The penultimate episode has arrived! This season has added a new layer of urgency
and complexity now that others know the truth about the Jennings. However, they still have managed to elude the
authorities despite this new level of exposure.
The bioweapons mission nears completion, but will it be the undoing of
William and the other agents? Paige
received the shock of her life last week when she witnessed her mother’s lethal
capabilities. It may be impossible to
conceal the ugly truth about the true nature of their work. Ironically, Paige seems to have a natural
ability to gather and analyze information. But, will her conscience prevent her from
becoming her mother? The reason The
Americans is one of the most compelling shows on television is it maintains
emotional realism despite the often fantastical situations.
Phillip and Henry enjoy some time together on the computer
playing “Defender.” Elizabeth and Paige arrive home and Elizabeth states bluntly,
“We almost got mugged.” Elizabeth
assures the men they were able to get away unharmed. Phillip leaves Henry to go upstairs and
“settle Paige.” Paige is clearly in
shock, “He was dead, was he dead?” Elizabeth
turns to Phillip, explaining, “I had to, he had a knife.” Paige wonders why they didn’t call the police
and if they should call the police now.
Elizabeth clarifies the problem with alerting the authorities; it would
bring too much attention to the family.
Phillip understands, “You did what you had to do.” Paige reports she
feels sick. Elizabeth looks at Phillip and
whispers, “He was going to…” Phillip
knows Elizabeth would never let her daughter be sexually assaulted as she was
during her training.
Henry is concerned about his mother and sister and asks
Phillip what happened. Phillip delivers a highly sanitized version of the
events, stating it was “very scary” for his sister. Phillip returns to check on Elizabeth and Paige;
he states he has to leave for “work.”
Elizabeth and Paige sit on her bed. Elizabeth gently strokes her daughter’s hair. Paige asks, “How did you know how to do that?”
Elizabeth notes it was part of their
training, learning self-defense. Paige
can’t believe how quickly the event happened, before she could really
understand what was happening her mother had already killed a man. Paige is troubled by how calm her mom appeared
using deadly force to defend her.
Elizabeth responds, “I wasn’t going to let him hurt you.” Paige asks if she’s had to “Do that before?” Elizabeth replies, “To defend myself, yeah.” Elizabeth confesses she doesn’t know how many
times she’s “defended herself.” (That’s
probably the truth.) Paige wants to know
if her mother was scared. The teenager
can’t seem to reconcile her loving mother with the cold-blooded assassin she
witnessed. Despite her cool demeanor,
Elizabeth admits to her daughter she was scared during the attack.
Dennis has made a trip to the mail robot repair facility to
investigate the death of the owner’s mother, which coincided with the machine’s
repair. The son of the woman wasn’t
surprised by his mother’s death; she was eighty-seven years old with heart
failure. Dennis asks if an autopsy was
performed and the son says no, as the death was “expected.” He asks, “Am I missing something?” Dennis doesn’t offer an explanation for his
questions but doesn’t press the man further.
Dennis offers his condolences before leaving the facility.
Phillip dons his dark wig, mustache and large glasses for a
night meeting with William in a public park.
Without preamble, Phillip gives him the access code to Level Four. William describes, “Lassa fever, it dissolves
your insides, which you then squirt out your anus.” He tells Phillip the Level Four strain is even
worse. William says he can’t do
this. Phillip looks shocked for a
moment, “You’re afraid.” The scientist notes this maybe one of the deadliest
pathogens on the planet. He doesn’t want
to be responsible for the destruction if it got out. Phillip asks, “What shall I tell Gabriel?” William requests he tell him the truth and
walks away into the darkness.
Oleg runs into Tatiana at work in front of the large mural
of “Dada “Lenin. (Uncle Lenin as he was affectionately known.) She shares news she has been offered a position
as Ambassador of the Soviet Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. Oleg congratulates her. Tatiana elaborates she may chose her own
deputy and would like to offer him the position. She knows it’s “not America.” Oleg promises to give the idea some
thought. He is intrigued by what she
could have done that “impressed them” enough for this promotion. Tatiana says breezily, “As long as I don’t
kill half of the Eastern seaboard by next week.” They part ways. It appears as much as Oleg may care for
Tatiana, he fears what she is capable of doing for her country. Her unquestioning loyalty troubles Oleg.
Phillip arrives home from his meeting with William. Elizabeth informs him Paige will skip school
the following day, and has finally fallen asleep. Phillip asks his wife how she is doing after
the attack. Elizabeth confesses to
replaying the incident over in her mind. Phillip assures her she did the right thing by
protecting Paige. She tells him that
right before the attack, Paige had been discussing her conversation with
Matthew. Paige had learned about Stan’s
meeting with Martha’s father. “She was
reporting this to me.” Elizabeth can’t
help but be proud of her daughter’s potential as an intelligence agent. Has her mother’s violence scared her from this
path?
Dennis and a technician take apart the mail robot looking
for “bugs.” They discover a device about
the size of a mini tape recorder.
Wordlessly, Dennis instructs the tech to replace the device. This will be allow them to learn more by
interrogating the person who arrives to switch out the device.
Stan, Dennis and the new boss Wolfe meet in the vault to
discuss the latest developments. Wolfe is
concerned even if they can catch the person retrieving the device from the mail
robot; it’s likely to be a diplomat and it maybe impossible to prosecute. Stan says, “Welcome to the division!” Dennis jokes maybe they can just shoot him.
Elizabeth goes to check on her daughter in the morning,
offering her some hot cocoa. Paige reports not sleeping well. She confronts her mother, “It’s dangerous what
you and dad do, but you told me it wasn’t!” Elizabeth tries to soothe her, “We didn’t want
you to worry.” Paige is fed up with her mom’s
“non-answers” stating she never hears the whole truth. Elizabeth opens up about her childhood. She describes the village where she grew up,
which was devastated by the war. (She says she was two when it ended, making
her forty years old in 1983.) She speaks
about the strength of the people who survived, fighting, freezing and starving.
She wanted to fight back too, not caring
if it was dangerous. She wonders what
her town looks like today and wishes she could take Paige to see it. Despite their unique difficulties, it seems
like Paige is able to force her mother to open up and be honest in a way no one
else can. Their relationship has grown
tremendously since Paige has discovered the truth.
Oleg studies plans for the upper part of a rocket, the
Challenger, trying to discover if it has a hidden purpose. Tatiana stops in. He asks her how the computer expert worked out
for her team. She reports she was
“perfect.” Oleg tells her he always
thought the “African guys” were weird but is still considering her offer. Tatiana assures him she is not pressuring him
for a decision, she knows their relationship is relatively new. Oleg states he has to consider everything here
and back home. Tatiana says she understands.
Two agents watch security footage near the mail robot. An African-American woman stops, looks around
before opening the robot to retrieve the device. The men are able to apprehend the suspect.
Stan and his boss discuss what they have learned about the
suspect. She met a man at a Roy Rogers
in Franconia. (Fast-food restaurant in Pennsylvania) The man appeared to be a
“mob-type” and offered her five hundred dollars to change the tape every few
weeks. Wolfe states the director is
thinking of sending this information up the “chain” to the State Department and
beyond. (Possibly the CIA?)
Gabriel and Phillip meet at payphone near a bar. Gabriel makes a phone call and assures a woman
that their daughter is alive and well. Before
the woman can ask any further questions, Gabriel hangs up the phone. Phillip is satisfied that at least Martha’s
parents know she is alive.
The phone rings in an apartment in the Soviet Union. A distraught woman answers and tells Oleg how
much he sounds like his deceased brother Evegny. Oleg tells his mother he sometimes thinks he
sees his brother on the streets in America. They share the sorrow of their loss. Oleg tells his mother he misses her, with
tears in his eyes. He tells her to
“think good thoughts” before finishing the call. It’s a rare and beautiful scene, which
illustrates the toll of war.
Paige watches a soap opera with her mother. Elizabeth clearly doesn’t understand the
show. Paige tells her, “It’s not
logical, it’s emotional.” Paige knows
her mom has a hard time connecting emotionally, especially with popular
American culture. Henry and Matthew arrive. Matthew offers to hook up Henry’s computer to
the television in order to play games. Henry
is thrilled and Paige offers to help.
Dennis and Stan are discussing the “dead drop” on the
recording device. Stan finds a phone
message of interest and leaves Dennis abruptly, stating he’ll be back in a few
hours.
Henry and Matthew work to hook up the computer to the
television. When Henry briefly leaves
the room, Paige notes how close Stan and her brother have become. Matthew
replies, “Yeah, he’s good with younger kids.” Paige notes, “Not with teenagers?” She asks him if he worries about his dad’s job
being dangerous. Matthew remembers when his father worked undercover in St.
Louis that if frightened him. (Stan was undercover in a white supremacy group
for several years.) He notes, “Chasing spies is dangerous.” He relates his father has told him being in
the FBI has taught him patience. (Patience to catch the spies next door?) Paige
is clearly curious how Matthew handles his dad’s unusual career and relating it
to her own situation.
Stan meets with Oleg in an isolated industrial area at
night. Oleg enters Stan’s car and begins
discussing his education. “I went to Bauman Tech University. We have some of the best scientists, but no
money.” Oleg reports his concern about
“getting our hands on something we can’t handle.” Oleg trusts Stan to bring this information to
the right people. Oleg asks, “What do
you know about biological weapons?” Oleg
states they know the U.S. government is working with them but they contract out
some of the work to private corporations. He knows they have an agent inside one of the
private companies. Oleg fails to
elaborate further and exits the car. He
may have just sabotaged William and Tatiana’s mission with the Lassa virus but
he had to clear his conscience.
Stan immediately takes the information back to Wolfe. Stan just has a few pieces of the puzzle and
he needs resources to work out the whole picture. Stan states he’s not told anyone else this
information. Wolfe calls out to Aderholt
and brings him into their confidence. “Stan’s got something big, scale back on
the tape drop. Let’s not piss off the Rezidentura. ” This tactic recalls one used by the British once
they had cracked the Nazi’s Enigma code.
Worried they would tip off the enemy if they averted every attack; they
selectively allowed some attacks to continue. It’s a willingness to lose battles but win the
war. The mail robot bug is small
compared to bioweapons threat. The FBI
is trying to avert suspicion from their Soviet counterparts.
William walks down the street alone, Phillip follows in a
small car and picks him up and brings him to Gabriel’s house. Gabriel has prepared tea. “Phillip tells me you’re having second
thoughts.” William recounts how idealist
he was when he joined, noting it’s been hard to maintain his belief in the
cause especially when it comes weaponizing dangerous pathogens. Gabriel believes William needs to “see the
people he’s defending” with his work. The
old man promises William he’ll be able to go home a hero, find a wife and have
a family if he does this one last thing for the Centre. Gabriel assures him that William’s work will
make the world a better place.
Dennis and Stan have assembled a task force in the vault. One of the companies on the list is Foster
Medical, where both Don and William work.
Dennis and Stan begin to look at long list of employees with high-level
clearance. They study the dot matrix
printed sheets and other documents closely.
Phillip seems surprised that Gabriel was able to change
William’s mind about the mission.
Gabriel remarks he simply, “Reminded him of who he was and what he
wants.” Phillip is skeptical and states
he agreed with William’s plan to abort the mission. Gabriel notes he’s glad Phillip has
Elizabeth, “She’s steadfast, and you need that.” The old man complains of fatigue and sits
down. He recalls how he thought it would
be easier to do this work alone, having no one to “weaken” you. He’s discovered it “goes to shit anyway and
you’re still alone.” Gabriel has given
his life to the cause, lived like a monk and will likely die alone.
Matthew has given Paige a ride home from school and they are
at his house. Matthew notes his father hasn’t been home for several days and
wonders why he wanted him back if he’s never around. Paige tells him she’s glad he’s back in the
neighborhood. She says things have been
weird at home but won’t elaborate beyond, “My parents treat me like I’m
twelve!” The young man leans in and
gives Paige her very first kiss! Flustered,
Paige makes excuses and abruptly exits. Poor Matthew is likely amused but
bewildered.
She arrives home to her parents unpacking groceries. (“Banana
Sugar Flakes” was there such a thing?) They ask her about school and she
mentions Stan hasn’t been home in a few days. Perhaps sensing something is different is
happening between her and Matthew, Phillip asks if they are more than friends. Paige denies this, even though her lips are
still fresh with his spit! Paige asks
why Phillip can be friends with Stan but she needs to be “careful” with
Matthew. Phillip states he would never
ask her to get close to him on purpose. (Like Elizabeth has to get “close” her
marks. He doesn’t want to think of his daughter using her body for information,
yet.) Paige becomes understandably angry
and mentions how she had to be close to Pastor Tim and Alice at their behest. She shouts at her father, “You always say
we’ll get through this, but you never say how!”
Dennis and Stan have found a person of interest. A man named William, an employee of Foster
Medical is using a deceased person’s identity. (The same way they found out about
Clark.) The men rush to add extra
resources in addition to the two-surveillance team already following
William. It looks like he won’t have time
to “go home a hero.”
The phone rings and its for Philip. After he hangs up Paige demands to know what the call was about. Elizabeth says they don’t have to tell her everything. Paige losses her temper, “I just saw you kill a man in front of me, you might as well tell me everything!” Phillip sighs, “I’m meeting someone about a thing that could help our country.” Elizabeth elaborates, “Part of a weapon we could use to defend ourselves if we were ever attacked.” With perfect teenage angst, Paige replies, “Great!”
Next week is the season finale. It seems likely someone will be caught. Phillip is going to meet William and the FBI
has figured out he is a suspect. The
previews show William cutting and possibly infecting himself prior to being
arrested. Will Phillip slip away again? Gabriel lectures Elizabeth and Phillip, “This
job wasn’t meant to be forever.” Will
they be forced to leave as a family? In
my opinion, this season has been the strongest of the series. Congratulations to the real-life couple
Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell on their new baby! Next week looks like it will be a fantastic
end of the season.
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