Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
In many ways, the entire series has led to this moment.
But Stan senses that Philip is hiding something.
He pleads with his friend, as much as a man not prone to naked emotion can do.
Ive been wanting to tell you, Philip begins before pausing.
Of course, he disguises his true stress as merely a by-product of his travel agencys mounting failures.
Directorially, many shots focus on the actors faces and bodies against the sparse background of the parking garage.
Its a question ripe with the desire to understand how deep this betrayal goes.
Of course, Stan has been at this precipice before.
He plays Stans anger with an undercurrent of tenderness and confusion.
At times, it looks like hes searching Philips face for answers he knows hell never receive.
A lesser series would use this scene to interject bloody vengeance.
Since its beginning,The Americanshas complicated and subverted the TV anti-hero archetype.
Rhyss performance creates an anti-hero defined by his contradictions and vulnerabilities.
You were my only friend in my whole shitty life.
Instead of cowering or begging or turning to violence, he bares his soul.
Has there ever been a more soulful rendition of the anti-hero on television?
In the garage scene, Rhys imbues Philips words and gestures with the weight of history.
If this doesnt nab Rhys an Emmy, I dont know what will.
It seemed like the right thing to do for my country.
I kept doing it.
Telling myself that it was important, Philip says, his voice tearful.
I have to run away from the place Ive lived for the past … for so many years.
Notably, Philip isnt wholly honest with Stan.
But these concerns are an afterthought to the white-knuckled emotional catastrophe that defines the scene.
Stan wants answers for things Philip cant even figure out for himself.
