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The Americans (1 Viewer)

avoiding injuries said:
Haven’t seen an episode. Should I binge watch this?
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I'd suggest giving it a shot. I've watched it as it's aired from Day One, so I don't know it would play as a binge watch (& I obviously don't know your tastes). There's not a lot of humor - it's not loopy and goofy like Breaking Bad was early on. I think the writing, acting, and directing is top-notch.

 
phandango said:
The payoff needs to be that Stan catches Philip and Elizabeth, or both. You can't have an FBI agent living next to Russian spies for the duration of the series and have nothing massive happen from it. Stan is going to go back into counterintelligence to investigate the murders of the hockey player and his wife. Stan's new wife and her suspicious angling to get a job at the FBI is going to come into play (likely as her role as a Russian). Elizabeth is running ragged trying to keep a dozen plates spinning, and she's going to make a mistake and stumble right into Stan. Maybe she and Stan are about to kill each other, and Philip has to decide whom to save: his wife to whom he's ideologically opposed, or his friend, the "enemy" he identifies with more.
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Bumping this.  I think this guy is spot on.

 
Uruk-Hai said:
Can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not.

If you are, I will say that I had no problem with Elizabeth's apparent epiphany in this episode. It didn't just happen last night. This has been coming since last season. 

If you're not, then I agree that this episode was a masterpiece. Both Russell & Rhys have been knocking it out of the park all season, but this was (IMO) their finest work to date.
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no sarcasm her acting was crazy good.  she sold her transformation completely 

 
pantherclub said:
The kid should have tried to hit it once more and just say that would be the incentive to be quiet
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I'd like to think I'm a patriotic man, but I'm also a horny guy in his 40s, and I'd say that blonde Elizabeth would have me selling out my country by the second button she undid on her blouse. Maybe I could hold out till the third button. And if I'd accidentally discovered the bug she planted in the box, I'd DEFINITELY be using that to barter for round 2 in the rumpus room. (I've never had sex with someone wearing a wig, so I kept wondering, what if the kid decided to see if she was into light hair-pulling? How well do those things stay on? Also, where would someone buy such a wig for his significant other? Asking for a friend.)

 
I still can't figure out the angle with Stan's wife. I really, really don't want her to be all, "SUH-PRISE, BETCHES!" in the finale, but I don't see why else they would cast a recognizable actress in the role and then keep going with, now, the letter for the job interview at the FBI (not to mention that scene where Stan is scoping out the Jennings house and the wife asks what he's doing -- why include that?). I guess, maybe, she's an insurance policy for the Center. Didn't she arrive at about the time Philip was wavering? Maybe she was supposed to keep tabs on Stan to protect Elizabeth and eliminate Philip if he looked like he was going to turn, but, instead, she will be charged with taking both Philip and Elizabeth out now that they've sided with Gorbachev. 

 
Really good episode. Definitely one of Keri Russell's best. Pretty intense shoving the brush down the woman's throat. No emotion. I would have taken the little forest painting. And the guy could have helped her put it in the car. That kid was easy pickins for her. She looked so hot in that role.

And yeah, I hope that Stan's wife isn't an inside agent of some sort. I could see her getting killed though and setting Stan off.

Only two left and still no clue how this ends. Gonna miss this show.

 
I think next week's penultimate episode is going to be Phillip vs. Stan in a showdown.  Not sure how it plays out.  I hope both live as they are the most compelling characters.  I don't really care if Liz lives or dies.  She's dead inside anyway and has been just kind of gross this year.  

 
Maybe Renee quietly guns down P&E for their "treachery" and to prevent their ultimate exposure and capture. They're slipping out of Control's control; she's about to get inside the FBI. This assumes a lot we really don't know about her, I know.

Why did Philip buy a great new suit? It's gotta tie into Stavos hinting that their cover hasn't been all that they've always believed it has been.

This season we've gone from having two sides to three and the permutations and possibilities are now endless. Oleg has to figure in there somehow.

 
roadkill1292 said:
Maybe Renee quietly guns down P&E for their "treachery" and to prevent their ultimate exposure and capture. They're slipping out of Control's control; she's about to get inside the FBI. This assumes a lot we really don't know about her, I know.

Why did Philip buy a great new suit? It's gotta tie into Stavos hinting that their cover hasn't been all that they've always believed it has been.

This season we've gone from having two sides to three and the permutations and possibilities are now endless. Oleg has to figure in there somehow.
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I assumed the suit was to be buried in.  No schtick.  

 
Obviously, there will be an inevitable Stan vs. Elizabeth/Phillip faceoff....could go one of two ways IMO

1.  Elizabeth and Phillip deciding to tell Stan everything they know and Stan wrestling whether to arrest them or give them some immunity (or best thing he can give them).

2.  Stan (in some sort of sting operation) having to kill one or both of Elizabeth/Phillip

:shrug:

 
Tiger Fan said:
Obviously, there will be an inevitable Stan vs. Elizabeth/Phillip faceoff....could go one of two ways IMO

1.  Elizabeth and Phillip deciding to tell Stan everything they know and Stan wrestling whether to arrest them or give them some immunity (or best thing he can give them).

2.  Stan (in some sort of sting operation) having to kill one or both of Elizabeth/Phillip

:shrug:
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Paige may figure into this as well.  

 
The_Man said:
Maybe Elizabeth decided to take a bullet/swallow a poison pill in a way that looks like Paige revealed her to the FBI, giving her life to advance the cause and secure Paige as a highly-placed future spy in the State Department,
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I'm thinking the dust might settle, probably in the finale where Paige is getting hired into the State Department.  I've always assumed this show was basically a fictionalized account of these people https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/07/discovered-our-parents-were-russian-spies-tim-alex-foley

 
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Sabertooth said:
I think next week's penultimate episode is going to be Phillip vs. Stan in a showdown.  Not sure how it plays out.  I hope both live as they are the most compelling characters.  I don't really care if Liz lives or dies.  She's dead inside anyway and has been just kind of gross this year.  
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I don't think Elizabeth is dead inside or has been gross this year. She has been fiercely loyal and committed to her country and job, but it has emotionally taken a toll on her.  The writers purposely have been showing the toll it has taken all season.  At the beginning of this past episode, Philip told her they believed in something so big, but basically the Center has been using them, and that he and E are the ones that do everything, and not the Center, and that is on he and E. All of it. She was angry at his betrayal regarding Oleg, but she was absorbing what he was saying, and she took to heart when she felt Philip implied she wasn't a human being. Her human side surfaced several times in this episode. Elizabeth had a respect for Erica, and felt a connection to her paintings. When she killed her, it was a mercy killing. She struggled to burn Erica's painting, but she knew she can't keep things like that. Elizabeth didn't kill Jackson, which she would have done in the past. She also didn't kill the negotiator, because she listened to that tape and learned he wasn't doing anything bad.  When she questioned Claudia about why he needed to be killed, she learned that Claudia has been manipulating her. That is a tougher pill to swallow than the one hanging from her necklace.

 
simey said:
I don't think Elizabeth is dead inside or has been gross this year. She has been fiercely loyal and committed to her country and job, but it has emotionally taken a toll on her.  The writers purposely have been showing the toll it has taken all season.  At the beginning of this past episode, Philip told her they believed in something so big, but basically the Center has been using them, and that he and E are the ones that do everything, and not the Center, and that is on he and E. All of it. She was angry at his betrayal regarding Oleg, but she was absorbing what he was saying, and she took to heart when she felt Philip implied she wasn't a human being. Her human side surfaced several times in this episode. Elizabeth had a respect for Erica, and felt a connection to her paintings. When she killed her, it was a mercy killing. She struggled to burn Erica's painting, but she knew she can't keep things like that. Elizabeth didn't kill Jackson, which she would have done in the past. She also didn't kill the negotiator, because she listened to that tape and learned he wasn't doing anything bad.  When she questioned Claudia about why he needed to be killed, she learned that Claudia has been manipulating her. That is a tougher pill to swallow than the one hanging from her necklace.
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I agree with all that.  Be that as it may, she's beyond redemption IMO.  The kid thing got me.  She knew that kid was there.  

 
The Stan finding out thing kind of bothers me. Doesn’t feel earned. There really isn’t any major connection there other than they used to come home late. Feels like they could have done that in another way. 

 
Capella said:
The Stan finding out thing kind of bothers me. Doesn’t feel earned. There really isn’t any major connection there other than they used to come home late. Feels like they could have done that in another way. 
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I agree.  For the biggest plot line in the show, I'd have to agree.    Breaking Bad pulled this off perfect with Hank and Walt.  But that's an unfair standard to hold somebody to.  They could have done this better though.  

 
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Well, I disagree (not strenuously!) about Stan not getting some reasonable clues but I did wonder why Henry confirming Philip's story of the business having troubles was something that tweaked him. That would have seemed to have done the opposite. Philip should have added during that conversation (with Stan) that the business failing was also putting enormous pressure on their marriage, which Stan really would have empathized with.

Apologies if I'm repeating myself on any of these subjects. 

 
simey said:
I don't think Elizabeth is dead inside or has been gross this year. She has been fiercely loyal and committed to her country and job, but it has emotionally taken a toll on her.  The writers purposely have been showing the toll it has taken all season.  At the beginning of this past episode, Philip told her they believed in something so big, but basically the Center has been using them, and that he and E are the ones that do everything, and not the Center, and that is on he and E. All of it. She was angry at his betrayal regarding Oleg, but she was absorbing what he was saying, and she took to heart when she felt Philip implied she wasn't a human being. Her human side surfaced several times in this episode. Elizabeth had a respect for Erica, and felt a connection to her paintings. When she killed her, it was a mercy killing. She struggled to burn Erica's painting, but she knew she can't keep things like that. Elizabeth didn't kill Jackson, which she would have done in the past. She also didn't kill the negotiator, because she listened to that tape and learned he wasn't doing anything bad.  When she questioned Claudia about why he needed to be killed, she learned that Claudia has been manipulating her. That is a tougher pill to swallow than the one hanging from her necklace.
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She's an awful person. So is Philip. Just because they happen to be the protagonists in the story doesn't make them good. Just this season she killed that guy in the hotel room just because he said his girlfriend worked in the company's security department. She killed the hockey player and his wife with their kid in the next room. Over past seasons, Elizabeth befriended that Korean woman and then pretended that she had an affair with the husband so she could break up their marriage, and she and Philip killed that old lady in the repair place when they went to bug the FBI mail robot that was in the shop. There's Martha and a whole slew of people whose lives they ruined. The fact that we, as viewers, "root" for them is attributable to how good the writing is, but come on, whatever epiphany Elizabeth had in the past episode (and Philip before her) doesn't excuse just how horrid a person she is (and him, too). She may have had respect for Erica, but she was a Soviet agent posing as a hospice nurse to spy on Erica's husband. Wouldn't Erica have been better served by having, say, an actual hospice nurse? Yes, her realization at being used and manipulated by the Center all these years is harsh, but it's nothing in comparison to the things Elizabeth has done to others. She and Philip deserve whatever they get. 

 
Capella said:
The Stan finding out thing kind of bothers me. Doesn’t feel earned. There really isn’t any major connection there other than they used to come home late. Feels like they could have done that in another way. 
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Stan broke into the Jennings garage to check the trunk of Philip's car in the first episode of the series. You can argue that whatever suspicions Stan had about them were put to rest a long time ago, or you can argue that perhaps he's always thought something was off with them, but it was clouded by his friendship. I also think it was more than just coming home late. Henry told him how it was odd that his parents were always getting phone calls and running off in the middle of the night. In this past episode, even Stavos knew something shady was going on in the office. Granted, Stavos was around them all the time, but I don't think it's that big a leap for Stan to think his friends were hiding something. The bigger leap was that the "something" was that his neighbors are Russian spies, which is why he's doing all of that on his own and hasn't mentioned it to anyone. 

 
phandango said:
Stan broke into the Jennings garage to check the trunk of Philip's car in the first episode of the series. You can argue that whatever suspicions Stan had about them were put to rest a long time ago, or you can argue that perhaps he's always thought something was off with them, but it was clouded by his friendship. I also think it was more than just coming home late. Henry told him how it was odd that his parents were always getting phone calls and running off in the middle of the night. In this past episode, even Stavos knew something shady was going on in the office. Granted, Stavos was around them all the time, but I don't think it's that big a leap for Stan to think his friends were hiding something. The bigger leap was that the "something" was that his neighbors are Russian spies, which is why he's doing all of that on his own and hasn't mentioned it to anyone. 
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I had forgotten that part. And you were right in your previous post, they are terrible people. But it's show biz, we rooted for the Corleones, too, and they got to where they were by murdering anyone who refused to go into business with them.

 
They haven't really even touched on the biggest clue Stan got in the series which was Elizabeth's dental pain at a time when the FBI was contacting dentists' offices looking for the woman that kicked Gaad's butt. He briefly got a far away look at the time but that was it.

 
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Stan's leap did seem a little clunky.

As has been mentioned here before, him being away from the spy task force helped him see things differently when he returned to it.

 
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PlasmaDogPlasma said:
They haven't really even touched on the biggest clue Stan got in the series which was Elizabeth's dental pain at a time when the FBI was contacting dentists' offices looking for the woman that kicked Gaad's butt. He briefly got a far away look at the time but that was it.
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I always felt the connection would come going through that giant stack of papers and seeing their names. Guess it still could. 

 
phandango said:
Stan broke into the Jennings garage to check the trunk of Philip's car in the first episode of the series. You can argue that whatever suspicions Stan had about them were put to rest a long time ago, or you can argue that perhaps he's always thought something was off with them, but it was clouded by his friendship. I also think it was more than just coming home late. Henry told him how it was odd that his parents were always getting phone calls and running off in the middle of the night. In this past episode, even Stavos knew something shady was going on in the office. Granted, Stavos was around them all the time, but I don't think it's that big a leap for Stan to think his friends were hiding something. The bigger leap was that the "something" was that his neighbors are Russian spies, which is why he's doing all of that on his own and hasn't mentioned it to anyone. 
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Great post

I think they’ve been doing a great job of showing Stan slowly put it together. 

Theres a fine line between something shady going on and thinking someone is a full fledged Russian spy. It wasn’t until the reveal about how the Chicago operation worked that Stan really turned on the radar. 

 
Capella said:
I always felt the connection would come going through that giant stack of papers and seeing their names. Guess it still could. 
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I think Stan will find that connection, as well as with the Orthodox priest, and Stan will take that (along with the info he got from the Roy Rogers guy -- I had completely forgotten about that whole plot line from years ago) and go to Aderholt (who was shown earlier this season dining with Philip and Elizabeth, so even though it's not as bad as being neighbors to Russian spies, he still won't look good at the end of this, either). 

 
Tiger Fan said:
Great post

I think they’ve been doing a great job of showing Stan slowly put it together. 

Theres a fine line between something shady going on and thinking someone is a full fledged Russian spy. It wasn’t until the reveal about how the Chicago operation worked that Stan really turned on the radar. 
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My neighbor has had the same truck parked in her driveway every week (her husband works construction out of town and returns on the weekends) for about two years.  I'm pretty sure the truck belongs to a Russian super agent.  

 
phandango said:
 (along with the info he got from the Roy Rogers guy -- I had completely forgotten about that whole plot line from years ago)
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I remembered Gregory, but not Curtis. After than scene in Roy Rogers I started thinking I should binge the whole show from the start again before the finale.

 
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