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The Americans (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter jamny
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Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
In all honesty - if you were going to have to resort to recaps - a show like this one probably lends itself easier to doing it your way than a big spectacle like Game Of Thrones. At least for keeping up with the plot, anyway.
Insein
Footballguy
The one I read was filled with the writer's opinion on the show but it also provided a lot of the subtle detail behind the overarching themes and tied back to previous episodes for why a scene was important. So it was like reading a book in a way.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
I thought she was gonna rip Gabriel's soul out through his eyes when he was doing his kindly-old-man shtick. Martha's the only one who really sees how ####ed up all of this is (Phillip & Oleg are getting close, though) - everyone else is still justifying and missing the forest for the trees.
Henry's the only non-screwed-up character on the show (besides his yuppie ambitions, that is).
So predictions on how the series ends?
Personally, I'd like to see Philip and Elizabeth eventually splitting up with Phillip and Henry staying in the States and Elizabeth taking Page to Russia and realize how horrible it is and felt like she spent her entire life fighting for nothing. While this show doesn't feel "happy endingish" I guess I could be ok with them going back to the States to admit mistakes and live as one big happy family.....but it just feels right for the last scene to just be Elizabeth in utter sadness in Russia.
Personally, I'd like to see Philip and Elizabeth eventually splitting up with Phillip and Henry staying in the States and Elizabeth taking Page to Russia and realize how horrible it is and felt like she spent her entire life fighting for nothing. While this show doesn't feel "happy endingish" I guess I could be ok with them going back to the States to admit mistakes and live as one big happy family.....but it just feels right for the last scene to just be Elizabeth in utter sadness in Russia.
mr roboto
Footballguy
So glad I'm finally caught up. This is a great show. Surprised there's so little discussion in here each week.
I think Elizabeth will resist 'seeing the light' till the very end. She may very well flip on Phillip if he gets too comfy mailing in assignments. Fat ##### handler lady has no love for Phillip.
Im most interested in seeing the old guard USSR types trying to deal with the fact that they are woefully behind and it's impossible to spin it anymore.
I think Elizabeth will resist 'seeing the light' till the very end. She may very well flip on Phillip if he gets too comfy mailing in assignments. Fat ##### handler lady has no love for Phillip.
Im most interested in seeing the old guard USSR types trying to deal with the fact that they are woefully behind and it's impossible to spin it anymore.
Major
Footballguy
Yeah, I lost interest this season and forgot it was still going. I blame Better Call Saul and Fargo. Will catch up when time permits.
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snogger
Footballguy
Really enjoyed the last episode.. but otherwise there hasn't been a lot going on. The first few years if I missed an episode I would feel lost until I could find it online. This year not so much... I think you could have watched episode one, skipped until this one and be fine.
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Sabertooth
Footballguy
I agree. Haven't thought about it much but yeah, her sitting in a food line in Russia seems about right.
Sabertooth
Footballguy
Psychopav
Help us, Joebi-Wan Brynobi, you're our only ho
However it ends, I hope it provides insights into how the Russia at the end of the cold war, while seemingly on the road to democracy, still held enough of the cancer of socialism/Stalinist oppression to wind up with the Russia we have today.
roadkill1292
Footballguy
Yeah, I keep thinking that Elizabeth isn't going to like what she sees out of Mother Russia regardless of if/when she goes back.
That quick wordless scene a couple of episodes ago showing sad Martha shopping in the crappy Soviet grocery store was one of the spookiest things I'd ever seen. This is still a good show.
mr roboto
Footballguy
Oh yeah. I love the USSR scenes. Even Oleg's apartment and the shots of Moscow. Everything is so...heavy.
DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
the russian scenes are easily the best. i am pretty over the main protagonists stories. i am much more interested/entertained by the fringe stories now. except anything to do with stupid ### paige or her brother.
Rove!
Footballguy
The Russia scenes have a tension to them that any moment the officials could declare somebody a traitor and just drag them off....
Sabertooth
Footballguy
Agreed. The only problem with the Russian scenes is that the killed off Nadia. And she was just something special to look at.
Sabertooth
Footballguy
What was the deal with the marriage. They are both Atheist right?
It's more symbolic than anything IMO. The vast majority of Russia is/was Russian Orthodox....deeply rooted in tradition, especially with the rituals you aw in that wedding scene. I think Philip wanted to make a big deal out of this (and it's not like he could go to the justice of the peace). Also, this is the most Russian dialogue we have ever seen occur in the states, so clearly a big moment for the show as well.
Nothing to do with religion, more with how Philip/Elizabeth actually feel for one another.
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I think Philip is feeling pretty insecure right now and was seeking reassurance from Elizabeth about their relationship. They were just told that they have to maintain their relationships with their assets in Topeka, which neither is happy about. I always get the impression that Philip feels like Elizabeth might enjoy her relationship with the guy in Topeka, and worries about the strength of his own relationship with Elizabeth. Not to mention that Philip is struggling with his assignment, who wants to end their relationship. I think the marriage was meant to test Elizabeth's feelings towards him as well as to show his love for her.
Not to mention that their "marriage" was always supposed to be a cover, just another part of the fakeness of their lives. I think a big part of the tension of the show is that Philip's feelings for Elizabeth are real but, because she is such a true believer, he's not always sure she feels the same way about him, that maybe she just pretends to because that's part of her job.
dickey moe
Fingerpicker
That darkroom sequence was the best of the series, IMO. This show is so good. Season of slow builds but heavy as hell at the right times.
dickey moe
Fingerpicker
And Bauhaus!
Rove!
Footballguy
blend
Footballguy
Just finished this weeks episode. I used to really like this show, but I feel this season has really not been up to the level of previous years and I think there's only 2 episodes left this season (or I could have heard that wrong). By now, they are usually building to something pretty big.
Unless, the something big is the reveal that they are thinking of heading back to Russia. Although, I can't imagine ol Phil will be too keen on that idea.
Unless, the something big is the reveal that they are thinking of heading back to Russia. Although, I can't imagine ol Phil will be too keen on that idea.
Good Posting Judge
Footballguy
This entire season has been cataloging the mounting psychological toll on both of them, especially Phillip. I think it's really interesting stuff, and I'm glad they've dialed down the "action" a little, or at least not felt compelled to have fight sequences, etc
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
That's where I am, too.
Man, that final 15 minutes of last night's episode was brutal.
In the US, you have Philip and Elizabeth growing more resentful of what they're being asked to do by Moscow, fueled by how what they're being told and what they're seeing for themselves are two different things (they were told the virus wouldn't be used in combat, but it was; they were told the Americans were developing insects to kill Russian wheat, but they weren't; they were told the Russian woman gleefully helped the Nazis kill Russian soldiers, but she was coerced).
In the USSR, you have Burov and his partner thinking they're working to take down criminals manipulating the food supply, when in reality it seems to be the work of massive government corruption.
I feel like at some point these plotlines are going to intersect.
In the USSR, you have Burov and his partner thinking they're working to take down criminals manipulating the food supply, when in reality it seems to be the work of massive government corruption.
I feel like at some point these plotlines are going to intersect.
Good Posting Judge
Footballguy
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
Keri Russell is hot as hell. She's sexier at 40 than she was at 20.
jamny
Footballguy
We watched last week's episode last night so I'm not fully caught up but I wound up fast forwarding through most of the wedding and the beginning of the photo development scene. You could just tell they were going to be dragged out scenes. Too much of that this season. Not into this season at all and can't wait for it to end. Basically just a soap opera now.
I didn't even read who posted the original quote....but when I read yours, I scrolled up just to confirm it was FDAS
oso diablo
Footballguy
I also think this season hasn't been up to par with the past.
The stuff with Tuan, Burov and Stan's storyline have been a slog. Just a waste of a season for Stan. We only have two more episodes this season. 10 next. Feels like they should have been stepping on the gas by now.
The stuff with Tuan, Burov and Stan's storyline have been a slog. Just a waste of a season for Stan. We only have two more episodes this season. 10 next. Feels like they should have been stepping on the gas by now.
Righetti
Footballguy
They do an amazing thing with some kind of camera filter. It is always so dark. Many blues and blacks but no greens or reds. You know immediately it's Moscow and not Maryland
Righetti
Footballguy
I saw it as Philip making it official so that he can have the moral reason to demand that Elizabeth stops having to sleep around. Or at least hold it over her head
Psychopav
Help us, Joebi-Wan Brynobi, you're our only ho
Really? That's surprising.
What else have you seen Phillip do that makes you think this was some sort of power play? I think that would be out of character for him.
dickey moe
Fingerpicker
Statorama
Footballguy
It's a tough line to walk on, because the writers want us to feel the...I guess "burnout" that both sides are feeling (especially w/Phillip). But at the same time they have to be careful not to burn us out as viewers as well.
This show can turn up the tension as well as any show on TV right now, but this season I'm getting a little bit of the same old same old vibe. It could just be that I sympathize more with the Phillip character, who they are presenting as having to fight his own "same old same old" feelings.
They are Russian spies in America. The beauty of the show is that they are the protagonists and we root for them, even though we should be rooting for guys like Stan. Still, I can't imagine there's a good ending for them at the end of the series. I think they somehow get wind of how crappy it really is in Russia while the Soviet Union falls apart and decide not to go back, and the result is they end up dead. Because, let's be honest, even though they're the "heroes," Philip and Elizabeth have done some horrible things, on behalf of a country that was our enemy. I don't think there's any "happily ever after" ending for them.
Aerial Assault
Footballguy
I want Philip to defect with the kids and for Elizabeth, who is a monster, to die in a hail of bullets. (And I adore Keri Russell - that's how fantastic she has been in this role.)
But I am seriously disappointed in this season. Other than the Dyatkovo episode, which was amazing, very, very, very little has happened this season. I did also enjoy the excavation of William's body and the Travels of Mischa, as well as scenes with Gabriel and the Martha cameo. But there has been soooooooooooo little development this season. Entire episodes have passed with effectively nothing happening, and while that might be fine for, say episode six of 13, for the penultimate ep of the season this week, it was just a tremendous letdown IMO to have virtually no movement. It's still a great show but it was once the best show on TV.
Not to put words in your mouth, but do you mean "there has been very little action (i.e. violence, etc) this season."
They have progressed multiple storylines very deeply...in no order:
- Phillip/Elizabeth's care for each other...fueled by the assignment in Topeka
- Paige spying on Pastor Tim and the fallout with the photos she took
- Phillip/Elizabeth letting Henry go to the boarding school - sounds minor, but if this isn't the writers pounding us over the head with them embracing the US culture/lifestyle, I don't know what is?
- Mischa not being able to visit his Phillip
- Toying with the idea of giving it all up and going back to Russia
- Phillip/Elizabeth's genuine dilemma of what to do with the kids vs. going back to Russia
- Phillip/Elizabeth's asking of Pastor Tim's opinion on the impact of them going back to Russia.....I may be naive, but I think they were genuine in the ask here. Sure, they could've just been playing the part, but clearly what they saw in those photos that Paige took impacted them.
Philip has been an accomplice to everything. While he seemingly has shown more regret than Elizabeth, they're both monsters. Even this season, when he has been more reluctant to carry out his assignments (like shooting the old Russian woman who collaborated with the Nazis), he still broke the spine of that guy breeding the bugs in Kansas after Elizabeth shoved him into Philip's grasp. In fact, his growing remorse seems to stem precisely from all the horrible things he's done.
This show has still entertained me this season. I feel like they're going somewhere, and even if the pace has slowed down, I'm fine with it.
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