"The Americans" on FX

Alex Ozerov (Mischa) shirtless

This thread is already 1000x more interesting than this season.

This show is frustrating. On one hand it is well acted, and seemingly though out. But then they squander characters. Why did we invest years into Nina, only to have her killed off? Why do we care about the Russian characters who never spend any time interacting with the leads? Why introduce Mischa, have us follow his journey to America, then give him one scene with Langella and dump him back in Russia? I don’t think the producers have the narrative.

Agreed.

As R1 proves, there could be so many sexy shenanigans and cool twists with this cast but the last two years have been so lame.

I had hoped at the start of S5 after that epically underwhelming S4 that this would be a banner year but... no.

I hope they go out on a great final season next year, if nothing else. It's still a great show.

Is the X Files lady a red herring or not?

R1 He looks a lot like porn star Vadim Black, who is also of Russian descent.

Regarding Paige, you would think the writers would have learned from "Homeland" that there's nothing so dull and grating in a spy story as an angsty teenage girl character.

I think they missed the mark if Paige was supposed to be someone the audience could relate to and use as a proxy-self within the story and that's what it feels like their M.O. with her has been. Philip is really the only relatable character and that's mostly due to Rhys' performance, not the text.

At least, R7, this hasn't turned into The Paige Show unlike Homeland's truly awful Season 3 when it became The Dana Show.

They should have written it so that Paige's initiation into the spy game entailed offing Pastor Tim's wife. They just abandoned that plot. We're to believe Paster Tim's shrew is just hanging the knowledge of their spy activity over their heads in perpetuity?

The wigs are craptacular! But every time Paige's moonface pops up, I die a little inside.

She's just so easy to hate. You can easily imagine her describing her "brand" as being "classic girl next door" and doing vocal warm-up trills in the makeup chair.

And she probably does jetes and crap to limber up before scenes. No doubt she did that before she did the bit of Paige mopping the floor.

I didn't even know there was going to be a season six. Since its debut it has been said it would be a 5 season show. Obviously, the writers were thrown for a loop by the extra season. I can picture them sitting around the writers room, each saying, "I got nothing."

"Let's just dog paddle through season 5. Paige is still upset; Philip is still questioning his job, yet continuing to kill people. Elizabeth is still a hardass, Claudia is still a cold bitch. Then we can do the final season that we wrote a few years ago. Just pray FX doesn't tack on another season."

The most shocking thing this season is Laurie Holden's face.

I miss Henry. I don't miss Matthew.

Bingo R7-- was just saying that to someone the other day re: Paige/Dana.

I'm hoping they will bring some of the threads together at the end-- Mischa, the whole KGB-corrupt food industry plotline (which I think may be to help illustrate why the Soviet Union fell) and of course parallels the whole wheat thing.

Plus I'm curious to see if Philip is correct about Stan's girlfriend, if she's an FBI plant or not.

And if Henry-goes-to-prep-school is just the writers being lazy and not wanting to have to deal with the fact that the Jennings actually have two children, not just Paige.

It's also been a tragic underuse of Martindale. They aren't even trying to keep up the tension they established with her when Elizabeth punched her.

I think she'll be onscreen a lot more for these last few episodes, R17.

I for one LOVE this show, though I agree that this latest season has been slow. I'm hoping they're setting us up for a whopping last season. With Henry visiting Stan's office at the FBI, I have to wonder whether he'll see the composite sketch of his mom after she attacked Gaad. Some stand-out episodes of the past: the tooth-pulling, the suitcase, Poor Martha's entire story arc, the killing of the old lady... it's been a great ride so far (besides this season).

I'd like to see the character played by Esteemed Character Actress Margo Martindale force the Jennings' to allow her to play the role of Henry, after the real one goes away to boarding school. She could rationalize that having a child in boarding school could look suspicious, that if people thought they only had the one daughter it might look suspicious, that returning to being a balanced nuclear family would allow them to enjoy the safe cover they've had all along and that by dropping herself as 'Henry' into 9th grade at a new school she could reach a whole new generation of potential loyalists or even just assets. And then the spinoff is like this Strangers With Candy thing but with this stick in the mud badly undercover KGB officer. Laff riot!

I was thinking a few minutes ago while I was peeing that maybe the real life Russian spy shenanigans either compromised the creators/writers' plot sources/assets, or they were warned against treading on particular ground or their planned idea became too on the nose with relation to the current chaos. Or they forgot they got an extra season and this is one big ad-lib until they get tagged out for hiatus.

I agree that this season has been way too slow like watching paint dry. The whole Mischa thing was useless. And how do they fly to Kansas and back, intending to continue some long-distance romance and espionage while raising 2 kids at home? It's very confusing this season. It also makes the US Intel agencies look totally inept and clueless. I want Philip to finally turn.

Phillip isn't just going to turn ... he's going to TRANSITION! And "Pippa" will be in the Witness Protection Program.

Did the boy who murdered his family kill himself or get killed? I've forgotten. If he's in prison then he needs to put in an appearance before the series finale.

What boy?

R24, he's talking about the other sleeper Russian spy family they got to know early on. Their teenaged son found out about them and killed them and his sister in a bloody scene in their hotel room. Boy, that was a completely different show, where they had interesting arcs and real dramatic tension.

Wow, totally forgot about them. Body in the woods, right?

Jared

Unbeknownst to his parents, he was already being recruited by a handler, that he may have also been sleeping with. It seemed like perhaps he was just too immature and emotionally unstable and the process of radicalizing him may have made him snap. The details are somewhat hazy, but I think that was sort of the gist.

Something better happen in tonight's episode. Like Tuan murders Paige and pastes her eyebrows in a scrapbook.

Bumping this thread for those of us who watch this show. How many episodes are left in this season, by the way?

Two, I think.

Maybe Henry will turn his parents in.

Fuck a duck, that was dark sided

R30 Two more this season, then a final 10 next year.

Was anyone thinking that Henry might run across those sketches of his parents at the FBI?

Good point, R34.

What has happened this season? It is boring as fuck.

I was dumbfounded at the scene in the last episode that consisted of Oleg eating with his parents in silence. What did I miss?

It wasn't in the last episode, matey potatey R36. It was in the one before. In the last episode, he and the other dork interrogated some broad. That's some riveting television right there, I tell you what

Whatever -- it's the last one I've watched because it was so boring I haven't gotten around to the latest one.

Life in the Soviet Union was crushingly dull, even if you lived in a nice apartment. I think that was the point of the scene.

[quote]Was anyone thinking that Henry might run across those sketches of his parents at the FBI?

Stan sees them everyday and hasn't put two and two together yet, so why would Henry? He's always either at the library or playing Pac-Man and eating mac & cheese at Stan's house.

OK, that was actually a mostly engaging episode even though it felt like all B-plot. The stuff in Russia is really falling flat this year.

Still marking time. They've asked to be pulled out before, the Center doesn't want it. So I'm sure Claudia will tell them no, you're doing so well, you're very valuable assets, blah blah, keep going.

Eventually I think Philip or Elizabeth will kill Claudia. I think that's why she was brought back.

They can't just have the season end without Stan suspecting something because it's the last season coming up and to just have him suspect next season and within a few episodes have it done with after all of the seasons of their friendship, is doing a disservice to the characters and viewers.

Or maybe Tuan will kill Claudia after he snaps.

I enjoyed the maxxed-out, multi season original thread (unfortunate title and all). Linking back for those new to the show:

OK, Tuan better get his head blown off in tonight's episode.

That hockey player guy is definitely going to end up being a Soviet operative.

Wow, that's a hell of a cliffhanger.

Tuan is a little monster.

Henry deserves better than to have to go to the Soviet Union; I'm guessing his parents will find a way for that not to happen (and maybe for Mischa to get to come to the US even if the rest of family has to leave).

[quote] They can't just have the season end without Stan suspecting something

At least a link to Walt Whitman.

Season Finale on Tuesday-shit better hit the fan!

How did the minister discover the parents were Soviet spies? Is he a spy, too? Please tell me!

Twain should be chopped-up for firewood. He's a psychopath. (Not that I am.)

The kids would shit the bed to move to the Soviet Union. Their parent's assignment was a one-way trip!

Do you even watch this show r51?

Oleg's next stop is the American Embassy. He's done with the Soviet Union.

[quote]How did the minister discover the parents were Soviet spies?

That little bitch Paige told him.

I wonder if any thought has been given to a spinoff teaming together Paige Jennings and Dana Brody. Perhaps as lesbian superheroes.

Uhhh, R55, you do know that The Americans takes place in the 1980s, right?

I REALLY wanted Elizabeth to snap Tuan's neck just now.

Yes she should have taken him out. WOW looks like the Jennings are suddenly realizing the dire lifestyle they will shortly be suffering.

Thank you, R54! Not you, though, R52.

I watch the show and read DataLounge at the same time, so I miss a lot.

Lackluster season finale. They could have set up a cliffhanger for the final eight episodes. Nothing. At least we came closer to assuming that Stan's girlfriend may be KGB.

The actor who plays Tuan is either really good or he's a psychopath

Will Henry attempt suicide?

Did P&E know there was a CIA guy watching Pasha's family? Sometimes I get distracted and miss parts of an episode. I know Tuan was trying to make it look like P&E lived there by varying times lights were on and off.

Do you think P&E will go their separate ways? E to Russia, P to the US. P stays with Henry, Paige goes to Russia with E and goes back to the US after glasnost/perestroika.

I was in the USSR in the 1980s and a woman Martha's age would not wear a scarf around her head. That was for older women. "Babushka" doesn't mean scarf, btw, it means grandmother. And it's pronounced "BAHbooshka, not BaBOOSHka.

Agreed, R60.

We already know that Phillip is disenchanted and we know Elizabeth knows it. No real cliffhanger.

I know I'm way out there, but I'm thinking Stan's g/f might be CIA and knows the Jennings are Russian spies.

What I mean is -and correct me if it doesn't make sense- maybe the Pastor actually went to the govt and now they're starting to set up the Jennings.

I'm sure that theory is out there.

THAT was the finale? THAT? C'mon, now.

The last season better not end in similar fashion

I think Henry will take them down in revenge for roadblocking his Patrick Bateman aspirations. I, also, think Chris is his faghag.

R64 & R65 those are very interesting possibilities. R62 Phillip is totally soured on USSR - and she looked longingly at her Fuck Me Heels and kitchen. That was a great shot if not biased towards our own Nationalistic tendencies. After all home is where the heart is, the language you speak, memories, etc. I cant really figure out how things will become explosive unless the Feds get Tipped off. I think that douche bag Pastor IS THE SOCIOPATH - he will believe the foreign assignment is his every so richly "WELL DESERVED, IM SO ENTITLED AND BRILLIANT " this is a great opportunity for me To blow their game. He will tip the Feds. Stan may be assigned the case. I am going out on a limb - one goes home one doesnt. I say she dies, Phillip has no choice and leaves with the kids. That would be the ultimate shitty ending that will leave the audience talking. I HATE that ending. I love Keri Russel - I am now a fan of hers - annoyingly perfect hair and all. Matthew Rhys too. I LOVE this show!

I don't think Elizabeth was looking longingly at her shoes and kitchen. I think Tuan's criticism about bourgeois values bothered her and when she got home she looked at everything they had in the US and felt guilty, thinking, "Damn, he's right. I am getting too bourgeois and need to go back home where people care about important issues and not about consumerism."

I think that's why they played Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It's a song about someone who is disillusioned by the "fine" life and goes back home to simple, familiar things like the plow and the woods. I think Elizabeth wants to go back to a life that is more difficult in terms of consumerism, but simpler in terms of relationships and has less tension than the life she is trying to keep up.

Stan knows something is up with Andrea. A woman who is starting a relationship with a man wouldn't want him to stay in a job he finds too stressful. It would impact their relationship. It's not as if Stan is going to quit the FBI. He just wants to quit that department because of the stress. If I'm in a new relationship with someone, I'm not going to suggest he stay in a position that makes him unhappy when he can easily transfer to another unit. Stan sees through the "you're such a good person, you should stay there and make them behave better" response. He knows something is up with her.

Philip's job with Kimmie is dangerous. He knows he has to continue with her in order to get the tapes, now that her father is head of the soviet division. But if Kimmie's father finds out about him hanging around his under aged daughter, it's going to make him wonder .... why is this older guy hanging out with my kid? Since he's CIA, it would be easy for him to do a background check on philip's alter personality and find that he doesn't really exist.

And Claudia is lying.

. I keep closed captions on my tv because I watch British tv shows that often have lousy sound editing. Now I know the real words to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

I remember thinking "dogs of society" was "dockside" something or other. I haven't heard it in 30 years, so it never occurred to me to look the lyrics up

It took me thirty years to find out that rocket man was "burning up the fuse up here alone"

Elton John is the king of misheard/unintelligible lyrics

I am wondering if Kimmie's dad hasnt heard about Phillip and this isnt a Setup. A totally messed up girl like that and he hangs with her friends? Stupid. R70 yes to most of what you say, but not the part about Andrea. Stan has created the pattern of speaking in vague generalities when discussing his boss and career. She is simply mimicking him. The question is did he learn anything from Nina?

No Oleg in the finale? His story just ended?

So Tuan knows Liz and Phil's real (well, sort of real) names? This is the first time it's been acknowledged that he knew them as something other than their cover names. (Dee and Brad.)

One of them has to come to the conclusion that they've been brainwashed by their country.

[quote] Stan's g/f might be CIA and knows the Jennings are Russian spies.

That would be a much more interesting storyline than if she was KGB.. CIA are probably watching Stan after he threatened them for trying to turn Oleg into a double agent. I don't think they know about the Jennings but by close proximity, she will realize something is off about them.

Great theory, R64, and should absolutely be what happens.

I think the final season is ten episodes, not eight.

If Stan's gf is CIA then the CIA uses honey pots against FBI agents. I think that's a bit too far for even a cable tv show to infer.

This season was a complete waste of time. And I loved the first 4 seasons but this one was just rough!

Agreed, R79. We learned nothing, absolutely nothing, new about any character. Many good possibilities (Phillip's son foremost) were introduced, then totally squandered. Margo Martindale, totally wasted. No suspense, no jeopardy for anyone, not even any believeable angst or intrigue. Such a letdown from the previous stellar seasons.

I started the year trying to get more people interested in watching the show, since it had been so compelling, and now I feel like a chump for doing so.

I disagree a bit, r80, because I thought the whole story with the "pest to destroy Russia" that turns into a pest-resistant grain to feed the world was interesting. As was Henry being developed as smart, secretive, overlooked by his parents and possibly a bomb waiting to explode.

The Tuan storyline was a slow builder, but his ultimate profound lack of humanity was shocking, and the scene where Elizabeth called him out on it was excellent. When she said he needs a partner, she was expressing her thanks for Phillip pulling her in over the years. She is tough but not inhuman.

That's an interesting point I hadn't considered, R81. Elizabeth seeing herself in an unmoderated Tuan does make sense. She also has changed in wanting to protect Phillip's sensitivity, where she previously saw him as weak.

I think R64's theory might be a tad unlikely but The Americans isn't a documentary. I can see her as CIA assigned to Stan because Philip and Elizabeth are already under heavy suspicion and her task is to find out if Stan is actually in cahoots with them.

I've loved this series from the beginning but starting with the end of last season and all through this one ---something has gone wrong with the show. Yes, painfully slow this season -- that's part of it -- but more important is that it has become more and more difficult to SUSPEND DISBELIEF. Too much time for viewers to question what the writers / producers have done this season and so you see plot developments that you accepted in the first three seasons but now realize are a bit difficult to accept. 1) Stan's FBI and lives across the street, for heaven's sake, and has NEVER seen anything suspicious happening -- never once seen Elizabeth and Phillip coming and going at strange times of the night ?? Never wondered why their two kids are by themselves when the parents go on assignments out of state? Years have passed and not once has Stan looked out the window to just see what is going on across the street. 2) I had trouble accepting that Martha would willingly get on a plane to---turns out Moscow--she would run to any part of the US once she found out the truth about Phillip but not be the kind of woman who could even cope with having to live in a foreign country. Most troubling of all ---the FBI in DC, of all places, would be OBSSESSED in trying to find her and yet since last season they have dropped that aspect of the plot. 3) I had to laugh when the girl Kimmy suddenly is tossed back in to the plot a few episodes ago--like many months later. All that time taken with Phillip winning her over so he can plant device in her CIA father's house and only now --ages later, do they try to come back and make something of Russian spies having access to a CIA man. Well, the list could go on -- Henry oblivious to his parents coming and going for years and never thought there was anything odd about his parents; Paige still awkwardly trying to talk with parents after months and months of knowing they are Russian spies and parents still struggling to talk --pauses galore in their scenes together. I think it was a brilliant series that should have lasted 3, maybe 4 , years and no more. I think the writers are at a loss to know where to take the series and still have a final season to go. I even sense the outstanding cast are struggling to figure out what exactly are they supposed to do to keep the scenes interesting .

I told you why this season sucked. The show was green lighted for 5 seasons, for which they were grateful, since it had very low ratings. But the head of FX liked it.

So the writers go along writing a 5 season show, knowing where they are going next, knowing how they are going to end the series, and they get hit with an extra season. Well, they can't use the original season 5 for season 5, because it ends the series. So they held back season 5 for season 6 and then they tread water for season 5. What else could they do? The series was all sewn up

Paige hits like a girl.

I deeply resented Paige getting that airtime in that fucking garage when my beautiful Oleg got bupkes.

I wonder whose boots Philip's father brought home from the prison camp. Wasn't Alexei's father in a prison camp? Maybe Alexei's father died in prison camp and Philip's father pilfered his boots. And maybe Philip finds out.

Stan’s girlfriend’s name is Renee. Not Andrea.

The show has changed over time but it always seemed implausible that they could run a travel agency, run big, extended KGB operations, raise a family without suspicion and have an active social life - and even stay physically and mentally conditioned for their spy life. I mean, when do they sleep?

They seemed to want to focus most on their existential dilemma, which is interesting but, as noted, has left them in a dramatic loop where we have seen the same scene too many times to the point of nearly being self-parody. Even Keri Russell’s chirpy alter-egos seem a bit worn out.

In attempting to show how this life has worn them down, they have worn the series down. The disconnected Russia plot lines are strange, though somewhat illuminating, but the tacked on stuff of E&P executed that old woman and her husband and suddenly having a wedding ceremony seems even more left field.

Hope the deliver on the final season. Most interested in the reveal to Stan and imagine E&P will eventually separate. What happened to the original Russia spies upon which this is based? Were they jailed or sent back to Russia?

And Paige is not that bad. I often feel sorry for her. I still think she’ll eventually go KGB.

"And Paige is not that bad"

That is a very unrepresentative view of the truth

ARRRRRGH! The last season is going to focus almost exclusively on Paige. Apparently Phillip has retired from espionage, and Paige has taken his place, but in light surveillance roles that don't require many disguises.

They have RUINED this once-fantastic show and are now doubling down on the worst parts.

We need more of poor, hoodwinked Martha : ( Maybe my favorite supporting character on a TV show of all time.

Where does that info come from, R91?

It would be amazing if they covered the recruiting of a wealthy American as an asset and ended with the asshole seeking public office.

How do you know this R91?

A link, perhaps to your source?

r91 Yes, I read that as well. Apparently there's a three-year time jump.

The series finale is being shot now. A friend who works on it would only tell me there are Russian border guards and a guy in a Santa outfit so make of that what you will.

Well, that explains everything, R97. Bet Oleg tries to defect.

Or Philip and Elizabeth are trying to get back in with the kids?

Such sad news about Ruthie Ann Miles (Young Hee) losing her little girl in a car accident yesterday. I wonder if she’ll be in the final season at some point.

Paige may be important in the season, which makes sense. It can't be true that the final season "will focus almost exclusively" on her. Not with the GG and Emmy-nominated leads still working, and a very strong supporting cast of adults.

I'm a little concerned about the time jump, but I'm along for the ride. I hope Phillip and Elizabeth have stayed together, even if they get caught and must pay for their crimes.

[quote] What happened to the original Russia spies upon which this is based? Were they jailed or sent back to Russia?

The real people the show is based upon were not sleepers pretending to be Americans during the Cold War. They were all Russian or Eastern European and none of them except one guy (with an Eastern European accent) tried to pass himself off as American. They all moved to the US AFTER the fall of the USSR and lived openly in the US as Russians or other foreigners. Ten of them were arrested in 2010 and were swapped for prisoners in Russia who spied for the west.

One of the people who was swapped by Russia to the west was the Russian man who was just attacked with a nerve agent in Salisbury, UK.

Fuck, i didn't realize the poor actress in that awful traffic accident was the one playing the korean friend in The Americans! She was so good! Just horrible.

They jumped to '87 in order to show the Berlin Wall falling down, i'm sure. Really hope Paige is not front center in the final season. I can't stand her.

ive tried so often to watch it, but the lead actress way of acting is a turn off. zzzzz BITCHFACE

Today’s the final day of shooting in Brooklyn. A friend of mine on the crew got to work in Moscow for two weeks, they wrapped a few days ago,

R104, wasn't there an episode where the sketch artist at the FBI was told "make her face look bitchier"?

Trailer for the final season.

[QUOTE]They jumped to '87 in order to show the Berlin Wall falling down, i'm sure. Really hope Paige is not front center in the final season. I can't stand her.

Um, the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.

^ i know. But it's easier to cover 2 year in one season than 5 or 6. duh.

Will their neighbor finally get a clue?

[QUOTE]^ i know. But it's easier to cover 2 year in one season than 5 or 6. duh.

Ahh, okay gotcha.

[quote]Will their neighbor finally get a clue?

I think Stan has been a great character, and a better FBI agent than his bosses, all along. Never was he told to watch for people living like his neighbors, let alone when it's a family with children hiding in plain sight (and why would he?).

The actor playing Stan (Noah Emmerich, if I spelled it right) deserves to be nominated for an Emmy or GG before the show ends, but I'm sure he will parlay this role into other things.

I hate Paige, too. And I hope pastor Tim and his awful wig don't show up this season. I hope Stan's ugly son doesn't get any worse looking. Will Martha be able to get back to the west?

A problem is the length of time between seasons. I forget where they left off. Did they drop that boring super wheat story line?

R102 is deliberately understating the case for the Russian spies that lived in Montclaire, NJ. In fact they DID assume American identities and seek to collect information - also yes they were sleepers

What they excelled at was collecting Americana (they never met indiv involved in state secrets - but given proximity to major Educational institutes we will never know. In light of the 2016 Election it appears they had a role in absorbing culture and traditions that would prove useful in 2014/15/16. Putins KGB plan to divide our country was not a short term project. This couple certainly played a role..

Costa Ronin (Oleg) is on Homeland now.

For all the Paige bitching, I will be interested to see what Henry is up to with the time jump. Maybe he went away to school and became a huge flaming liberal, or a Reagan-worshipping ultra conservative, or a pothead, or gay, or some combination.

Anybody watch last night?

Definitely. Lots of discussion on previously.tv.

Oleg has a neck beard.

I want to see honeypots

Elizabeth looks like a rode hard, used up crack whore now, not much honey left in that pot. The name of the ep was 'Dead Hand' but I kept thinking it should have been 'Dead Eyes.'

Yeah, I noticed how tired, haunted and unhappy Elizabeth is being made to look and act.

And why not? She is a killer, past and continuing, whose family is completely at risk from her continuing work.

So Henry is a studly, girl-magnet, prep school hockey star now? That's interesting.

I don't even know why they've bothered to continue having Henry on the show. His character is practically meaningless and adds nothing to the storyline. And though I'd hate to see the young actor playing him lose his job, they could actually do a "Chuck" on him and I don't think anyone would notice.

I love Henry.

The Russians love their hockey. If it all goes down in flames, maybe Henry becomes a future Olympian.

[quote] His character is practically meaningless and adds nothing to the storyline.

As little screen time as Henry gets, he remains a strong presence in the background of the narrative. The way they've written him, he's practically a walking Chekov's gun at this point. I expect the writers to do something very interesting with him by the end.

and he's quite hot too

Article about our favorite teen hockey player.

[quote] The way they've written him, he's practically a walking Chekov's gun at this point.

Now we have Chekhov's suicide pill.

What about poor, wronged Martha, stranded overseas??

R124, I'm sure it will lead to something. I doubt he's there as a throwaway character.

R131, I have no inside knowledge, but I am guessing we will see Martha later in this last season, and that she will have something to say and do.

Could she be traded for another's life?

I found it boring. It shoul$ have ended the year before last

One thing i don't understand: how can Philip just "retire" from being a super important spy? He knows a shitload of top secret stuff and he just says "i'm finished, bye"? He should at least be sent back to Russia, right? Or, more probably, they'd kill him in a very discreet fashion. Secret espionage is like the mafia, once you're in you're in.

Wasn't it more or less implied that Philip's "release" would be contingent upon his ability to deliver Paige? Since they still have his wife and now his daughter, that would seem to be adequate leverage to keep him in line. For now, at least....

^you're probably right, thanks

Henry is so adorable.

[quote]R133 I am guessing we will see Martha later in this last season, and that she will have something to say and do. Could she be traded for another's life?

I hope Philip retires to Russia to be with her. He and Elizabeth are going in different directions, emotionally.

The writers of this show are so lazy. They've done their standard throwaway mentions of Henry at school, and have done the exact same shot of Henry on the phone (with Henry in the same outfit) twice.

They did the street surveillance of the State Department guy (with the team doing handoffs using the one-click microphone acknowledgement) bit twice, both revealing nothing of interest. A whole lot of scenes of Philip looking worried. An overly-long fake interview ending in a choke-out? Stan's wife suddenly wants to be an FBI agent? I don' t trust these writers to have much payoff on these things anymore.

Keidrich Sellati is the rare “cute kid” cast on TV who stays cute as he ages. Too often we get tragic outcomes like Bran on Game of Thrones or Carl on The Walking Dead.

I used to really like this show but last season was a time waster and frankly, this season isn’t any better. I was watching it on demand and switched it off in the middle to watch a real time airing of a different tv show. I forgot I’d been watching it. A week later I remembered and was like, “Eh, I don’t feel like sitting through the rest of it.”

We've only seen two episodes of this final season in the UK and, man, is it boring. I imagine the actors must get bored playing the same scene over and over and over and over. This show peaked two seasons ago.

[quote]I hope Philip retires to Russia to be with her.

I don't think Phil could handle going back to Russia. He's become way too Americanized and couldn't give up his current way of life.

They are setting P up for a socialist epiphany with his financial problems and his Glengary-Glen-Ross sales pressure. Too bad the Russia he remembers is gone forever.

i like the fact that it's slow. A palate cleanser from so many tv shows with a ridiculous twist every 90 seconds (looking at you, Shonda)

Jesus, Matthew Rhys really lost his looks

Fuck a duck, Paige done snagged herself a cute one. Makes a right pig's ear out of it in 3 2 1

It has been a great slow burn for years. And Rhys is still sexy as fuck. Like me, Keri Russell must like a man who isn't afraid to act and look his age.

Meant to link back, again, to the multi-season original thread:

Paige is a whore!

Was "The Centre" helping keep the travel agency afloat as long as Philip was an active agent? I can't recall if anything like that was specifically addressed. It would make sense that they may have kicked in for some of the expenses since it was required to keep up their cover.

Henry should go undercover as a teen hustler.

r152 They still need the travel agency for Liz's cover, and Philip is still doing some spy work (as with Kimmy this week.)

I can't stand watching Philip this season. They have completely emasculated him. I can't tell how the writers will end the show. Philip and Stan will probably have a show down. Elizabeth with have to watch whore Page get shot in the face and bleed to death. Elizabeth's ending need a shit ton of emotional or physical pain.

What's up with Stan's bubbly girlfriend who all the sudden wants to be an agent? No dramatic end for pastor Tim?

Paige is still dumb as a bag of rocks. The writing certainly isn’t helping, it’s hopelessly weak whenever she appears. Why would Elizabeth be expecting Paige to eventually work in the State Department while at the same time putting her in operations where she could easily be arrested? Makes no sense.

At least the Kimmy storyline seems to have ended with the last episode. I hated that storyline.

Is it me or half of the last episode was so dark you couldn't make sense of what was going on??

That sequence in the warehouse facility certainly was. Unforgivable.

Glad it wasn't just me! I suspect they did that to avoid having to show any realistic details in the staging of the scene; the whole thing was pretty much left to the viewer's imagination. Such lazy direction and production values. I really hope they can bring this thing to a satisfying conclusion and not some half-hearted mess like we just saw. So far this season feels pretty lukewarm.

I’m thinking more and more that Martha will be traded for someone like...Paige?

In the end Paige will kill Elizabeth (or viceversa?? mhhh). I feel it in my bones.

Maybe Henry will do what Jared did a few seasons ago and murder his father, mother and sister.

Henry is gorgeous. Much better looking than DLers' obsession Timotée Whatshisname.

R162, I hope somebody puts all of them out of our misery soon. I'll watch to the end out of respect for the first 2.5 seasons, but it's a mournful watch.

[quote] What about poor, wronged Martha, stranded overseas??

Poor, wronged Martha is having a helluva time and a lot of fun over on "Sneaky Pete". Actually so is Margo Martindale. Good show if you haven't seen it yet.

Tonight’s episode is “stupendous” according to well respected TV critic Alan Sepenwall.

Maybe that dunderheaded ding-dong Paige accidentally eats the cyanide necklace!

LOL, R167. One can only hope.

Great show tonight! It will be interesting to see what Rene’s angle is in all this. She is either US Counter Intelligence or Russian watching Stan given his past ties to Russian women.

Very bad feelings about Paige and Elizabeth- I fear that Paige will be the fatality and her mother will have to live with that. I am liking Paige, naive but arguably the smartest teen female on television in quite a while. A real twist would be if none of them are exposed, Mom perishes but Paige lives on working as an agent infiltrating US Intelligence - imagine her sense of loyalty to her Mothers memory.

Phillip I think will survive. Honestly who knows? This show is terrific.

Well, at least Sofia got to enjoy her new teefs for a few years.

the scene of Paige and Philip fighting was very creepy. And didn't Philip basically told Kimmy the whole truth about himself with that last phone call? that's fucking dangerous for him! Now for a few things i didn't really get: how did Philip know that the russian couple was killed by Elizabeth? Can't remember if they ever speak about them. Also can't remember what the deal was between Oleg and Tatiana. This show is quite hard to follow sometimes...

I don’t think he knew it was Elizabeth. Just the reminder from Stan that sometimes the pawns get killed was enough to push him.

I think Phil’s warning off Kimmie will actually pay off down the road. Maybe Kimmie and her powerful father will testify on his behalf.

Paige's new beau may not be who/what he claims to be.

R171 Stan pretty specifically described them as defectors - so who else would it be? It would have specifically been his job so he didnt even have to guess.

Yeah - I dont think Kimmy has to put it together - he could have easily said it is a known ruse. Actually R 173 might be on to something. Totally bizarre to think that a nondescript Kimmie could actually wind up a player - kinda like Stormy Daniels lawyer driving Grifter to hysterical unhinged mania - like with everything else who would’ve guessed?

Tatiana was in line to be the Russian Bureau Chief in DC - all i remember is she worked with Oleg.

[quote]A real twist would be if none of them are exposed, Mom perishes but Paige lives on working as an agent infiltrating US Intelligence

I think it would be a really super fucked-up twist to find out in the end that Paige isn't really working with her parents as a Russian spy but against them undercover with the FBI to get the goods on them. It could be revealed that at some point she broke down and told Stan's son about Philip and Elizabeth who then told Stan, who then put Paige up to get the goods on them. Of course, if that was to happen, Paige would probably have to kill Elizabeth to stop Elizabeth from killing her (or Philip would have to kill Elizabeth to stop her from killing Paige).

I’ve thought of that, too, R176. It’s possible. It would explain her acting so stupid all the time, like laughing at Claudia’s admission she traded sex for rations during The Great Patriotic War.

So, another thing i don't remember: the whole old storyline about Phil's russian son. Remember that? So they spent a good part of season 4( o 5?) about the long and dangerous journey of Misha to get to America to meet his father. Then it eneded with Gabriel telling him "better not, son". It was such a waste of time, no payoff, no nothing. My question: does Philip know about all this? I can't remember. Because if he doesn't know maybe he'll find out soon and that may became the final straw for him, and he finally decides to say "Fuck off Russia". Otherwise, that storyline really makes no sense, dramatically.

One thing about it with all these productions there are always a million stories that amount to nothing or are considered “wrapped.” It could as easily be a trade for Martha.

Paige turning on her parents for that ridiculous childlike moody boy across the street? Hardly. Even she could see she had more going on for herself than him. It does worry me that she wiped that asshole out in a bar - I mean those men will be talking about her FOREVER and it is in the burbs of DC. There is far far more awareness of unusual talents around families with Government employment...

Same way people in DC viewed the ridiculously preposterous non coverage of Donald by the NYTimes in 2015-16. Smart Americans in DC placed value on our Country and its institutions because they are exposed to the enormity of American Democracy every day. In NYC the press was so NOT aware they treated the guy like a joke & Dumpster Fire. In DC they could see the crisis coming. Same thing story wise about DC and women punching out and dropping big men in the 80’s : WTF WAS THAT??

Did Oleg actually kill anyone?

WHERE'S MARTHA ? ! ?

I’m only on Ep. 4 of this final season but I’m done with this show. It’s so boring. This show should’ve ended two seasons ago.

Philip will likely be viewed as a risk or liability towards the end. Paige will be given the task to kill him. There will be a murder-suicide in the struggle. Elizabeth will survive stone faced and board a plane as though the others never mattered. Elizabeth will probably kill Henry. She doesn't like him anyway and it will get rid of a witness.

I don’t think Elizabeth will get away. I think she’ll meet a bad end in some way, even if it just means getting cancer and her last days are taken up with watching the USSR break apart on TV.

No! Don’t kill Henry! But I’m ok with some roughhousing in the shower.

I think Elizabeth will get back to Russia and realize it's a shithole and feel duped. Her exchange with Philip in the kitchen a few weeks ago about neither of them having been there in over 20+ years make me think that.

Do we know what Miriam Shor is sick with?

[quote] I’m only on Ep. 4 of this final season but I’m done with this show. It’s so boring. This show should’ve ended two seasons ago.

Congrats. I couldn’t get through 1 1/2 episodes and I used to love this show. I hardly remember last season at all. Something about wheat, a kid from Vietnam, a kid from Russia named Pasha.......whatever

This is one of the best rated shows in the US. Also it goes a long way describing the ways in which operations can be handled. I wonder if it is trolls that keep posting the “this show sucks” comments. A little touch about the Russian angle arent they?

Uhhh, R189, it’s never had great ratings in the US. It’s on thr FX Channel and got disappointing ratings even by FX standards. It’s only lasted this long because it’s a critics darling and is considered a “prestige series.”

Should have clarified it was favored by critics. That is actually a big deal given all the crap television shows now.

I could not care less about Paige. There is no way they could/can ever make her interesting to me.

R189, not a troll here. The last time something interesting happened on this show was in Season 4. The CIA guy is so, so dull. This show is played out.

This one and Silicon Valley. Over.

Also, how stupid to have moved Stan out of counter-intelligence and to have abandoned the Residenzy. Much of the interest and drama of the show was seeing these two mortal spy agencies wrapped in combat, plus how the shades of power politics affected their missions. Plus, the directors of both were interesting in their conflicting loyalties. It's where we got Martha, one of the best characters of the show. All thrown away for no benefit.

Dozens of other stupid moves: Margo Martindale is best buds with Elizabeth now? They let that sizzling tension fizzle, and Margo is now completely dull. They largely wasted the amazing Frank Langella. They've made Philip a whiny wuss. They couldn't figure out how to end the entire Paige/Father Tim mess, so they shipped them off to South America, On and on it goes.

r187 Cancer

How old is Elizabeth supposed to be? It seems like she's too young to have any memories of WWII.

It was really stupid that Father Tim found out about Philip and Elizabeth but wasn’t killed by them.

If anything had happened to Tim and his wife (she also knew), they would have lost Paige forever. Getting Tim sent out of the country was the plot resolution, not a fizzled thread.

I can’t see any violence within the family.

Then you don’t know Elizabeth, R198.

Elizabeth appears to be off age wise by 8 years or so, not that much. It works

She probably 44 or so and would have very few memories, if ever, of WWII.

Looking forward to tonight’s episode. I wonder if we’ll finally see if Stan’s wife Renee is not who she seems to be.

Two more hours remain. Elizabeth is pretty sure this is a pending failure that can risk her own demise - and she has that Suicide capsule necklace. So she calls Henry. I think she barely escapes with her life from this operation and one of them is seen, pics go up around the Fed offices. The previews with Stan - looks like Phillip will tell him the business is failing. I am thinking Phillip has *a great escape plan in which the cover is “Business tanked we are leaving.” Unfortunately 2hrs isn’t leaving them with much opportunity for escape.

It would be very cool if Rene’ turns out to be backup for Elizabeth and Phillip, but I fear a death will be imminent. Paige? She is ill prepared & reckless. Inevitable dumb Henry is exposing them to Stan.

It will be a long week until the next episode. Does anyone have any spoiler alerts?

Tonight's episode is the first time I noticed the word "fuck" being used on this show, at least in any prominent way.

I think that’s true, R103. Elizabeth said “fucking” in their first scene and Phil yelled “FUCK!” in the scene with Henry.

I have been watching this show for years and it's annoying to watch how clueless Stan and the US Intelligence is about the Russian spies (but look how they stole the US elections)..

btw, how many people has Elizabeth killed all these years? How can a small woman kill so many people and get away with it and no one recognizes her?

I think Henry will play a big part. He's really close with Stan and his father. In the previews he's telling Stan about how his parents always abruptly leave for work. Maybe Stan will see the pics of Philip and Elizabeth in Chicago and finally get a clue. Philip will cut a deal with the FBI in order to save Henry; Stan takes Henry in and pays for his school. Elizabeth will be furious at Philip and tries to kill him and Stan. Stan's wife works as a CIA plant or counter-intelligence and kills Elizabeth, saving Stan. Philip goes to prison, Paige goes back to Church. Margo is walked off in handcuffs.

What do you mean "2 hours remain"? It's 4 episode left!

thanks for the correction R208. Glad there are 4 remaining.

Episode 3 of the 4 is titled “Elizabeth Jennings,” intense. Death, prison or fleeing? Pretty disturbing all of them - I cant help but think that it will be about Paige somehow. She insisted Paige follow this line of work in some bizarre preFeminist, Matrilineal theme. Will she make the ultimate sacrifice for her daughter to escape, or will it be curtains for Paige? Totally crazy if Paige, Elizabeth & Margo Martindale all get rolled up at once.

The last episode “START” is curious. This double entendre’ places the series slightly off actual historic times lines: START was the Anti Nuclear Proliferation Treaty the Russians signed with the US and our Allies. That is what the basis is for the US-Russian meeting with Gorbachev Reps in the US is about - Phillip wanting it to succeed and Elizabeth with old anti Gorbachev forces - which is where Putin got his start. That division over Russia’s future is where thier marriage appears to disintegrate.

Phillip is clearly wavering - but hates Reagan. Again with Rene - is she there to keep an eye on Stan, or Elizabeth & Phillip? Soliciting a job at the FBI puts her solidly in Russian corner. Phillips wavering has to be of GREAT concern.

wow, Elizabeth is fucking sick and tired of Philip by now!

I don’t think Paige will go back to church. I think at the very least she will go to prison.

I’m with those who think that Erica’s sketches of Elizabeth will have a huge impact a few episodes from now.

R209 Very good point I had not realized she was sketching Elizabeth. Not good. That will take about 2 secs to figure out. Still the artist may not rat her out. Or Eliz will snuff her.

Paige is certainly not “going back to church.” She saw the foolishness of all that - plus Timmy is off on his So American crusade to save the world for Jesus.

That’s one of the things so frustrating about this show re Paige. So is she not a Christian anymore? Is she now an atheist like Elizabetb?

Great Episode. I was hooked. Too bad this is the last season. Though, I do what to know which one of the russian spies are going to die.

Stan’s Thanksgiving blessing was a bit ham-handed, pardon the pun.

It was obviously meant to be, R214. I think that's why Philip and Paige sitting there listening to their people get completely vilified.

Correction: I think that's why Philip may be pulled back in (sort of)...

[quote]Two more hours remain.

Wait. What?

Two more episodes are left???

[quote]What do you mean "2 hours remain"? It's 4 episode left!

Phew!

Stan saying that the Reagan and him know that the Russian are trying to kill us.

Phil and Page were thinking, damn straight, cheers,

happy thanksgiving.

Rhys is a good actor. I hope he cont. to get work

Very good article about Keri Russell as Elizabeth. She deserves an Emmy for this season.

IT is a great show. The 2 leads are amazing.

This series has always been underrated and skipped over. They should get the Emmy for the entirety of the series. They had some brilliants seasons. It's heck of a lot better than The Handmaid's Tale.

Stan's toast was so heavy handed i had the impression that he knew everything about Philip, Paige and maybe Renee and was trolling them

is The Americans one of the very few shows of this decade with zero gay content? I love this show but it seems a bit weird. I remember in one of the earlier season they blackmailed an american military because he was gay but that was it. No gay/lesbian honey potting, no gay/les/bi characters, no AIDS, no nothing.Quite unusual these days.

No one watches this show for the sexual angle. It's essentially "Catch a spy" and people don't watch for any other reason than "Will Stan find out who out his friends are?"

Will Stan find out who is friends are?*

I don't care about the sexual angle. But they slept with so many people for work, that let them seduce same sex persons would've been realistic and also show how good they are at their jobs. Also, it's a show set in the 80s, where AIDS and sexual repression were as big as a threat than communism. I'd say it's a missed opportunity.

^*as* communism

The last two episodes have been tense as fuck. The dread is thick. However, I really loved having Henry home because he made for a great outside perspective, giving a different angle to the family unit other than cloistered paranoia. Also love the way Henry was really quick to pick up on his parents animosity and Elizabeth's unhappiness. I think the Center made a wrong choice with Paige. They should have had the Jennings train up Henry! The kid's going to be a genius.

R228. I really thought they were going to have Philip seduce Larrick back in S2 when we learned he was gay, but no go. The new info about Harvest revealed that they were using one of the Illegals as a gay honeypot. Wonder if we'll actually meet this character and his mark.

^agree about Henry. Also, he's beautiful.

Matthew Rhys looked very handsome in this episode, particularly when he was going through Elizabeth’s spy tools.

I hope we'll also see the demise of Mail Robot, the only touch of levity in this very grim universe.

There’s only one reason to bring Stan back into counter-intelligence for the climax: He’s gonna catch ‘em. Then he will be humiliated with “FBI counterintelligence agent’s best friend and close neighbor revealed as Soviet spy.”

Not sure why they bothered to have him leave the department. Maybe because it strains credibility that he would not have caught them sooner.

Remember, it was Paige’s idealism, as first manifested by her interest in the church, that made her of interest to the center. Henry is not an idealist, so how would they get him to risk his life to spy for USSR? He’s thoroughly American.

Paige's idealism had nothing to do with the Rezidentura's decision, though. They already had begun the second phase of the Illegals program with the children, although their first foray had disastrous results. Her idealism and faith made it easier for them to inculcate a sense of activism for country in her that proved fortuitous, but they had their sights set on her long before she was involved in the church. I always assumed that they would eventually have P & E involve Henry as well, when he was old enough, but I think Philip's extraction from the business changed that course.

Stan's reaction is what I can't wait for. Emmerich is such a good actor and I'm excited to see how the character reacts.

I wonder what surgery Noah Emmerruch had to remove that eye twitch he had a few years ago.

I never realized until recently that the Walker family of spies had a big influence on the balance of power between the US & USSR. Three of them actively spied - Walker, his older brother and his son. The CIA believe the information sent by the walkers caused the Pueblo incident in NK (the Russians wanted to get a US ship and comb through it).

It was all about money. Not ideology. The guy was just greedy.

I kept feeling through the last two episodes that Stan was looking at Phillip like he knew. Maybe he did find out a while ago & was just waiting for something so he could catch them in the act..?

Nah, I don't think Stan knows. The writers want to wait for the Big Reveal. Viewers have wanted Stan to get a clue for 6 years! You would think that Stan-- who lives across the street-- would question his neighbors sudden leaving in the middle of the night or leaving their kids alone for days. Henry used to drop by Stan's all the time because his parents were out and Stan would never question him?

I must be the only one who doesn't care for Stan finding out the truth. Making him the neighbour always looked too gimmicky to me, i never took it seriously because him living so close to the the Jennings and never figuring it out the truth is just too absurd to believe. I'm only interested in Phil and Elizabeth and how they will end as persons and as a family.

The Center should have just had Philip and Elizabeth sell their house and move a few towns over once they found out their neighbor was FBI. Just say one of the kids was having trouble in the local school and wanted to start somewhere new.

Why take such a chance?

And how come Stan suspected something in the Jennings garage in the first season and then never suspected anything again?

That's nonsense, R243. Getting close to the intelligence community of your enemy is the entire point of being a friggin spy; that's the whole point of training to be a spy - getting ***CLOSE*** to your enemy.

I mean that's like saying a bartender shouldn't really be serving people drinks.

I still stand by what I said almost a year ago on this thread @R64/65 about Stan's g/f. I think the pastor may have gone to the govt and Stan's girl is CIA.

Historically Stan was there first. Eliz & Phillip moved there after him I believe. Pretty clear the agency never thought about that. Now Russians planting Rene into Stans life? That is the insurance the KGB needed. Betting I am right.

R245 makes a good point. But did they come right out and say it to him??

The next to last episode “Jennings, Elizabeth” alarms me. Is that a search question? A body bag? A courtroom appearance?

But they’ve never gotten any information from Stan. They’ve never tried to turn him. If they tried to turn him, they’d be found out. Their best FBI source was Martha. So there really isn’t any point living next door to Stan as an espionage tactic. It’s just dangerous for them.

But they always had an inkling of what he may be doing or investigating, R247. If he suddenly left town for work, they knew something was up. Even if Stan was never specific, they at least had an idea of his mindset and when he was/wasn't home.

Wrong, R246. The very first episode of the series shows Stan and his family moving into the house across the street. The Jennings come by with brownies and during introductions is when they find out he's an FBI agent.

Why doesn't Stan ever suspect them again? Because after he went and snooped out their garage he derided himself for being so paranoid and shook it off as silly to think his new neighbors were Russian spies. The idea beggars belief, which is why he doesn't automatically suspect them for everything, especially now that he knows Phil and Liz. Stan considers Phil a close friend, he goes over to their house all the time, so he cannot even conceive of them as an "outside threat".

[quote] I think the pastor may have gone to the govt and Stan's girl is CIA.

That would be a great finale if she is really CIA and ends up in a fight with Elizabeth. I'd like to see Elizabeth in a fight with a woman who is equally adroit in combat

The FBI and CIA hardly talked to each other back then. And Stan had pissed off his superiors when he tried to protect Oleg in Russia and threatened to expose them. Did she come after that? She must be there for a reason otherwise her presence is fruitless.

R245, last season I also posted I think Renee’s CIA. I think Renee was put in there to see if Stan knows about Phil and Liz and if he’s in cahoots with them,

I think Phillip winds up in prison, sacrificing himself for Elisabeth & Elisabeth winds up dead. Henry gets taken out in crossfire and Paige goes on to become a legit member of the state department, and probably a fervently anti-communist one at that.

I want Young Hee to show up and bang Elizabeth’s head against a wall after informing her that her husband committed suicide after Elizabeth ruined his life. And then Young Hee is revealed to have been a North Korean agent.

did the actress who played Young Hee suffered that terrible accident while they were shooting the final season? I don't think we'll ever see again tho

I think we all agree that we want to see Elizabeth get beaten up!

I really enjoyed Elizabeth's conflict over Paige whoring herself for The Cause, Elisabeth playing Phillip as a mark by using sex to manipulate him before her Big Ask and Phillip's revulsion while banging Kimmy. I wasn't sure I believed he would really give Kimmy such an explicit warning, though.

Ruthie Ann Miles was in that horrific accident about two weeks before the show wrapped for good. She could have filmed something for one of the next three episodes.

I’d actually like to see Claudia beat the shit out of Elizabeth this time.

There certainly are many ways that Phillip & Elizabeth can be found out - Kimmy says something to her dad, someone talks about Paige in the bar performing military motions, Stan, the idiot Preacher. Stan doesnt really have a clue until Henry opens his mouth. Stan going into the laundery room is not good. If he sees a radio in there, senses the Electric panel is slightly loose... its over.

If Stan had suspected them they would have picked them up already - traditionally the main Spy overlord resides in the Embassy and is an Ambassador - which is why US Intelligence went INSANE when that stupid stupid stupid man brought Russian Ambassadors into the Oval Office. Controlling visas is everything - which notably is how Russian Trolls infiltrated the US during the 2015-2016 campaigns. Visas handled by the the Embassy in DC.

Also the airline records are certainly proof - I highly doubt a private ac would be used. Part of the tradecraft of owning a travel agency is important.

The woman who killed Miles' kid along with her friend's kid was indicted yesterday and she could face 25 years. That cunt continually disobeyed medical orders not to drive. I don't give a fuck that she had a seizure because she knew that's precisely why she shouldn't have been driving and she still did.

The synopsis of the next episode suggests that there will be a lot of Stan-Henry interaction (while his parents are out of town), so maybe something will come out during their talks. Although it seems a little strange that he would stick around and not just return to school.

Henry is home for the holidays.

r262 Yeah, but no one else in his family is there. And it's only a four-day weekend, half of which are already over.

Maybe he is in an all-year school where they have a month off between school periods. That's such a minor detail compared to an FBI neighbor who never notices his neighbors leaving for "work" in the middle of night and hardly at home.

Henry is so cute. He needs to get buttfucked by Sam Nunn’s intern.

Or buttfucked by Jack Kemp.

Henry in boxers made my week.

Henry's legs in those boxers eating cereal was awesome. He's definitely gonna be important to the plot in these last four eps.

Can’t wait for tomorrow night.

I binged the first 6 eps of this season last week and I'm not sure if I can watch just one a week now.

I'm the opposite -- I don't think I could binge watch -- way too much tension!

Will we ever find out the terrible things Stan did when he was undercover with the white supremacists?

I doubt it, R172, but you never know with this show. Maybe he’ll get to tell Henry all about it sometime.

Do you think there will be at least one scene with Henry shirtless?

Yes, of course. He'll be in bed comforting Stan after he discovers Renee scissoring with Elizabeth, to the tune of Volga Boatmen, no less!

In the final episode, Henry becomes an Congressional intern and is assigned to Gerry Studds. Hilarity, and lots of inappropriate office behavior, ensue.

Henry just gave Phillip and ELizabeth away “No I never met Aunt Mary...” Exposed them right there.

SPOILER ALERT....

Oh man Stan goes to work, boss says... “2 agents dead.” Stan asks what do we have “in the van hired by white man & black man. On the Bus we have a black man, white man blond with a goatee and a white woman.” Stan “do we have sketches?” Stan arrives home and decides to snoop at their house. Does notice her cig butts on the bk porch - DNA, for sure if they had it then as a tool. Looking at family photos recalls that chemist poisoned spy on his death bed “they have kids, she’s pretty, he’s lucky. Nobody would guess.”

Stan finds nothing upstairs, nothing inthe laundry room, nothing in the car. He is TOTALLY on to them - thanks to Henry’s big mouth. “I never met her (the aunt) I think Paige did.” That pissed Stan off and this was suppose to be the families only relative!

When he sees those sketches...he will prob have a warrant on them immediately when he wakes up. He is pouring through old files, “6 years ago we had a team on an illegal - she disappeared right from under us...” Must have been season 1 or 2 That Eliz escaped the Feds on a street.

Paige adores her Mommy.... omg her mother instructed her to apply to an Gov job....Paige needs to go away, far far away. Going to be horrible next week.

I dont think Stan wants it to be them, but he clearly knows.

Eliz & Phillip are home call for Henry at school to check in. She has to leave again for hospice - she knows times up in her bones.

Good discussion of options for ending. I would love it if Stan never finds out. He has had a wierd vulnerability to agents thinking of his star crossed, fatal affair of 3 seasons ago. I think he would not want it to be Elizabeth and Phillip though clearly he has suspicions. I am fine with Phillip flipping and Elizabeth escaping. The worst thing that could happen to her would be retuning to the Mother land minus her kids and Phillip, to see what a dump Russian would become. But Phillip? Soviets would have to kill him for sure then.

As these critics say - it would be funny if Renee just turns out to be Stans wife after all.

Stan finally has a clue. It's about time.

He brought a box to the conference room. Was it stuff he found in their house?

I just don't buy it. Why, after all these years, would he suddenly start to suspect them again? They've been sketchy for all these years and it never set off an alarm for him. But now out of the blue he catches a whiff of something fishy?

I'm disappointed in the writing here.

Is there any chance they could do a spin off series focused on Henry?

I’m afraid Paige is going to get herself killed.

[quote]But now out of the blue he catches a whiff of something fishy?

Both parents suddenly fly away for Thanksgiving weekend, leaving their boarding school son alone and, at the same time there is a major Soviet intelligence operation involving a female operative. He senses Phillip is tense about something. What kind of travel agent emergency requires both owners physical presence out of town over a major holiday?

Stan had been suspicious of them before. He even snooped their home before.

I looked this up out of curiosity

NYS DMV:

Have you had, or are you currently receiving treatment or taking medication for any condition which causes unconsciousness or unawareness such as convulsive disorder, epilepsy, fainting or dizzy spells, or heart ailment?

If you answer yes to this question, you must send Physicians Statement for Medical Review form (MV-80U.1), completed by a qualified doctor, to DMV’s Medical Review Unit (MRU). The MRU will contact you with information, requirements and instructions.

——————-

How do I notify DMV that someone has a medical condition that affects their driving ability?

if you are a police officer, submit a Police Agency Request for Driver Review (DS-5) form if you are a licensed physician, submit a Physician's Request for Driver Review (DS-6) form all other individuals must submit a Request for Driver Review (DS-7) form

———

What does DMV do when it receives a report from a doctor?

If a physician reports that an individual has a condition that can affect his or her driving skills, DMV can suspend his or her driver license until a physician certifies that the condition is treated or controlled and the individual can drive safely. DMV can require that the physician recertify at a later time that the condition does not affect the individual's ability to drive. If DMV does not receive the required certification, DMV can suspend the driver license.

What does DMV do it if receives a report from someone who is not a doctor?

If DMV receives a report from a person who is not a physician, each case is decided separately. DMV does not take action on reports based on age alone. DMV may schedule a re-examination for the driver or an evaluation interview with a license examiner. After the evaluation interview, the license examiner will decide if specific tests are necessary.

A re-examination can include a vision test, a written test, or a road test. If the driver does not appear for a re-examination or does not pass the tests, DMV may suspend or revoke his or her driver license. For more information, see DMV's driver re-evaluation program.

R281 doesn’t matter if you “buy it” - Stan snuck into their garage before and was digging around. He had an hunch - determined he was wrong and forgot about it. . The box of stuff was from the near capture of Eliz after she was wounded by the Feds in season 1 and Phillip swooped in to save her. Pretty epic way to start the run of this fantastic series.

Read the link above, a lot of review.

I confess I had to laugh through most of last night's episode even though I have been riveted by the series from the beginning and, though irritated in past two seasons on how they have dragged it out, think it's outstanding story-telling. Stan mentioning AT LAST about Eliz. and Phillip coming and going at all hours of the night when talking to Phillip. Like, as an FBI neighbor, he wouldn't have been disturbed through the years that the two children were left alone while parents came and went at strange hours of the night.??Thanks producers for finally letting us know Stan actually looked out his window from time to time and noticed something peculiar about his neighbors.

I say they can't allow Elizabeth to end the series alive , or escaping to Russia. Truly, she has become gruesome with her killing this season and no TV drama has ever allowed a major lead to be that violent and not pay a price at the end. I say she gets killed. (Big fan of Keri Russell but will she ever be accepted in other major roles from now on -- will she always be identified with this series. It will be interesting to see. Hubby Rhys will go on to bigger projects though - he deserves it--so talented).

Love yr post R287... yes Elizabeth is quite the killing machine - but what about the “Sopranos?” Tony and his killers probably lived and that was some ending. Good point about Stan hearing how the kids were always left alone. Seems to me that P & E would have known better and found a way.

Tony got whacked. Most of his crew got whacked.

The next episode is titled “Jennings, Elizabeth.” Oh fuck. I hope Kerri has many more opportunities - her talents are pretty fierce and terrific.

I think Keri will be fine. Damn good actress plus I remember people thinking she’d never be seen as anyone but Felicity. She’s the true definition of a chameleonic performer and will reinvent herself again.

Plus, The Americans isn't exactly a ratings smash, very few people have seen Keri in the role. She'll be fine for future roles.

R289 that was never determined. Producers/Directors were coy until the outrage boiled over.

I will just say it - I want Elizabeth to live, Phillip to live. Maybe an exchange for Martha - she would be a very very high value target. Now that would be quite the surprise! Margo Martindale may as well do the full experience and take one for her country.

[quote]Maybe an exchange for Martha

They are both Soviet spies.

The brief scene where Elizabeth left for work in the morning after the Chicago operation was very moving: they both know it's a question of days before they either die or got caught.

Was I the only one who thought "AIDS" when Phil came to prolonged, close, contact with the dying gay russian spy's blood??

[quote]Was I the only one who thought "AIDS" when Phil came to prolonged, close, contact with the dying gay russian spy's blood??

I imagine so.

Agree with the days or weeks... but they are very excellent spies! I cant believe they have no way to catch Stan pilfering the house. They were born 2 decades early - not even a motion detector.

No I did NOT think of HIV - though I was fully aware he was family I was surprised to see the the flashback to the captured chemist spy confessing- never knew he lived long though to cooperate.

Henry talks!

also, how great is the actress playing the terminal woman Elizabeth cares for? This show has always had the best supporting cast.

r286, well, yes, it does matter because the production team's collective job is to suspend my disbelief and they're failing to do so in these most recent two episodes, after years of being on the ball. Someone else's opinions on the show do not change my reaction to the clumsy insertion of Stan's sudden Deus Ex Machina insights. These conveniences are beneath the show we've watched, up to this point, and it's disappointing to see the writers betray the logical foundation of the series to which we'd all committed.

What, also, hasn't helped is that Emmerich has been playing 'he knows' or 'he suspects' from the first episode of the season, without any reason for Stan to have changed course. So, when the information arrives (neatly packaged, on time, with the tags still on it) that provides him with a motivation to confirm his hunch, he's not even emotionally going from A to B: he starts at B and just digs his heels in.

And I thought 'Harvest' was the most boring (i.e. predictable) episode of the series -- and I'm including all the aimless Russian sidetracks in that assessment.

It's bad fucking writing and the consistently strong writing had been a large part of what made this show something more than a spy thriller. And, now, they're giving us a paint by the numbers, fill in the blanks, 'on page 10', third act.

Was anyone else thinking that Stan was going to strip nude and hump Henry’s bed? I would have done that.

I'm hoping a 50-something Paige shows up as a high-level State Dept. employee on "Madam Secretary."

Narcissistic much R 300?

I only watched one show this season and Elizabeth was always complaining about how tired she is. Will she turn out to have AIDS?

r304, I doubt she or we will have a chance to find out if she's sick or not.

I love Keidrich. So cute.

The truth is, R300, no one actually gives a shit about your incredibly narrow view of the writing.

Why don't you try arguing with my points instead of slinging insults?

I'm not R300, but everyone is entitled to their opinion of a television show in a thread about that television show,

The thread title isn't "Only Favorable opinions About FX "The Americans."

All opinions are allowed.

Deplorables present in here with the crude hater slurs re HIV - just Flame them please.

I'm the poster who suggested the AIDS angle re: the russian spy's blood. The "Elizabeth with AIDS" was another poster. I don't see anything deplorable about these thoughts. The show is set in the mid80s and the two characters fucked a lot of random people for years because of their mission. They probably never used condoms in let's say 1979 or 1982. They could both be HIV+, it would be realistic and such a tragic, indirect way to die for the Mother Land.

There's been a lot of sexual tension between Stan and Henry since the series started

Those who envision Stan with a teen like Henry are sick!! Stop posting this disgusting shit.

Several on other threads have pointed out that Phillip's skin looks unusually sallow in this episode. AIDS is not outside the realm of possibility.

Several on other threads are equally deplorable. Noting a trend here - sounds like something a Troll would do . The “they must have AIDS Troll” is revolting and trivializing a matter that ZERO place in this discussion until this week. Block them.

Elizabeth is tired - she must have AIDS. Phillip had contact with blood, looking sallow - he must have AIDS.

Someone is trying really hard to troll this thread. Ignore it.

I agree with r300 to this extent: It has, indeed, been harder to continue "suspending disbelief" with The Americans in the past two seasons -- a requirement for any good TV series or film. The series succeeded most seasons because they introduced new potential plot developments that kept you intrigued and less likely to start doubting the writers know where they were going with the story: an example is the Kimmy girl story where Phillip connects with her in order to plant a device in her CIA dad's house! The potential there was brilliant but they just left so much of that "dangling" and now it's clear they didn't know what to do with that plot development and it didn't take the series in a new direction . Just fizzled out. Well, I've loved the series anyway and can't wait to see how it ends. There wasn't a bad performance in it -- leads and every supporting character beautifully acted. JUST STOP with scenes in which long pauses are taken before someone says something, long pause before the other character responds to what they said and on and on.

r313 The writers of the show are the ones envisioning it more than anybody here.

I agree, those of you who keep envisioning a sexual tension between Stan and Henry are twisted. This truly is why they hate us.

I also thought the last episode was pretty farfetched, particularly the scene between mother and daughter. I don't really buy that Grace, after given permission to walk away, and after she hears about the deaths and listening to Stan at Thanksgiving , wouldn't think, "get me out of here!" But I have to say the Stan/Phillip scene near the beginning was brilliant.

Who the fuck is Grace?

I think (s)he means Paige.

[quote] The potential there was brilliant but they just left so much of that "dangling" and now it's clear they didn't know what to do with that plot development and it didn't take the series in a new direction . Just fizzled out.

I’m not sure what new direction you expected from Kimmy. I don’t think they left her plot dangling. Phillip toyed with using her as a pawn, but ultimately decided not to risk her life. A nice illustration of his moral evolution. His warning to avoid anyone who wants to take her to a communist country may still have consequences if she tells her father.

The show jumped ahead 3 years which justifies Stan wising up to his neighbors. Maybe his sudden suspicion of Elizabeth and Phillip is justified by unseen plot points during the past 3 years which may be revealed to us soon.

that would be hilarious end to the show if stan trades the jenning family for martha.

Again, Martha was aiding and abetting the Russians, however unwittingly. They wouldn't want her back.

Phillip and Elizabeth are a much bigger get, why would they let them go in exchange for crappy Martha? Especially since her only value at this point is whatever information she might have had which could have aided in busting the illegal's operation. Once they have P & E, Martha is kind of moot.

Umm the Feds also want to know how much Martha revealed about US agents since she was a lifer at the FBI, who were the Russian agents that she met, what tradecraft was used to lure her in to their side...very very useful stuff. They would like Martha AND someone else I figure. Yes R325 that would be hilarious - except for Martha who languish in Super Max.

I agree with R323.

The Russians are not going to turn over one of their agents to the Americans. Spy trades are to get your people out, not to turn them in.

LOL Martha was a veteran of the FBI before she was compromised by Phillip. She was an American that was VERY VALUABLE to Russia which is WHY they wanted her collaboration.

She is extremely valuable to the FBI to find out what the Russians know, etc. Oh for Christ sake clueless... lol

Whatever Martha knows about the operation, she learned through her association with Phillip. If they have Phillip, HE knows what she knows...

The issue is not whether the FBI would want Martha. Of course they would. The issue is that the Soviets would not be willing to turn in one of their own agents.

She was debriefed upon entry to the USSR, he wanted specific items.... Jeezus guess you are getting paid by the post...

The fact that Stan revealed to Philip that he sees them coming and going in the middle of the night probably tipped off Philip that Stan suspects something more nefarious than a business failure is going on.

^no shit, Sherlock!

Thanks R335!

I hope somebody gets naked with Sam Nunn’s intern next week. He’s cute.

Well, it certainly won't be Henry. He's saving himself for......(((cue up the scolding by our resident Church Lady)))

I think the Martha ship has sailed. Don't think they'll bring her back into any of this. The scene last season between her and Langella in Russia felt like an endpoint to me. I think she's just over.

R339 though I was the one that mentioned Martha I agree. There just isnt enough time to build a story. VERY VERY tense episodes ahead.

Did the terminally ill woman actually draw Elizabeth? I cant remember....

I think she did, R340 . That could be bad. Especially with the previews for next week showing Stan and Aderholt apparently looking at and comparing all of the witness sketches of bewigged Elizabeth and Phillip from over the years.

how comes Elizabeth and Phil's wigs NEVER move or fall, even when they're running or fucking someone?? Gorilla glue?

The point about Kimmy is not about her but that Phillip has access to what her dad is saying on the recorded tapes. How likely would a Russian spy have the advantage of having a CIA man's conversations recorded! That's where the potential was for a new direction to the series. That was established two seasons ago, at least, and then pretty much dropped until they obviously felt this season they had to wrap up the Kimmy and her (never seen) dad story. As for Martha .... brief little scenes of Martha in Russia. C'mon, any fan of the series would have thought that there was potential there to really create tense story lines. She was flown to Russia, soon after we were told 3 years had gone by; no FBI mention of the one that got away and what she could have told them about the man she was having an affair with (Phillip in disguise);how would they suddenly make her a major part of the plot with so few episodes left??

[quote]how comes Elizabeth and Phil's wigs NEVER move or fall, even when they're running or fucking someone?? Gorilla glue?

Good point, especially when they showed Marilyn's wig flopping off of her head after she got killed.

Yes, the scene where he's fucking Kimmy made me wonder. Doesn't sex often include running your hand through your partner's hair?

Agreed. The “having sex in wigs” moments never rang true. Nor did Martha’s not knowing that her husband always wore one.

Speaking of sex, I always figured at some point that we might see Phillip having sex with a man at least once. (Elizabeth had sex with a woman once, IIRC, in the first or second season.) These people worked as spies in the U.S. for years, willing to become sexual or violent with anyone necessary, and it's just not plausible that every guy they would've had to fuck for info was straight. At some point Phillip's cock-sucking abilities would've been the only weapon needed to get the job done. (The episode with the gay character played by Lee Tergesen was such a missed opportunity.)

They did show Phillip having sex with a gross, fat old guy. It was a flashback to their early days in spy school training.

Hmm not sure if I saw the “Elizabeth has sex with a woman” episode. Were they in a hotel or something? I would love to revisit if someone could Provide a specific episode!

Thanks, r348. I was pretty sure I remembered such a scene.

There aren't any scenes of Elizabeth having sex with a woman. There is, however, a scene where she and another woman are having sex with their mark. Then Phil and another Illegal bust in the room and pretend to be airline cops or something to scare the shit out of the guy. It was the episode where we're first introduced to the other Illegals couple who started out with Phil & Liz and they get murdered later by their own kid (the first attempt at Second Gen illegals by the Rezidentura).

Fun times and jazz hands

[quote] Nor did Martha’s not knowing that her husband always wore one.

Martha always knew Clark wore a wig. She said so. She thought it was vanity because he was bald. She didn't think it was because a spy.

R351, thank you for that clarification.

I had completely forgotten about Elizabeth's threesome and Phil with the old russian guy. Thanks.

So I guess we won't be seeing a "Liz Goes Lez" episode.

Unless she gets thrown in the pokey and has to work her magic on some bull dyke prison matron.

Martha, Martha, Martha...

It will be very suspicious for Paige to be applying for a government internship while Stan is focusing on her family. Probably they will give her the position, then observe her.

She will ask Stan for a referral.

I somehow think Paige won't get that far . . .

I thought the most recent ep was one of the best in the whole series.

I know several people who have been binging the series from season one on Netflix or wherever, and suddenly huge fans. Some of us, including lots of DLers, have been along for the whole ride.

R360 may be on to something. If Paige gets hurt or worse, I could see Phillip turning on Elizabeth, and going into witness protection or becoming a double-agent or whatever, out of pain and anger and to protect Henry.

But that's a lot to expect in the remaining few episodes.

I'd love to see all the wigs on a table in some FBI office at some point.

I don’t think they have witness protection for Soviet spies.

I hope Paige dies. I really hate her. She’s such an idiot.

Maybe Phillip will have to choose between killing Stan and getting caught.

Philip's brother (remember him? the writers sure don't) shows up unannounced having been followed by the FBI, thus giving them all away.

Oh, it was Philip's son, wasn't it. Oops.

I think Rene kills Stan. Phillip is going to piece Stans remarks together. Remember how Stan agonized over Nina with the Russian agent, Stan is too vulnerable and revealing to survive this season.

As long as Stan and Henry end the series together I think most of us will be happy.

R368, exactly.

At this point, Rene being any kind of agent would disappoint me. Only three eps left. And if she were a Soviet spy, why wouldn’t P&E know?

Rene works for Mossad.

Renée is a stealth Amway distributor.

[quote]I don’t think they have witness protection for Soviet spies.

In Homeland they depicted exactly that; they were hiding a former Russian operative that they were using as an asset.

R373 is exactly correct - they do have witness protection. That was the couple that Elizabeth murdered a few weeks ago.

Not all Russian agents should or do know each other. It is my suspicion that when the handler learned Stan was a Fed living across the street they tried to find a backup for Phillip & Elizabeth. It is clear that in the series P&E are 2 of the most productive useful agents in TeeVee land. I hope this is their backup. I how both of them reacted with knowing looks to each other when they heard about her moving in. Stan is no catch.

Those were defectors, not captured spies. In P&E’s case, in the unlikely event they could be turned, they would be most valuable to the Americans staying exactly where they are, but as double agents secretly working for the Americans. Then the US could feed Moscow disinformation and know of Soviet intelligence missions in advance. They could simultaneously give them insights into how to capture other illegals.

Maybe they’d turn to save Paige.

R340 Elizabeth was sketched in the very first scene of the 1st episode this season. Elizabeth is sleeping in a chair! She still doesn't know that she was sketched! She would have destroyed/stolen the sketch if the artist didn't 'give' it to her. Because Elizabeth can't allow the sketch to exist. But it does. I think if Elizabeth had to resort to stealing it and had destroyed and there was a scene - Elizabeth would have had to quit the job. Or before any scene could happen she would have killed the artist in such a way to make it look like the artist's body gave out...The artist is such a fighter and in excruciating pain, we see how close she is to her husband. Committing suicide would raise a red flag with the husband. And,now, many episodes later Elizabeth has already mentioned to the husband that she could help him with an assisted death of his wife, if he wanted (just before the World Series get together outing). So is Elizabeth going to find out about the sketch or is the FBI going to spot the sketch - in a search or by chance if the artist shows her work or a posthumous display (say the artist dies of natural causes)?

Remember the big fuss about taking a container of food to Philip. The Russian meal cooked at Claudia's. And how it had to go down the garbage disposal instead of stored as a leftover in the fridge. Very careful about the tiniest detail. The scene also revealed a symbolic disconnect. Philip has consumed Chinese takeout and he's full - although he does savor a bite. Elizabeth let her guard down by literally falling asleep on the job. She's burning the candle at both ends and has also woefully misjudged the artist. The artist has a tenacity and drive for living and making art. Elizabeth's tenacity and drive revolves around death and dismantling. She is starting to notice the artist as the season progresses. The artist's verbal pinpricks are landing in Elizabeth. She has been regarding the artist as a bourgeois dilettante and a wasting product of the society that enrages and sickens her. For a moment last week it looked like Elizabeth was jolted (her eyes flickered) by the artist's exhortation about seeing/looking. Is there another way for Elizabeth? Maybe she will realize she has another way. The end won't be happy. I don't mean she will necessarily renounce the USSR but maybe she will awaken from her Soviet sleep and save her family.

Damn good analysis, R376 R377 ! All of those things seem plausible. I can't wait for these last three episodes.

r375, I think Elizabeth would chose the cause over Paige.

I know I fucking would.

I will be heartbroken if Stan dies. And the idea that his best friend and his wife are both enemy agents would be beyond the pale. Nobody would be that much of a doofus.

I thought the Russian guy who they were going to relocate looked distractingly like Stan.

Renee is definitely going to be part of the end story.

Same R380. And not only finding out that his BFF is a Russian spy but also murdered his partner.

Don’t you think if Renee were going to be some kind of agent they would have laid more groundwork?. If it’s Deus ex Machina in the final eps, that would be cheap.

It would be very "artsy" for the writers to never show or discuss Renée again: because she was just that, a middle aged woman who's the GF of Stan. That's the type of cunty move Matt Weiner would do, so maybe the writers are fans of his "art".

I just missed mid meeting with Margo telling Eliz they “were protecting her”.... would anyone fill me in how the episode concluded please?

R386, it basically ended with Elizabeth finally coming to the conclusion that the Centre is full of shit and has been lying to them about what their real goals are. She now wants Phillip to set up a meeting with Oleg Burov so she can fill him in on what she knows about their plans to eliminate Gorbachev.

The only person who can kill elizabeth is Philip, right? This is what we all been seeing in the show. She is good and stealth.

Phillip more likely to kill Elizabeth, don't you think? If they think they can bring off Elizabeth suddenly coming to her senses about the Center in Moscow at this point -- uh, uh... no one is going to buy it. And the daughter --- she's just fading in to the background after all that build up for the last two seasons. I can't shake the feeling Claudia (Margo Martindale) is going to do something totally unexpected at the last minute and shock fans of the show.

How does Elizabeth keep her wig on during sex with all these guys? It’s beyond ridiculous at this point.

Glad that Paige hasn’t been featured in the past couple episodes. She’s just too young and immature for the part as written, and she works my nerves as an entitled, annoying brat.

Is Phillip going to return to Stavros (his former employee) and kill him?

I’ve been waiting so long to see Renee as a Soviet agent that with 2 episodes left, I’m thinking she HAS to be a red herring.

R386 here... whew watched the next airing. Stan Stan Stan, I do not want you to be the hero here. The Roy Rogers guy closed the deal “Beautiful hair like that shampoo commercial. Yeah she’s oped like a chimney. Stan is 100% on them, even watching her pull in to the driveway late at night.

Now we know where the next episode comes from “Jennings, Elizabeth.” I bet he offers Phillip a deal for him and his kids if he gives her up. But what is with that suit Phillip bought? A “turn myself in to the Feds and this is my Trial Suit?” IF Rene is an agent she knew Stan was watching the house. 50-50.

I wondered the same thing, will Phillip kill Stavros and Eliz return to kill the kid?

This show is so extraordinarily excellent. The tension is over the top, marital discord, self conflict, she loves him is disappointed thinks he betrayed her - then realizes he is right!

In the below link a reviewer remarks that she watched “Handmaids Tale” before this episode! Honey, I have sworn OFF the ofRed bit after 2 weeks ago. Trump takes all there is every single day “those immigrants are nothing but animals.” Just a taste of his sucking sound on the Ethics of civility in our daily lives...one would not emerge whole watching those 2 back to back.

Thank you Philip Reyes and Kerri Russell. This has been a HELLA GREAT TIMELY PRODUCTION. And I loved that not for one minute did it actually every look like DC - it sure was Brooklyn all the way babe!

I’m still a little fuzzy about Elizabeth’s sudden disenchantment. Is she actually for Soviet nuclear disarmament? Isn’t she anti-Gorbachev. I guess the overriding point is that she’s pissed the Centre is fucking with the Party and she’s a Party gal all the way.

I’d still love Young Hee to show up next week and bang Elizabeth’s head up against the wall a few times.

I think listening to audio chilled her. That and Phillips self awareness. She may be a killing machine but she is suddenly seeing her handler as the Old school Goat she really is.

I don't think Renee being a Soviet agent is out of nowhere. They have been setting this up for two seasons.

I think E is just exhausted at having to bear the pressure by herself. Plus the number of recent murders she's had to do, some of them beyond grisly, have made her a raw nerve. Philip's change of heart and the news from Russia added to the erosion of her will.

I always thought Stavros might be key to turning them in, altho it's not clear exactly what he knew was going on.

Maybe Renee will never be exposed, but we'll see her just quietly slip into her FBI position as a spy. As in . . . the beat goes on.

There is another scenario. Claudia may have the Russains try to silence Phillip and Elizabeth. Renee could be the spoiler there too.

Oh shit are you saying Renee could kill Phillip & Elizabeth??

If she’s Mossad, yeah, I can see it.

I wish Elizabeth had just one scene with Oleg. I bet their chemistry would have been great. And I’d love to have seen a flashback where Philip and/or Elizabeth crossed paths with Nina.

Claudia might well be terminated if her Summit mission fails. Stan, Elizabeth and Paige, too, are living on borrowed time.

I'm imagining a "Bridge of Spies" scenario wherein Oleg remains in the U.S. and his wife and child are exchanged for Philip, with the latter's fate uncertain. I'd like to think Philip, Misha and Martha will be reunited.

Stan's widow Renee is revealed to be the new Claudia and she adopts the brilliant asset Henry who had been turned long ago by Gabrielle and has been hiding in plain sight.

It's hilarious that "Dollar Bill" is going to "drop a dime" on Philip and Elizabeth.

I like your ideas, gussy wussy.

I still think there will be a time jump in the last few scenes ot the finale and Philip will avoid the death sentence when Kimmy and her powerful father testify on his behalf.

I think Paige’s fear of being “alone” rather than dying was foreshadowing. She’ll probably be alone in a prison cell by the end of the finale. I doubt even Henry would visit her.

I do want Elizabeth to live long enough to see the collapse of the Soviet Union before she is executed.

R401 - when Elizabeth is executed by whom/which country?

Remember, among the numerous Chekov's guns are the two cyanide tablets still at play. With so many dangling threads, we deserve a two-hour series finale.

Any ideas on Oleg's parents' fates? Mother already had a stint in a labor camp; what will she do in order to save her sole remaining son?

Forget a two-hour wrap-up, we need a sequel!

Once upon a time, E. would have killed that intern without thinking twice. This time...? She's gone soft. She needs to flip, because she's no good to the U.S.S.R. anymore.

The preview showed Stan phoning and asking the Pastor about the Jennings.

what a fantastic episode, and full of shocking turns! Elizabeth killing the painter was terrible to watch and i think that was the final straw for her. And yet, the "now i'm team Gorbachev" evolution felt a bit rushed. She's suddenly all for a nuclear truce between USA and URSS? She changed her mind just because she believed the good speech from the russian emissary?

And Stavos knew all along?? wow!

[quote]And Stavos knew all along??

The question is, though, exactly what does he think he knows? It could be something as tame as he believes they're running a backroom bookie joint, but his veiled implication could possibly get him killed for essentially nothing.

R404 the previews didnt air on the 2nd FX airing, but I was watching it on the FX app. The Pastor, of course.

I wish they wouldn't have teased Pastor Tim. Now I won't be surprised.

Jackson the twink should have been nekkid.

Stavos things they were making porn in the back room.

The pacing is off.

You could accept the Pastor didn't do anything to hurt Paige's family and cause alot of pain and humiliation for Paige back then but he must have known for some time Paige had abandoned the church (since finding out about her parents) . Quite a bit of time has passed so why would he talk about it now or participate in any way in their being caught?

Because he would be breaching a parishioner’s confidence.

I don’t think E has changed her mind about Gorbachev. I don’t recall exactly what she was told in Mexico, but I don’t think it was “the center is part of a coup against the party.”

Maybe he’s not a pastor anymore so free to blab?

I think the Center knows its days are numbered and is sending the illegals out on suicide missions as a way to tie up loose ends.

Stan is calling the pastor to ask his advice about running away with Henry, and if the pastor will marry them when they do.

That’s not how it works, r414.

[quote]I think the Center knows its days are numbered and is sending the illegals out on suicide missions as a way to tie up loose ends.

Guess they didn’t see Putin coming.

Am I missing something? I thought Stan and Aderholt were going to question the Russian priest that had married Liz and Phil.

r419 Yes, and now Phil has to go meet him (that happened at the very end of this week's ep.)

Just rewatched the first season, 3 episodes. Says Elizabeth to Phillip “ I saw something, I had that moment. I saw you, Paige and Henry....” Her face is still, she saw thier future without her. I wonder if they knew this is how they would end it?

I doubt it, R421.

R422 Unless you work for the show you have no more insight than I do.

In Many of the early episodes it is pointedly state that Phillip is considered the better parent - “you are the on what ekids want.” Just going by the convos and content.

*”you are the one that the kids want, Phillip”

R421/R423, I was merely pointing out the probability that the writers had no idea how they intended to end the show during the first season as they had no idea how many seasons it would run. I’m only using common sense.

I think R425 the showrunners had the entire series mapped out from the beginning.

No, R426, they didn’t. They’ve admitted as such in several interviews.

OMG, Henry is presenting his hole?

Poor Oleg!

[quote] during the first season as they had no idea how many seasons it would run. I’m only using common sense

The chief of FX loved the show and green lit 5 seasons. They threw an extra season in last year to make it six. But they knew they had at least 5 years.

TATIANA! Heh heh. Die, bitch, die.

They actually said they had a fairly good idea how they wanted it to end. However they no idea what the inbetween would be. SInce one is a former CIA agent possibly they simply meant it would end with the fall of the USSR and spies displaced. I just hope they get away. They are stopping for Paige, prob too late for Henry, Stan would have him staked out. NH is a long drive from DC. 9hrs easy.

Paige shocked me with both the haircut and calling her Mother that word. The disparity in the lifestyles between Mother and child are virtually Hemispheric, not a gulf.

A car chase, its going to end in a car chase. Damn.

did anyone else think it a bit ridiculous that Elizabeth would even return to Claudia's apt. to tell her anything after already telling her last week's episode she didn't kill who she was told to kill and pretty much told Claudia she was through with being loyal to the Center. Claudia calmly acts like nothing happened the last time they met when Elizabeth suddenly arrives tonight's episode. I would think Claudia would have a gun ready in case it was needed--hell, I would have thought Claudia would have already cleared out of town.

Elizabeth picked the ugliest painting in the room. I would have gone with the little landscape of trees.

I can't believe it's almost over.

I have found this season completely unbelievable. The swift character changes have been completely inorganic and unbelievable. We were never given a plausible reason for Stan to start suspecting them again. Having to work on Thanksgiving isn't a plausible reason to suspect someone is a spy. There's no way in hell Elizabeth would turn her back on the Center ever, for any reason, but definitely not because she suddenly out of nowhere changes her mind and thinks Gorbachov is a good guy just out of the blue and definitely not guilt over tricking someone vulnerable to her charms and definitely not because 'the guy on the tape sounds like a nice guy'. She's also not dumb or suicidal enough to have shot that woman on a busy public street in broad daylight. Stan 2.0 and Liz 2.0 have ruined this season.

They had all of last year to sow seeds of doubt in Elizabeth's mind about the mission and to give Stan shit to start getting suspicious about and they blew it.

I thought the scene between Elizabeth and Paige was the strongest of the season, even if it was based on the completely ludicrous idea that the Sam Nunn aide was at a party where Paige was and blabbed about an older woman ruining his life and Paige just knew he meant her mom. Who came up with these plot points? Thirteen-year olds?

May I also point out that the entire Pastor Tim phone call was a complete snooze. I think they meant it to be tense, but it was a waste of screen time. They could have made Stan a better questioner, prying out small admissions to feed his suspicions. Tim could have been cagier, probing for opportunity to take advantage of the knowledge he has. He would have had to had sleepless nights worrying about what he'd done in abetting espionage. It's just as if someone said in a writer's meeting, "hey we could have Stan call Pastor Tim" and everyone said "Yeah!" and then did nothing with the idea.

They're going to end the finale with a car chase?

I wish it would have ended where Philip turns on Elizabeth. Having her change positions so quickly was a bit of a surprise and not convincing. I preferred as the hardened villain .

From someone I know who worked on the crew there won’t be a car chase. A commuter train, however, will be part of the action. And that’s all he told me.

r436. Yeah, I agree . I thought it was really a stretch that Paige found out about the Sam Nunn aide that way and somehow figured out it was Mom who had sex with him. I also thought the Pastor scene was a "tease" that didn't really go anywhere. All last season I kept thinking the Pastor was going to be brought back and be a key to how things ended but I think they didn't know what to really do with that. Maybe it was just tossed in there this season to confuse and distract.

This doesnt have to be such a swift change for Elizabeth. Look how long she held onto that grudge for Martindales character. She had a LONG time to think about that betrayal by a someone equally ruthless & dedicated. How could she ever doubt that would occur again? Two years later her handler is still trying to apologize - If the handler knew she did something horrific - Eliz wasnt forgiving - that was the beginning of the turn in Eliz character.

Also, the way she was about Henry, sentimental, sad, then wanting to make sure that Paige was tucked away in a career office job - SAFE, spyin - not street assassin stuff. She was trying to plan her kids future away from the betrayal and ruthless violence. She was softening. She decided she loved Phillip as much as her country - she saw that as he considered and weighed her CHOICES and concerns - she wanted to do the same for him.

For Love, she decided Philip was right.

r441, Which is all great as something for The Mousekteer to draw from in her performance, but wasn't executed well in the actual text. Did they lose writers between season 3 and now?

I think the Pastor was trying to tell Stan something when he said "Paige is such a nice girl. Her parents, well..." (not verbatim, but in a nutshell that was it). I really hope Paige dies: her righteousness is nauseating. She's a young woman and a fucking spy but she's upset about using sex for the job? And daring to insult Elizabeth? Fuck off, you brat!

I think Pastor Tim believed the call was a Russian Spy trick to check and make sure he was still going to keep his trap shut.

Paige has always been awful. She should have been killed off in Season One.

It has been a great ride for years.

Link back to the original, multi-season thread. It turned out not to be "right-wing crap" after all.

Interesting angle, R444. If that's the case, he's smarter than he seemed.

Good theory, R444. Very good theory.

I actually think Paige should have been recast after Season 3, sent away to boarding school and back at the end of Season 4 with an actress capable of handling the storylines. I know, I know, it’s a soap opera trope but I feel another actress as Paige would have made a big difference.

Henry is going to turn to gay porn, I just know it.

Job Qualifications:

1. Hockey

2. Parents were Russian spies

[quote]I thought the scene between Elizabeth and Paige was the strongest of the season, even if it was based on the completely ludicrous idea that the Sam Nunn aide was at a party where Paige was and blabbed about an older woman ruining his life and Paige just knew he meant her mom.

That's not what happened. Paige said that her boyfriend was at a party where Jackson got really drunk and started going on about the older woman. Paige wasn't even there. The boyfriend and Jackson are both Congressional interns, so it's not implausible that they'd be at the same party.

We should have seen Jackson’s ass.

Jackson is into film noir. He would have been stoked by the idea that he was an asset and got sweet cougar sex on top on top of all the intrigue. I don't buy any of their characterizations of anybody this year.

Stan had other clues about the Jennings besides Thanksgiving. There had been nagging doubts all along. That was just one of the clinchers.

I'm surprised the Russians didn't off Pastor Tim years ago. It would have been so easy in his new home. Besides, he has a comfy new job working for Axe Capital. :)

Yes there are plot holes, but I wouldn't miss the finale for anything.

r453, give some examples of Stan being suspicious after the first 3 or 4 episodes and until this season.

They were unspoken, r454.

r455 lol, okay, so, in other words, there were no moments of him being suspicious of The Jennings (after the first couple of episodes and roughly a decade of knowing one another) and, thus, a foundation of suspicion wasn't developed at all. Stan, suddenly, for no discernible reason, began to suspect his best friend of the last ten years and said best friend's wife of being Russian spies all because his best friend's wife had to work on Thanksgiving. Sure, that sounds plausible, if we live in a world with no narrative coherence or emotional logic or character development.

Oh my my my.....if Paige refuses to flee, Elizabeth will have no choice but to shoot her dead.

Paige will sing like a canary if she's taken in....the little bitch.

R450, Jackson was a Congresssional intern but the boyfriend wasn’t, he worked for the State Department. Still, it’s not implausible for them to be at the same DC party for young whippersnappers.

I really wanted Elizabeth, forehead vein throbbing and undulating, to hiss at Paige-“Listen, you little bitch, at least I LET HIM LIVE!”

Maybe Eliz. and Pee-Pee-Face Paige will get into elaborate hand-to-hand combat when the chips are down...like back when they were practicing in the garage.

[quote]Oh my my my.....if Paige refuses to flee, Elizabeth will have no choice but to shoot her dead. Paige will sing like a canary if she's taken in....the little bitch.

Come sit by me.

The actor who plays Pastor Tim is the son of a former Democratic Congressman from Oregon.

OP almost got his wish for a Stan-Oleg bromance in that scene in the cell.

i think they will be both killed by the Center: you don't talk like that to Claudia and get out alive.

Elizabeth won't mind taking a bullet. She's warming up a bit, but is basically dead inside.

Please could someone tell me exactly what Pastor Tim actually knows? I got into the show late and haven't watched all the episodes with him in yet, I've only seen scenes where P&E develop photos of his journal pages in front of Paige, where he writes that they have psychologically damaged her.

He knows they’re Soviet spies. I don’t know if he knows they’re actually Russian.

still nothing about Renee. Told ya it was a red herring

I can see her being revealed as not who we thought she was in a montage during the last ten minutes. I think they’ll still go there.

I'd be very surprised if Renee doesn't have a part in the finale. I could also see Elizabeth sacrificing herself so her family could get away.

Pastor Tim was convinced by P&E that their work was primarily social and charitable on behalf of the poor and downtrodden. He swallowed it whole.

Renee and Stan will break up and she will change her name and move to Atlanta with her younger sister Amy, just in time for......

Pastor Tim knows they're Russian. And knows they're spies. And knows they kill people. He knows enough to know he should be afraid.

There's a hell of a lot to pack into the final episode. I'm concerned it'll be a mess.

R474, what are the chances they'll suddenly do an amazing final episode after 2.5 seasons of dreck?

R474, at least the series finale seems to be 90 minutes long and maybe there will be limited commercial interruptions.

R475 One pissed off Troll from the IRU.

I hope Putin has a cameo. I think he was in the KGB in East Germany at the time.

He was either there or in London ensconced with other KGB folk in Kensington Gardens. A friend pointed it out to me in my last visit there and said Putin resided there for at least a year sometime in the late 1980s.

Yeah, I was thinking about Putin and how The Center never really got toppled and how the KGB (and it's renamed iterations) has been firmly in control of Russia this entire time.

When the actual fall of Soviet Union occurred Putin was exactly where he should have been - in a basement. He should have died there too. He was busy shoving files of “the disappeared” from the KGB office into the boiler for 3 days. The short, little dick, 2 bit thug eventually blew up the boiler from the monster fire. He should have died in there. That is where that tiny piss ant was when the collapse came.

Well, they're probably not going to get that far -- it's still 1987 in "The Americans"-verse.

Pastor Tim also seems pretty happy. He fancied himself a “Citizen of the World” so was quite glad to escape Va. Also as an American he would have considerable clout in a 3rd world country - i imagine he is flattered regularly by the KGB and is quite friendly with them. That is my take on the fictional world of Tim.

As I said above there is no need to explain Pastor Tim’s behavior. He learned about them through counseling a parishioner. He has an ethical obligation to maintain her confidences. A clever lawyer could point out loopholes if he wanted to talk, but I don’t think he wants to after a lifetime of keeping secrets for his parishioners.

[quote]Also as an American he would have considerable clout in a 3rd world country...

R483, Argentina wasn't a third-world country in the 80s, particularly Buenos Ares. It was as cosmopolitan as New York. Still is, mostly.

We should have a poll on who's least likely to survive the final episode. Maybe they'll all die and we'll just see the mail robot going up and down the corridors of the FBI, happily beeping.

[quote]R484 As I said above there is no need to explain Pastor Tim’s behavior. He learned about them through counseling a parishioner.

Also, if I had time to think about it, I'd say I'm not having discussons with callers from out of the blue who just CLAIM to be with the FBI.

(Tho, that approach might rouse even more suspicion.)

Pastor Tim knew Stan. They met at the Jennings' house.

I don’t think Pastor Tim is keeping his mouth shut because of ethics. It’s out of fear. He knows what could happen to him if he talks.

The Center arranged for his cushy job in the first place. You don’t bite the hand that fed you, especially if it’s a Soviet one.

r484 = moron

Please ... stop saying a pastor is obligated to keep a parishioner's revelation confidential. That's the Catholic world and the confessional system. New Testament Christian preachers, elders, pastors may make that choice but it depends whether what is confessed could be dangerous to others or is thoroughly immoral or damaging in any way to the country and society they live in. A pastor who learns that there are communist spies in their midst would not let it go and would not fear for their life if they went to authorities. Now get real, folks.

r492, what planet are you visiting from? Of course, *anyone* who has been threatened by a spy would be afraid the spy would kill them.

Pastor Tim spoke about his obligation to keep their conversations confidential with Paige at the time and assured her he would not talk. He didn’t talk, except to his wife whom he considers a co-Pastor. Now you can conclude he was lying to her, didn’t call the FBI on the Jennings because it slipped his mind, and now, reminded about the FBI, is remaining silent out of fear. Or you can simply conclude he was honest with Paige when he said he considers their discussions confidential.

He does not know the Center arranged his job.

.....

Since Pastor Tim is not in the US, why would he feel any obligation to speak to the FBI?

Is the last episode only an hour? I would hope it would be longer since it's the series finale.

R497 It's 90 minutes, so figure a little over an hour of actual material.

Noteworthy is that the Evangelical Scammer/Whore Pastor Franklin Graham is not shy about admitting he is FILTHY with Russian Rubles - no secret with him!

I keep thinking about a comment made by a producer? “It will be a real jaw dropper. I never saw THAT coming!” Discuss....

Stan lets them escape? Renee appears and takes, Stan, Phillip, or Elizabeth out? Paige shoots Stan?

R499 Where did you hear/read that?

Somewhere in the several articles posted after Weds show: Vox, Vulture, NYT, can’t say exactly.

R494, are you kidding? Of course he does. Jesus, you’re as naive as Paige.

I’m afraid to read the whole thread because DL has in the past destroyed Game of Thrones for me with scene-by-scene spoilers discussed as if the person was speculating. Is it safe to read?

I read a few comments about Elizabeth nonsensically turning on the center. I am pretty sure the whole story arc with the dying artist was supposed to come across as Elizabeth being forced by the woman into recognizing the repressed humanity inside of her. Art is used as a trope for this sort of thing all the time, as it was in Westworld with the Dolores character. It worked better in Westworld. I recognized the conceit as it was playing out but although I liked E’s relationship with the artist, I didn’t buy the metamorphosis.

And as with Game of Thrones, I guess wrapping up the series requires being more efficient and less believable with plot. There’s no way a fiction could satisfactorily get away with an FBI agent who lives next door to spies being oblivious through the bitter end, but also no way that an FBI agent who realizes his next door neighbors/best friends are Russian spies would delay acting and engage in the cat-and-mouse game that fulfilling the season would require.

We learn in fiction writing classes that you don’t introduce a gun to a story unless that gun is fired before the story ends. So my greatest question is whether the writers are willing to violate that convention when it comes to the cyanide capsule Elizabeth is wearing. I’m invested with these characters, but I feel like a Hamlet-style ending would suit the overall story. I’m excited wondering how it’ll wrap up. The show has evaded my expectations countless times throughout. (Is Martha still safe in Russia?!)

[quote] I hope Martha comes crashing through a window on a vine at the penultimate moment, machine gun blazing.

What year is it on the show? Shouldn’t Paige be dressed like Madonna?

I'm not sure that would go down so well at her internship.

Touche, R506, but at least one of Elizabeth’s personas should have resembled this. If she really wanted to fit in as an American.

Gorbachev’s ascendency was propelled by the will of the Russian people. Elizabeth could not be blind to that since she was such a party girl. As stated previously I think that Claudia’s insanely blind loyalty juxtaposed to Phillips genuine crisis also helped push her away from KGB. Martha became the mother of a dissidents child, she is happy as a clam now. Oh no, not the cyanide pill...

Yep, R508. The cyanide pill.

r505 It's the fall of 1987.

Fall 1987

"Gorbachev’s ascendency was propelled by the will of the Russian people"

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

Oh Wait. You're serious? Let me laugh even harde

It’s Christmastime 1987, actually. Look for a Santa guy in the finale. Maybe that’s Philip’s final disguise?

R512 Really? Like Rega, Latvia? Lithuania? Esotonia? Just a few of the breakaway states that more or less broke away based on the push for Democracy. And yes Gorbachev did facilitate a peaceful transition to a more or less open society. Before Vlad reinstated a police state. Your employer.

^^^ He didn't facilitate shit. The old farts were dying like flies in the early eighties, and he climbed through party ranks and became the secretary general. Fast forward a few years, the coup happens. After that everything fell apart.

P.S. Member drunk ass Yeltsin? That was fun

Old drunk Yeltsin came very close to starting a nuclear confrontation with the US several times. It’s a miracle we all survived him.

R517 YES! I admire the show’s restraint in keeping the clownish 80s fashions mostly off camera, but they avoided it completely. Surely someone in that neighborhood would have been walking around like Boy George or Cyndi Lauper or Bon Jovi.

^this a SERIOUS show, so the did everything to avoid the flashier, more ridiculous 80s side. The only concession is the mail robot.

R519 I recently read a review by someone who rewatched the series from the beginning, and she said that the show evolved into something different than the way it was initially presented. She said that the early episodes were even funny at times, which is kind of hard to imagine. I do think the show could have withstood a few little humorous scenes here and there a la The Sopranos.

I actually love the "dead serious" atmosphere. I find it refreshing in these times where everything must be cool and ironic.

R520 there was humor... when Phillip says “Jesus saved me tonight.” He proceeds to tell Eliz that he rebuffed the 15yr old Kimmy’s advances by siting a new found belief in the Lord. Eliz is leaning out the window smoking and the 2 of them are very funny.

Cant help but think the presence of Phillip across the street cast a pall over the characters life.

*citing

I want to watch the pilot just before the series finale.

[quote]R521 I actually love the "dead serious" atmosphere. I find it refreshing in these times where everything must be cool and ironic.

So, you're saying you don't want to see Paige pulling off elaborate combat in the finale dressed as Cindi Lauper ? ? ?

I want to see Paige taking that cyanide pill. And I think she will.

I want to see Stan and Philip singing along to Karma Chameleon in full Boy George costume.

Maybe Elizabeth can make her great escape back to Russia disguised as Ivana?

Paige shouldn’t know about the pill. Only Elizabeth knew, and she told Phillip and no one else. He doesn’t talk to Paige much. But I could imagine Elizabeth giving the pill to Paige to keep Paige from confessing secrets if Elizabeth gets arrested. She is the worst mother this side of Mommie Dearest, after all.

[quote]Paige shouldn’t know about the pill.

Paige IS a pill.

LOL, R530.

Rewatched Wednesday’s episode and Tatiana was NOT dead going by the last shot we see of her. So maybe she’ll spill major tea on P & E? Or seal Oleg’s fate? Treacherous cunt.

Claudia would make a great dominatrix.

I just turned on the pilot episode. It’s free on Amazon Video. Felicity and Matthew Rhys both look so young! Only 10 minutes in and the direction and the music are both very different in tone. Something about the camera work feels “80s,” and so I guess they must have done that as a parody of the era. The soundtrack is kind of playful even in the action scene...very upbeat with some Russian flavor. Elizabeth did say, “No, the mission comes first!” so that’s one thing that never changed. Paige is shorter with the exact same face.

By the end of the first episode, Stan was suspicious enough of his neighbors’ peculiarities that he broke into their garage and looked in the trunk of their car...and Phillip watched him in the shadows. So for me that actually lends some credence to Stan’s “sudden” suspicion of Elizabeth and his focus on their abandonment of their son on Thanksgiving. If I were an FBI agent who had once been inclined to break into a neighbor’s house to find out if they are criminals, then I probably would never fully get over wondering what they are up to.

It wouldn't have taken him years to do anything about it again if he'd never got over it.

Watch more, when his colleague Rebukes Stan for suspecting Elizabeth. During the Martha escapades Stan was rebuked for suspecting Martha and Phillip successfully threw him off there also. Stan has been shot down so many times already. Kind of nice to see actually a conservative white guy NOT having his perceptions validated.

I remember he showed sketches of Philip and Elizabeth to Jared (the kid who killed his family). That was in Season 2, right? So he’s never totally dropped his suspicions.

He’s got instincts but people keep mocking him for it. The first was his wife in ep 1 who told him he is paranoid and living among the most boring people in the world. “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not after you.”

The part that’s harder to buy is that Phillip saw the FBI guy break in and look in his car trunk—so he knows Stan once suspected him—but then eventually relaxed and stopped thinking of Stan as any sort of threat. Even in the penultimate episode neither Phillip nor Elizabeth can know Stan is onto them.

It is all on the table for the final episode, I suppose.

I can actually see Elizabeth giving her life for Phillip, because she love him and knows he will try to protect their kids. She knows he is the one to protect them, and might even foresee Phillip protecting Paige if Paige wants to escape from the spying game.

Or is that too optimistic?

An entire decade has passed between Stan’s initial and only suspicions and his sudden new suspicions. During that decade, he actually became best friends with the guy of whom he’d initially been suspicious. His current suspicion was incited by the wife of his best friend missing Thanksgiving dinner for work, which is a completely irrational reaction to someone missing dinner.

I really disliked the pilot and thought it felt super hokey. I was glad the tone changed in the succeeding episodes and that I’d not given up on it based on that first bad episode. It was mis-marketed as an action thriller along the lines of that shitty Piper Perabo show.

I know they had planned on five seasons and were thrown when it turned into six, but I’d like to know how that impacted the story arc. They could have used all of last year to plant seeds of suspicion in Stan’s mind, but didn’t. Why not?

I’m not feeling the “lead character gonna die” vibe. Wishful thinking?

Call me a sicko but we never get a good, all-out Shakespeare-level tragedy these days and I want one. The Sopranos didn’t go there. After many brilliant seasons, Game of Thrones became a game of tedious forbidden love. I guess Paige is innocent, but she’s enmeshed. I feel like Elizabeth, Phillip, Stan, Paige and maybe even boarding school boy should be done when the curtain falls.

Nobody touches Henry!

SOMETHING has to happen with Stan’s wife/girlfriend who is finagling her way into the FBI.

No, R540, not an “entire decade.” Stan was first suspicious of them in spring 1981 when they moved in and we’re now at Christmastime 1987, only 6 years have passed.

The Sopranos did go there, but too subtly for some.

Did I hear Elizabeth say the safe house was in New Hampshire? The state motto is "Live Free or Die," hmmm....

Henry’s boarding school is in New Hampshire.

I hated spending Thanksgiving with my family. Always accepted hours working to avoid that nonsense.

From NYTimes “Watching” column:

“Do a shot of olive oil and then pour one out for the series finale of “The Americans,” one of the best shows of the last decade and one I will miss dearly. It’s a fabulous spy thriller and an even better domestic drama — a strange, awful love story set amid tremendous violence but also staggering idealism. This finale manages the nearly impossible: a meaningful and satisfying but still surprising conclusion to a sprawling, difficult story. If you’re using DVR, note that the episode is an hour and nine minutes long.”

The finale is 90 minutes long.

[quote] hated spending Thanksgiving with my family. Always accepted hours working to avoid that nonsense

Me too. I volunteered to work on Thanksgiving every year. It was always a pointless holiday to me. Once my grandparents moved to FL it was just my parents, my sister and her husband. I could eat with them anytime. After I met my bf/husband and saw his horrific family, I said, “Don’t worry, you can have Thanksgiving with them every year.”

Something I had totally forgotten about is that the first season featured a lot of black characters, not gratuitously—they weren’t there for onscreen diversity, but representing disenfranchised black people living in DC who worked with the spies, as well as a housekeeper and her son. What happened to that whole DC population over the seasons? I live in DC and I was really impressed when this show first came on how realistically it represented this area.

The only reference I can find to “a shot of Olive Oil” is as a hang over preventative in Russian Culture. That is a fascinating hint the NYT column drops.

R554 That’s from a recent episode. Elizabeth and Claudia taught Paige that if she drinks a shot of olive oil before going out drinking, her stomach will absorb less alcohol and she can remain more sober while informants get drunk and tell her everything.

r551 The reviewer probably got a 'screener,' which only includes the actual show --no commercials.

21 or so minutes of commercials? Could be worse, I guess.

I deeply resent anyone getting screeners of the finale. They should just be able to watch it with the rest of us. I miss those days when everyone had the same experience with one TV show at the same time.

[quote] spring 1981 when they moved in and we’re now at Christmastime 1987

Well, then, it's even weirder that they skipped two (three?) years between seasons. The pacing is completely fucked up.

There was a three-year time jump between seasons 5 and 6. I'm curious to find out if we're going to finish off in 1987, or if there'll be some kind of flash-forward to show what happens to the characters in the future (the ones who survive, anyway.)

Just rewatched the pilot. Still good but damn that music over the lengthy Timoshev chase/abduction was annoying. I was reminded that I really couldn’t stand Allison Wright for at least that first season because she was doing way too much with her facial expressions. I noticed her American accent slip a few times in her scene with Rhys. And then Rhys mispronounced “electricity” with the emphasis on the e which is something Welsh/Brits do but not Americans. Both kids were perfect. And I want to see a cameo in the finale by the lecherous pig who Philip speared in his dick and hand in his backyard.

At the end of S1 Philip and Elizabeth planned to flee with the kids up to Ottawa if their mission went south. Maybe that’s where they plan to end up in the finale.

Ottowa is filthy with retired spies.

I’m pretty excited. There are plenty of lingering questions—this is not a show that ever felt it had to tie up every loose end—but overall it has been a consistently excellent series all the way to the penultimate episode. The end will piss off a lot of people because everyone these days expects the ending they want to see. I’m personally hoping it will go out with the kind of bang that has propelled it the whole way. I don’t see these people getting away and settling into quiet lives. Although given the way the “end of the cold war” turned out to be an American-shields-down opportunity for Russia to embed itself into our politics, the series definitely should give some indication that perestroika doesn’t mean it’s over by the time it’s over.

I still want a 30-minute spinoff sitcom about Paige’s post-spy domestic life, complete with laugh track and 1980s opening theme song and smile-at-the-camera character intros.

Seems to me that Stan would tell the Feds to send a team to Henry’s school in NH immediately. Unless Phillip calls Henry and has him board a train asap. But it does look like Henry just may wind up living with Stan after all.

It is only a 6 hr drive from Manchester NH to Ottawa - up through Vermont. Thats one way to go.

There were many many clues during the past season, more than once Elizabeth stated that she should sacrifice her life for Phililp To raise the kids. Each time she cited him as the better parent. However she became very very close to Paige after visiting her own Mother. I am really going to miss this show, the “Sopranos” has nothing on “The Americans” certainly is quite a divergent path between types of Families in this country - and then there is “Dexter” and his brood.

Trying to find impeccable logic in this show is a fool's errand. The very fact that P&E ran a business, chased after spies in elaborate wigs and make-up—sometimes way out of town— raised two kids, fixed dinner most nights, and kept what seemed like an immaculate household without benefit of a cleaning lady . . . was impossible to swallow. So I give them lots of latitude when it comes to Stan and his inability to put the pieces together for six years.

Yeah you have to just accept the totally preposterous setup to enjoy this show, and I’m glad that many can. It’s a great drama that examines lots of questions, and it wouldn’t be half as good if the show tried to ground itself in total believability.

Dear Troll, it is based on fact of deep cover spies that lived in Montclair, NJ. These were the ones that were caught. Certainly there were many more.

“Based on a true story” does not mean true to life.

From the article:

“Their ultimate goal was to recruit sources who could infiltrate U.S. policy-making and financial circles. And their orders came directly from Russia, authorities said.“

That is a pretty far cry from operating a growing small business while maintaining multiple cover-story lives and frequently traveling througout the US and sometimes internationally, murdering scores of people, hacking them up and disposing of parts without anyone ever noticing. Plus all the kung fu fighting wherein a 100-pound woman regularly beats down five armed and similarly trained men. The show was *inspired* by embedded Russian spies, but it’s unabashedly as much an over-the-top James Bond action spy thriller as it is about that.

Dear Troll, Once again the KGB and now GRU have been infiltrating agents into our country since Stalin. There were 14 GRU agents granted Visas into the US specifically to disrupt our election in 2016. We do Know they stole bank accounts, used US computer systems to hack election roles and target precincts in Swing states. We also know they have planted fake news stories throughout the US. We do not know if there was violence. Neither do you.

Previously spies have a long established past of perpetrating violence against US Government and citizens. There were between 12-15 spies from the Middle East that killed over 3,000 Americans in cold blood via aircraft. As for Russia they have a long glorious past of poisoning both Russians and non Russians in foreign countries. That is what we KNOW.

So basically you have no point at all.

I so want to see the wig room somewhere in their sub-basement or in some hidden room - thousand of wigs on wigstands, just waiting for their next disguise.

I wonder if they were spent to a covert beauty school at some point, deep underground, to learn how to style their wigs?

I SEE A SPIN OFF!

i saw a headline yesterday, they said it was similiar to this show, parents are spies for russia ( i assume) and they have canadian citizenship

Yes! Call the spinoff “Wig!”

Thanks to Amazon rewatched the pilot and considerable chunks of all the seasons. Season 4 was my favorite and Season 5 was my least favorite. Biggest waste of a storyline was Misha struggling to come to America and then turned back with just a few sentences by Gabriel. And the biggest mistake was hanging so much of the plot on Paige. The actress was charming and likeable for the first three seasons but woefully inadequate for the following three.

Yes, if only Henry were the one brought in and Paige sent away.

But the idea of Henry being left behind and having to live with Stan as his ward has immense appeal.

I think the only 'obvious' thing about the finale is that Henry will have nothing to do with it as he's been so absent. I'm leaning towards the 'Henry ends up living with Stan' idea since he's spent so much time there over the years and practically lives with him already.

He might not be too fond of Stan when all is said and done.

R579 He's pretty alienated from his family and when he finds out who the three of them are and what they've been up to without him, might become even more alienated from them. Stan's his favourite father figure already.

I want a Henry spinoff.

Well, Stan could come up with the tuition for his senior year, so there’s that.

This thread is almost full, so I started another:

It's not nearly full yet, and now you're causing confusion.

[quote]I think the only 'obvious' thing about the finale is that Henry will have nothing to do with it as he's been so absent.

Henry will have to at least be addressed in the finale; they're not going to just leave us hanging. I can see them not addressing Young Hee or Martha, but they have to tell us what happens to Henry.

It ain’t over til someone posts Bajour!

Elizabeth Jennings and Stan Beeman in ... "Silk Stockings!"

I got yer Borscht Belt, buddy, RIGHT HERE!

Tonight’s the night, kiddos!

I'm getting my profound disappointment out of the way early, R589.

I want Paige to swallow that cyanide pill, dammit.

Is this Paige?

Didn't Phillip remove a locket from Marilyn's body and put it in his pocket? I assumed it was also a cyanide pill.

I recall that he did remove a cyanide capsule from her body.

Two outcomes: *They both ingest them leaving Paige and Henry alone as wards of the state.

*Phillip will surprise Eliz who doesnt know he also has a cyanide cap. Surprise is always the advantage in nearly every spy operation. He will demand or create a situation where he is holding Stan/Feds at bay so his family can escape.

Throughout the series Eliz has directly told Phillip that he is the better parent. He has repeatedly pushed backt elling her NO children need their Mother more, you stay. When Elizabeth was shot and bleeding out she reiterated he should take care of the kids. Phillip would not let Elizabeth, a woman he loves so very much, the mother of his childre die for principle. I believe there will come a moment where one stays and the other leaves with the kids. Dead witnesses tell no tales or secrets about where his family is hiding.

Really, R593? Interesting.

Yes after he chopped her up. I think that was the situation.

this has been a good show...i'm gonna miss it.

I hope there will be more spy genre on tv. I really hate the shit they are producing on TV. showtime and hbo aint that much better.

I hope Keri Russell moves on to a new project. I adore her.

Is there anyplace I can live stream this for free? Thanks.

KONETS!