Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Like so many of the best dramas before it, there isnt a bad episode ofThe Americans.
Pests (Season 5, Episode 2)
Season fivewas often criticized for beingtoomuch of a slow burn.
In Control disrupts with a purpose.
Oleg teaching Nina how to lie for a lie detector test, by clenching her anus, is golden.
(This show does have a sense of humor!)
But when it comes to Philip and Elizabeths growing conflict with Andrew Larrick, this episode falls short.
Its never dull, but like several ofThe Americansmiddle-of-the-run episodes, its mostly setup for whats to come.
Thats actually the weakest element of the episode.
He captures Elizabeth and Philip, ties them up, and they still manage to kill him.
Paige, theyre coming for you.
After all, it is an episode about deliberation.
It couldve been titled What to Do About Pastor Tim?
Its a delicate episode, proof thatThe Americanswould never just kill someone off because its convenient.
Shes not afraid and doesnt want Paige to be either.
However, the Paige question between Philip and Elizabeth is a little rehashed.
But this is about Philip, too.
Imagine if Philip knew he could be saved?
Its all good closing stuff from a solid first season, but also proof thatThe Americanswill continue to blossom.
Crossbreed (Season 5, Episode 6)
An alternative title to Crossbreed could be Adieu, Frank Langella.
The Walk In (Season 2, Episode 3)
Its bad timing for Paige to get curious.
I love everything about you, she tells Philip in disguise.
I even love your toupee.
Its not a murder even, but something that feels both obvious and unexpected.
This is the birth of Philips sleazy Jimmy, a pot-smoking cool guy who impresses the teenage Kimmy.
Well, that andYaz.
It makes sense, then, when he decides to gift Paige a Yaz record for her birthday.
Stealth (Season 2, Episode 11)
Larrick is getting closer to the Jennings.
Martha, now living a solitary life in the Soviet Union, has gotten by.
I understand everything now, Gabriel, she lets him know before shooing him from her humble apartment.
Its both sad and hopeful.
Martha is tough and will manage.
Whats the Matter With Kansas?
The elite eat like kings while the rest of the country starves.
When Oleg threatens a grocer for selling black-market items, were as unfazed as she is.
Whats he going to do about it?
Covert War (Season 1, Episode 11)
This episodes death is significant for Elizabeth.
But I love him, because I take care of him.
And he, in his way, is taking care of me.
Its too much, even for Elizabeth.
Elizabeth (and Keri Russell) is amazing at her job, but is she starting to flail?
She tells the young man that Larrick raped her and that shes looking for justice.
EST Men (Season 3, Episode 1)
Should we tell Paige or not?
(Shes always probably doing a little bit of both.)
Theres complete trust here.
Not just because theyre partners in crime, but because theyre partners in life.
This is also a Thanksgiving episode, and naturally, the holiday dinner is fraught with discomfort.
His obliviousness has never looked so sad.
Elizabeth beats the hell out of Claudia, warning that shell destroy her if she ever betrays them again.
(She doesnt lie; her threat returns in season six.)
Its not the last time that a spy will spy on a spy.
March 8, 1983 (Season 3, Episode 13)
Nina is one ofThe Americanstrickiest characters.
Shes always belonged to someone, and unlike Elizabeth, shes never been okay with that.
They only have my body, you understand?
His words are as empowering as they are dooming.
Erica, obviously too sick for the party, vomits all over Elizabeth in an utterly dismal scene.
Gregory (Season 1, Episode 3)
Morality has always been a huge component ofThe Americans.
The juxtaposition between Elizabeths operations with Philips problems are stark.
When Viola resists and speaks of having God, Elizabeth is unnerved.
Faith is difficult to penetrate in their line of work.
You cant manipulate and blackmail people as easily when they believe in a higher power.
There arent photos of her and its hard to verify her existence.
After Pasha slashes his wrists and Elizabeth and Philip save his life, their mission is mostly a success.
Pasha and his mom will return to Russia.
I dont want to see you like this anymore, she says.
The sentiment is beyond sweet, even though she isnt heeding her own warning.
The Great Patriotic War (Season 6, Episode 5)
Philip realizes that Elizabeth is out of control.
In response, Philip displaces his anger with Elizabeth byshowing up at Paiges apartment and fighting her.
He has his baggage, of course, like infiltrating a white supremacist group before hunting down spies.
Stan ends up kidnapping and killing Vlad, a lowly agent at the Rezidentura.
Its one of many low blows in the episode, which functions as a preview to the final season.
His eyes well up, but he doesnt lose it.
Instead he shuts off.
Keri Russell shows us Elizabeths deliberation as she contemplates the best way to handle this frantic woman.
Philip is grateful, but not as pleased as Elizabeth when he tells her that hes always loved her.
Parents bringing their kids around the table to divulge information, or vice versa, is a customary experience.
The talk could be about anything, but every moment of their conversation is so meticulously written and consequential.
Its Elizabeths phony explanation that makes their scene first-rate.
We fight for people who cant fight for themselves, she tells Paige.
Elizabeth is disillusioned and as hard-headed as usual, but his questioning actually strikes a chord.
ItsThe Americansat its most quintessential.
Theres no I love you at the end ofThe Americans.
Instead, Elizabeth says, in Russian, Well get used to it.
The experience is simultaneously humbling and triggering, which makes it a fitting complement to Elizabeth betraying Young-hee.
Its essential that the episode concludes with her unexpected breakdown.
But the honesty lies in the details.
you’ve got the option to just raise them here to be Americans, she tells her husband.
Its what you want, what youve always wanted.
She would never do it herself, of course, and thats what makes it all the more honest.
Meanwhile, Ninas awful, inevitable fate is the true gut punch in Chloramphenicol.
Her death is cruel, but for her soul, it may be alright.
Like Nina, Gregory is not free.
The Chicago sleeper agent is killed in a scuffle, as is another agent who works with Elizabeth.
He said he was done.
Look at him now.
Our bosses dont know what theyre doing.
You figured that out, right?
he says, perhaps not realizing that hes confirming what Philip has felt for years.
Of course, Stan is as much of a liar as anyone.
is among the most exceptional character arcs in the history of TV.
In the first, Elizabeth tells Claudia she has foiled her plan to get rid of Gorbachev.
Claudia, beyond disappointed, sits calmly as she berates Elizabeth for what she calls a betrayal.
You lied to me, Elizabeth starts assuredly, in what will surely be on Keri Russells Emmy reel.
If you knew me, youd know never to lie to me.
Claudia lied to her once, all those years ago, and its come back to bite her.
The irony is that its all coming from the ultimate liar.
In the second, Elizabeth and Paige stand across the kitchen island from each other.
But that all falls apart when she finds out that Elizabeth slept with a congressional intern for information.
Elizabeth denies it, but Paige sees through the lie.
Elizabeth is left alone, in a home shell soon realize is no longer safe.
Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?
And its all the fault of the Mail Robot.
Its there that Elizabeth encounters Betty, the repair-shop bookkeeper.
What he saw, it stayed with him, she says.
As Betty begins to drift off, she asks Elizabeth why she and Philip kill people.
But Betty doesnt die just yet.
She has one more thing to say: Thats what evil people tell themselves when they do evil things.
Theyre at home, this mission is complete, and all their pent-up anger comes out in despicable ways.
Their fight, like most domestic spats, starts with a simple jab.
Elizabeth begins by almost eulogizing Martha, calling her a nice woman, but then the fangs come out.
She was straight-ahead, uncomplicated.
Simple, she says, before telling Philip she attended an EST meeting.
Its very American, the whole thing, she says.
Its the absolute lowest thing Elizabeth can think about someone.
When Gabriel offers a break, we see that her commitment isnt so inflexible after all.
I could show with magic how we take our freedom for granted, Copperfield says.
Sometimes we dont realize how important something is until its gone.
Rhys directs this sequence as a reverie, as if the passage of time could actually fix everything.
Roxy Musics upbeat End of the Line plays as we watch a montage of mundane, suburban life.
Paige plays mini-golf with Pastor Tim and his wife, Alice.
Philip and Elizabeth play hockey with Henry.
The anxiety is palpable.
The Jennings family lives in a purgatory.
There is no American Dream for them.
