The Americans, Episode 8 - Divestment

Hans watches from the rooftop as Elizabeth, Phillip and Ncobo escort their captives into an abandoned warehouse.  Martha and staff discuss the bug problem. Next, Martha is called for an interview.  Phillip offers Venter a million dollars and a new life.  He refuses to cooperate. (Not sure why, professional courtesy?) 

Nina is brought for an interview; she will be rewarded for obtaining Evie’s confession by a sentence reduction to ten years. “Forgive me if I’m not jumping up and down.” Oleg’s father, the Minister of Railroads, explains her next mission will be to work on Anton. (The Jewish defector who was recaptured and forced to work on the Soviet’s computer projects.) They most want to know if Anton is really stuck on the project or if he’s intentionally slowing down the progress of the project.  “Get inside his head to see and we will free you.”

William asks Martha if anyone went into Gaad’s office alone in the last few years. He presses her for details on her duties stocking office supplies for Gaad, especially pens.  She is a fairly convincing liar.  He asks pointedly, “Did anyone ask you to tamper with this pen?”  She sidesteps the question, observing that it’s not a standard supply pen.

Elizabeth visits with the student captive Todd.  He’s cold and scared.  Elizabeth asks him how long he has been working with Venter.

At the Soviet embassy, Arkady receives a call from Oleg’s father.  He is upset that Oleg has not been returned home.  He tells Arkady he has two sons; one is fighting in Afghanistan and Oleg.  He fears that Oleg is impressionable.  Arkady stands firm, stating that he needs Oleg.  His father asks him to look out for Oleg.

Venter is cold, coughing as the interrogation continues.  Phillip is still wearing eyeliner and his awesome wig. “How long have you been monitoring anti-apartheid groups?”  Venter is silent.

Stan announces his departure for his friend’s funeral in Chicago.  Martha says goodbye tersely.  Stan inquires if anything is wrong.  Martha lies weakly; “I think I ate something wrong at lunch?”  Stan probably knows something is wrong.

William calls Aderholt for an interview. He goes over Aderholt’s biography, not so subtlety calling attention to the fact that he’s the only African-American in the office. Aderholt seems used to this line of questioning.  William asks to see his pen, which is a Mont Blanc.  Aderholt states it was a gift from his wife.  William asks if it’s hard that others may resent him.  Sighing, Aderholt says, “I try not to think about it too much.”

Elizabeth tells Todd to get up and he joins Venter who is strapped in a chair.  It seems the decision has been made to kill him.  Ncobo asks if he may do the killing since he is more personally invested in his punishment.  Ncobo approaches him and states, “For crimes against the state of South Africa, I sentence you to death!”  Venter still defiant says, “They (Phillip and Elizabeth) don’t care about you, they just want the gold and diamonds of our country!” (Probably true.)  He places a tire around Venter’s neck and douses it with gasoline.  It’s a gory, graphic death with Todd and Venter screaming. 

Paige is at the library looking through some microfiche. (Remember, before the Internet?) She is looking into Gregory’s life.  First she finds the stories about him as an activist, later articles outline his life of crime including bank robbery.  Paige’s curiosity is piqued. 

Elizabeth presses a terrified Todd, “You lied to me!”  Elizabeth assures him that he won’t die like Venter, but with a quick bullet to the head.  Todd pleads, “I’ll tell you anything!”  Todd explains that Venter wanted him to bomb a meeting of the board of trustees of the university.  Todd tells her the bomb is in his dorm room.  As Elizabeth leaves him, she sees Hans run away.

Nina is lead to a new prison, the gulag where Anton is being held.  She is led to a sparse but furnished room.  On the bed, they’ve laid out clothes, including silk stockings.  Nina picks them up and inhales.

Arkady calls Oleg into his office reporting that his father called him.  Oleg sighs, “He’s used to getting his way.”  Arkady says, “I’m used to dealing with stubborn people.”  Oleg’s father is the Minister of Railways; Arkady doesn’t see him as much of a threat. (But given that he can reverse a death sentence, he has more power then his title would imply.)

Elizabeth meets with Phillip.  He has recovered the bomb from Todd’s room.  Phillip wants to free Todd, reasoning he’ll not likely reoffend after seeing what happened to Venter.  Ncobo is upset, “He would have killed me and a lot of people.”  Elizabeth reluctantly agrees with Phillip and they drop off the shivering Todd in a park.

Nina is surprised to meet the former Soviet ambassador, who has suffered for her crimes. He reveals he is in charge of the prison. Nina states that it’s too late to apologize but she is sorry. He states, “I was a fool, we were both to blame. But I will never forgive you.” 

Phillip drives Ncobo for his departure from the United States.  He seems envious that Phillip works with his wife.  He says, “Sometimes, I can’t even remember her face.”  Ncobo theorizes that she could leave him for another man due to his long absences. “Being married and being at war are not always compatible.”  It’s unclear where he’s going, but there is a sadness that he’ll carry. 

William speaks to Gaad about his interviews noting, “I feel like I’m drinking from a fire hose, there’s so much to absorb.”  He observes that if their office had security cameras, this whole fiasco might have been avoided. 

Phillip listens to the latest news from Afghanistan.  Elizabeth asks him his son’s name. “Misha.”

Gaad asks Martha for a file, she says it’s in the robot.  Gaad tries to open the robot, and his key gets stuck.  He kicks it vigorously, venting his frustration about the investigation on an inanimate object.

Elizabeth returns home to find Paige eating breakfast for dinner. (Because her parents are never home.) Elizabeth asks her about the book she’s reading.  She tells her mom about the research she did on Gregory.  She asks him about his criminal past.  Elizabeth is evasive, “His life was complicated.”  Paige presses her, “But was he a criminal or not?”  Elizabeth tells her it’s not that simple when you’re fighting injustice.  Paige isn’t so sure, “You can’t rob banks!”

Anton is working at his computer.  Nina brings him tea.  Anton is curt, stating he didn’t ask for the tea. “Who are you? What are you doing?”  Nina says that she’s here to help him.  He asks if she’s a scientist.  Nina says no. “Then you’re of no use to me!” Nina will need more then her looks to crack this man.

Clark arrives to find Martha already in drinking red wine.  Martha cryptically reports, “I met a man today, William Taffet, head of OPR. He’s you!”  She tells him they have found the bug in the pen and the office is under investigation. “Who are you?”  Clark appeals to her emotions. “I’m your husband who loves you more then you’ll ever know.”

“What have I done? Is any of this true Clark?” Martha implores. Clark says he fell in love with her, and she’s honest and caring. He states he will do anything to protect her. “Is that enough?”

Elizabeth meets with Gabriel.  He gives her another tape from her mother.  Gabriel reassures her, “She’s a fighter.”  He notes that Phillip is having difficulty with the Kimmie operation.  He reinforces the need for him connect with her to help their loses in Afghanistan.  She asks him to help Phillip’s son.  He seems surprised she knows about his other son. 

The last shot of the episode is Martha and Clark post-coitus.  Will his emotional ploy continue to deceive this lonely woman? I was a little disappointed at the pace of this episode compared to last week.  It’s the emotional themes that make The Americans unique.  I’m looking forward to the fireworks between Elizabeth and Paige, and Martha and Clark, next week.