The title of the series finale is START, which is a nod to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which was signed in July 1991 but was drafted under the Reagan administration. One of the largest arms reduction treaties, it also had a big impact on warming tensions of the Cold War and curbing the arms race. Many will say that the United States “won” the Cold War but that may be an oversimplification. The fall of the Berlin Wall, Gorbachev’s “glasnost” and the nuclear reduction treaties all played a part in the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In the context of the series, it signals a new start for all our major characters as their old way of living ends.
Elizabeth enters the warehouse. Philip explains that they “were on Fr. Andrei and they are going to come down hard on him.” Elizabeth suggests they get Paige and then head to New Hampshire to retrieve Henry. From there, she suggests that they flee across the Canadian border. Philip shakes his head, “I don’t think so, Henry should stay, he’s been doing so well there. He should stay, his future is here.” Elizabeth is surprised; she can’t believe Philip is suggesting that they abandon Henry. Philip continues, “It’s the best thing for him.” Elizabeth is concerned that the authorities would “tear him to pieces.” But Philip insists it’s better this way, he doesn’t know their secrets, therefore, he can’t be culpable for them. Philip knows “it’s awful but…” Elizabeth looks pained but knows Philip is right. They stare at each other before she turns to leave the warehouse on the verge of tears. The opening credits play one last time.
Stan and his partner enter an empty warehouse to watch for any signs of the suspect.
Aderholt begins his interrogation of Father Andrei, “I know the KGB can put a lot of pressure on people but you are a man of God. Who is he Father?” Dennis slides over a grainy photograph of Philip from meeting earlier. Father Andrei states he doesn’t know. Dennis tries another tactic, stating that the Soviet government doesn’t want his church to exist, and he should consider his duty to his faith over his duty to his country.
Elizabeth changes the license plate on a compact red car, Philip hot wires it and they begin to drive away. Meanwhile, it’s grown dark where Stan and his partner continue their vigil of a warehouse across the street. Stan peers out of the window blinds. He asks if he can take off for a couple of hours. “What are you so busy with, you got another lead?” Stan remains opaque about his intentions but states he’ll be back later.
Philip and Elizabeth drive silently. Elizabeth confesses, “I killed a KGB officer, left her to die in the street.” (This is a callback to last week’s flashback, her mentor at the time said you never leave a comrade to die on the street alone.) Philip notes she had no choice.
In Moscow, Oleg’s father Igor meets with Arkady in the park. Arkady breaks the bad news, Oleg has been arrested in Washington, he was caught with a message and will likely be charged with espionage. The old man asks if it’s possible that their government could “trade” Oleg for a release of someone they are holding in Russia but Arkady informs him that Oleg wasn’t there on KGB business so such a deal would be impossible. Oleg will be in an American prison for a long time. Igor insists he could talk to Gorbachev personally about his son. Again, Arkady must disappoint Igor, “Gorbachev is not in control, that’s part of the problem.” Arkady predicts that the KGB will come after him next and possibly Igor. “So what you sent him over there for didn’t work! I lose one son in a useless war and now this. What do I tell his mother?” The men exchange looks of deep sadness and Arkady leaves. Igor stretches his arms out in a brief Christ-like pose. He’s sacrificed two sons for his country.
Stan walks down a dark alley alone. He finds a spot on a rooftop across the street from Paige’s dorm. He watches the garage through binoculars.
Dennis continues his interrogation of Father Andrei; he warns him that he’s prepared to expose the links between the Church and the KGB. Dennis offers him a way out if he’ll identify the suspect. Father says he’s not worried about himself but his church and his obligations to his flock. He doesn’t want to betray the trust of those who’ve trusted him. He explains to Dennis it would be like betraying those who have worked under him. But Dennis counters that he has to “Let down people who trust me all the time, but I have bigger things to protect. For me, my country, for you, your Church.” Dennis adds that he’s corrupted himself by protecting the illegals and he and his Church will go down with them. Father Andrei breaks, “There are two of them, I don’t know their American names, Nadezhda and Misha are their Russian names.” Dennis asks how long he’s known them and he admits he known them for several years. Andrei notes he saw them out of their disguises once. He will describe them.
Stan sees Philip and Elizabeth enter Paige’s dorm building! He leaves to wait for them to exit. Paige is not thrilled to see both her parents, probably still upset with her mother after their “whore” argument. Elizabeth makes sure that Paige is alone and then jumps right into their urgent need to flee. “The FBI knows about us, they almost caught me, we have to leave right now for good!” Paige’s jaw drops, she wants to know where they are going. “Home. Just pack the essentials, almost nothing.” Paige doesn’t move, “Home, Russia?” Elizabeth empties a backpack for Paige and starts packing. Paige asks if Henry will accompany them. Philip explains that Henry won’t be going because “his life is here,” (But so is Paige’s!) Elizabeth explains that Henry is nearly seventeen and therefore old enough to be on his own. Paige has always been a “little mother” to her younger brother, she questions her mom about how he’ll live and pay for school in their absence. What will he think has happened to them? Elizabeth replies, “I know it’s hard, we all love Henry.” Paige looks at her mom in disbelief, “Do you?” Philip explains again that there is no other way but to leave Henry behind. Paige notes, “He’ll hate you.” Philip replies, “We know, we have to go now.” Philip and Elizabeth exit the apartment with Paige reluctantly following.
Stan sees the trio leave the dorm building. He rushes to make his move.
The following scene is the culmination of six years of anticipation. Stan emerges from the shadows to confront the Jennings. Elizabeth gasps while Philip tries to sound casual, “Stan what are you doing here!” Stan greets Paige and asks her where they’re going. (He probably figures Paige is the least adept at lying under pressure.) Paige responds that she’s not feeling well so her parents came to pick her up. Elizabeth elaborates that they are both there because they were coming from work. Stan parrots the lie back, “You were coming from work? You’re not feeling well, what’s wrong.” Paige says she has an upset stomach. Stan continues, “You’re going home from college with a stomach-ache?” Philip interrupts, “Why are you interrogating her?” Stan asks Paige where their car is; Philip explains that their car is being serviced so they have a loaner. Stan continues, “So what happens if I call in this plate?” Philip scoffs and continues to play dumb. “Maybe you got this backstopped but I’m not some traffic cop! I can find out in five minutes whether this car is really registered as a loaner at a dealership.” Philip tries to calm Stan again, “I don’t know what the problem is but maybe you and I…”
Stan yells, “Stop moving you piece of shit!” while drawing his gun. The Jennings all put their hands up, Paige is trembling. “What are you doing?” Stan instructs them to “Lie down on the ground, face down, keep your hands where I can see them, move slow.” Philip asks in disbelief whether Stan is going to shoot them. Elizabeth yells back, “We are not lying down on the ground! Not while you have that gun pointed at us, this is Paige!” Stan looks intensely at them, “Stop Elizabeth! It’s over, it’s all over.” Philip looks Stan directly in the eye for a long pause before admitting, “We had a job to do.” Stan lowers the gun slightly, “You were my best friend.” Philip says, “You were mine too, I never wanted to lie to you. What else could I do? You moved in next to me, I was terrified. Then we ended up as friends.” Stan’s voice breaks at this deep betrayal, “You made my life a joke!” Philip insists his friendship with Stan was real and that “My life was a joke, not yours!”
Stan looks to Paige, “And Matthew, was that part of this?” Elizabeth tries to speak for Paige, stating she didn’t know but Paige interrupts her, “I knew, I’ve known since I was sixteen. But Matthew, that had nothing to do with that, I just liked him.” Stan asks about Henry but Philip and Paige insist he doesn’t know anything. Stan continues to point his weapon at his neighbors, his voice wavers with emotion, “All this time, I would have done anything for you, all of you.” Stan asks about Gennadi and Sofia but Philip claims ignorance about the murdered Soviets. Stan erupts, “Fucking liar, I saw it on your face when I told you about them.” Paige looks at her parents in disbelief. Stan decides to address Paige, “Do you know how many people have been killed by Soviet agents in the D.C. area in the last year, five years, ten years?” Elizabeth insists that they don’t kill people and furthermore Philip is out of the game. “He’s a travel agent, that’s all.”
Stan tries again to regain his professional control over the situation, “Get down, on the ground, all of you.” But they continue to defy him, knowing if they comply Stan will cease to see them as anything but suspects to bring in. Philip decides to take the blame for all of it, “I did all this stuff, I don’t even know why anymore, it seemed like the right thing to do for my country, my country wanted me to.” Here, Philip is trying to appeal to Stan’s sense of duty, he too has done things “for his country” that he’s not proud of, like murdering a suspect back in an earlier season. Philip says he kept doing it but he quit when he became disillusioned. (Except, he never could really quit while Elizabeth was active.) He tries to draw a parallel to Stan’s career, stating that Stan also quit counter-intelligence. “I quit, and now I’m just a shitty travel agent, a failing travel agent. Except I’m not because now I have to leave, I have to run away from the place from where I’ve lived for the past so many years. If I can, if we can… Stan, I have to abandon my son, he can’t come with us because I got caught and here we are. And I don’t even know what happens if we can get home. Because after all of these years of fearing Americans, following Americans, recruiting Americans, we finally have something and it has nothing to do with you, it’s our own people. It’s a bunch of fucking Russians!”
Philip explains that there is a movement to get rid of Gorbachev and their “old bosses” are part of it. Elizabeth jumps into the conversation, finally being honest about her identity. She explains that they were planning to fake her reports to make it seem like Gorbachev was trading away military secrets at the Summit. Stan asks if they know Oleg. Philip denies it but he may not have known Oleg’s name. Stan’s gun is now lowered, “Don’t bullshit me now, Philip. We arrested him earlier today picking up a dead drop. He told me the message was about people in the KGB who were trying to get rid of Gorbachev. He told me I had to send it back to Russia.” Elizabeth states that the message has to get to the Soviets. Stan says, “I could care less who runs your country.” Philip implores Stan to help, stating that if they are successful getting rid of Gorbachev that will change the future of the Soviet Union. “Whether we get to live in peace or not depends on this.” Philip states that they are the only ones that can stop this “coup” from happening. “I don’t know why you should trust me, you should hate me, you should probably shoot me but we’re getting in that car and we’re driving away. I wish you’d had stayed with me at EST, you might know what to do here.” Philip is making one last appeal to Stan, his best friend. Paige says, “You have to take care of Henry.” Philip notes that Henry loves Stan and he should tell him the truth about his parents. Stan stares at the family as they move towards the car. Philip goes last, “I don’t know how to say this, but I think there’s a chance that Renee might be one of us. I’m not sure.” And with that final blow to Stan’s psyche, he steps aside and watches the trio drive away.
Why did Stan let them go? Was it to spare himself the humiliation of not knowing or was it “professional courtesy”. Would Philip have let Stan go if their roles had been reversed? Or was it just the love he had for Philip as a brother, and for Henry and Paige as innocent children caught up in the sins of their parents?
As Elizabeth drives, Paige asks, “Do you think we can trust him?” Philip answers yes. Elizabeth instructs Paige on the next phase of their mission, they have passports to leave the country but they need to all change their appearances prior to crossing the border. Paige wants to see Henry but Philip rejects the idea. Elizabeth suggests they call him instead but Philip is scared of further implicating Henry in any of their actions. Elizabeth surmises, “Everything is a risk, at least we can talk to him before.” Philip agrees to a quick call, Elizabeth instructs Paige to act like everything is completely normal when they do speak to him.
Dire Straits’, “Brothers in Arms” provides the soundtrack for the next montage of scenes. Stan returns to his partner, knowing full well that their stakeout will be fruitless. “Someday you’ll return to, your valleys and your farms, and you’ll no longer burn to be brothers in arms.” Oleg sits down in an empty gray room. Igor returns home to Oleg’s wife and with one pained look tells the young wife and grandson that their father won’t be coming home. “Through these fields of destruction, baptisms of fire, I’ve witnessed your suffering as the battle raged higher…” The car is parked near a wooded area; Elizabeth passes out the new passports to Paige and Philip. Elizabeth throws Henry’s passport into the freshly dug hole. Stan watches his partner return to the windows, probably from a bathroom break. Elizabeth throws the remnants of their old life into the hole, wallets, other identification, her poison locket and finally their wedding rings. “Now the sun’s gone to hell, the moon’s riding high, let me bid you farewell, every man has to die…” Elizabeth hands Philip their “real” wedding rings, which Father Andrei gave them in their secret marriage. “But it’s written in starlight, in every line in your palm, we are fools to make war on our brothers in arms.” Philip looks at Elizabeth in the dark as he places the ring back on his finger. Paige looks gutted. Stan hears chatter on the walkie-talkie. He walks away and the music fades.
Elizabeth, Philip and Paige approach a payphone sporting their new looks, Philip looks much older in a snow-white wig while Paige and Elizabeth have short dark hair. Philip asks to speak to Henry. Philip lies that they all had dinner together in the city and felt like calling him. “You know how proud we all are of you? And how much we love you?” Henry seems puzzled, “Yeah.” Henry deduces his father has been drinking. Philip accepts this theory and continues, “I just want you to be yourself, because you’re great.” Henry laughs it off; Philip puts Elizabeth on the phone. She does her best to sound casual she can only manage, “What your father said, I feel the same. I love you Henry.” Henry isn’t used to this much emotion and states he needs to get off the phone. Elizabeth tries to hand the phone to Paige but she whispers that she can’t speak to him. Philip grabs the phone back, Henry says he’s got to go; he’s in the middle of a Ping-Pong tournament. Philip’s final words to him are “Yeah, go-go-go.” Henry says he’ll see them next week. Henry might be the “blameless” one in the family but he’s about to be irrevocably changed when he learns the truth. Most of us can relate to a similar earth-shattering event that divides our lives into “before” and “after.” It’s hard to not feel an overwhelming sense of grief for this young man who's about to have his life split open. Philip hangs up the phone and the group moves on.
Stan returns to the FBI and finds Dennis who motions to him to enter the vault. The other men get up to give Stan and Dennis privacy. Dennis sits down and slides the sketches of Philip and Elizabeth towards Stan. Stan acts genuinely surprised and shakes his head, “I said it but I didn’t really…” Dennis responds, “I know, I should have listened.” Stan slides back the papers; “I went by Paige’s apartment earlier tonight, just in case. No one was there. I’m gonna kill them.” Dennis says they are watching the house, travel agency and Henry at school. Dennis says he’s sorry and he places his hand on Stan’s shoulder. Dennis is a work friend but Stan felt that Philip was his true friend. Alone in the vault, Stan stares at the drawings of the people he had thought he had known so well.
The group is now driving a station wagon. They pull up to a McDonald’s, Paige goes inside to get their final meal in the United States. (Fitting that it’s our most recognizable brand.) Philip wonders whether he should try to stay to be close to Henry, he could live in New York or “out West” and try to see him occasionally and explain their past to him. Elizabeth says she understands that Philip would want to try, she would prefer they all stay together. Philip goes into the restaurant.
Stan returns to the home he shares with Renee while U-2’s “With or Without You” begins to play. Stan looks at the brightly lit Christmas tree, “See the thorn twist in your side, as I wait, for you…” Philip picks up his food from the counter. “Sleight of hand and twist of fate, on a bed of nails she makes me wait and I wait, without you.” Philip looks out to the car to see his fractured family while eyeing a happy normal family enjoying a meal inside. Stan looks at Renee sleeping, she looks almost too perfect with full makeup and beautiful hair. “Through the storm we reach the shore, you gave it all but I want more. And I’m waiting for you.” Stan tucks in his partner of three years, suspicion haunting his face. “With or without you, with or without you, I can’t live, with or without you.” Philip returns to the car, passing the food out. “And you give yourself away, and you give yourself away, and you give and you give.” Philip and Elizabeth have given themselves for decades in service to their country, how will that country receive them? Stan gave himself to his work and his relationship with Renee, was she real?
In the light of the next day, the FBI searches through the Jennings’ home. “Nothing to win and nothing left to lose.” Stan looks exhausted and defeated as he walks away from his colleagues. Renee watches the action from across the street, she has an odd look of pity on her face, and it is it because she knows Stan has been humiliated or because she’s known all along? The Amtrak rushes towards the northern border. Paige, Elizabeth, and Philip all sit separately as to avoid detection. Stan approaches Renee and she gives him an embrace, he pulls away. Soon, he drives off. Renee stares at the men removing evidence from across the street.
U.S. Border Patrol agents board the train Philip is checked first. The agent looks at his passport and compares it to the “wanted” photo he has with sketches of Philip and Elizabeth in their various disguises. Philip passes the passport check. A different agent checks Elizabeth’s passport. He fails to connect her with the pictures in the sketch. Philip and Elizabeth breathe a collective sigh of relief and the next stop is announced as Montreal. “With or Without You” begins to play again as Elizabeth looks out in horror to see that Paige has disembarked from the train. The song wails, “WHoooaaa, hoooooo…” Philip gets out of his seat but neither of them is able to do anything at this point. Philip sits down next to Elizabeth. “And you give yourself away, and you give yourself away.” Paige walks on alone, defiant and with an uncertain fate. Will she throw herself at the mercy of the FBI, perhaps one day working in counter-intelligence?
Stan arrives at St. Edward’s hockey rink to speak to Henry. Paige sits down on a bench at the train station, truly alone. Stan and Henry sit together. Henry looks out at the rink and shakes his head in disbelief. Stan places his hand on Henry’s knee in a futile attempt to reassure the teen.
Elizabeth wakes up with Gregory Thomas, the jazz musician she knew long ago. She turns and cuddles with him. He places his hand on her mildly swollen belly. She takes a long drag of his cigarette, “I don’t want a kid anyway.” She looks at the art on his walls and then sees the portrait of the woman in black and white that Erica painted that she later burned. She looks over to the nightstand and sees a picture of Paige and Henry done in Erica’s style, black and white with a hint of red. The children look younger and lost. Elizabeth wakes up with a start on a plane. She looks over at Philip who’s seated across the aisle.
Paige returns to the “safe house” once occupied by Claudia. The flat is still furnished but the occupant is long gone. Paige retrieves a frozen bottle of vodka and takes a shot. What is she thinking about? The Tchaikovsky record that Claudia once used to help Paige “understand” her culture begins to play.
Elizabeth and Philip have reached the border of the Soviet Union by car. They look at each other before advancing slowly to re-enter their homeland. Elizabeth explains something to the guard; he makes a phone call before waving them through. Will they get the hero’s welcome they were promised or will they be in trouble? They continue to drive through the frozen, foreign terrain. Finally, they meet up with Arkady and get into the backseat of his car. The music continues mournfully. They drive on towards Moscow. Philip and Elizabeth fall asleep in each other’s arms. In the darkness they finally near the bright lights of the city. Philip asks Arkady to pull over. Philip and Elizabeth exit the car to get their first view of the city.
They both stare down at the lights and then Philip says, “Colonel, I can’t even remember his name now, when he first asked me he said it would be a hard life. They didn’t want me to think it would be some big adventure. I said I wasn’t afraid of that.” Elizabeth looks at the horizon, “Who knows what would have happened here. I probably would have worked in a factory, managed a factory.” She looks back at Philip, “You might have, maybe we would have met on a bus.” Philip gives a strained smile. Elizabeth says finally, “They’ll be okay.” Philip adds, “They’ll remember us, they are not kids anymore, we raised them…” Elizabeth nods, “Yes.” Philip adds, “It feels strange.” Elizabeth switches to Russian finally, “We’ll get used to it.” The two look down at the land that they only vaguely remember as home.
The ending was powerful, the sense of longing and dread, hope and redemption. It’s unclear what will happen to Philip and Elizabeth but it seems that they are at peace with the fact that despite everything they have each other. Paige and Henry will also have each other but it will undoubtedly be a complicated relationship. Especially when Henry realizes his entire family was dishonest with him. Stan seems truly alone, it’s doubtful Renee will get a job at the FBI but just as doubtful Stan will ever be able to trust a new woman in his life again. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, maybe one day the family will be able to be together again. But it’s unclear if the KGB will forgive Elizabeth for disobeying orders.
The final installment of the series was epic and poetic as we said goodbye to our beloved but deeply flawed characters. I believe it was the best ending to a series I’ve seen besides Breaking Bad’s “Felina”. There were some loose ends, but I view that as an opportunity to weave together a new narrative for our favorite characters. The show had so many relatable moments and characters. As a child of the eighties, the powerful wash of nostalgia also helped fuel the content. The final song “With or Without You” perfectly captures the longing for the series to both end and continue. Maybe one day they will announce a spin-off to answer these lingering questions but for now, the series ends with mystery and tragedy which makes for the best of the real and fictional worlds.
