Season 1 Episode 4 – Part 3 / Да ты не такой, как все, и не любишь дискотеки
(Ilya's house before the tuna melt scene)
Boston. Ilya’s house. This is the most time that Ilya and Shane have spent together. They are awkward around each other, although Ilya is acting confident and nonchalant. There are attempts at conversation. Ilya’s self-deprecation: “But you know me, I am lazy.” And Shane not letting him talk himself down: “I don’t know that side of you at all.” A very confusing conversation about girls coupled with Ilya’s even more confusing sort-of-not-serious admission of liking Shane. But then Ilya’s phone buzzes.
19:28 (Ilya): Здравствуй, папа. ZDRA‑stvuy, PA-pa. Subtitles: “Hello, Father.”
The subtitles are exactly the same as when we watched Ilya’s first phone call with Grigori. But the Russian register has been reversed. Where we had привет – informal “hi” – we now have a polite, semi-formal здравствуй – “hello”. And отец – almost paperwork-formal “father” - has been replaced with warm папа – “dad”. The entire greeting shifted into a softer, more patient register – and in the Rozanov family, that’s as close to tenderness as it gets.
19:30 (Ilya): Да, я получил твое сообщение. Я тебе ответил, папа. Мы говорили вчера. da, ya pa-lu-CHIL tva-YO sa-ab-SCHYE-ni-ye. ya tye-BYE at-VYE-til, PA-pa. my ga-va-RI-li fchye-RA. Subtitles: “Yes, I got your message. I did answer you, Father. We spoke yesterday.”
More patience. Every sentence is a reminder – of yesterday, or of what was said only moments ago. Short sentences. Clear statements. The father – dad – that Ilya is talking to is not the Colonel from that New Year's call in 2010. Not even the Colonel from Sochi.
19:39 (Ilya): Папа… Папа, где Алексей? PA-pa… PA-pa, gdye a-lyek-SEY? Subtitles: “Father… Father, where is Alexei?”
Alexei. The one who lives in the same country, same city as you, dad.
19:45 (Ilya): Мой брат Алексей. Он там с тобой? moy brat a-lyek-SEY. on tam s ta-BOY? Subtitles: “My brother Alexei. Is he there with you?”
Where Alexei is would be hard to remember if you don’t recall who he even is.
19:50 (Ilya): Ты один? Полина там? ty a-DIN? pa-LI-na tam? Subtitles: “Are you alone? Is Polina there?”
Ilya first asks about Alexei. Then about Polina. He never asks about Grigori, only about those who are supposed to be there with him. The questions are practical. Ilya has been through this before. He knows the protocol.
19:56 (Ilya): Полина, она твоя жена, папа. pa-LI-na, a-NA tva-YA zhe-NA, PA-pa. Subtitles: “Polina, she is your wife.”
No drama. No horror. Just a fact that shouldn't need stating. Sounds like Ilya has said this before. The lack of any kind of exclamation – that’s the real nightmare of all this.
20:00 (Ilya): Папа, хорошо, успокойся. PA-pa, kha-ra-SHO, us-pa-KOY-sya. Subtitles: “Father, stay calm.”
More caretaking. “Dad, okay, stay calm.”
20:06 (Ilya): Я позвоню Алексею. Я ему позвоню. ya pa-zva-NYU a-lyek-SYE-YU. ya ye-MU pa-zva-NYU. Subtitles: “I will call Alexei. I will call him.”
Repetition, repetition, repetition. Trying to keep his father calm.
Time to talk to his brother.
20:11 (Ilya): Где ты? Папа один, и он психует. gdye ty? PA-pa a-DIN, i on psi-KHU-yet. Subtitles: “Where the fuck are you? Dad is alone and he’s freaking out.”
No profanity in Russian. Ilya is keeping it together. “Where are you? Dad is alone and he’s losing it.” The gentleness disappears. Now the message is clear: you should be there, this is your job. Ilya’s furious. Keeping it together but barely.
20:16 (Ilya): Я тебе плачу, чтобы ты был там с ним, сволочь! ya tye-BYE pla-CHU, SHTO-by ty byl s nim, SVO-lach’! Subtitles: “I fucking pay you to be there with him, you asshole!”
What’s good about the Russian here is the crescendo of Ilya’s frustration. He doesn’t curse and the final сволочь – “bastard” – is the concentrated disappointment, annoyance, and anger that Ilya has accumulated over this scene. Over the years of dealing with his family.
We saw a pattern before: one son across the ocean, one in Moscow, one cares about their father but can’t help, one could but is not doing it. It’s the same pattern, but worse. Grigori’s condition progressed. And still Ilya is the one who gets the calls, who has to explain who Alexei is and who Polina is. Somehow, Ilya is still the one holding the family together.
Ilya hangs up. Exhales. His hand finds the cross at his throat – his mother’s. Then he sits down.
Shane asks, “How is your father?” And Ilya deflects. “Ah, you speak Russian now?” Because that’s the only way he knows how to receive something. Turn it into a joke. Redirect. Don’t let anyone see you need anything.
But throughout the scene, Ilya has been moving closer and closer to Shane. Until he is as close as he can be. Right next to Shane.
He’s not asking for anything. He never does. But he chooses where to sit and seeks comfort the only way he can allow himself to.
For one brief moment, they’re closer than they’ve ever been. Neither knows what to do with that. Then we watch everything fall apart for the rest of the episode. It ends with the devastating scene in Club Disaster and hypnotic All The Things She Said playing over the wreckage.
