as the guy who he chased through that Philly project. At night. Weeks ago. He ends up taking his lead to Special Agent John-Boy, explaining the whole Philly connection, Joyce Ramirez, the whole Directorate-S connection. When Agent John-Boy asks why Stan didn't apprehend the guy back in Philly, Stan explains that the guy was "a little fast for me." John-Boy takes a look back at Curtis's mug shot and goes, "Figures." Charming '80s racism!
thing we know, a S.W.A.T. team is storming the Philly projects and chasing Curtis down. Stan's able to tackle him this time, mostly because a cop car headed him off at the pass. "Shoulda let me catch you the first time," Stan gloats. "I'm pissed off now." The Feds haul Curtis away while I imagine satisfying scenarios that would involve Stan getting his comeuppance for being a twat.
Elsewhere, a somewhat bedraggled-looking Grannie Claudia ambles into the backseat of a parked car with the Jenningses, for an update. The news that one of Gregory's underlings just got nabbed by the Feds is not the most encouraging, certainly. She tells them to get Gregory to a safe house and she'll begin exfiltration procedures. It'll be tough to sneak him out past what will surely be heightened security, but it's nothing they haven't done before. She then asks Elizabeth about whether Gregory will willingly flee to the USSR. "Moscow can be a frightening prospect for someone who hasn't seen the world." Elizabeth gets defensive of her friend, saying he's devoted to the cause. "I think he'll like it there." Philip isn't about to be so generous when he's asked. Claudia says to tell Gregory the truth: he'll be taken care of in Moscow, but it won't be cushy. "It's a hard adjustment," she says, "but after a couple years he'll be fine." She needs Elizabeth to make sure he's onboard. Philip pipes up that Gregory's options have narrowed, but one of them is still to turn on them. Elizabeth vehemently argues that Gregory has always been loyal, that he turned on his own country for them. Philip coolly counters that he's never been faced with life in prison or the electric chair before. Claudia acknowledges that Gregory has never been tested. She tells Elizabeth to talk him into Moscow... or else they'll have to take the other option that's left to them. "As sad as that would make all of us." Except, you know, not including Philip.
Stan questions Curtis, and his pitch is incredibly simple: if you know what you've been caught up in this whole time, better off staying silent. But if somehow he's just a pawn and has been duped into this all along, well... his drug-arrest rap sheet pales in comparison to what they're after him for. Why should he go down for a bunch of KGB-related stuff? It's not like Stan gives a crap about drugs. Curtis knows that cops are full of tricks, and this isn't his first time at the rodeo. Stan's smart, too, though. He drops words like "revenge" and "treason" and then lets Curtis sit and stew with his thoughts. But not before playing his ultimate "We're both goddamn Americans, right?" card. Well maneuvered, Jerko.
Elizabeth picks up Gregory in a remote location and they have The Talk. You know, the classic "Going to Moscow" talk. Elizabeth really wants to talk about it, but Gregory just doesn't see it working out. He wants to go to L.A., disappear into deepest Compton with a new name and possibly a new face. (Try not to laugh as Gregory mentions how Elizabeth and Philip are "the masters of disguise.") So it's not the starting over he objects to. He still doesn't appear to have any ties other than Elizabeth. It's just... Moscow. Gross. Elizabeth doesn't think the Center will go for this L.A. plan. Gregory seems to think they will if Elizabeth asks. Then he asks Elizabeth to go on the run with him, just the two of them. Okay, now this is getting past unrealistic and into the realm of secret-fantasy.
After the break, Special Agent John-Boy holds a rather large meeting on the subject of one Gregory Thomas and his civil rights history. They draw the line from his activism to his possible (now probable) recruitment by the KGB.
Gregory, at the safe house, gets a visit from Claudia. Oh, this should be good. She plays things about as warmly as she can manage, but she's still all business. She tells him that they'd reeeeeeeally like to make this L.A. thing happen for him, but the bottom line is that they don't think it would work. Gregory notes with some (dumbshit) surprise that "You guys are more scared of [the Feds] than I am." Gee, funny that the actual KGB would be so concerned about the Americans catching them. He doesn't seem to want to acknowledge that him getting caught -- as far as they're concerned -- means them getting caught. As Special Agent John-Boy said last week, everybody talks. Claudia tells Gregory that she's a guard dog and she takes no chances with the people she protects. Intercut with all this Margo Martindale realness are scenes of Stan and the Feds tearing Gregory's old flat apart. Claudia further tells Gregory that they planted evidence linking him with Amador's murder in his apartment. This way, the trail stops at him and doesn't go further to Philip and Elizabeth. She calls this Gregory's "final act of service." He can only smile and marvel at how very much Claudia does not mess around. He still doesn't think he's going to be able to do Moscow, despite her assurances. He tells her that all his life, he only wanted one thing: to live for something. Now that he's done that, he knows he's done. Done.
Out in the hallway, Claudia tells Philip that Gregory isn't budging on Moscow. He asks her if Gregory managed to soften her on the idea of L.A. She says that he's fooling himself if he thinks he can pull that off. So what if it comes to the worst? "Elizabeth and I have had our differences," Claudia says, maintaining her gift for understatement. But if this goes bad, she doesn't want Elizabeth to have to be the one to finish it. Something tells me, Philip will not have a problem coming through on this occasion.
At the Beeman abode, Stan and Sandra prepare for bed and he manages to open up to her a little bit, at least about finding Chris's killer today. You can tell she's grateful for any little bit of him that he offers her. He then delves into the murkier waters, talking around the fact that his line of work is one where he occasionally has to, you know, kill a guy. He's vague about it, but he's clearly troubled. "The world is a little darker, a little uglier" than Sandra is probably prepared to realize, he says. She tells him that at any time, the three of them could pack it all up and leave. Just them and Matthew, wherever he wants to go. He'll never take her up on it, but I kind of love her for offering.
At the safe house, Elizabeth and Gregory are flirting over Chinese food. She's still trying to subtly convince him about Moscow. He mentions how Claudia was over earlier, how she stood between him and the door, like she could really stop him if he'd wanted to bolt. Elizabeth: "You'd be surprised." He smiles at the idea of these tough Russian girls in his life. He and Elizabeth start getting romantic and he begs her, once he's gone, "Don't take him back. Find somebody that will love you for being so strong." Wow. A cockblock from beyond the Iron Curtain, huh? Philip's got a lot to put up with. Gregory and Elizabeth then get down to business.
After the break, Philip packs his gun and heads over to the safe house, where Gregory is currently informing Elizabeth of his intention not to go to Moscow. In fact, he further plans to walk out into a hail of police bullets, if he can find some. Elizabeth tells him he's being ridiculous and stupid. "Moscow is beautiful," she says, "It's cosmopolitan. Much moreso than Washington! There's art! There's culture!" She says the people would be in awe of him (which, I suppose, they would be... if not for the best reasons), that it would be a whole new life for him. He doesn't want a new life, though. She says he knows they can't let him stay. He once again tries to make the "I'll never talk, I promise, you know me" argument, but Elizabeth is too good an agent for that. She does what many might not have expected her to and draws her gun on Gregory. She pleads with him not to make her do it. But she can't let him leave. He wants to die anyway, so he walks right up to the barrel of her gun, asking her to do it. Which is maybe the single most selfish thing we've witnessed on this show.
Thank God Philip shows up before he forces Elizabeth's hand. Philip tells Elizabeth that she can wait outside as he attaches the silencer to his gun. Both Gregory and Elizabeth say that they owe it to Gregory to let him go, that they should trust him and his intentions to go get shot by cops. This whole thing is pretty powerful on an emotional level, at least for Elizabeth, but the mechanics of it are so strange. Suddenly Gregory pressing for one suicide over another, except he also just tried to make Elizabeth kill him, except does he want to escape to L.A. or doesn't he, except he's 100% loyal to them at all times. I buy Elizabeth's emotional crisis happening right now. I just don't buy the hoops everyone's jumping through to get her there. I also enjoy (though perhaps on a more laughing-AT-the-show level) Philip's reactions as Elizabeth sings Gregory's praises as someone who "has always done everything he said he'd do. That's who he is." Like, this is the guy who not six hours ago was sexing his wife. Philip's perma-scowl this whole episode might finally be justified. But he stands down. He lets Gregory walk, to engineer his demise his own way. Even lets him kiss Elizabeth on the forehead on his way out.
Philip and Elizabeth exit the safe house and give each other Meaningful Looks as they get into their respective cars. Roberta Flack's version of "To Love Somebody" will score the remaining scenes of this episode. Which mostly include Gregory walking the streets, catching the attention of a beat cop, and waiting for the police sirens to catch up to him. Rather than just walk into them, he starts a shootout, the better to take out as many innocent Americans along the way as he can. This is somewhat less the noble death than he promised. But he finally takes a few slugs in the chest, ending it.
Meanwhile, the Jenningses go to their respective homes/motels. Elizabeth weeps alone in her kitchen. They go through the rest of their day. They watch the TV report of Gregory's rather spectacular demise.
Meanwhile, Nina and Arkady watch as Vlad's coffin is taken away. Meanwhile, Stan sits at his desk, apparently satisfied.
Joe R might be down to Elizabeth and Claudia, in terms of characters he likes. He can be reached for lavish praise and nothing but at joseph.reid21@gmail.com.