Only two more episodes remain after tonight. This season has been one of the most cohesive
yet, exploring our protagonist’s careers under the hard light of their teenage
children’s ideals. Elizabeth and Phillip
have had to explain their choices to their daughter and Pastor Tim and Alice. Stan is also opening up to Matthew about his
secret life in the FBI. The main thing
that makes The Americans unique is its focus on relationships not morality.
Both sides have shown to be capable of both good and evil. In a decidedly gray world, the lack of
steering the audience to draw a moral conclusion is refreshing and important. In the Cold War Era, an “eye for an eye”
certainly would have lead to the destruction of the world. I’d like to think the actions of the
individuals like both Stan and Phillip prevented that destruction.
The episode opens with Patty having dinner with Young Hee
and her family, including a nervous Don.
Young Hee is acting completely normal so it is likely she doesn’t know
or suspect anything is wrong in her marriage. Elizabeth does her best to act nonchalant,
given the circumstances. Don excuses
himself from the dinner table.
At the Jennings residence, Paige is busy preparing dinner. Her father enters the kitchen and she asks him
about his family. “Was your mom a good cook?” Phillip responds she made a soup
he liked, perhaps like the borscht the dispatcher served him several weeks
before. Paige wants to know more and
asks Phillip about his father who died when he was six years old. Phillip informs her they lived a small town in
Siberia, his father was a logger. Paige
asks, “Did he like it?” Phillip attempts
to explain people didn’t think like that during that era. He notes his mother was a very tough person
and life was very hard after the war. Life
was simply hard work.
Young Hee and Patty say goodbye after their dinner. Elizabeth knows it may be the last time she
will enjoy the company of her friend.
Phillip continues to tell Paige about his childhood. He worked sweeping at a collective farm. The boss owed him back wages so his mother
went to speak with him and he paid up. He
implies that people knew better then to cross his mother. The opening credits
play.
Gabriel and Phillip play Scrabble at his house. He discloses he has recruited a new assistant
for them, a librarian whom he noticed reading a communist magazine. He hopes with her and Hans help, they will be
able to move forward with the operation with William. Gabriel asks if Elizabeth has gained access to
the codes yet. (This is the intel she’s blackmailing Don for.) Phillip
expresses concern regarding the operation; given what happened last time he
handled a biological pathogen. Gabriel
quotes Ronald Reagan, “The best deterrent is strength.”
Stan is on the phone at his desk at the FBI. A man comes up to Dennis and is reprimanded
for an error in his margins. After the
man disappears, Stan says to his friend, “Welcome to Munchkinland.” Stan refers to his new boss’s “yes men” as
munchkins. Dennis jokes he should have
retired with Agent Gaad. Stan confirms
their scheduled meeting with Martha’s dad later that evening. Dennis doesn’t feel good about it and tells
Stan it feels like “entrapment.”
The Jennings family is in the kitchen having dinner. Henry excuses himself to study and his mother
scolds him for not finishing his dinner. The doorbell rings and Paige lets Pastor Tim’s
wife Alice inside. She informs them
Pastor Tim is missing in Ethiopia. He went to a small village near the border
and disappeared. She looks at Phillip
and Elizabeth, “If you have anything to do with this!” Elizabeth becomes defensive and notes Ethiopia
is a dangerous place. Alice has called the State Department and
learned Ethiopia is a client state of the U.S.S.R. She
continues, “I know how the world works, my husband only wants to see the good
in people. But I made a tape about what
you do and I’ll turn it over to the State Department if Tim doesn’t return.” She apologizes to Paige and leaves in a fury
of emotion.
Tatiana and Oleg have sexy time; this time she is the one
who makes most of the noise. He
playfully covers her mouth like she did to him previously. Oleg teases her that she can’t understand
American culture since she has never tried a “Twinkie.” The conversation shifts
when Tatiana states, “I need something from you.” She explains they are looking for a woman from
the technology department in Moscow. The woman must be between fifty and sixty
years old, proficient with computers and speak perfect English. Oleg notes that is quite a specific request
but Tatiana insists that she can’t tell him more. Tatiana asks him, “You know why I’m here, what
department I work for?” Oleg
acknowledges he knows she works for section twelve, the department they aren’t
supposed to know about. (Bioweapons.) Tatiana
notes even with all the secrecy of the United States government’s program,
their weakness is “They can’t stop being American.” The U.S. government contracts with a private
company and that has been their “in” to the industry. Oleg is impressed and notes, “You’re good at
this.” Tatiana admits she is good at her
work.
Phillip has returned to the kitchen after checking on Henry.
They are all concerned what exactly he
heard from their conversation with Alice. Henry was rocking out with his Walkman and the
family secret appears safe, for now.
Paige questions her parents, “Is there any way?” Elizabeth presses her daughter to finish her
accusation. Paige hesitates but then wonders what kind of Russian spies they
might have in Africa. Phillip notes that
Pastor Tim’s disappearance is a “disaster” for them. But Paige sees through their lies and
counters, “It’s actually pretty good for you, in a Russian controlled country
he disappears, how would I know!” She storms out angrily.
Once alone, Phillip asks Elizabeth if there is anyway the
Centre had something to do with this. Elizabeth
notes if Paige’s accusations were true, they would have been pretty stupid to
not “take care” of Alice too. Phillip
wonders if there might be a plan to “take care of Alice” here in the U.S. He states he will check with Gabriel to see if
there is anyway they can offer Alice some information to appease her. Elizabeth admits she fears they may have to
run. She thought they could live like
this, with their secret partially exposed, but now she doesn’t know.
Paige goes to her church where many people have gathered in
the wake of Pastor Tim’s disappearance. The
secretary informs Paige they have found Tim’s Jeep but it was empty. Paige requests to speak with Alice but is
informed she’s busy. But Alice steps out of the office and is lead inside. Alice appears very uncomfortable in her late
pregnancy. Paige tells Alice she loves her and Pastor Tim very much and they
embrace. Alice admits she’s very scared and begins to cry.
Dennis and Stan have a beer with Martha’s dad. The old man is confused and skeptical that
Martha could have been involved with the KGB. He believes “Clark” was some kind of con man
and fears his daughter is drugged and kidnapped somewhere. He describes Martha as being honest and kind
hearted. In first grade she collected
money for victims of a tornado in her home state of Kansas. Dennis offers that perhaps those traits made
her vulnerable to manipulation. The old
man implores the agents to “not give up” on his only daughter. Dennis assures him they will remain on the
case to look for her.
Elizabeth cuts vegetables for the Crock-Pot in the
kitchen. Phillip enters and informs her
of the chatter from Pastor Tim’s office phone line. So far, there has been no mention of their
family. Henry is outside beating a
tennis ball on the garage door, the noise is annoying Elizabeth. Paige enters and her parents want an update on
what happened at church. Paige is still
frustrated with her parents and says she prayed with Alice. Phillip informs his daughter they are trying
to use their contacts in Africa to help find him. Paige wonders what will happen if Alice sends
the tape. Phillip notes they would leave. At first Paige thinks her parents would leave,
but then realizes that her father means the whole family. Paige asks urgently, “Where, to Russia? You
can’t be serious!” She notes that Henry
would obviously need to be told and wonders how she would live in a country
without speaking the language. Increasingly angry and scared she shouts at her
parents, “Who will you spy on in Russia? Who will you make disappear?” Elizabeth tells her calmly they have nothing
to do with this. It’s clear Paige
doesn’t think so.
In Thailand, Gaad shaves while his wife gets ready to go to
the market. They agree to meet in thirty
minutes for lunch. Gaad tells his wife
not to buy him anything. He seems genuinely happy and relaxed. Moments after she leaves, three men appear in
his apartment. A large man with a
Russian accent states he has a “proposal” for him. Gaad replies, “What if I don’t want to
listen!” The men approach and Gaad makes
a run through the glass door, shattering it.
Gaad falls down, a large piece of broken glass severs an artery and he
dies within a minute. The large man
looks at him and apologizes before the trio makes a hasty exit. A disgruntled former FBI agent would have
made an ideal person for the KGB to turn.
Gaad however was loyal to his country to the end. It’s a terribly sad
and shocking death of a character that has been a major part of the series.
Kimmy smokes a joint on her front porch. Phillip is inside her father’s office, hastily
changing the bug in the man’s briefcase.
He comes out to rejoin the teenage girl asking, “What did I miss?” Kimmy says she heard an owl and compliments
“James” on his great marijuana. Phillip
asks him how things are going with her current boyfriend. Kimmy sighs, and notes he was her age but “too
young” so they broke up. Phillip offers, “There are plenty more fish in the sea.”
Kimmy tells him “High school is pretty
much fished out!” Kimmy wants to tell
him a secret; she has recently learned her dad works for the CIA, not the State
Department. “Everything in my life makes sense now.” She has an explanation for all the travel and
secrecy in her father’s life. Phillip
asks her if she has told anyone, like her ex-boyfriend. Phillip thinks she should have kept her
father’s secret because it breaks the trust between her and her father. Phillip is obviously thinking about Paige and
perhaps trying to prevent Kimmy from making the same mistakes. Whatever the country, outing an agent can be
deadly.
Paige knocks on Stan’s door, looking for Henry but only
finding Matthew. Matthew asks her if she
wants to “hang out.” He seems to be attracted
to her. (Maybe my previous questions about his homosexuality were wrong.) Paige reluctantly agrees. Matthew offers her a beverage and Paige
requests coffee. She makes a sarcastic
comment about the lack of decoration in their house. Matthew jokes interior
decorating is all they think about. Paige
asks him whether he thinks it’s cool his father is a FBI agent. Matthew notes his father used to never talk
about work but now he does. He tells her
Stan told him about having drinks with the father of a possible spy, which he
thought was cool. Wanting to avoid a
conversation about spies, Paige informs him she needs to leave for church soon.
Matthew asks about her church and Paige
explains she joined for the youth group and that neither of her parents is very
religious. She tells him about Pastor
Tim and how stressful the situation has been for her. Matthew offers to give her a ride to church.
When they arrive, the church is filled with people milling
around. A young man informs Paige the
Pastor has been found, they ran out of gas and got lost. She embraces the man and introduces him as
“Zach” to Matthew. She notes both guys
play guitar and asks Zach to tell him about youth choir. Paige is an impressive young adult in her
poise and mannerisms. She may have her mom’s knack for putting people at ease. Paige goes to find Alice in her office. Alice requests some privacy to speak with
Paige and she cries. Paige exclaims,
“I’m so relieved, when is he coming home?” Alice tells her the next day and admits she’s
never been so afraid. She asks Paige to
tell her parents she’s sorry for threatening them.
Elizabeth uses a payphone to retrieve her messages from
Young Hee. Young Hee is crying and
states something is wrong between her and Don but she doesn’t know what. Young Hee tearfully asks Patty to return her
call.
Once Paige returns home she tells her parents the good news
about Pastor Tim and about Alice’s apology. Paige apologizes for her own accusations and
notes the whole situation was “just so weird.”
Elizabeth states, “The hardest thing we do is trust.” Phillip adds that
they must tell each other the truth and Paige is now a part of that. Elizabeth
notes she may not always be able to tell her daughter the details of their work
but they must trust each other. Paige
informs them she didn’t asks Alice for the tape back yet because it didn’t seem
like the right time to do so. Her mother appreciates her insight. Paige asks when they are going to tell Henry
about their true identities. She feels they have to tell him. Elizabeth doesn’t really answer, “A lot of
that depends on Henry.''
Tatiana and Arkady are speaking in his office when he is
interrupted by a message. He looks pained and tells Tatiana, “An operation
didn’t go as planned. Maybe it shouldn’t have been planned.” This likely is a message regarding Agent
Gaad’s accidental death.
At the FBI, Dennis takes Stan aside and leads him into the
vault. He is somber and says, “They are
going to make an announcement soon. Gaad is dead.” He admits he doesn’t know much else at this
point. Stan is shocked and saddened and
wonders if he died on vacation. A
“munchkin” pops in the vault, ordering them to get “on deck” because their
director Wolfe has an important announcement.
Gabriel tells Elizabeth, “We did have people looking for
him.” Gabriel is pleased at the luck of
Pastor Tim’s return. He asks Elizabeth
when she will have the codes. Elizabeth is ambivalent and Gabriel asks her if
there is a problem. In typical Russian
fashion, Elizabeth replies, “No problem.”
Gabriel notes that, “People like us can give everything to our country
and the world and forget ourselves.” Elizabeth laughs and notes that the
comment sounds like something from “EST.”
Gabriel asks what Young Hee’s family is like. Elizabeth sighs, and says he’d like them;
they are big, close and loud. Elizabeth wonders, “What if we couldn’t get in
this way?” Gabriel notes she has “done
the hard part” of the operation already. Elizabeth believes the family won’t recover. Gabriel says he can ask the Centre if there is
another way, if she wants him to do so. After
a long pause, Elizabeth says, “Yes.”
With only a few episodes left, it’s hard to know how this
season will end. Next week’s preview shows Gabriel ordering Elizabeth to go
through with her blackmail of Don. She
is seen telling him she’s pregnant, which of course is impossible since they
didn’t have intercourse. Don is
horrified and says having an abortion is the only way. Stan informs Phillip he thinks the KGB killed
his ex-boss Gaad. Will Stan know the
truth about his neighbors before the season is over? Will the bio-weapons mission end in disaster?
Will Paige consider joining her parent’s profession?
No comments:
Post a Comment