A thread for The Americans on FX

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

(xposts) I'd like that--kind of an open-ended, running-on-empty ending.

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.

wasn't the sick lady sketching Elizabeth at the end? gonna be wild when it looks just like the FBI's sketch

I don't think FBI agents like Stan do "eureka!" moments

iirc, what they do is look at a bulletin board and then drop their coffee cup in shock

a friend of mine is just starting the series now and I'm excited to rewatch early episodes with them

Oh maybe they can be on the run, stop at a diner for onion rings, and then Journey comes on the jukebox...

Just looked up how many episodes are left: three.

Episode 8: "The Summit" (seems self-explanatory)
Episode 9: "Jennings, Elizabeth"(uncovered? killed?)
Episode 19: "START"(= Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty...seems like a positive ending, but who knows--maybe used highly ironically)

the treaty talks are the whole reason Elizabeth has this high stakes mission, though! history kind of shows her entire venture is doomed

Right--for Elizabeth, any thaw in the Cold War is bad. I guess I meant more in a general sense...for Philip, for Stan, for Paige (even if she might think otherwise--it'll save her her mother's life), for the U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! (I've always hoped the show wouldn't devolve into American jingoism, and it hasn't, unless you took Stan's impromptu Thanksgiving speech as coming from the show's creators.)

I'm trying to predict an ending where I haven't a clue.

unless you took Stan's impromptu Thanksgiving speech as coming from the show's creators.

I didn't take it that way at all. It was there to kind of reaffirm Stan's commitment to his job.

I'm hoping for a Basterds-style shakeup and Elizabeth takes Reagan out in a blaze of glory.

that’s ultimately the play, they played a little loose and more violent with history but the show respects the large arc of politics

While I'm sad there are only two episodes left after tonight, I'm extremely happy that every bit of it is endgame now. No more side stories or missions. All bubbling tension, all the time.

Elizabeth is on board ;_;

Didn't think tonight was anything special. It was nice that Elizabeth let the kid go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am6Nh46WpUI

I'm glad someone excerpted this for youtube. If not *the* best, it's one of the best uses of music intercut into a tv narrative I've ever seen.

Been avoiding (and still in practice avoiding) this thread because we've just started the season, but boy are the first two episodes strong. A+ music cues, too, right down to Mel McDaniel's "Louisiana Saturday Night," which is awesome, because I'd just been introduced to his "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On," which is also A+ (country-cheese division). And this show at this point seems designed for Peter Gabriel and Talking Heads as much as it was perfect for "Tusk" in the first episode.

I liked all the Stan stuff tonight--wanted the whole episode to focus on him. Next week looks great. I've got to say, though: does Paige's latest about-face jibe with past year? Not for me.

Renee's going to turn out to be the greatest MacGuffin ever, no more complicated than Kramer wanting to be a banker on Seinfeld. She's just someone who always wanted to work for the FBI.

Paige has always hated being lied to. She's asked her mother about this several times and every time Elizabeth has lied to her. Also, she's what... 20 or 21 now? Everything she's learned has still been fable in practicality. Now she's seen some shit (blood and brain matter all over Elizabeth's face), scared to death in her apartment by her dad, so I think she's looking for a way out and this is it.

I'm glad the Elizabeth/Claudia scene was as subtle as it was. Any other show would've dramatized it more than that.

Which is why I found her true-believer conversion a stretch--she suddenly seemed to stop questioning whether she was being lied to--until you guys convinced me it made sense. I can go with one or the other, but not both. I just feel like they've let that character drift away.

Bringing Pastor Tim back made sense. I'd forgotten that he and his wife know everything.

As The Americans comes to a close, I'm also almost finished season 4 of Breaking Bad. The parallel between Stan closing in on Elizabeth/Philip and Hank doing the same with Walter/Gustav is perfect.

I am prepared for dark endings for a lot of these characters but if Oleg ends up in prison that seems pretty cruel.

When Phillip called Elizabeth and said everything was "topsy turvy at work" was that like a safeword phrase given her immediate "fuck, get the go bag and leave" reaction?

I cant see how this is all gonna tie up in one more ep!

yeah Paige's credulity feels like a badly written adolescent/young adult character tbh.

dude playing stan on fire in this episode w/that little half-smile of unspoken thoughts when he's listening to other people talk

Yeah I found the Paige scene a little uncharacteristically OTT. In general I do feel this season's felt a little rushed, and I have whiplash from the pacing gap from s5, but I'm confident the finale will stick the landing

xxxp topsy-turvy = time to go.

Are they ditching their kids?