The Americans is Delightful.
- Thread starter Guy Gardener
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Henry saying to Philip that he should've handled "his" customer at the travel agency is obviously a nod to Philip having to "handle" Elizabeth. I know they're heading in that direction. I don't like it, but things are going to unspool fast this season I think, and their confrontation is inevitable.
The tension this year has really been amped up. They're making up for last year's slow-burn in spades and we're only 2 episodes in.
The tension this year has really been amped up. They're making up for last year's slow-burn in spades and we're only 2 episodes in.
Lots of tension this week in that Stan/Oleg meeting. Stan's girlfriend wants to be an FBI agent now? Something is serious up with her. Is she KGB? CIA? Or just a regular person? It's a weird thing to want to do at her age.
Was Elizabeth's mocking of the Washington Post a slight dig at Trump and his attacks on that newspaper? At least she didn't say "fake news" That would've been too on the nose.
Was Elizabeth's mocking of the Washington Post a slight dig at Trump and his attacks on that newspaper? At least she didn't say "fake news" That would've been too on the nose.
Not to mention anachronistic.
Interesting that Philip is having acute financial issues... just like many average Americans. But I wonder whether that will pressure him into doing something on the side, maybe something dangerous.
I got the sense that maybe Paige was starting to work her mother. I think Paige might be seeing though her.
I got the sense that maybe Paige was starting to work her mother. I think Paige might be seeing though her.
Mossad? Why work Stan then? Was anything in his history related to Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, PLO? In counter-intelligence against the Soviets, did he foil any arms deals from the Soviets to the Arabs? Have they even mentioned it at all in his past, aside from his time working undercover among white supremacists and arresting bank robbers? A Mossad agent in 1984-1987 would have no real reason to be working him.
I think she's either a CIA plant (because he voiced his discontent over them trying to use Oleg) or she's KGB.
Unless she's someone that the show wants us to talk about, and that they're artificially building up, to no real payoff. They did that with Philip's son.
I think she's either a CIA plant (because he voiced his discontent over them trying to use Oleg) or she's KGB.
Unless she's someone that the show wants us to talk about, and that they're artificially building up, to no real payoff. They did that with Philip's son.
I agree about your skepticism regarding Renee being a Massad agent, and that her being CIA is more likely, for the reasons you gave.
But as for the payoff regarding Henry, I think that's playing out now, with the tuition issue. I expect the money trouble to come to a head and force Philip to make some hard decisions.
Maybe it'll be splitting up with Elizabeth, selling the house (downsizing) to cover the bills, but I doubt that Philip would be satisfied with Paige going with Elizabeth. Another scenario might be getting rid of Elizabeth and then downsizing, collecting life insurance or whatnot, but then he'd have the KGB to worry about. On the other hand, maybe Oleg can help get rid of Elizabeth. So many possibilities!
I didn't mean Henry. I meant his other son with the Polish woman. Misha? That thread from last year, which kinda petered out, after they made a big deal about getting him out of the USSR to the US, before Gabriel put him back on the plane. Unless the payoff is still coming.
With regard to the endgame, I think it's pretty obvious that they are setting up a showdown between Philip and Elizabeth. Elizabeth just refuses to.....adapt. She can't see things realistically. She has regressed. I think Philip will have to put her down. That's why there was the conversation between Henry and Philip on the phone last week, where Henry talked about the customer Philip lost. Henry said "Well he was your customer dad. Maybe you should've handled it, not handed him off to Stavros."...or something like that.
I think that's a clear allusion to Philip having to "handle" Elizabeth. Because as he told Oleg...."She's my wife." He will have to stop her, and I fear that he will be forced to take her out in the process. Before the season started, I thought Paige was going to die, which would've destroyed them both and would've been the ultimate price to pay. That still could happen, but the more I see, the more I think this is a train heading straight for a clash between Philip and Elizabeth. She's doing too much, she's tired, she's making mistakes, and now she's regressing and not listening to reason. Phil will have no choice.
"Is it okay if I stay here tonight?"
"Of course."
"No, it's not alright! This is a work night. Go home."
Those three lines lay bare the messy dynamics in the Jennings home (further emphasized by Henry's long-distance phone call). Despite Elizabeth's olive branch to both of them individually, the stress and mistrust is growing. Ironically, Paige is probably the most trusting individual in the group right now.
The stress in particular is definitely getting to Elizabeth. That's three deaths in three episodes by her hand (I'm not convinced by her statement that the general killed himself) and I'm left wondering how many more bodies will pile up before it all comes crashing down on her?
Just when I finally pushed aside any doubts about Renee being anything more than she appeared, she suddenly expresses interest in being an FBI agent. That stinks of a long con! I don't know who she's working for, but now I'm certain she's playing Stan. I can only hope he sees it.
But I think he's blinded by his own loneliness. That came off clearly during his tense conversation with Oleg. While Oleg may understand how things went down, I don't blame him for not trusting Stan's pleas that he fought his superiors tooth and nail regarding the tape. However, that was still one hell of a gut punch Oleg delivered by invoking Nina...without even saying her name.
Both Nina and Martha have now been referred to directly without saying their names this season and that's probably all we're going to get for Martha. My heart is still broken for both of them.
"Of course."
"No, it's not alright! This is a work night. Go home."
Those three lines lay bare the messy dynamics in the Jennings home (further emphasized by Henry's long-distance phone call). Despite Elizabeth's olive branch to both of them individually, the stress and mistrust is growing. Ironically, Paige is probably the most trusting individual in the group right now.
The stress in particular is definitely getting to Elizabeth. That's three deaths in three episodes by her hand (I'm not convinced by her statement that the general killed himself) and I'm left wondering how many more bodies will pile up before it all comes crashing down on her?
Just when I finally pushed aside any doubts about Renee being anything more than she appeared, she suddenly expresses interest in being an FBI agent. That stinks of a long con! I don't know who she's working for, but now I'm certain she's playing Stan. I can only hope he sees it.
But I think he's blinded by his own loneliness. That came off clearly during his tense conversation with Oleg. While Oleg may understand how things went down, I don't blame him for not trusting Stan's pleas that he fought his superiors tooth and nail regarding the tape. However, that was still one hell of a gut punch Oleg delivered by invoking Nina...without even saying her name.
Both Nina and Martha have now been referred to directly without saying their names this season and that's probably all we're going to get for Martha. My heart is still broken for both of them.
Ah, I was wondering what the point of that segment was but that makes sense.
Really? What makes you think Paige is trying to play Elizabeth? I didn't get that sense and not just because I'm trying to preserve my irony statement above.
I need to watch last season again, but I'm pretty sure she entered Stan's orbit before he began defending Oleg. I don't discount the possibility that she's a CIA plant, but I don't think that'll be the motivation.
I was also disappointed about the Misha thread petering out. Hopefully he does make a return, but there hasn't been any hint of him (or any return to the USSR setting now that Oleg has left) and there are only seven episodes left. Crossing my fingers but I'm doubtful.
A showdown between Philip and Elizabeth is definitely inevitable, but I'm not certain how it'll go down. I only think everyone is going to lose, except maybe Henry, other than suddenly finding out the truth about his family, including his sister. Stan is going to end in tragedy, too, I think.
D'oh! Yeah, Mischa. I'm not sure that the mother was actually Polish herself, though, unless they said so (I don't recall). According to the Wiki, her legend in Canada (she was Directorate S) was that she was the daughter of Polish immigrants, though.
http://theamericans.wikia.com/wiki/Irina_Semenova
A few things, little by themselves, are starting to pile up.
For one thing, Paige was doing reading on her own. Her mother was surprised when Paige asked about the use of sex, tried to downplay it, but then copped to the idea that, yeah, sex can be used by some agents as a tool. Elizabeth has been doing a "soft sell" approach, emphasizing ideology and downplaying the danger, unseemly, and amoral aspects of the trade. This is starting to backfire, with Paige asking questions and seeing (and learning) more than her mother wants her to, as when Paige ran in to her mother and found the dead general. This week, when Paige and her mother were walking beside a body of water (the Potomac?) Paige was asking questions about the general. You could see Elizabeth shifting her story to accommodate what she thinks will work on Paige. But I thought I saw subtle hints that Paige isn't buying what her mother says anymore, is noticing the shiftiness, and is just going along with her mother because she has no choice at this point. IMO, Paige asked extra questions that she didn't strictly need to, and I think the purpose was to probe her mother as much as it was to learn about the craft.
Which leads to another important issue. It's now become clear that Elizabeth's relationship with Paige is no loner mother-daughter, but agent-apprentice. On the other hand, when Paige ran in and found the dead general, she cried "Mother!" That was yet another tactical blunder on her part, but it showed where her heart still was. That's not at all where Elizabeth's heart is, though, and I suspect that Elizabeth's view of Paige as an asset instead of as a daughter might provide a major source of conflict in the remaining episodes.
I did pick up the subtleties during the sex work conversation but I missed it during the talk about the general, so I can see what you're getting at. On the other hand, Paige has always been inquisitive. After all, that's how she figured out there was more going on with her parents than meets the eye. But good point about the mother/daughter relationship contrasting with agent/apprentice, though. I'll keep a closer eye on Paige in the following episodes but I'm not convinced she's poking holes more than usual.
I knew from the second she first appeared that Stan's girlfriend was not just a girlfriend. But nothing ever came of it until this episode. She's a plant and she's up to something. Who she actually works for is a mystery right now, but there's only seven episodes left.
Edit after posting: She works in the UN of course, and Scully and Mulder are bound to walk by in the next airport scene.
I was disappointed in Paige's after-reaction with her mother. She just saw something that would turn a normal person very off skew. I don't buy her being so calm about it. It doesn't fit her character and it's one of the few times that I think the writers did a crap job of handling it. We'll see how it goes.
Phillip meeting with Oleg is just a tad dangerous, don't you think? I can just see Stan and friends popping out from the bushes and surprising Oleg and Stan's like "Phillip! WTF??". LOL
Edit after posting: She works in the UN of course, and Scully and Mulder are bound to walk by in the next airport scene.
I was disappointed in Paige's after-reaction with her mother. She just saw something that would turn a normal person very off skew. I don't buy her being so calm about it. It doesn't fit her character and it's one of the few times that I think the writers did a crap job of handling it. We'll see how it goes.
Phillip meeting with Oleg is just a tad dangerous, don't you think? I can just see Stan and friends popping out from the bushes and surprising Oleg and Stan's like "Phillip! WTF??". LOL
I think Paige is scared shitless of her mom. She's seen her mom easily kill someone barehanded, and now she's found her mom over another dead body. I believe that Paige knows her mom has been lying to her and manipulating her. I just don't believe that Paige knows how to get out of it or what to do yet. The only time she's confided in someone, it went sideways. I also believe that Paige is putting on her best poker face so that her mom doesn't catch on. But, yes, that's just my theory. I can't wait to find out!
I know, right?!
That's a good point. I've forgotten about the other killing she witnessed.
I be she wished she had Pastor Tim's ear now...
Maybe, maybe not. Does Philip know that Oleg knows Stan? Does Oleg know that Philip is Stan's neighbor? I doubt the former, but it does seem conceivable the latter is true, and if so, I agree that's pretty sloppy of Oleg. Especially considering Stan's warning.
Wonder if page becomes a double agent
That would be intriguing!
Paige is actually a CIA plant recruited by Stan's girlfriend.
Now you're just being silly!
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