A thread for The Americans on FX

Caught up now - I'm going to be sad when this is over but it seems to be going out strong. I have no idea how Chekov's Cyanide Capsule will wind up getting used.

latest episode my favorite of the season, which had felt pretty padded to me otherwise. maybe I am a lunk who needs action in his TV shows now though idk. I think Philip's phone call to Kimmy is absolutely a cross-the-bridge-blow-it-up-behind-you moment, that's outright betrayal.

found the murder of the two russians especially reprehensible, which was the idea I guess.

you must have found last season especially trying if you need action in your TV!

I was kind of glad they killed those two russians off because I was wondering why we were spending so much time revisiting them when they honestly weren't very interesting.

Will someone remind me what was going on with the courier thing? The x-ray in the bathroom? I lost track of the scheme.

I didn't really get that either but it was a hilarious image

Will be disappointed if it turns out there isn't another layer to Renee.

it would be hilarious if she turned out to be from some third, non-KGB/CIA intelligence service.

stealth agent of the census bureau trying to get an accurate count on the number of soviet agents in the country

tbh though I think she's gonna turn out to be a normie. everyone in stan's life who isn't a co-worker being an enemy spy would be a bit much

i think it would be interesting if she were IA or something investigating the FBI, kind of like what Philip said he was doing when he was Clark

Yeah but at least it would make sense since Philip/Elizabeth had been feeding info about him for years and I'm sure a divorced high-level FBI dude would be a likely target. Otherwise, any screen time on Renee/Stan is kind of a waste. Would also be happy to suspend disbelief and find out she's Mossad or Stasi or double-secret FBI quality control agent, lol just something other than Stan's sporty gf.

Would've happily traded the whole defector plotline for 2X on the nuclear talks or anything else really.

im totally fine with her just being stan's GF. stan is the third main character on the show and im happy to spend as much time with him as possible before the end.

I wonder if she's keeping an eye on Phillip? Making sure he's still around, that he doesn't blab to Stan, that kind of thing?

I liked the defectors and their domestic drama!

it would be hilarious if she turned out to be from some third, non-KGB/CIA intelligence service.

lol I had a thought that she might be German! 1987 is when efforts to tear down the Berlin Wall really begins right?

I had known in some abstract sense that all the threads of this show coming together would be exciting, but now that it's upon us I am so excited I can barely contain it.

Tense episode. Not much happened--looks like that's next week--but it always felt like something big was about to. I got home late from a movie, so just caught the end of the terse Philip-Elizabeth exchange that opened the episode. I want to catch that on repeat.

Stan's jingoistic speech kind of came out of left-field, but it did seem to be in character.

So many spies writing things on the top sheets of notepads this week. Haven't they ever seen the pencil trick?
Also, nice bit of fan service getting Maily into the elevator shot.

I don't know if anyone will agree, but one thing I haven't necessarily found convincing is Paige the dutiful KGB daughter. Dramatically, it makes sense; she was torn for a full season (two?), and you can't stretch that out forever. So they skipped forward in time, her acceptance largely took place off-screen, and they redirected the focus elsewhere.

But I'm not sure it fits her character based on previous seasons, that she would become such an unquestioning believer, and I definitely think it makes her character less interesting. She was a cipher in last night's episode; for the first time, Henry was much more interesting than her. (The kid who plays Henry is really good.)

that she would become such an unquestioning believe

Not sure you're wrong, but I do think they've tried to lay the groundwork for this. She's always been looking for the "right" belief system, always tacitly sought approval from both other adults and her parents. It's clear that Elizabeth is exactly the same.

I mean, it's not unlike the college freshman effect of whatever 101 course you're taking becoming your entire worldview briefly.

No, that's right--she's just replaced Pastor Tim with Mother Russia. I do think it's made her less interesting, though, reducing her to little more than supportive, concerned frowning. Or at least last night she was pretty bland--she was great pummeling those two yahoos the week before.

When Elizabeth came out of the cinema and was rolling her eyes about the long silent heist scene, that was the show cheekily referencing its own 15 minute hole dig, right?

I took it that way. Loved the Dassin references.

Also, nice bit of fan service getting Maily into the elevator shot.

Someone refresh my memory - that thing bugged?

FBI found the bug. But now it's 1987, so who knows.

It that ridiculous mailbot something that actually existed in the 80s?

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/mailmobiles-mail-robots-technology-retirement

so yeah they were still in use *whilst The Americans was airing* lol

mail robot is a charismatic presence

Here's your head, what's your hurry?

I'm starting to feel like Graysmith in Zodiac in terms of the looming Philip-Stan showdown: I need for them to look each other in the eye and know it's true.

One character who's not working for me right now is the painter. She's more of a device than a character--every line she speaks is a symbolic comment on Elizabeth.

Was there anything in particular that inspired Stan to start snooping? Seems like there wasn't anything really definitive that caught Stan's eye ... was it the convo with Phillip that did it (and the implication that his business was going under, so maybe he'd be more susceptible to doing something bad?

xp she's going to give the second cyanide pill she lifted off of Harvest to the painter soon, right?

Stan got a little freaked out by a few factors -- there's a high stakes mission involving illegals out of town the FBI is on and Philip/Elizabeth take off at the same time despite it being a holiday with their kid, and talking to their kid makes him realize he hasn't noticed that this isn't a one-off, it's always been them running out during the night. Combined with the bogus aunt story, which coincided with a prior high profile case with illegals, and the deathbed confession of the CDC (?) guy where he described the two is too much.

Philip being completely emotionally blasted has been obvious to everyone. He's just not holding it together at all.

I guess it would've all seemed more plausible if there'd been a shot of a pensive Stan staring at the perp sketches rather than piecing together all the other unrelated stuff, but I'm still willing to run with it and happy that it's all finally coming to a head.

It's difficult to separate the Jennings/Stan from the Whites/Hank given the setup; guess I just liked Hank's toilet revelation more.

I think the perp sketch moment is going to be a pretty big plot beat and they've left it for the next episode. I was certainly anticipating it.

I don't think FBI agents like Stan do "eureka!" moments, he's going to be very skeptical unless he gets a smoking gun.

It was nerve-wracking during his house search when he passed through the laundry room

Was there anything in particular that inspired Stan to start snooping?

I don't know, but it made me smile because it's like he all of a sudden arrived at the place I was when I was complaining about the first season upthread. "Why are these people always leaving the house at three in the morning? They run a travel agency..." Took him six years to start asking these questions.

Stan got a little freaked out by a few factors -- there's a high stakes mission involving illegals out of town the FBI is on and Philip/Elizabeth take off at the same time despite it being a holiday with their kid, and talking to their kid makes him realize he hasn't noticed that this isn't a one-off, it's always been them running out during the night. Combined with the bogus aunt story, which coincided with a prior high profile case with illegals, and the deathbed confession of the CDC (?) guy where he described the two is too much.

Yeah I feel like they're deliberately avoiding the BBad-style "eureka" moment in favor of all kinds of little things making it happen, which is probably a smart move on their part

I feel like Stan genuinely has that home/work separation and the idea someone he's been palling around with in the neighborhood is a spy is a foreign idea. He probably sleeps like a rock and has never noticed his neighbors leaving in the middle of the night, or they're smart enough to always go the other direction so he doesn't hear a car pass by

the fact that I still have no fucking idea what's going on with the Laurie Holden character is wonderful

we want so hard for her to be _something_ or a more substantial red herring
I'm assuming she's just Stan's girlfriend until further notice

what if she's somehow related to the mail robot warehouse people. what if she is... a mail robot

I got the sense that Paige is less sure of everything now that she's nearing being turned loose as an agent herself. She was obviously trying to convince both her mother and herself that she is dedicated to the cause, but Holly Taylor does a great job of finding the nuance of where she's at mentally and acting it out just enough to be caught on camera.

I just keep looking at Paige, Philip, and Elizabeth now and wonder which of them is going to die

Honestly, I think there's no way Elizabeth makes it out alive. She's always been the most committed, the driving force of the show's purpose. She's gotta die.

I think she ends up in exile, Paige decides to stay in the US, and Philip is the one with a tragic end

she's going to end up choosing Philip but also having her cover blown and is going to get disavowed by the Soviets and on the run from the US

imo whatever happens, it happens to Philip and Elizabeth. 'til death, etc.

good take