Round Table - Neptune Affair

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

The Neptune  Affair is one of those pivotal episodes in which we firmly establish that Illya Kuryakin is, indeed, a Soviet agent whose affiliation with his country is still intact.  He hasn't defected and he is not at all adrift from his homeland.  In fact, he is seen in uniform as a member of the Soviet Navy, something that comes across as a true vocation for him when he goes toe to toe with Napoleon over the origins of the plague that is affecting crops in the Soviet Union.
So, with all of that in motion, should the series have delved more deeply into the Soviet nature of our blond?  I think there are maybe only two other instances where it is referenced that Illya is Russian; Napoleon's 'smart Russian' comment (The Never, Never Affair), and another one I can't exactly quote or place.  Maybe one of you remembers where to find it.
Did we need more Cold War interaction between our heroes?
Do you have a favorite story that does go into this element of the series?

Comments

[rosywonder.livejournal.com]

All I have to add is that I don't think his hat was particularly big by Russian military uniform standards. I went into East Berlin in 1971 and there were plenty of officers wearing hats like that, although I imagine most of them were army officers. I've always imagined Illya as retaining some connection with the Navy, at least to begin with, and  certainly not as a defector.