Hugs for Frost, kiss on the lips for Chuck -- hey, smoke 'em if you got 'em -- and suddenly Alexei's playing Mom's Boyfriend and inviting himself to Thanksgiving at the Awesomes'. (Which is the second time my brother was like, "Seriously? This isn't a dream episode? I'm not high right now? This is happening?" Sometimes, kid.) Alexei does this whole "I can't have a relationship with your kids?" thing and she's like, "My kids work for the CIA. It's more about how you are a literal supervillain and less about whether you're boyfriend material."

But they've been working together for 20 years, right? And she never once gave it up? (To Timothy Dalton? Who is at least as hot at the age of eighty-seven as he was when he was forty?) And still she keeps him on the hook? (Frost indeed!) That is some lore right there. That's even better than being a spy. Do all the spy shit in the world, sure thing, but dicking around with Lex Luthor's brain for twenty whole years? That's power, my friends. That is worth learning more about. Is there a Prague training program for that shit? Because if so, my whole plan to marry Julian Assange just got about five steps shorter.

Heading into Ellie's house they're like, "Soooo we just brought a psychotic killer back to our pregnant sister's house, on the one hand. On the other hand, turns out Harvey Dent over here is smiley-face right now, so let's just remind him that Ellie and Awesome are civilians and shouldn't have to be involved in our whole spy v. spy thing." Alexei's like, "Totes McGoats, let's have some Latesgiving!"

In all the excitement you sort of miss out on the moment of Ellie and Awesome welcoming Mom into their house. I mean, it's there, but I was all pre-crying and then it was just like, "Hey, want some Chardonnay?" And then -- Stepfather-type threats from Alexei about how dinner better go fucking perfect or he's going to kill everybody -- we fast-forward to later. Which is a dooze. Short conversation about how Ellie wants to know about Frost's history since she disappeared, and he tells a shorthand lie that is also essentially the truth: "In our business, sometimes good people get confused for bad, and the bad for good. But fortunately, being your mother's handler, I was able to help convince the CIA that she is good. And that's why your mother is free to go now."