A CLASS ACT

Picture courtesy of Anke Lantin

Billy orders an unhappy Lee to cancel his leave and go to Station One, the Agency training base for new recruits. Even though it’s Agency policy, Lee’s even more upset when he finds out that he’s to be the ‘ringer’ in the group and assess the individual’s from the inside while pretending to be a new recruit himself. Billy is going to head the program and Francine is acting as the training co-ordinator. The icing on the cake for Lee is when Billy tells him that Amanda has applied for formal training TEN times and Billy has finally accepted her application.

At her home, Amanda is letting Jamie bandage her arm as practice for his First Aid merit badge. The doorbell rings and when she answers, Lee stands there dressed as a postman. He shows concern about her arm but she explains about Jamie and then Lee hands her the mail. He tells her to open the blue one which she does and is then excited to read that her request has been accepted and thanks Lee who tells her it’s Billy’s idea. She asks if he’s going and he explains that he’s the ringer.

Across town in a hotel, two KGB agents, Verdich and Gregorin, discuss the fact that they have a spy called, Pavlovich inside Station One who’s mission is to find the ringer, usually a top U.S. agent, and terminate him. Verdich opens a suitcase that has transmitting equipment in it which enables him to keep in contact with their colleague.

At Station One, Billy is giving a welcoming talk and lets recruits know that there’s a ringer in their midst to grade them. He then takes them on a tour of the facility and as they pass a tree a masked gunman jumps out and grabs Amanda, holding a gun to her head. It’s Francine providing the lesson, ‘expect the unexpected’.

Back at the hotel room, Verdich has just taken a report from Pavlovich who has infiltrated Station One without a hitch and is observing the other recruits but, as yet, has no idea who the ringer is.

Meanwhile, at Station One, the recruits are put through their paces on a simulated battlefield, a rifle range and an assault course. When they reach the slide wheel decent, a rookie called Peggy Marlow gets stuck half way down. She starts to panic and as Lee rushes to help, Amanda calls out to reassure Peggy then accidentally begins the descent herself. Peggy grabs her as she passes and they both reach the bottom safely.

Unfortunately, Amanda’s accidental heroism means that Pavlovich now suspects that she is the top U.S. agent and tells Verdich that they will check the instructor’s files to see if they can find any conclusive evidence. As Verdich explains the situation to Gregorin, they gouge out the centre of a candle and fill it with explosive fluid. That evening, Pavlovich enters the office and using a code breaker device, opens the drawers.

The next day, Billy, Lee and Amanda are in the office discussing the break-in and decide that it’s an inside job. There’s no fingerprints but the personnel files are out on top of the cabinet. Amanda looks through her own and discovers a mistake – it says that she was brought up in California but she was actually brought up in Virginia. Lee and Billy are dismissive saying that it’s probably a computer error and that they’ll check it out when they get back to the Agency. Billy wonders why someone’s interested in the personnel files and Lee says he’ll find out on their five mile run.

On the run, lee and Amanda bring up the rear and then take a break. Amanda sits down then absently picks up something from the ground. Lee asks what she’s got and it turns out to be a bolt. Lee is pleased and says it confirms his thoughts that Peggy’s slide wheel incident was no accident and the tells Amanda that the bolt looks like it’s had acid poured over it. Amanda is horrified and immediately suspects fellow recruit Brad Jordan as he’s a race car driver. Lee says not to jump to conclusions then they head off to catch the others up.

Later, Amanda checks fellow recruit, Leila’s, room and is caught by the woman as she leaves. Amanda excuses herself by saying she made a mistake and Leila tells her not to do it again then goes in. Lee then walks up to take Amanda to their next class and she tells him that she checked Leila’s room and found a Russian dictionary. Lee is aghast as what she did then informs her that Leila speaks Russian which is why she was picked in the first place.

At class, the group is asked to memorise some objects for 10 seconds before they’re hidden. Francine then picks on Amanda to try and remember them. She fails, but another student recounts each detail perfectly. Class over, Amanda tells Lee that she suspects that recruit as he could’ve remembered the details of the files and he informs her that the man has a photographic memory and the burglar could’ve used a camera.

Meanwhile, inside Amanda’s room, Pavlovich exchanges the bedside candle for the identical one that contains the explosive that Gregorin prepared. That night, Amanda is writing when the lights suddenly go out. Frightened, she lights the candle then goes to Lee’s room. From the lump in his bed, Amanda assumes he’s asleep so goes to wake him and places the candle down on the bedside cabinet next to his. When she draws the cover back she is shocked to see a scarecrow laying there and goes to scream but Lee appears and grabs her from behind and covers her mouth with his hand. He tells her it’s him then asks what she’s doing there. Amanda lies and says that she heard a noise outside and thought she’d better warn him. Lee thanks her then picks up his own candle from the bedside cabinet and says he’ll walk her back to her room.

They go outside and seconds later, his hut explodes knocking them both to the ground. Billy, Francine and the rest of the group rush out to see what had happened and put out the fire. Once out, Billy tells Francine to get the rest of the recruits back to their rooms. Amanda then asks what the smell is and Lee tells her it’s phosphorous then suggests to Billy to check M.O. because he has a hunch who it is. Billy replies Leonid Verdich. Amanda asks who he is and Billy explains that he’s the Eastern Bloc’s top exterminator, specialising in western agents. Lee thinks his cover’s blown and that Verdich is after him and guesses that he’s managed to get someone infiltrated as a recruit. Billy wants to shut the class down but Lee, believing more than ever that his cover is blown, says he’s willing to be bait to get him.

At the hotel room, Verdich is unhappy when Pavlovich reports failure and Gregorin says to abort the mission but Verdich decides they’re too close to give up and says they must think of something else.

Next day at Station One, hand to hand combat is being taught and a recruit flips Lee who then complains of an injured ankle. Billy insists that he rest and as he helps him hobble away, he informs him that the results are back from the lab and that the candle was the source of the explosion. Billy then suggests that Lee check it out.

Meanwhile, Amanda has her turn at fighting and is also flipped to which Francine gives her a fifteen minute break as she’s obviously stunned. With her time, Amanda checks Peggy’s hut and as she leaves, she sees Lee exit Brad’s hut. Lee hasn’t found anything but Amanda is suspicious of Peggy because she knows Judo but Lee tells her that that’s on her file and he’s also talked with her instructor who confirms she was the best in class. Lee then tells her to go as she has defensive driving classes.

While at driving class, Billy tells Lee that they picked up a radio transmission from within the base but they haven’t managed to decipher the garbled code. They think the transmitter is in the woods then Billy tells Lee to be careful. Lee suggests they change tactic’s and bring ‘Dodge’ forward to the next day and put Lee in first so that the rest of the group are safe. Billy reluctantly agrees.

That night at dinner, Amanda sits with a fellow recruit and they discuss the food – he says how unhealthy it is and Amanda reveals she only eats vegetables and fruit to which Peggy makes a snide comment about all people from the land of the Guru’s, hot tubs and bean sprouts which Amanda overhears. Just then, Billy and Francine announce that it’s the last night at Station One and that they’ll leave for Dodge City the next morning. Francine explains that Dodge is a pursuit and avoidance course designed to make people think and act under pressure. Amanda is excited at the prospect and back at her room, she gets Lee to tell her more about it as she packs. Lee says that various cardboard characters pop up, some armed, some with hostages and some bystanders and they have a split second to decide whether to shoot – Amanda says she’ll do the best she can.

At the hotel, Verdich suspects that the change in the routine of Station One could mean that they’re near to finding Pavlovich and so he says that Amanda should be killed before she gets to Dodge as they won’t expect her assassination on the highway which is where his assistant, Gregorin comes in. Dressed as a motorbike cop, he will stop and kill Amanda and if he fails, Verdich and Pavlovich will be waiting t Dodge City.

At Station One, Lee tells Billy that he doesn’t think Amanda will be too pleased at being the only agent not going to Dodge City but Billy says she’s the only one they know for sure isn’t a spy. Lee decides to tell her when they’ve left the base and then set off in Amanda’s car. Once on their way, Lee is about to tell Amanda she’ll be going home when they’re pulled over by Gregorin. He asks Amanda to get out of the car and to see her driving license, which she does. As she rummages through her bag, Lee looks over at the drivers side window and notices Gregorin going for his gun and so brings his legs up and kicks the door open, knocking him to the ground. Lee then gets out and they fight.

Amanda is horrified thinking Lee is fighting a real policeman but Lee has recognised Gregorin and, still thinking he’s the target, sends her home while he takes the police bike to Dodge.

At home, Dotty comes through the side gate and drops her shopping. Amanda rushes out the help her and as she does so, holds up a bag of bean sprouts. Dotty remarks that she knows how much Amanda loves them as they’re so Californian. This comments sparks Amanda’s memory of what Peggy said in the canteen and she rushes off saying she’ll be late for dinner.

Lee arrives at Dodge and starts to walk around the course, gun in hand. Figures start to pop up and then Verdich starts shooting at Lee then runs off. Lee enters a building and Verdich follows. They trade shots and as Lee makes his way to the exit he sees a movement and raises his gun but it turns out to be Amanda. She tells Lee that the infiltrator is Peggy because she commented on Amanda being from the land of Guru’s, hot-tubs and bean sprouts because she’d read the personnel files and thought Amanda was Californian. Lee agrees then tries to get her out of the room. Verdich shoots at the then runs outside when he realises he’s out of bullets and grabs a shovel and waits for Lee who’s following. They fight and Lee wins but Verdich says that he’s good but not as good as Amanda. Lee then realises that they think Amanda is the top agent and not him and Verdich taunts him by saying Amanda was a good agent but it’s too late. Lee knocks him out and goes back inside to help Amanda.

Inside, Peggy has appeared with a gun and Amanda tries to tell her that she’s got the wrong person. Peggy doesn’t believe her and reveals she is Tanya Pavlovich before going to shoot. Amanda steps back and activates a pop-up which knocks the gun out of Pavlovich’s hand. Undeterred, the KGB agent remarks that hand to hand is good and heads towards Amanda, kicking the pop-up’s out of the way. Amanda throws her bag at her then makes a run for it, tripping over a cardboard figure and falling down thus activating a cardboard panel from the ceiling which swings down and knocks Pavlovich out, then swings back up again. Amanda gets up just as Lee bursts into the room with a gun and she tells him everything’s OK.

Back at the Agency, Billy, Francine and Lee discuss Station One and Billy expresses disappointment that no-one was good enough to send on for further training. Lee begins to worry that his superior is thinking of sending Amanda on but Billy says no, although he thinks she really is something. Just then the computer next to him flashes and alarms start to go off. They head out to the bullpen and Amanda explains that she pressed the ERA button because she wanted to erase a mistake. Francine tells her that ERS means ‘Entering Restricted Area’ and Lee turns to Billy saying he’s right, Amanda really is something.

SCENE’S TO WATCH OUT FOR:

Lee giving Amanda her acceptance letter for training at Station One.

Amanda using rope to swing across hole but not letting go then slowly sliding down as the other recruits, including Lee, watch.

Amanda finding a scarecrow in Lee’s bed.

Amanda doing her defensive driving class with Francine in the passenger seat.

After Lee and Gregorin’s fight, Amanda running over because she believes he’s fought a real policeman.

Tag.

ROMANCE:

This episode leans more towards comedy than romance as is usual in season two episodes but there are a couple of nice moments. One is when Amanda answers the door with her arm bandaged up and Lee thinks that she’s hurt herself. The first thing he asks is how she did it and he sounds genuinely concerned – very caring J Another cute moment is when Amanda ‘saves’ Peggy on the slide wheel and Lee rushes over to congratulate her. You can tell he’s really pleased and actually quite proud of her but before he gushes, he holds himself in check and just tells her what she did was ‘not bad’ – so typical!

After the explosion in Lee’s hut, he’s, again, very caring and gives her a big hug and reassurance, then when Billy leaves them alone, he places his hand on her arm and smiles at her – I really like the way he takes the time to comfort Amanda; for all his hardened exterior and her determination to be accepted as an agent, Lee still realises that she does need affection at times and he’s getting better at showing it too.

I also thought that it was sweet that knowing Amanda’s aversion to guns and shooting, Lee was happy to get her out of going to Dodge City. Not a big thing in the episode I’ll grant you, but nice nonetheless – shows he’s always thinking of her. J

So there you have it. Another good, fun episode with a little affection thrown in – that pretty much sums up their relationship for the large part of the season but naturally we all know of one or two exceptions to come J

QUOTES:

AMANDA: Oh, it’s an invitation to training. They finally listened to me after all those requests.

LEE: Ten.

AMANDA: What could the Agency do with a model from New York?

LEE: I don't know. What could the Agency do with a housewife? But you've sort of come in handy in the past.

AMANDA: What am I doing wrong?

LEE: Almost everything.

AMANDA: I'm not crazy about heights.

RECRUIT: What if someone were chasing you and shooting at you?

AMANDA: That would probably make a difference.

LEE: Look, I appreciate your help, really I do, but please stop playing detective.

AMANDA: I’ll try.

AMANDA: What is that?

LEE: That is a scarecrow. Nice touch huh?

AMANDA: This is exciting, isn’t it? You and me; a team.

LEE: Yeah, Laurel and Hardy never had it so good.

AMANDA: I guess she just forgot to expect the unexpected.

LEE: You were right Billy, she really is….something.

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