The Americans, Season 6, episode 9, Jennings, Elizabeth

After last week’s “Summit” the only way to go now is down the cliff to crash land into the finale.  This penultimate hour packed in key moments from Elizabeth’s past, which will prove crucial to informing her upcoming choices.  Stan struggles to find the missing pieces that link illegals’ activities to those of his neighbors.  Oleg withstands pressure to betray his country and his secret mission.  And Paige uses her newfound powers of observation to discover new horrifying truths about her mother’s work.  The themes of protocol, jealousy, and betrayal are intertwined throughout the stories of our key characters as they try to make difficult choices.

The opening sequence before the credits occurs without dialogue.  Elizabeth is out in the field in a teased wig and glasses to keep watch on Nesterenko from an inconspicuous spot within a hotel lobby.  The Soviet negotiator was spared last week because Elizabeth felt he was not a traitor.  (She has no such qualms with cold-blooded execution of any American or others who may reveal her identity.)  Philip in a “light disguise” consisting of a baseball hat and glasses drops a coded note for Oleg.

 Stan types Elizabeth’s name into his database at the FBI.  He tries different combinations, including Philip and their travel agency to attempt to discover evidence to support his suspicions.  He gets on hit on a Philip Jennings, but discovers it’s a twenty-three year old African-American man from Florida, not his neighbor.  After failing to get a meaningful hint from the database, Stan leans back in his chair sighing.  Elizabeth watches Nesterenko closely, leaving the hotel lobby when his small group heads up to the presumed safety of their hotel room.   Philip leaves a chalk mark on a blue mailbox to signal Oleg to check for his coded message.

Philip toils away at the travel agency office, looking longingly at Elizabeth’s empty desk.  Stan pays him a visit; Philip gives him a tour of the expanded office.  Philip awkwardly introduces Stan to another colleague, “He’s an FBI agent, be careful what you say!” Philip jokes.  Philip tries to interest Stan in some travel packages for the FBI and the exchange feels forced and uncomfortable for both men.  Out of earshot of others, Philip apologizes for trying to make a sale.  The men speak move into Philip’s office.  Stan asks about Elizabeth’s whereabouts and Philip states they had another fight about the business.  (Which in a way is true.)  Stan reports that Renee is seeking a job at the FBI.  Philip cautions him about that arrangement.  Stan offers Philip a loan but Philip is too proud to accept.  Stan pats his friend on the shoulder.

Elizabeth continues her “stakeout” of Nesterenko; she watches his movements around the State Department.  The group always travels at least three men strong.  In those days it would have been likely to have surveillance on high-ranking Soviet officials.  Nesterenko might know he’s being watched.

Elizabeth smokes and has a flashback to her youth.  She waits alone in a dark apartment.  Oleg sees Philip’s chalk-mark on the blue mailbox, he manages to acknowledge the mark without turning his head like a true professional.

An aerial shot zooms down on Buenos Aires, where Pastor Tim receives a call from Stan.  After a brief re-introduction and a few pleasantries,  the discussion turns serious.  “I’m speaking to you now as an agent of law enforcement.  Is there anything that I should know as an FBI agent about the Jennings family?”  Pastor Tim must be grateful that video calling is decades away because his face betrays a genuine concern and he chooses his words carefully, “I’ve always been impressed with them. Paige has always been a thoughtful and caring young woman.  Her parents weren’t members of the church.”  Stan asks a different way but Pastor Tim replies with “Not really.”  Perhaps he’s suspected that his “relocation” had something to do with his knowledge of their identity. He’s now happy and safe and certainly wouldn’t want to jeopardize his family by speaking to the FBI.   Stan keeps hitting dead ends.

Elizabeth sips coffee from a café near the State department.  She continues to reminisce about an experience from her youth.  She walks down a darkened street alone.  At an intersection, she comes across an accident involving a motorcycle, and a horse.  Two men lie in the street moaning in pain.  One man looks at her and pleads for help; Elizabeth looks at him before hurrying away.  Why did she refuse to help the injured men?  Does she regret her actions now; is she trying to save Nesterenko as an act of redemption?

Stan seeks out Dennis at the office.  Dennis is up to his ears with work but the two old partners always seem to take time for each other.  Dennis finally agrees to attempt to grab lunch so that they can talk.  On the way to the elevator, they discuss Renee’s upcoming interview. Dennis senses something is troubling his friend.  Stan spills, “I know this sounds crazy, but I can’t get this thing out of my head. You know Philip and Elizabeth, when I first meet them I was working on the Timoshev thing.  Philip and Elizabeth drove the same make and model of car that was seen where he was kidnapped.  Different license, but you know… It’s stupid.”  Dennis looks at Stan intently.  Stan continues to whisper, airing his suspicions about Elizabeth’s departure on Thanksgiving and Philip following her the next day.  It seems beyond coincidental that is preciously when all the bad events were taking place in Chicago.

The men pause when the elevator arrives; they continue the whispered conversation in a nearby alcove.  Stan discusses the Gregory Thomas case, and how Elizabeth may fit the description of Gregory’s girlfriend at the time.  He admits to looking around the Jennings’ home in their absence.  Stan admits, “I couldn’t get it out of my mind, what if?”  Dennis looks incredulous, how could Elizabeth have been Gregory Thomas’s girlfriend?  Dennis concludes, “Philip and Elizabeth Jennings are not Russian spies.”  Stan affirms, “I know it sounds crazy but, remember what William Crandall said before he died, ‘pretty wife, a couple of kids…’”  Dennis scoffs, that description is far too vague to be useful.  Dennis receives word that his boss needs to speak with him immediately.  Stan leaves his old friend who despite his dismissive words knows that Stan is a good agent whom he trusts.  Dennis will undoubtedly be looking for more evidence of Stan’s theory.

Oleg picks up the message from Philip.  At the FBI, Agent Wolfe and Dennis speak to the Russian Orthodox priest Father Viktor.  Wolfe makes it clear that he’s not being harassed because of his faith but they do have questions about the church’s hierarchy.  Fr. Viktor is savvy; he knows that the FBI is looking into how the KGB and the faith interact. The priest is upset with those who use their “contacts back home” in order to secure promotions within the church.  Fr. Viktor is ready to name the priests he finds corrupt.  He names Father Andrei, he’s about to name another priest when Dennis is summoned with an urgent message.  “The team on Acrobat just radioed in, it looks like he pulled himself into the black for several minutes," Dennis orders them to search him and bring him in for questioning immediately.

Oleg strolls down the street, Philip’s note in his pocket.  FBI agents roll up in a car, say his name and handcuff him upon retrieving the evidence from his coat pocket. Oleg is silent during his arrest and looks resigned to his fate.

Elizabeth continues to watch Nesterenko; she’s now outside on a park bench.  She continues to think about this incident from her youth.  She answers the door in the dark apartment to greet another woman.  Elizabeth says in stilted English, “I got the signal, I picked up the package but something went wrong. On the way back there was an accident, a policemen was dead, another man hurt very bad, a horse.  I didn’t know if I should help him, we are not supposed to stop on an operational run.  If police would have arrived they could have questioned me while I still had it…” The older woman looks at her with concern.  She explains that if Elizabeth had been in America that her behavior would have been justified but “You don’t leave a comrade to die on the streets of Moscow.”  From this memory we get insight into how seriously Elizabeth has always been towards her work.  It also recalls how Elizabeth reprimanded Paige harshly earlier in the season at the scene of Renhull’s murder.  Elizabeth’s training was very strict, but she was even cold by her mentor’s standards.  Back in the present time, Elizabeth watches the doors of the State Department.

Stan is given the first interview with Oleg with Dennis and Agent Wolfe watching in the next room.  Oleg states he can’t cooperate.  Stan cautions him to think about his wife and son; he could face up to twenty to thirty years in prison.  Stan recounts the series of events, which coincides with Oleg’s arrival in the U.S.; two agents were murdered in Chicago, Renhull’s “suicide” and the deaths at the defense contractor’s warehouse.  Stan wants to know what the message says and who sent it.  Oleg looks at him fiercely but remains quiet.

Elizabeth smokes and approaches the State Department entrance when she sees the negotiators on the move.  She scans the scene around the men and focuses on a woman in a blonde wig and overcoat carrying a newspaper.  (Perhaps she recognizes the wig?)  The woman attempts to uncover the weapon hidden in the paper as she nears the trio of men.  But Elizabeth pulls out a silenced weapon and shoots the woman in the back.  The men stop in shock.  The woman’s wig falls off to reveal dark brown hair.  (It looks like Tatiana but it’s hard to be sure.  Who would have been able to complete this mission is not clear.)  Nesterenko checks the assassin’s pulse.  He looks around nervously; probably certain that he just avoided being assassinated.  Elizabeth runs off briskly.  It’s a bold move for Elizabeth to have saved Nesterenko.  It’s likely the next assassin will be coming for her.  The men look around in disbelief.

Oleg waits in a bleak holding cell.  Stan is allowed to speak with him again.  Oleg looks up at the speaker in the room.  He whispers over Stan’s shoulder, “People in the KGB are trying to get rid of Gorbachev.  This is what I’m doing here; we have reason to believe that they are trying to make a move around the Summit.  The message, the dead drop, I don’t know what it says but it’s probably about that, if it is, they need to get it, you need to help me get it there.”  Stan absorbs this request but he refuses to send a coded signal back to the Soviet Union.  Stan asks for Oleg to decode it but he states he can’t because it would reveal the sender’s identity.  Stan says the FBI is looking for illegals in the D.C. area, if Oleg helps he will be able to walk free.  Oleg looks at his old nemesis and replies, “I can’t.”  Stan brings out a picture of Philip and Elizabeth but Oleg responds only with a nod of “no.”  Oleg is a well-trained officer; he will not betray his comrades.  
Stan says, “Let me tell you something Oleg, “Your old buddies in the KGB want to get rid of Gorbachev? I could give a shit.”  Oleg nods, he replies, “I can spend the rest of my life here.  I don’t know, but think about it, I have friends, a family, a father a mother, a brother who died in the war and all of us want a better future, just like you.  Peace, food to eat, all the same things, do you think it doesn’t matter who are leader is?”  Oleg explains this is the reason he was willing to risk everything, for the future of his country.  “Can you get that through your thick head?”  The two men sit together for a moment in uncomfortable silence.  Oleg’s words seem very prophetic. While Gorbachev was in power, things were improving but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin was unable to keep corruption out and now Putin's regime resembles the old Soviet days. 

Elizabeth has changed out of her assassin clothes to visit Claudia. Claudia, not knowing anything is amiss offers her some home cooking. Elizabeth declines the food and continues to stand.  “Nesterneko is alive, I stopped it.  I also contacted Gorbachev’s people, I told him all the things you were planning.  It’s over.”  Claudia sits up and gazes intently at Elizabeth.  “Do you realize what you’ve done?  They’ll take apart the Centre’s leadership.  The people who’ve supported you all these years, they’ll put them in jail. All of us.“  Elizabeth looks steely, “There is still time for you to get out.  I imagine that you could get by anywhere.” Claudia looks at her with distain, “Do you think you are doing me a favor?  I had so much faith in you.  I never lost faith in you, you always reminded me of women I fought with during the war, the way you put country over self.  But now I see you never really understood what you were fighting for.”  Elizabeth seethes, “I’m still fighting for those things.” Claudia wonders if Elizabeth “started to young.”  Strangely, this is the same argument Elizabeth used when discussing why Philip quit the business to Paige.  Claudia delivers another verbal blow, “I thought I knew you…” Elizabeth counters, “You thought you knew me, if you really knew me you’d know never to lie to me!”  Claudia recounts the work, sacrifices, and time with Paige.  “It was all for nothing, the damage you’ve done today is indescribable.  Far worse then all the good you’ve done all these years.”  Elizabeth seems to ignore this deep wounding statement and asks where Claudia will go.  Claudia responds, “Back home to fight for what’s left of our country. We took it back from our enemies before and we’ll do it again.”  (Implying here that Elizabeth and Gorbachev are the “enemy.”)  Claudia asks condescendingly, “What’s left for you now, your house, your American kids, Phillip?”  Elizabeth stares at this sad older woman eating alone.  She leaves without another word.

Philip meets with Father Andrei in a light disguise of hat, glasses and a moustache.  When the priest asks Philip how he is he states he’s better in some ways having left the work behind.  Father Andrei replies, “Quitting was never an option for me.”  The men begin to walk, he asks about their marriage.  Philip explains Elizabeth has accused him of breaking some of his vows, of not being completely honest with her. Father Andrei notes that Elizabeth isn’t someone who trusts easily, that if she trusts him that something worth fighting for.  Philip notes that Elizabeth “cares about the whole world.”  He asks what the priest what he planned to discuss with Elizabeth that day.  Father Andrei explains that he heard a rumor that Father Viktor was going to speak to the authorities about him because he’s always been jealous and suspicious of the connections he had to the people back home.  Philip is horrified to learn that the “authorities” mean the FBI, and Father Viktor is speaking with them today.  Father Andrei asks if he’s in trouble, noting that he’s always very careful.  Philip quickly scans his surroundings, looking for anyone who could be an undercover agent.  He tells Fr. Andrei that they could be under surveillance at the moment.  Philip tells the priest that he should consider buying a plan ticket home and leaving the U.S. as soon as possible.  The men part ways after Philip says quickly, “Take care Father!”

Philip walks briskly continuing to look around for a tail and then crosses the street.  After a minute, he breaks out into a run.  A man in a vest barks into a walk-talkie, noting that they have a suspect on the move.  Several men chase after Philip but he manages to evade them and removes his jacket, glasses and changes his driving cap for a knitted beanie.  On another street, Philip manages to hail a cab and avoid capture.  It’s a very close call.

Elizabeth rinses her face with water from the kitchen sink.  Paige arrives.  Elizabeth tries to act casual despite her worsening situation. Paige explains that she was with her friend Brian the previous night. “The one that you thought I slept with to get information, turns out we really like each other,”  Brian told Paige he was at a party with other Congressional interns and a young man named Jackson was very drunk.  Jackson discussed how he had slept with an “older woman” and how he felt she tricked him and he ruined his life.  “Now he’s quitting and going home.  He works for Sam Nunn, this happened in the middle of the Summit.  Was it you?”  Elizabeth denies it but Paige persists.  “It was all in that book, that’s why you were so weird about Brian,” Elizabeth swears that she didn’t sleep with Jackson.  Paige says, “Looking back I’ve always known, every time, every lie, my whole life!” Elizabeth denies she had “anything to do with that boy”.  Paige accuses her about lying about everything, her whole life, “No wonder Dad can’t stand to be in the same room with you, how many times, how many men? Were you doing this when I was a baby?  You’re a whore!  Does Dad know he married a whore?”  Elizabeth tells Paige to stop it but she persists. “That moment you told me who you really are I should have done what Henry did and get as far a way from you as possible.” Elizabeth counters that the sex never meant anything to her and that “I wasn’t brought up like you were. I had to fight always, for everything. I had to give everything!  If I had to fight so that my country would survive, I would do it gladly!  We were proud to do whatever we could! Sex?  What was sex? Nobody cared, including your father!”  Paige leaves the house.
In this scene and in the flashbacks, the viewer finally gets more insight into the bleak post-war Soviet Union Elizabeth was brought up in.  Both Philip and Elizabeth suffered the horrors of the war and perhaps believed that through working in the KGB they could prevent another great tragedy in their country.  Claudia also referenced the war in her final conversation with Elizabeth, the women who fought in the war were considered heroes and patriots. Claudia dismissing Elizabeth as not as patriotic as her comrades in arms was a huge insult. 

Dennis is working in the vault with his team to try to find the unknown man who met with Father Andrei. (Philip)  They are going to search all the warehouses and safe houses they have uncovered.  Stan asks Dennis, “Are we assuming if he’s running that’s where he’ll go?”  Earlier in the hour, it was noted that the garage surveillance has yet to yield any leads.  Stan is hoping to get the surveillance photos of the incident. Father Andrei is on his way to the FBI for questioning.

Elizabeth smokes and has one final flashback of her mentor.  “The most important thing is to not lose who you are over there.”  Elizabeth might be pondering her “American” kids as she tries to formulate her next move.  The phone rings. Philip is calling in from a payphone, “I was hoping to make it home for dinner but things are very topsy-turvy at the office.”  It’s a code about the danger he’s in.  Elizabeth runs downstairs to obtain her “bug-out” bag.  Inside the electric panel, she grabs various passports, currency and her wedding rings.  She turns out the light, closing the door on Elizabeth Jennings.

The preview for the finale shows Stan attempting to call Philip and Elizabeth at home but only reaching their answering machine.   Philip and Elizabeth decide to get Paige and flee to New Hampshire, from there they are likely to catch a ferry to Canada.  Paige asks if they can trust Oleg, Philip responds “Yes.”  Stan is shown looking sketches which are clearly of Philip and Elizabeth saying, “All this time, I’m gonna kill them!”

I really am not sure what would constituet a satifying finale.  The series has focused on Philip and Elizabeth, both deeply flawed protagonists. Do we want to see Stan capture them or see them get away free to start a new life? It would seem plausible that Elizabeth and Philip would have to look over their shoulders for the rest of their lives, even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. What will Oleg's role be in bringing them in? Will Henry ever discover who his parents are and where they went? Will Renee's role finally be revealed?  I look forward to an intense and bittersweet ending. 

The Americans, Season 6, Episode 8, Summit

 

The whole season has been organized around the historic events of the Reagan-Gorbachev Summit of 1987.  Elizabeth has been tasked with representing the forces which wish to remove Gorbachev from leadership while the United States also has its share of skeptics regarding a lasting peace between the two countries.  I had been operating under the assumption that we’d have a full-length final season but unfortunately, this hour is the pen-penultimate installment of the series.  There are so many things I’d still love to see and explore and I fear that time is running out for both our characters and the many plot threads.  The show’s pace continues to be heart pounding and the stakes have never been higher for the hopes of peace and change and the destructive forces bent on remaining in control. 

The season has highlighted Elizabeth’s descent into her worst impulses, unchecked by Philip.  Meanwhile, Paige has nearly finished her training but still is ignorant of the many atrocities carried out by her chosen organization.  Oleg was absent in the episode, how will his story play out?  Stan has been fully re-immersed into counter-intelligence.  Will he be the man to crack the case or another causality of Philip and Elizabeth Jennings?

The hour opens again with an argument between Philip and Elizabeth.  Elizabeth returns home to find Philip looking pensive in the living room, “I know Chicago was hard, I won’t need you again, I promise.”  Philip tries to interject but Elizabeth continues to say that he shouldn’t worry about her because she knows what she’s doing.  “Do you? You’re wearing cyanide pill around your neck!”  Philip explains his interactions with Oleg without naming him. “He said there are people at the Centre who are trying to get rid of Gorbachev, he’s trying to prevent that.”  Philip elaborates that he knows about her trip to Mexico to meet with the general whose part of the plot to overthrow Gorbachev.  “He asked me to tell him what you were doing, and I did.”  Elizabeth looks stunned.  Philip says, “I told him you were the most dedicated, loyal person to ever serve the organization.  I told him about the sensor, Renhull, that you were looking into one of our negotiators who you thought was a traitor. That you were going to Chicago.”  Elizabeth accuses Philip of pretending to care about her when he was, in fact, passing on her activities.  She yells, “Go to hell!”  Philip highlights all her recent activities, from the kidnapping plot to the murder of Gennadi and Sofia.  He states he didn’t think she knew why she was doing any of these things.  Elizabeth is further agitated to learn Philip has been passing on information on her activities for several months, “You should have told me.”  Philip claims he tried.  Philip defends his actions, stating he was trying to get her to think, to ask questions to be a human being.  Philip says he would do anything for Elizabeth, and that he just did (in Chicago) but he won’t anymore.  He cautions her, “We believed in something so big, they tell us what to do and we do it, that’s the job. But WE do it, not THEM. So it’s on us, all of it…” Philip exhales deeply as Elizabeth storms out.

Elizabeth meets with Jackson at a fancy restaurant.  She’s flirty yet distracted at the same time.  She says she can’t stay but encourages him to sit down.  Jackson is interested in the management-training program and wants him to apply.  Elizabeth makes it sound like a dream job full of money, travel and “being with people who care about culture as much as you do.”  Elizabeth takes the young man’s resume and asks him for a report about the work he’s been doing for Senator Nunn.  She encourages him to be detailed, stating people at her firm have the highest security clearances.  He’s to turn in this report within twenty-four hours. (Still ahead of the Summit.)

The vault is a hum of activity.  One member is looking into local Orthodox priests.  Stan hasn’t found anything related to his vehicle investigation.  He asks Dennis about how Oleg might be connected to all these events. “We haven’t forgotten about him.”

Claudia watches Gorbachev’s arrival speech on television with Paige and Elizabeth. All women share a look of concern.  Paige asks Claudia if she has met Gorbachev, the old woman says “No” with an air of contempt.  Elizabeth notes that during the summit they’ll be busy discovering what is being said behind closed doors.  Claudia reminds Paige, “The work never ends.”  Paige is dismissed so that Elizabeth can speak with her handler privately.  Elizabeth notes that her target Nesterenko will be meeting with a group of Americans, she will bug Haskert’s briefcase to be able to listen to the discussion.

Elizabeth arrives at Haskert’s home in her nursing shift.  Immediately she can sense that something is different because usually, Glenn is working.  Elizabeth enters the bedroom and finds Erica breathing irregularly.  Her husband admits, “I did it. But something went wrong.”  He explains that he gave her the extra morphine he’d been saving but is distressed to see her continue to suffer.  He said Erica was begging him to help her die.  Elizabeth explains that the morphine didn’t work because Erica developed a tolerance to it. (As a former nurse this enrages me, in a dying patient one doesn’t worry about physiological tolerance, you simply give more medicine to relief suffering!)  Glenn blames himself for this “mistake”, he says, “I waited too long, I was so selfish.  I had to go to my goddamn meetings, she said so, she was angry and she said so… She was right, I called my office and said I’m done, I can’t come in anymore.”  Elizabeth looks murderous, she’d tortured Erica for months only to have her plans foiled by a compassionate husband.  Elizabeth instructs him, “Glenn, it’s going to be all right.  Say goodbye to her now.”

Once Glenn has left, Elizabeth looks around the room and grabs a paintbrush.  Elizabeth touches Erica’s forehead, as she looks around at all the disturbing paintings of women in anguish.  In an almost Biblical betrayal, Elizabeth kisses Erica’s forehead and then proceeds to choke the dying woman with it.  Erica flails and finally, as she vomits green fluid like a grisly final painting.  It’s difficult to watch, especially to a person who has lost several family members under hospice care.  This portrayal of messy death was almost too realistic.  Why would you end this woman’s suffering in such a violent way?  Philip is right, I’m not sure Elizabeth is a human being anymore.

Elizabeth calmly wipes off the vomit from the brush and places it in her pocket before wiping off Erica’s face.  She goes downstairs to inform Glenn  “She’s gone. You should head upstairs and spend some time with her, it’s your last chance.”  Elizabeth uses the time to photograph as many of the diplomat’s documents as possible.  It seems nothing will distract Elizabeth from her mission.

In the vault, the team studies a wall of sketches from Chicago.  One agent says, “It’s impossible, all those disguises.”  The pictures show some of Philip and Elizabeth’s most recent disguises.  Dennis looks at the wall, “Well, they’re either all the same people or all different people.”

Glenn calls Elizabeth back upstairs after several minutes.  He insists that she take a painting as a memento from Erica.  Elizabeth decides to take a large canvas portrait of a woman in black and white.  In a sense, all the paintings could be Elizabeth in her various disguises.  Elizabeth can barely fit the large canvass into her old station wagon.  Back at the garage, Elizabeth stares at the artwork.  She cuts it from its frame and places it on the floor.  She is set to burn it but hesitates.  She rolls up the canvas to put it away.  However, she knows she can’t keep it.  She unrolls it and destroys the art with more reverence than she murdered the artist.

Elizabeth greets Jackson warmly at her hotel room.  She presents him with a new briefcase as a gift for his new position in the management-training program.  Elizabeth has left a pair of lacy panties on the sofa she pretends to apologize for the mess.  She offers him a drink, cooing that he doesn’t want to “corrupt him.” Jackson confirms that he’s twenty-one.  He’s brought VCR tape of the Big Heat. (A gritty film noir from 1953 about a corrupt police department. VCR and chill?)  She notes that her “colleagues” were impressed by his report; he should expect a call with an official offer next week.  She explains how her job transformed her life.  Jackson demurs, “Thank God I went to Rififi.”  Elizabeth notes that she’s made her look good, even at her age.  Jackson stutters that she doesn’t need to worry about her looks.  She taunts him and he leans in for a kiss. The seduction will ensure Elizabeth will have the young man wrapped around her finger.

Stan looks through old photo albums and finds a picture of a double date with Elizabeth and Philip.  He looks intensely at Elizabeth’s face and removes the photo from the album.  Renee returns home.  She opens a letter. “Did Dennis do this, I got a job interview at the FBI next week!”  Stan is excited for her, stating he’d knew they’d be interested in her private sector credentials.  Renee asks, “What will they ask me?” Stan assures her it will be like any other job except they’ll want to know if she’s a loyal American and if she can keep a secret.  He assures her they will love her at the FBI.

Jackson enjoys some breakfast in bed while watching Jane Pauley on television discussing the Summit.  Elizabeth dresses and states she has a hectic day ahead.  She asks him to do for her a favor, “One of my clients is working with the Department of Defense, they have a major meeting at main state today.  I was supposed to get him these documents before but his flight is delayed and I’ve got meetings all over.” Jackson assures her he can help.  Given the amount private consulting and lobbying that is done in Washington, her requests seem plausible.  She kisses him and calls him “her knight in shining armor.”  It’s hard not to feel sorry for him.

Philip crunches numbers at the travel office.  He attempts to call Henry.  After a moment, it’s clear Henry isn’t available.  Philip needs his son as a foil for all the stress he’s under. Can he keep Henry ignorant of the family’s real problems?

Stan has gone on a road trip to Roy Rogers. (Perhaps a nod to Season 4, Episode 12, Roy Rogers in Franconia.)  Stan asks to speak to a cashier named Curtis.  Stan asks him about Gregory Thomas, the jazz musician whom Elizabeth recruited.  Stan slides a picture of Elizabeth and asks if she was the woman with whom Gregory was involved with at the time. Curtis can’t definitively answer, stating it was a long time ago.  He does remember, “She was beautiful, had incredible hair like those Vidal Sassoon ads.  She smoked like a chimney.”  Stan seems to check this detail mentally with the flowerpot in the Jennings’ yard.  Curtis gets up to leave.  He gives Stan some food on the house. “You kept your word, I did a little time after but never for that.”

Elizabeth calls her new love kitten Jackson from a payphone.  She explains the meeting was cancelled and she needs the documents brought to her room. (How convenient!) She asks for him to meet her in her car.

Philip pays a visit to his former employee Stavos.  The man looks disheveled, he refuses Philip’s request to come inside his flat.  Philip sighs, “I just want you to know how sorry I am.”  Stavos reminds him he already said this when he was fired.  Philip explains although it may look like his life and the business is flourishing, the reality is the business may fail. “We’re doing pretty bad, personally, financially, in a way, it’s probably better that you got out sooner.”  Stavos recounts how long he worked for the agency, he’s watched their children grow up. Then he adds something surprising in a whisper, “Whatever was going on in the back room, I never called the police.  I never said anything to anyone and I never will.”  Philip’s face falls as he’s forced to look at his Old World former employee in a new light.  He should be grateful for Stavos’s loyalty and discretion.  Stavos shuts the door on Philip.

Elizabeth smokes as she waits for Jackson to bring her the box of documents from the State Department.  He looks like he’s seen a ghost.  Elizabeth greets him warmly but soon picks up on his distress.  She orders him into her late-model Mercedes. “What Jackson, I’m not a mind-reader!”  Jackson explains he went to the room to get the box and another meeting was taking place.  He notes that there were no canceled meetings shown for that room.  Elizabeth adopts a condescending tone, “Well, I don’t know how the rooms work at State Jackson!”  The young man shows her that he found a bug in the files. “Listen, this is not a big deal!”  Jackson disagrees, “You had me bug a meeting at the State Department!”  Elizabeth dismisses his concerns, calling him naïve and explaining this is how things are done in the “real world.”  Jackson doesn’t think the police would find this behavior as merely a way of getting a “completive edge.”  Elizabeth turns to a more remote location, not a good sign for young Jackson.  Jackson insists he’s not being “overly-sensitive” and states he’s not an idiot.  He knows what she’s doing is wrong.  Jackson offers to call his father and ask him if this is how business works.  Elizabeth grabs the young man’s arm and orders him to close the door.  He obeys but looks at her with tears in his eyes, “I want to go.”  Elizabeth makes him promise not to tell anybody about what has happened. “Tell me you understand.”  Jackson looks at her with fear, “I don’t understand.”  Elizabeth pauses before letting go of his arm, she instructs him to go back to university, finish and go into his father’s paving business.  She orders him out of the car.  Jackson flees for his life.

The next scene is perhaps the one of the most ominous of the hour.  Philip stands in front of a mirror being fitted in a grey suit. The tailor coos how good Philip looks in his new threads but Philip just stands there like a statue.  Philip only says, “It’s fine.” Is he picking the suit he wants to be buried in?  What is he planning on doing before he exits the earth?

Elizabeth listens to the conversation between Nesterenko and the Americans.  The Soviet man discusses the nuclear disarmament treaty.  The view sees Elizabeth’s face through a mirror as she listens.  Nesterenko says Gorbachev is committed to not only reduction of their nuclear weapons but to the goal of a nuclear free world.  Elizabeth looks stunned by this idea.  (Similar to when she discovered last season the goal of the GMO crops was to solve world hunger, not starve the Soviets.)

Elizabeth meets with Claudia in the park.  (Claudia wears a deep purple jacket, the same color as Renee’s.  Is Renee possibly Claudia’s boss or is it just a coincidence?)  Claudia chides Elizabeth for “smoking too much.” (Which may have tipped her off to Stan!)  Elizabeth explains that Erica died and they had to get the recording from her contact in Senator Nunn’s office, leaving out a plethora of gory details regarding those events.  Elizabeth says Nesterenko didn’t say anything of note on the recordings.  Claudia states she has orders for Elizabeth to “take care of him” in the next few days.  The two part ways on the path, physically and figuratively.

Philip wears a disguise and goes to a video rental store and chooses a tape to rent.

Elizabeth waits for Nesterenko to emerge from the State Department. She has a metal device wrapped up in a newspaper.  Is she planning on injecting him with poison?  She exits the car and walks briskly towards the men.  She nears Nesterenko but does not touch him with her weapon.  She seems as surprised by her own actions as she walks away.

Philip puts in the video at home, it’s a show called The Garage, a movie which was made in 1980 and banned by Brezhnev for taking on Soviet corruption in a satirical way.  Why is Philip suddenly nostalgic for his culture?  Is he planning to end his life?

Elizabeth waits for Claudia at the safe house.  She explains that Nesterenko wasn’t a traitor and that she couldn’t kill him as ordered.  “We haven’t seen anything to see or prove…” Claudia cuts her off, “It needs to be done. It needs to be done whether your convinced or not.”  Claudia explains that she’s been “Protecting her from knowing everything so that you can do your job but if you’ve lost confidence…” Elizabeth assures Claudia that she has not lost her confidence but that she needs to know.  Claudia begins a rant about Gorbachev whom she accuses of having no idea of “our history, our ideals.”  She fears it’s almost too late to stop Gorbachev’s reforms, she explains that once Elizabeth kills Nesterenko they’ll alter her reports on him to fit their narrative of Gorbachev’s treachery.  Elizabeth is surprised that Claudia seems to know everything about the “Dead Hand” operation. “We were protecting you. As long as you didn’t know all of these details and things went badly we could simply say you were doing your job.”

Claudia explains their ultimate plan is to get members of the Party to remove Gorbachev.  They wish to prevent Gorbachev from returning to the Soviet Union after the Summit.  Elizabeth wants to know who ordered this plot, shocked by the divisions within the Party she always assumed spoke with one voice.  Elizabeth doesn’t want to be part of a coup d’état, especially when she heard the Gorbachev’s dream of a nuclear-free world.  “I won’t do it.”  Claudia smiles, “I can’t make you do anything. But Elizabeth, keep quiet, after all these years of serving your country don’t throw it away now.”  Elizabeth leaves without saying another word.

Philip watches “The Garage.”

Stan watches the moon from across the street, he sees as Elizabeth’s car returns home.  Renee turns out the light.

The episode’s final scene is back in the Jennings’ living room.  She seems surprised to find Philip watching a video in Russian. He quickly switches it off.  Elizabeth tells Philip, “I need to talk to your guy.”  Philip wonders why then states he can only be reached by “dead drop” because he’s under surveillance.  Philip tries to explain his actions, “I just was looking for a way to deal with all this crap.”  Elizabeth responds, “And you settled on betraying me?”  Philip responds, “I was putting our country first which is what you would have done, I’m sorry.”  She nods, asking if she can get a message to him (Oleg).  “Tell him what he’s worried about is happening, the leaders of the Centre are trying to get rid of Gorbachev.  Claudia just told me.  They wanted me to kill that negotiator that I was worried about, Nesterenko.  But he’s not bad. I’ve been watching him. They want to falsify my reports to seem like he’s trading a highly classified military system to the U.S., but he’s not.  Our people are working with the general I met in Mexico.  Our people want to get this done so that Gorbachev doesn’t even return from the Summit. Can you relay that message for me?”  Philip confirms the message.  She says she has to back out to work, possibly to protect Nesterenko.   Philip gives her a message that she is to meet with Father Andrei.  “I can’t, you meet with him, and maybe he’ll give you absolution.”  It appears they have finally got back on the same team and it feels glorious but doomed.

As unbearable as Elizabeth’s actions have been this season, can she still redeem herself by helping Philip and Oleg?  Stan seems very close to cracking the identities of Philip and Elizabeth, will he be hailed as a hero or a fool.  Or will Renee murder him if he gets too close to the truth?  What will be the consequence for Elizabeth for not following through with the assassination of Nesterneko?  Will Paige be informed of more dark truths about the organization before she commits to it?

Next week is the penultimate episode.  Stan calls Pastor Tim in South America.  Paige questions her mother about her involvement with Jackson.  Philip meets with Father Andrei and notes that they are being watched. Oleg goes in for questioning at the FBI.  Stan has a bold theory, what if the Jennings’ are Soviet spies?

There are many theories about how the series will end.  I prefer to just wait and see what happens.  The series has been brilliant but this season has been the most intense so far.  While I’m devastated the show is ending, I think it’s the right decision to end while the show is at it’s peak of perfection.

The Americans, Season 6, Episode 7, Harvest

This hour was gripping and emotional punctuated by brutal action sequences.  The spoken dialogue was not as important as what the characters were choosing not to say.  The title’s name comes from the FBI’s codename for the illegal they are tracking in Chicago but it served as an organizing concept for the hour’s themes.  Philip travels to assist Elizabeth in the extraction or “harvesting” of their spy to safety.  Dennis has gleaned a cornucopia of information through “Harvest” about the techniques and practices by covert agents all over the country.  Stan harvests the seeds of doubt he’s held for many years regarding Philip and Elizabeth.  The final season has tipped over the halfway mark and the tension continues to rise as each minute unfolds.

The hour begins with Philip paying a visit to Stan’s where Henry has been enjoying some Thanksgiving leftovers.  Philip explains how he has to leave for Texas immediately to help Elizabeth with a “difficult client.”  Stan agrees to look after Henry by providing him company and meals until he needs to travel back to his boarding school.  When Philip says he has to leave Henry seems unfazed, he’s more eager to watch Police Academy with Stan.  Stan follows Philip outside, “Is something going on?”  Philip tries to appear casual but Stan notes, “I’m good with these things, knowing when someone is not telling me something.”  Stan elaborates that’s he’s noticed how late they work and stressed Philip appears.  Stan pushes, “Are you involved in something?  You can trust me.”  Philip explains his troubles as related to the travel agency, stating that he fears it may be failing.  Stan extends his friendship and states that he’ll be there for Philip.  The men embrace before parting.  Stan accepts this story on the surface but one can also sense that his professional investigative intuition is that something else is causing Philip’s distress.

Philip arrives in Chicago, with a goatee and blonde wig he resembles an older Shaggy of Scooby Doo fame.  He enters the Edison Park Hotel where Elizabeth is staying.  Despite the phone call, she’s surprised that Philip came to help her with the extraction; she looks younger than usual in long-sleeved white t-shirt and acid wash jeans.  Elizabeth suggests that they go out to eat.  The couple eats Chicago style hot dogs in silence.  Later in the privacy of the hotel room, the couple can finally speak freely.  Philip states that Stan was “giving him a hard time” before he left but he thinks Stan believes that their problems are all about the travel business.  Elizabeth hopes that Stan will not continue to be curious.  Elizabeth takes Philip’s hand as they fall asleep.

The next day wearing their respective disguises Elizabeth shows Philip the location where they hope to grab the man despite his heavy FBI surveillance.  Philip is concerned about the tight timeline of approximately thirty seconds.  Elizabeth can’t think of a safer alternative but adds, “I feel a lot better about our chances with you here.”

Stan drives Henry to the bus station, apologizing for not being able to bring him all the way to his boarding school.  Henry discusses his wealthy friend Brandon.  His best friend, like most of his fellow classmates, are much wealthier than the Jennings’.  Henry theorizes it might be nice to have a mom like his friend, at his “beck and call.”  Stan says that might “get old” for the teenager and tries to defend the Jennings’ by saying, “Work has a way of getting in the way.”  Henry doesn’t think it’s normal how hard his mom works, especially her missing the Thanksgiving meal.  Henry is frustrated with both parents, “I don’t know why I even bother coming home for the holidays.”  Henry does understand his parents are having problems with the business.  Stan probes, “Does this kind of thing happen a lot?”  Henry has grown accustomed to the fact that business comes first for his parents.  “When they get a phone call in the middle of the night they run off to work, you’d think they were brain surgeons.”  (Although Stan has observed some of this activity, Henry has just confirmed their unusual schedule.)  Stan asks about other relatives but Henry has never met any other family member, even “Aunt Helen.”  Stan remembers that incident from years ago.  It’s clear Stan has been thinking about the lives of the illegals, not having any other family certainly raises his suspicions.  Henry adds philosophically, “It’s important to take care of family when the chips are down.”  Stan ponders these details in a new way as they drive on.

Back at the hotel,  Philip expresses his doubts that they will be able to pull off this mission.  Elizabeth tells Philip about her trip to Mexico City in October and vaguely describes the top-secret mission.  She reveals the spy they are extracting is working on the same project.  She shows Philip the locket containing the cyanide capsule.  Neither Elizabeth or this man can be taken alive and that's part of the reason she's been sent.  Philip is understandably concerned, but Elizabeth has explicit instructions not to tell him because he “quit.”  Philip requests the tablet so that he can flush it down the toilet.  Elizabeth refuses.  He wonders why she showed him then, “You’re always asking me to tell you things. So I told you.”  Despite her hardness, Elizabeth wanted to explain her mission to at least one other person. (Even Claudia is not privy to it.)  The couple looks at each other intently.

Philip drives a flatbed truck to a vacant lot where some workers are loitering, waiting to be hired.  He states he needs five men; a large African-American man helps recruit the men. (Another local operative.)  Elizabeth smokes as she waits near a group of shuttle-type vans.  “Harvest” drives a small blue compact car; FBI personnel are following him.  The FBI agents communicate Harvest’s movements through the radio.  Philip drives the shuttle van with Elizabeth and one of the day laborers.  The older woman, Marilyn, keeps a lookout from the street; she clicks the walkie-talkie to signal to Philip that Harvest has passed her location.  (My apologies for not remembering her name, which hasn’t been uttered once since last season’s episode Midges!)  A large blue van pulls out, probably to provide more cover for Harvest.  The day laborers appear to be street construction workers, the African-American man tells the FBI car to stop while they unload the flatbed truck.  The FBI notes, “Harvest is out of view.”  Elizabeth knocks on the door of the blue compact car, “Mother’s expecting you!”  The man exits the car for the shuttle van while the day laborer becomes the driver of the compact blue car.  The FBI agent is motioned to move ahead.  Philip, Elizabeth, and Harvest drive on in silence.  The agent tailing the blue car thinks he’s still following his target but only has a partial view.  The agent pulls past the blue compact and realizes he’s lost Harvest.  The agent pulls his weapon on the day laborer in the blue car while barking into his radio descriptions of the vehicles and their directions to his team.  Philip and the others exit the shuttle van to a waiting grey windowless van driven by Marilyn.  Two FBI agents block the oncoming van, ordering them to stop.   Marilyn is shot in the head as she attempts to speed away. Elizabeth quickly takes control of the van.  Harvest shots back at the FBI agents, killing them and taking a bullet to his gut.  Philip attempts to help by applying pressure but it’s likely a mortal wound.  Nonetheless, Harvest continues to give Elizabeth driving directions so that they can escape.  Harvest looks down at his wound and gives some final messages to Philip as he dies.  He speaks in Russian, relying on of a message of love to his mother and hate for his father.  Finally, he adds in English that the sensor schematics are in France.  When he’s finished, he removes the tablet from his locket and dies in a matter of moments.  The scene is raw especially notable for the agent’s slipping into his mother tongue as all pretense is blown away.  Philip perhaps is thinking about Elizabeth dying in a similar manner. 

The van arrives at a parking garage.  Elizabeth quickly unlocks and tries to start a large sedan.  Philip drags Marilyn’s body out of the van and eyes a fire ax mounted on a nearby wall.  Philip breaks the glass to remove the ax.  Elizabeth recognizes Philip’s purpose and exits the car to assist him.  Philip removes Marilyn’s hands with Elizabeth helping to stabilize her arms.  Philip hesitates a moment before beginning to decapitate Marilyn.  A woman walks briskly to her Volvo and speeds away listening to pop music, oblivious to the horrific scene.  Philip looks down at Marilyn between blows, her wig lies several feet away.  It takes three strikes to detach her head.  (This is graphic but realistic; the fire ax would not be sharp enough for this task.)  Once the grizzly task is complete, Elizabeth and Philip quickly change clothes. They place the old clothes and Harvest’s empty locket into a duffle bag.  Elizabeth gathers up the head and hands in a blanket and stuffs it in the bag as well before she places it the trunk of the car.

Stan visits Dennis in his office. Dennis is distraught.  He shows Stan the crime scene photos of the agents Harvest shot.  He notes Harvest was found in the van but without her head and hands, it's unlikely they will ever identify the woman. (Marilyn)  Dennis sighs, “You were right, all of it.  You said everything we do turns to shit! And now we got two of our guys dead and no illegal.”  Stan tries to offer Dennis some hope but Dennis shrugs, “I don’t need it.”

Pattie Smith’s “Broken Flag” plays as over a montage of the fallout from the Harvest incident.  Philip and Elizabeth speed away in silence. Dennis fills his team on details they’ve learned about the people involved with the extraction attempt.  Stan asks, “When are we getting sketches?”  The song is mournful, “Nodding through the lights down low, nodding for the passers underground. To and fro she’s darning and the land is weeping red and pale.”  Elizabeth exits the car and pulls out the incriminating duffle bag of body parts.  She places bricks inside the bag before chucking the Marilyn’s remains into the deep dark water.  Philip looks on as the song continues, “In the sky a broken flag.”  Stan pulls into his driveway and looks at the empty Jennings’ home. The song ends.

Stan walks across the street.  He notices the terra cotta pot filled with cigarette butts stained with Elizabeth’s lipstick.  After a moment, he jimmies open the door.  He walks around in the dark, staring at the photos on the wall of the “happy family” as if seeing it for the first time.  Stan replays words spoken by William as he lay dying from poisoning.  William narrates, “A couple of kids, the American dream, never suspect them.  She’s pretty, he’s lucky…”  Stan looks through Paige’s room, noting the cross necklace she no longer wears.  He spends very little time in Henry’s room, perhaps not wanting to invade the privacy of the boy he views as a second son.  Stan looks around the laundry room, he unscrews a light bulb and peers in the washer.  He opens the fuse box, which contains a secret compartment but Stan doesn’t find it.  Stan looks around the garage, he enters their sedan.  Although he hasn’t found anything concrete, the activities in Chicago coupled with their mysterious flight out-of-state has piqued his senses.

Elizabeth and Philip are disguised as a middle-aged couple on the flight home.  Their recent experiences and stress allow them to pull off the grey wigs.  Philip looks on as Elizabeth sketches the plane’s window. “Someone’s making me learn.” She explains. 

Once at home, Philip calls Henry at school even before removing his jacket.  It’s clear he’s remorseful about abandoning Henry.  Henry doesn’t seem that concerned about his parents having long grown accustomed to their absences.  After the call, Elizabeth states she has to leave again for work.  She's especially busy ahead of the summit which is to occur the following week.  She touches Philip’s face before she leaves.  Is she thanking him or is it because she fears she may not return home?

Elizabeth is at Erica’s bedside.  Erica channels her agony by trying to teach art to Elizabeth.  Erica looks at Elizabeth’s sketches and asks, “Why did you draw this?”  Erica wants Elizabeth to “bring herself into” the work.  Through her pain, she tries to explain that Elizabeth needs to “get out of her own way” to let the art come through.  Erica is exasperated; she refuses medication, “Shut up, I need to work!”  In this sense, Elizabeth can relate to the terminally ill woman, only the “work” is important in the end.

The vault at the FBI continues to buzz with activity.  Dennis rubs his temples while gazing at a wall of the crime scene photos from Chicago.  Stan offers to get Dennis some coffee.  It’s clear Dennis has been living at work recently.  Stan brings Dennis a box of documents. “Six years ago we had a team on a woman in Philly, the wife of an illegal that got killed.”  The woman was Elizabeth, would Stan be able to recognize her from an old sketch and in a disguise?

Elizabeth arrives at the travel agency to visit Philip. “Thought you were working?”  Philip asks.  Elizabeth says she wanted to “check on him” after what she saw on his face in the garage in Chicago.  Philip remains silent.  Elizabeth says she’s going to Paige’s later to explain the events in Chicago.  Philip discloses that he’s had to fire three people in order to save the business.

Paige asks her mother if the mission in Chicago was successful.  “No, it didn’t go well.  He died, Marilyn too.”  Elizabeth is vague regarding the details but states Marilyn was shot.  She states her father is fine.  Elizabeth says although rare, death can happen in their line of work. “You’re going to have to make a decision, commit to this work or get out! Because sometimes this is what we have to do, it’s not easy and it doesn’t always end well but it’s a commitment you have to make for life!” 

Paige explains she doesn’t really have any friends.  She doesn't relate to the liberal-minded people at the university,  she feels like they are blind to the truth. Whether it's religion or politics the desire to belong is a powerful pull. Paige will commit to her mother's "faith" to experience the feeling of belonging to a very exclusive club.  Paige states she’s not afraid of death as much as being alone.  She hopes to meet someone like her father to someday to share the work.  (Sadly, Paige's relationship with Matthew was probably the last chance she had at an honest relationship.)  Elizabeth disparages Philip, “He made a mistake when he committed to this life, he was young, younger than you.”  It’s frustrating after all that Philip’s done for Elizabeth she still hates him for “quitting.”  Elizabeth says this work has to be forever.  Paige affirms her commitment to the work.  Elizabeth says forcefully, “Then it’s time for you to apply for an internship at the State Department!” Paige walks away alone.

Philip sits alone in the living room.  He remembers Father Andrei marrying them in secret.  What does his commitment mean to him now?  That image ends this week’s episode. 

The grim reaper was busy this episode harvesting operatives on both sides.  Paige is deemed ready for her first assignment in the State Department. Does Elizabeth hope to have her in place prior to the Reagan-Gorbachev summit? Oleg was absent for this episode,  is Philip still thinking of betraying Elizabeth to help him?

  

The preview of upcoming events shows the counter-intelligence team looking at series of sketches with Dennis noting, “They’re either all the same people or all different people.”  Philip looks at a drawer of disguises and passports, “They tell us what to do and we do it, that’s how it works, but WE do it, not them so it’s on us.”  A montage of Philip and Elizabeth’s past atrocities are shown.  Jackson, the film noir enthusiast from Sam Nunn’s office reaches out to Elizabeth.  A photo of Elizabeth without a disguise appears to be in FBI possession!  Elizabeth tells Philip she knows what she’s doing.  Phillip asks, “Do you?”  After this week’s installment, I predict that the final hours of the series will continue to be a nail-biting ride until the finale.

The Americans, Season 6, Episode 6, Rififi

This hour highlighted the power of relationships within this world of intelligence.  In keeping with the roller coaster metaphor, this hour was more of a descent into the dark in which the rider doesn’t know what is going to happen next.  Philip and Elizabeth appear to be irreparably broken when a crisis causes Philip to react.  Stan can’t seem to stick to his job assignment in the criminal division, especially when the puzzle pieces are finally fitting together.  Paige and Henry are only lightly featured but both seem alarmed by the tension between their parents.  Everything Elizabeth does has taken on an increasing tone of desperation.  Elizabeth’s flirtatious recruitment of a new asset is yet another joyless task she must endure to complete her impossible mission.  It’s hard to imagine the series not having a film noir ending as eluded to in the title of the episode. 

The episode opens with Philip greeting Elizabeth who has arrived home after murdering Gennadi and Sofia.  Her business attire belies her brutal deeds.  Their conversation begins tersely, “How was work?”  Elizabeth asks. “Nothing new to report.”  Says Philip dryly.  Elizabeth grabs a glass of water and states she’s tired and going straight to bed.  Philip states Stan paid a visit and revealed that a defector couple had been killed in front of their seven-year-old son.  Elizabeth retorts the child didn’t see anything because he was asleep.  (Obviously, he did see the aftermath.)  Philip sneers in disgust, “I’m not doing the thing with Kimmie.” Elizabeth nods hatefully, “Of course you aren’t, you were never going to do it.”  Philip says he was, “You got me, somehow you got me.”  (Philip confirms my suspicion that Elizabeth only slept with him to manipulate him to do the job.)  Elizabeth digs in, “You just wanted to fuck her because you weren’t getting enough action here!”  Philip disagrees but says she can think whatever she wants.  Elizabeth says she’ll take care of Kimmie without his help.  Philip states he warned Kimmie to not leave Greece, noting that he’ll never see Kimmie again.  (Thus ending the operation with Breeland permanently.)  Elizabeth leaves to go sleep in Paige’s room while Philip retreats to their bedroom.  These first five minutes were masterful acting by Matthew and Kerri who are a real-life couple.  The contempt and tension were palpable and seemingly irreconcilable.

Stan is having a group meeting with his criminal division partners when Dennis comes to see him.  “You know Dennis, runs CI, the most screwed up division at the bureau, not that it’s his fault.”  Dennis sighs at this stinging endorsement and asks if he can come with him.  Stan observes, “Every time I go down there, someone winds up dead.”   But Stan can’t resist his old partner and excuses himself to head down to counter-intelligence.  Mail robot butts into the elevator to accompany the men downstairs.  Dennis asks Stan if he’s “got anymore steam to blow off” before entering the division.  Stan is still understandably upset by the failure to protect Mr. and Mrs. Teacup.

Down in the vault, the room is abuzz with activity.  Sofia and Gennadi’s pictures are featured on one wall.  Dennis notes that before he died one of Gennadi’s diplomatic pouches contained a radiation detection sensor!  Dennis elaborates the local company which ships the sensor was the scene of a break-in where three security guards were murdered.  But that is not where the sensor originated; it was from another Altheon plant in Chicago.  The FBI picked up an engineer from the plant who confessed to having been recruited by a man whom he later slept with.  The engineer wore a wire on his next “date” and they were able to discover “an illegal” to whom they've given the code name “Harvest.”  They have had a team in Chicago follow him for the last two weeks.  Dennis claims it’s been a “gold mine” of information and that they are using the information to “track down the rest of them.” (Oh, snap!)  “I know you don’t want to be down here but look what’s going on Stan.”  Dennis points to another board with information on the General Renhull and his suspicious suicide.  It seems that the department is on the verge of a major breakthrough to the KGB operations all over the country.  Stan notes Oleg’s reappearance might be significant too. “They’re trying to sit down with us and look all peaceful but in reality their still trying to screw us!”  Dennis concludes.  Dennis implores Stan to stop being mad about the past and be here for this momentous moment.

Philip picks up Henry from the bus station, he's coming home for Thanksgiving break.  On the car drive home, Henry expresses dislike for his dad’s new affinity for country music.  They make small talk and Henry bemoans the fact he has to read Thoreau.  Henry says he really doesn’t want to leave school and he’s been exploring ways to stay on for his senior year, including scholarships and securing a good summer job.  Philip is upset that Henry has discussed their financial difficulties with his friend’s father.  Henry begs his father to consider these proposals.

Elizabeth has donned a blonde wig and thick glasses to attend a screening of Rififi.  She chats up a young man, eventually sitting next to him during the film.  He says, “It’s the greatest heist movie in history.”

Stan is working downstairs, pulled into the big tangled case.  Another agent discusses how they are trying to track down abandoned warehouses around Chicago that the Soviets seem to favor to run their operations.  (Much like the base kept by Elizabeth and Philip.)   Dennis explains how they have tracked down some of the vehicles, which have been bought for cash using “Penny Saver” type ads and cross-references aliases used on the registrations.  It’s hard to imagine how tedious this work was before the Internet!  Stan is handed a stack of registrations to sift through, Dennis says he can bring in more agents to assist him.

The movie is over, Elizabeth gushes about the film and the nearly thirty minutes of silence that punctuates the action.  (According to IMDB it’s a silent 31 minutes, the longest in any non-silent film.)  They share a smoke.  The man notes the director wasn’t French but moved to France after he was blacklisted in the McCarthy era.  (Is she hoping this young film enthusiast will be a communist sympathizer?)  Elizabeth offers to go eat but the young man says he has to get up early and walks away.  Elizabeth may have to work harder to seduce this young man.

Henry goes outside to find Elizabeth smoking on the patio, he asks for a cigarette and she hesitates briefly before offering him one.  “Are you joking, put them away! Are you trying to give me cancer?”  Elizabeth reveals she’s always smoked because it “relaxes her” and she feels she doesn’t need to hide it from him any longer since he’s not a child.  (She will hide her identity and profession though!)  She offers to make her son food and they go inside.  Philip leaves as Elizabeth enters the kitchen.  Henry can sense the tension between his parents.

The next morning, father and son sit down to an all-American breakfast of cornflakes and raisin bran. (Cassette offer on the box for the music of the California Raisins!)  Henry notes that his mom slept in Paige’s bedroom the previous night.  Philip makes up an excuse that she had to work early.  Henry notes that Philip is late for work; Philip notes he’s the boss and the scene cuts to them at a mini car racetrack.  Henry talks about school shenanigans, Philip seems to become increasingly frustrated with the cars jamming on the mini-track.  After his car wipes out repeatedly, Philip yells out “Fuck!” surprising the other patrons.  Henry inquires whether he’s upset about work or mom, observing that his parents don’t seem to be on speaking terms at the moment.  “Everything is fine.”  Philip lies, it’s bad enough that Henry knows about the failing business, he’s not going to admit to a failing marriage.

Speaking of failing marriages, Elizabeth “bumps” into the young man from the film on the train.  She asks what he does for a living; he’s an intern at Senator Sam Nunn’s office, one of the chief negotiators on the U.S. side!  Elizabeth states she knows the Senator as she works for a consulting firm relating to corporate management.  The pair sits down together.  Elizabeth brings back the conversation back to foreign films and their “shared” love of the art form.  The young man claims politics is just something he’s doing in conjunction with his university.  He’s from Marietta, Georgia and his father owns a factory.  Elizabeth offers to get him an interview at her firm and their management-training program.  The man introduces himself as Jackson Barber.  Elizabeth encourages him to call, “Us film nerds need to stick together.”

Philip summons his oldest employee Stavos into his office at the travel agency.  Philip begins by describing the pressure on the business.  “I know this, Mr. Philip, I see the stress on your face all the time.”  Philip concedes he’s going to have to lay off some people, and because he considers Stavos a friend he wants to tell him first.  After a pause, Stavos realizes he’s being fired, along with two other “underperforming” employees.  If Philip was still “Russian” he would have prized the friendship and loyalty over productivity but Philip is trying to be a true American corporate man now.  Stavos leaves the room silently, crushed.

Philip returns from a run when Henry implores him to help Paige and his mom in the kitchen.  Philip tries to make an excuse but Paige insists he help them with preparations for the Thanksgiving meal.  Henry notices how his parents don’t even greet one another.  The phone rings and Elizabeth answers.  She then states she has to “go to work.”  Paige looks at her mother knowingly and states, “We can handle the rest.”  Philip looks concerned.

Claudia meets with Elizabeth in the park to discuss an “emergency situation in Chicago.”  The man needs to get out but he’s under heavy surveillance.  Claudia notes that he and Elizabeth are working on the same project, which means he can’t be arrested.  Will Elizabeth potentially have to execute a fellow illegal to protect her “Dead Hand” mission?  Elizabeth reports that “Bulgaria” or kidnapping Kimmie isn’t an option because of Philip.  Claudia shakes her head; she states they need to talk strategy about Nesterenko.  The summit is approaching fast and there is still much to learn.  Elizabeth has one bit of positive news, “I may have someone in Sam Nunn’s office.”  Elizabeth walks off briskly.

Elizabeth packs hurriedly for her trip.  Philip enters the bedroom and shuts the door.  She says she’s going to Chicago.  Philip points out how it will be hard to make a plausible excuse to miss the Thanksgiving meal at Stan’s.  He demands to know what’s going on, stating that it’s better to not to let bad feeling fester.  Elizabeth fumes, “You can take your Forum bullshit and shove it up your ass!  One of us in trouble in Chicago, I’m going there to help him.  Someone who is still doing his job, someone who still gives a shit!”  She storms past Philip to go downstairs.  Paige offers to come with her mother but Elizabeth states that it would “raise too much suspicion” as she gives Paige an alibi for her absence.  Elizabeth hugs her daughter, promising to see her soon.  But there seems to be real fear in Elizabeth’s eyes upon departing for this mission.

Stan and Henry catch up as the final touches are made to the Thanksgiving meal.  The Aderholt’s enter the kitchen.  Renee thanks Dennis for “putting in a good word” for her at the FBI.  It appears she is serious about finding any job within the Bureau.  Paige and Philip ring the bell.  Renee asks about Elizabeth, Philip explains the “emergency” involves an irate CEO and a stranded group.  Philip’s ease at lying seems to impress Paige.  Stan understands.

Stan proceeds to give a very unusual Thanksgiving blessing.  “I’m grateful for everything we have in this country.  You know, not everyone around the world wants us to be able to live in peace and freedom.  But aren’t those the things the Pilgrims came here to find in the first place?  If you ask me we should all be willing to fight to hold on to them.  Because there are people out there who don’t like our way of life, they’re afraid of it, of us.  We have an administration right now, Reagan and his people, they know that the only way to get peace is to stand firm against those who wish us harm!  And believe me now,  they do wish us harm, no mistake about that.”  During the delivery of this speech, Philip looks pained; Paige is trying hard to not roll her eyes while the Aderholt’s and Henry look inspired.  It’s hard to read Renee’s face, it’s possible she’s American or perhaps she just has the best poker face of all!

Montage time!  Philip lies on the bed as Tears for Fears “Ideas are Opiates” begins to play.  He goes to search around in the basement, looking through their locker of spy craft and grabs a key.  He drives to their warehouse location, sifting through fake passports, wigs and evidence of Elizabeth’s recent activities such as the nursing uniform and sketchbook. “”Cause I find, you think, what makes it easier?  And lies spread on lies… Belief is our relief, we don’t care…”  Philip starts decoding messages to try to find out what Elizabeth has been working on.  Philip leaves a message in a grated window, presumably for Oleg.

In Chicago, Elizabeth works with a fellow “nurse’s aide”, also know as the older nameless woman whose been helping Elizabeth all season. They are looking over maps and plotting their strategy.   Elizabeth is decked out in a long brunette wig with acid wash jeans with a satin jacket.  She looks tired and frail.  The other woman wonders what are the chances of success for this mission.  Elizabeth concedes their chances of pulling off the extraction are “not great.”  The woman discusses Erica’s enjoyment of patchouli oil foot massages.  Maybe both women are secretly troubled by Erica's suffering for the sake of their mission.  The other woman leaves.  Elizabeth lies down on the bed appearing tense and tired.  She looks at the television and begins to sketch it.

Stan enjoys another Thanksgiving meal with the counter-intelligence work team.  Dennis asks about his progress with finding cars, “Don’t ever buy your car from Penny Saver.”  Stan advises.  Dennis mentions that they are beginning to look at local orthodox priests after noting “Harvest” had met with one in Chicago.  (It looks like Father Andrei will be key in an upcoming episode.)  Dennis thanks Stan for his “pro-FBI” blessing the previous day.  Stan admits Renee is a bit baby crazy after spending time with Dennis's young son but notes they are “too old" to consider trying for another child. 

Elizabeth calls home from a payphone to speak to Henry.  They make small talk about the weather and Henry’s classes.  Henry complains again about Thoreau, claiming it’s the most boring book ever written.  Elizabeth asks about girlfriends, Henry just says he’s “working on it.”  Elizabeth seems awkward throughout the conversation and ends it abruptly.

Oleg picks up the message from Philip.

Henry has a snack in the kitchen when Philip enters.  Henry recounts the “weird” conversation he just had with his mother, noting they never really talk.  “I really just don’t understand why she’s so unhappy.”  Philip is taken aback by his son’s statement.  Henry continues, “She has a nice life, right?”  Philip can only affirm, “I think so.”

Oleg takes out some green liquid from a bottle that resembles aftershave.  He uses it to apply to a special paper, revealing a decoding system.  He begins to decode Philip’s message.

Philip calls Elizabeth from a payphone. “Just calling to see if everything’s all right?”  Elizabeth concedes it’s not okay, that they might “lose the client.” “I’m not sure I can accomplish what I came here for without more help.”  Philip wants to know if he should come.  Elizabeth states she’ll handle “her side of the business.”  Philip counters that “that hasn’t been working the last few months and he’s not the only client in the world.  Why don’t you come home?”  Elizabeth is upset, stating she’s not returning.  Philip says he’s going to come and help.  Does he really want to help or is he working another angle with Oleg?

A preview of the next hour shows Elizabeth opening the cyanide locket and vaguely explaining her mission to Philip.  Stan recounts the time several years ago when they almost caught a woman (Elizabeth) in Philly. (End of Season 4.)  Henry tells Stan about the unusual nature of his parents work.  Stan seems to be feeling out Philip, perhaps even snooping around the Jennings’ laundry room!  Philip admits to Stan, “There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you.”  Is Philip going to turn on Elizabeth or is it merely a red herring to disguise the ultimate ending of the series?  The tension is mounting with each passing hour. While I'm sad to be bidding the series farewell, I think it will be a satisfying but tragic ending.