The Americans Season 3, Episode 10, Stingers

This is the episode I’ve been waiting for all season, the showdown between Phillip, Elizabeth and Paige. The last few episodes have been heavy on action and tension.  The reason I love the Americans is the emotional honesty in the highly dishonest characters.

Pastor Tim visits the Jennings travel agency.  He discusses a trip the church is planning to Kenya. Phillip assumes Paige will want to join the group. Pastor Tim invites the whole Jennings family to go to Africa.  Phillip politely declines. Pastor Tim says, “Paige needs to be treated like an adult.” This comment surprises Phillip in its presumptuousness. Phillip asks, “Do you have kids?” Tim replies, “I have a flock.” Phillip is dismissive, “It’s not the same.”

Stan and Zianda are watching Tootsie (released in December 1982) in the theater. An unidentified man follows her and Stan to the theater’s restroom.  Stan asks Zianda what she thought of the movie. “It would never happen in the Soviet Union.” (Referring to the cross-dressing.)  Stan says, “It would never happen here.” (Oh the homophobic 80’s!)

Once in the restroom, Zianda places a note under the sink! She is signaling somebody!

Henry looks in his “hidey hole” of naughty pictures, including a picture of Sandra Beeman in a bikini. Paige calls him for dinner.  Phillip discusses Pastor Tim’s visit to the travel agency.  The church’s goal is to build a school in the area.  Henry is curious why kids in Kenya need schools built.  He’s seems a typical American teen unaware of the poverty in the world.  Phillip receives a phone call and departs abruptly to take care of urgent travel agency business!

In his long brown shag wig and “Members Only” jacket, Phillip becomes Jim and searches a rowdy teen party for Kimmie. He finds her alone on a turquoise beanbag chair.  She is happy to see him and fairly intoxicated.  Jim leads her away to bring her home.

Nina delivers tea to Anton. He continues to be dismissive of her.  Nina switches to English, which finally catches Anton’s attention.  She asks why he can’t make progress. He says, “If they want results, I need photos.”  He asks her where she learned English, she says in America.  Nina finally has Anton seeing her for the first time.

Kimmie is an emotional drunk, she slurs, and “You’re the only one who cares about me.” Jim replies, “You’re the only one who’s real.” Every teen loves to hear they’re special.  As Kimmie heads to the loo, Jim quickly heads into her father’s office to exchange the listening device in his attaché case.  He looks over to see a family photo that features a miserable looking Kimmie.  Does he feel guilty?

Phillip and Elizabeth listen to the latest information from Kimmie’s dad.  Men are heard discussing an upcoming meeting with the mujahedeen and agents in the D.C. area.  Phillip leaves to relay this important information to Yusef their contact in Pakistani intelligence.

At the travel agency the next day Phillip reports Yusef isn’t responding to his signal.  He expresses frustration with the incomplete information they’ve received. Paige appears at the travel agency for the first time since she outgrew the “Lego drawer.”  Phillip tries to ease the awkwardness by putting her to work like a good little communist!

Stan visits the Jennings to find Henry home alone with his new electronic football game. (Coleco’s Electronic Football) Stan reminisces about a football board game he used to play with Matthew.  Stan gives Henry a pirated VHS copy of “Tron.” (The blockbuster sci-fi movie from summer of ’82, the perks of being a FBI agent.) It’s sad to see the two of them so lonely.  Stan is missing his son and Henry missing his father.

The Jennings drink wine and survey the scene in a fancy hotel lounge.  They are trying to vet the location, which will host the meeting of CIA Afghan group players.

Henry goes to Stan’s to return “Tron.” He’s surprised to see the Beeman’s house in disarray.  Stan explains he’s in the process of dividing up their possessions in the divorce. Henry asks frank questions about Stan’s situation.  Stan replies that he’s honestly uncertain about many things at present.  It’s a tough thing for a young person to see an adult so vulnerable.

Elizabeth leaves Phillip to check into a room in the posh hotel.  She creates a rouse to summon the desk clerk upstairs. (Complaining of a stain on the mattress.)  She charms him into offering her compensation for the room, which she refuses. He offers to take her to dinner.  Again, Elizabeth declines but gets his phone number for the next time she stays at the hotel. The plan probably involves Elizabeth “distracting” the night clerk so Phillip can do something to spy on the CIA meeting.

Gabriel informs Phillip that Yusef will only agree to meet with him in person. He’s currently on his way to the U.S. to meet.  Gabriel tells Phillip his son Misha can be released from his duty in Afghanistan, but his son has refused discharge.  Gabriel discloses this was done at Elizabeth’s request.  Phillip says to not force Misha to go home if he wishes to continue to serve in the war.

Phillip and Elizabeth return in the middle of the night to find Paige waiting for them in the kitchen. They ask if she’s okay, she says “No.” Both parents look concerned. “Do you love me?”

“Of course we do.” Phillip replies.

“Then tell me the truth! I’m not stupid.  I know we’re not a normal family.  Why don’t we have any grandparents, aunts, uncles or cousins?  Why do you guys work all the time? Dad gets a phone call and he has to leave.  I’ve thought about this for a long time and I’m not crazy! I talked to Pastor Tim. Who are you? Are you in WitSec or drug dealers like your friend Gregory, are you aliens, or what?”

A weighted silence follows and Phillip and Elizabeth look at each other.

Paige continues, “Are you going to keep lying to me?”

Phillip begins, “We weren’t born here, we were born in another place, the Soviet Union.” Elizabeth interjects, “We are here to help our people.” Phillip continues, “We’re here to help our people get information.”

Paige is shocked, “You’re spies!”

Elizabeth tries to explain that they are “Activists fighting for peace, just like you.” She continues, “I know it hurts, but you can’t tell anyone, even Henry. No matter how much you trust them or think you trust them. You can’t tell anyone, EVER!” There is a hint of her scary assassin personae as she reveals her true self to Paige. Phillip adds, “If you tell anyone, they’ll put us in jail for good.” Paige exits the kitchen in stunned silence.

Phillip lifts the kitchen phone off the receiver and asks Elizabeth if she’s okay. “I don’t know. Do you hate me? Remember when you thought finding out would kill them?”  As the conversation lingers, the beeping on the phone stops as the line goes dead.

In the morning, Paige remains awake on her bed in yesterday’s clothes.  She tells her mother she doesn’t want to go to school.  The usually strict mom mumbles, “Of course. Do you want me to stay with you?” Paige wants to be alone.  Elizabeth says, “We understand.”

Downstairs a clueless Henry is acting out Eddie Murphy’s famous SNL skit “Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood.”  He is perhaps too caught up in his own life to realize the glacial mood of the rest of the family.

Phillip takes a turn to check on Paige.  He tries to sound casual and asks her again, “Are you sure you want to be alone?”  Paige is sure.  Both parents are trying to temper their terror of being exposed by Paige.  Paige asks her parents to speak Russian. They both hesitate, finally Elizabeth says, “We love you very much.” in their native tongue.  Perhaps this gives Paige the validation of last night’s revelations. She asks to be left alone.

Elizabeth and Phillip pause to talk in the car before leaving the house.  Phillip reasons if they push her too much it might be “counterproductive” to maintaining their secret.  Phillip is confident she won’t do anything stupid.  Elizabeth finally agrees to leave.

Paige picks up the phone to call Pastor Tim but leaves a message with his wife.  She does an incredible job of dancing around the boulder of the truth.  Her message to Tim is she spoke to her parents about her concerns and they weren’t mad but surprised.

Walter Taffet interviews Stan and probes him about his divorce.  Stan claims there was no other woman, which is clearly a lie to protect Nina.  Taffet asks pointedly if Stan knows who placed the bug in Gaad’s office.  A flash of recognition is hinted in Stan’s eyes. He quickly resumes his poker face and says no.  After the interview he asks where Martha is and is informed she’s gone for the day.  He suspects Martha but probably wants to be sure before telling Taffet.

Paige vacantly watches television as her parents arrive home.

Oleg speaks with Arkady.  Anton needs photos of the stealth technology in order to make progress. (This was the information obtained by Nina earlier in the episode.) Tatiana enters with a decoded message stating, “WILLOW was threatened.” Arkady is upset.  He explains the department is so compartmentalized they don’t know what other divisions are doing.  He plans to inform the Centre.  The message was what Zianda dropped off in the movie theater bathroom.  She is working for the Centre but Arkady and Oleg are working on the deal to free Nina.  Tatiana isn’t privy to the men’s plan.

Stan arrives at the Jennings’ for dinner.  Paige stares blankly ahead and Stan notices. Phillip is quick to say, “Ever since Paige got baptized she’s more observant of the world around her.” Phillip menacingly sharpens cutlery as he stares at his daughter. The room appears distorted and Paige is apart from the others staring at them through the kitchen pass through.

It’s almost the end of Season Three. The “next on” shows Yusef speaking to Phillip about the stealth technology. Gabriel is shown having a tense conversation with Phillip about Paige. Will the Jennings be exposed by the end of the season? Will Paige runaway? Would Henry even look up from his football handheld game to notice his family is destroyed?