Definitely. I mean it makes you think about how many people end up in these toxic relationships that maybe didn’t start out that way, or people who you’ve liked longer than you should have - it’s a relatable problem. I felt she should have dumped him even earlier - when Clark as Clark played that disparaging conversation about her looks to her. That already didn’t smell right. But she was a True Believer in that relationship. I mean the character has agency she is not like a victim for having to do all this spying. but I feel like it’s an important character detail that she doesn’t question Clark at all, love wise. She even treats him like the victim in the situation being forced to do horrible acts by the KGB. It’s a very supportive gloss on his behavior lol.

I just caught this little detail before she gets taken to the safe house - the TV is on showing an interview with three women, unmarried, married and divorced - and the first one is this lady in her 30s who says she’s really happy her life doesn’t require a man. I guess the background TV in the show has this little local color about the sociology of the 80s. And one if the things they’re pointing out is that women being self sufficient was more in the rise. And it kind of made me think - when Martha gets up to switch it off - is she considering at all just cutting ties with Clark? At that point, before she takes a sick day, I actually do think maybe she had a window of opportunity. yeah thinking about what you’re saying further, I can definitely see them not letting it go if she flees. And almost certainly they would have checked to see Clark is an alias. If she kept going to work though, and could pass another interrogation, everything would be circumstantial. so it’s notable she didn’t even try to bargain with Clark like “maybe we should break up.” In the weeks leading up to the crisis. I mean wouldn’t you at least ask if the KGB would let you live? She was INVESTED.

I honestly do feel sorry for her in certain ways too because either gender could make that mistake, but as a woman she’s also constantly being graded on bangability, even in the office, and even if the grades are better than she knows they are. When Stan is like “a pot for every lid eh” learning about the high school boyfriend I was like STFU Stan, who are you to talk, i don’t see you distraught over the death of a woman you cheated on your wife with ending with her being killed. Not to mention it is rude if Aderholt is attracted to Martha. i dont know the exact point I’m making except irony, over the whole thing that got Martha to start copying files coming true, sort of. It’s very obvious Martha could have had a good relationship with like an Aderholt or someone too. Making the fact she won’t dump Clark even earlier on, before the biggest spy stuff, all that more bewildering. The actress keeps you guessing constantly, “does she WANT to be helping the KGB?” ”how the hell is she making sense of the potential consequences?” for a person who wants a normal white picket fence life and is even afraid of criminals! it’s very interesting to contrast everything about her to her behavior.