A thread for The Americans on FX

Philip and Elizabeth are going to be upset when they find out who she really is.

Like with Mad Men's final-season debut, took me about half the show to feel my way back into things, but good start. I was distracted by something on the stove during the long opening montage, so I was a little confused at times. The bed-ridden artist--is she the wife of the guy Elizabeth is running? Music seemed more prominent tonight than ever before. Could always do without Crowded House, Fleetwood Mac good of course. Jolting reminder of Elizabeth's survival instincts.

I don't know if the series will end in a Philip v. Elizabeth showdown or if there's just tension right now that will be resolved later, but it was inevitable that they'd be pitted against each other at some point. That's just good tv.

So glad Oleg is still here and serving a purpose.

Did no one besides the two of us realize this began again last night?

I didn't much like Oleg when he first appeared (season 2?)--the character seemed kind of glib and breezy, not in sync with the tone of the show--but he's one of the best now.

Totally forgot this was back on!

First episode was great. Oleg and Philip vs. Elizabeth and Claudia (and Paige?) is gonna be something.

My wife's theory is that Renee is spying on Stan for the FBI higher-ups, not for the Russians or anyone else.

I certainly didn't realize this started again! Got it lined up for tonight, stoked.

I loved chilled out 80s line-dancing inspirational-boss sports-dad Phillip vs insane stabbing motherfuckers in the neck Elizabeth. And I have no idea what Renee’s place in all this is but it’s got to be something interesting

The line-dancing was great. I rewatched the opening montage online--spotted the guy who plays Frank Underwood's hapless VP on House of Cards for a second.

I'm going to use everything at my disposal to make sure I'm understanding all the plot intricacies this season. (I didn't fuss much over that as I watched the first five on DVD.) A couple of rundowns on the first episode:

http://tv.avclub.com/the-americans-final-season-begins-with-the-realization-1824147884
http://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/28/17166094/the-americans-season-6-premiere-dead-hand-recap-philip-elizabeth

there's no way this ends well for any of them right? i'm not ready to get my heart broken by this show. ;_;

A reminder that this is on tonight. (I'm mostly reminding myself here--remembering to tune in regularly to a TV show is a challenge these days.)

This was good - intense and bleak. I wasnt at all enamoured with the Crowded House montage - I cant stand that song - but the rest of the musical cues were utter joy. Especially the way "We do what we're told" slowly edged its way into the scene, til once the "we do what we're told, told to do" chant comes in and drowns out what the general is saying - I thought that was brilliant.

I dont know how they made Elizabeth look SO EXHAUSTED, but it worked.

Glad I'm not the only person who hates that song (and them in general).

Especially the way "We do what we're told" slowly edged its way into the scene, til once the "we do what we're told, told to do" chant comes in and drowns out what the general is saying - I thought that was brilliant.

Agreed! That's one of the best uses of outside music laid over a scene I've ever seen.

I dont know how they made Elizabeth look SO EXHAUSTED, but it worked.

At the very end? Yeah. I was like, "I've seen actors play exhausted before, but Keri Russell legit looks like she's been awake for 72 hours right now."

Yeah in that last scene staring into the mirror. I felt that inhuman ruin.

Also this is a bit embarrassing but I went out and bought a copy of Remain In Light after this episode lol.

Tonight's was a little slow (until the last scene)? Donald Blythe has left the Underwood administration and work over at State now.

Havent seen that yet but speaking of such crossovers, Oleg has been on a few eps of Homeland this season basically playing the more ruthless Putin-era thug version of Oleg!

(until the last scene)?

Yeah, but what an image.

Herschell Gordon Lewis would have loved it...Thinking about the last scene, though, would Elizabeth--who is generally meticulously careful--have left herself as vulnerable as she did? Maybe the idea, tying in with the exhaustion, is that she's starting to lose her edge. Like in The Godfather: "Let's face it, Tom, and with all due respect: the Don, rest in peace, was slippin'. Ten years ago--could I have gotten to him?"

I'll have to watch last night's again--I drifted off, tried again at 11:00, same problem. They always play the previous week before the new one.

From what I did see, didn't seem like a great episode, except for maybe the Stan-Oleg meeting.

Philip imagining a world where they could make classic russian meals and eat them with Stan at some day in the future was both naively optimistic and heartbreaking in the face of his dawning realization that Elizabeth is still completely locked in

Case in point: no recollection of that all...

xp I thought it was funny that they told each other they'd not spoken to anyone from back home in 20 years while they've both super secretly done that just in the last week or two.

This week's wasn't the most riveting episode I've ever seen, but the story is moving along at a pretty good clip this year vs. last year.

Sucks that Elizabeth has had to kill two unfortunate people at the end of the last two episodes all because they're trying to rush this operation and seem to be not very good at finding targets for her.

What do you make of Renee wanting to join the FBI? If she's Russian, that seems like a really clumsy attempt at infiltration--I'm guessing there's something more nuanced going on.

It’s a prequel to her character from the X-Files

Thinking about the last scene, though, would Elizabeth--who is generally meticulously careful--have left herself as vulnerable as she did?

not really? she's done stuff like that loads of times

she only killed the guy because he told her his girlfriend worked for security

I was talking about the episode from two weeks ago--the scene in the park. It seemed unlikely to me she would walk into a situation where someone who was clearly wavering could simply pull a gun on her.

Ah ok

I'd forgotten about later should-have-been-betters like Man on the Moon and Larry Flynt. He was directing so infrequently they felt like events at the time, and Carrey and Harrelson were good. They just didn't seem to say with me for very long. The first produced a great song and video, though (not directed by Forman).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_JnCWT-_O8

Oops.

It seemed unlikely to me she would walk into a situation where someone who was clearly wavering could simply pull a gun on her.

Yeah I think they're trying to make it clear Elizabeth is being pushed too hard/fast for results due to the looming conference/dead hand shit and shes not taking the care with her turning people she normally would

BTW was that basically his brains splattered all over her face? It looked well grody.

late to this subject but just wanted to say i loved s05 and its episode after episode of philip and elizabeth staring miserably out of car windscreens. like a whole season of Abba's The Visitors. Probably helped that we watched the whole season in like a week, though - can understand it must have felt excruciating watching it week-to-week.

this season is blitzing past, so strong. elizabeth is just disintegrating before our eyes. s05 feels like the slow crawl before s06's rollercoaster dive.

is anyone going to make it out of this series alive?

It'll be funny if the only person who dies is Henry, in some freak hockey accident.

Elizabeth's been shown to kill anyone who gets in the way of the mission. I wonder if she'll end up killing Phillip?

xpost lolll

I've long thought the series would come to an end with a standoff between the two of them.

Def getting a scene with Philip Stan and Oleg, right?

Stan putting the pieces together is one of the things I'm looking forward to the most.

Yeah I think Renee is some kind of FBI/CIA shadow keeping tabs on Stan since his Oleg bromance. She'll follow Oleg one day and see him with Phillip, and boom.

Maybe they'll skip forward to 2016 for an epilogue where Paige meets up with George Papadopoulos. I don't know how it will end--in a more general sense, whether it will be a dark ending or something that resembles Philip/Elizabeth/Stan/Oleg turning the page and moving on.

They're making it exceedingly clear that Elizabeth will not live happily in the US into her golden years. She'll either be in prison, back in the USSR, or dead.

back in the USSR

as foretold by The Beatles.

Loving this season so far but the only thing that bothers me slightly is that they haven't given themselves enough time to tie up all the loose ends. What about Kimmy? What about Pastor Tim? What about Martha? What about Philip's son?

Kimmy isn't really a loose end and can easily be explained away or never mentioned again. Pastor Tim has been farmed out to South America so ditto really. Martha I wholly expect to appear at some point.

Philip's son is the one that feels like a misstep and could just be quietly forgotten, but he could equally be the hand grenade the blows up Philip and Elizabeth's marriage and illusions altogether.

Yeah I guess you're right about Kimmy and Pastor Tim. I thought the omission of Kimmy was strange given that she (or rather her dad) was the entire reason why they stayed in the US at the end of the last season, but then I keep forgetting that we've now jumped three years ahead in time.

I feel like the real 'oh shit' moment was Philip and Oleg finally meeting. If Stan can turn him Oleg then that's a direct line to Philip and Elizabeth and then the whole thing blows up.

Feel like the defection of Gennadi is going to play a part too, but who knows.

If the show ends with some sort of present-day scene I kind of want somebody to end up as a shady oligarch