The Americans Season 3

After an enthralling Season 2,I was eagerly awaiting for Feb 15 for the third season. Can TV Drama get any better???.This show has shown us that subtlety is not dead in TV. Hear that Gotham!!!

Here is the review by Ryan Sandoval of TV.Com

Well hell, we knew that Paige would have to be initiated into her parents' world sooner or later, and as most things Americans, the show handled her baptism into the Cold War with expert delicacy. Sure, she knew her folks had been keeping secrets, but she had no idea how big said secrets were. So the impromptu Conversation was less, “Hey, we're murder-spies,” and more, “Mommy and daddy are freedom fighters who could go to jail for a long time if you tell on us.” Series creator Joe Weisberg & Co. love diving head-first into new forms of suspense and by bringing the war home, “Stingers” added a welcome strain to an already gleefully tense universe. P.S. Holly Taylor killed it this episode!

My favorite part of seeing Philip and Elizabeth break the news to their daughter was how apologetic they both seemed. One more thing to unify the previously at-odds couple. They could see the distress their lies had caused (ain't nothing like a teenage meltdown); sure, there was parenting to administer, but at the same time, being forced to engage in such a sensitive discussion without warning meant treading lightly. They're still spies who are capable of being compromised. It's one thing to let your teen know she is cared for, but it's another to have her expose your whole operation.

That's not to say that I think Elizabeth and Philip were being deceitful about their emotions for Paige; their true love for their family has been key to The Americans' success since the beginning. I mean, probably the most heartbreaking line I've heard them utter all season was Elizabeth's “We love you very much,” delivered in Russian and translated by husband and father Philip. They are now in the difficult position of being unable to choose sides. Giving up their spy lives for the sake of their family would mean going to super-jail, and ignoring their home life in the name of Russia would spell the end of Philip and Elizabeth's humanity. Even though they're monitoring Paige so things don't get compromised, I'm willing to believe that the Jennings' main fear is not going to super-jail in and of itself, but losing their family.

Elsewhere in "Stingers," other stuff happened, but considering the gravitas of Paige's new knowledge, things like Stan being sad about his divorce, Nina making headway with Anton, or Zinaida's confirmed spy status provided more of a break from the juicy focus of the episode than serious competition. Not a complaint! I'm sure Elizabeth and Philip wish they could go back to simpler times, when life just meant slapping on some shoulder pads and prepping to cover a meeting with the CIA and some Muhajadeen (got to love Elizabeth's businesswoman look). Actually no, I take that back. I was into Stan spending time with Henry mostly because of how much Henry and Stan seem to bond. They both like football! They both like pirated VHS tapes! They both like Sandra! On a more wholesome level, I suppose I just like seeing some fatherly instincts answered for a man who's had a pretty rough time as of late.
And it wasn't the episode's first instance of adult-child relationship development: Pastor Tim coaching Paige, Phil and Kimmie, heck even Phil's son earned a shout-out. I'm also game for a thread where Philip becomes jealous of Stan for his connection with Henry. The Jennings dad could certainly give a crap about his son's spot-on Eddie Murphy impression from Mr. Robinson's neighborhood. Although Philip's mental spy-wheels grinding away over Paige probably drowned out all of Henry's hilarious goofs. There was always an element of subterfuge being applied to the Jennings children, evidenced by parental gems like “pressure in this situation is counterproductive.” That same sort of manipulation can still be used with Paige, because technically she's an enemy of the Cause. She's not someone Elizabeth or Philip can injure or threaten, but she's still an opponent who can be dealt with emotionally.

Like, how else do families fight? If I had a nickel for every guilt trip my parents laid on me I'd be a rich, rich man (if having $18.75 in nickels counted as being rich). Philip and Elizabeth's apology illustrated how sorry they felt for misleading her, but it also put them at Paige's mercy. I don't think the move was strategic on their part so much as it was a display of honest emotion, but it was smart nonetheless. Placing the power in your child's hand to send you “to jail for good” demonstrates a certain level of adult trust, while also implying, “Hey if you want to break up the family, by all means, go ahead.” I believe Paige and her parents love one another too much to fall apart, but for now the responsibility lies with Paige to keep everyone together.

Aside from being just an excellent standalone hour, "Stingers" made me remember my first knockdown drag-out teenage fight with my parents about how my religious beliefs differed from theirs, and upon reflection, I think really all it amounted to was my being afraid to see them as fellow helpless people. We have no reason to believe that Paige was experiencing something similar, but at the very least, she's angry and hurt by the betrayal. What else about her upbringing is a lie? Not everyone discovers their parents are international spies, but on a more general level, once you see your parents for who they really are, the protection of home life is involuntarily traded for the stark reality of the world at large. Every family fractures in some way. That's just part of growing up

FURTHER INTERROGATION

– Zinaida is WILLOW, and even the Rezidentura acknowledges that compartmentalizing things can screw stuff up.

– I felt the same kind of relief after this episode that you feel after getting a secret off your chest. No more dancing around Paige (in one way; now it's time to start dancing in another!).



– Nina and Anton have sort of a husband-wife thing going on.

– Paige's list of guesses about her parents identities were all less crazy than the real thing. I wouldn't have minded hearing a few more: “swingers, time-travelers...”

– Taffet is still being a creepy, bug-eyed dude.

– Elizabeth: "How's work, Stan?" Stan: "Today was one of those days I wish I was on vacation." Philip: "I hear ya."

– Pastor Tim inserting himself into the Jennings' home life is way more dangerous than he might imagine.

My views on the season

I thought it was time that Paige was involved in the spy ring with their parents. After the little bread crumbs through out Season 1 and 2, finally she confronts her parents on their occupations and surprisingly gets a straight forward answer....Oh yeah we are Soviet spys you know the evil organisation that the news talks about everyday... Paige seems to take it well .It was tough call for Philip to leave her daughter alone after the revelation knowing fully well that Pastor Tim instigated her and that Paige should have a conversation about it with the Pastor soon.Now the series looks to head for a bloody finale in Season 4.Have a feeling that it would be the final season cause I think it is difficult to maintain that Martha and Paige digesting the revelation that they are accomplices with the "enemy".
Also the fact that we are nearing the end of the Cold War, it looks to head into an action filled Season 4. I love the subtlety with the continuation of the dream sequence at the end of Season2,when he was asked whether he had any doubts over his co-workers of planting the bug on Gat, we see the next shot of him enquiring about the whereabouts of Martha.Stan subliminally knows Martha is involved,similarly he should guess that something is not right with Elizabeth/Phillip like why is Henry alone all the time.I hope that the showrunners ensure that there is a proper ending to the series i.e. the logical conclusion that both Elizabeth and Philip are caught/murdered/convicted or turned. Anyother conclusion would just be unacceptable like "Dexter"'.Apparently this show is struggling to get viewers, could this be another "The Wire" which was discovered after its TV run. I love this show especially since it deals with a complicated storyline with so much subtlety. I simply cannot believe the lack of dialogue in most of the important scenes, like when Elizabeth kills the grandmother,she standing 10 feet from her, making her realise that she is going to kill her without explicitly speaking or shouting or threatening or even physically moving toward her.Thats directing for you, Good job guys.

The Americans Season 2 Finale

I believe I have just witnessed one of the best season finale for a long time. This is the way every thriller series should end. Man!!! never saw that coming.

Here is the review by TV.Com Ryan Sandoval. It was wonderful to see his reviews as he just explains everything I mean everything about each episode and dissects the intricacies and the complexities of certain scenes which one can easily ignore as the showmakers hardly try to explain everything. Good job Ryan

Wow. Now that is how you end a season. Mystery: answered. Big bad: neutralized. Love triangle: concluded. Stakes: raised. Written by Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields and directed by Daniel Sackhelm, "Echo" was everything that's great about The Americans crammed into one hour, yet it never felt overburdened. In a season that questioned whether a spy family could ever become real family, we’ve organically returned to that central conflict, as introduced so many dead-drops ago. Fighting all along to protect their children from the family business, Philip and Elizabeth inadvertently brought Paige and Henry closer than ever to a danger they thought they'd escaped. Though they've jumped through hoop after hoop fulfilling spy duties and fending off threats to the little ones, the Jennings efforts' to keep Mother Russia outside the home proved more futile than they realized.

While the mission to retrieve RAM samples via sticky-shoe was an early success, it came at the expense of Fred’s life. Just as Philip deduced, the asset appeared exhilarated by his dedication to the Cause, even as he spent his final moments in a D.C. phone booth. The Americans has made a name for itself with its excellent music montages, and the use of Golden Earring’s "Twilight Zone" in "Echo" kickstarted an energetic sequence featuring the untimely demise of Fred and the arrest of Pastor Tim. Chalking up a death before the credits sequence was a first for the show, and it set an unpredictable tone for the rest of the hour.

Coincidentally enough, the music video for this song was conceived after the band’s guitarist read Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Identity—true Wikipedia fact!):

Paige, in her know-it-all teenage way, once again mounted her high horse to teach her family about civil disobedience. "If she said one more thing about non-violent resistance," Philip later remarked, "I was going to punch her in the face." Like parents do, they allowed their daughter freedom, while behind closed doors they exercised their own liberty to dismiss Paige’s American passions. "She thinks a church pastor being arrested for loitering is some kind of hero," muttered Philip before zipping off to see Martha. Last week the two newlyweds discussed the prospect of (not) having children, and this week their conversation was much the same. "I am who I am, Martha," Clark stated, in the ironic way that only a disguised spy husband can. "I’ve tried not to hide myself from you," he continued, leaving audience members to roll their eyes en masse. Martha thankfully has survived another season, even after many suggested she’d be next to go. No family for you Martha, but congratulations on your new "Ladysmith" (technically a Smith & Wesson Model 642LS)!

How "on theme" it is that Larrick’s been AWOL via "family leave." This show doesn't miss a beat. After an abrupt Jennings family vacation to the woods near Jared’s exfiltration spot ("There’s A LOT wrong with us!" was my favorite quote of the episode), the seasoned skulker SEAL finally got the upper hand on Elizabeth and Philip. He nabbed the latter following a meeting with some fellow Illegals outside a bakery, and he snagged Elizabeth during her explanatory hike with Jared. The orphaned teen sure had a lot of questions about Kate’s whereabouts. Just how long HAD he been meeting with her? And why?

One shootout later, the answers flowed faster than blood spilling from a neck wound. I’ve enjoyed Owen Campbell’s work all season long, and Jared's dying confession alongside his insistence that Moscow be informed of his heroics was one of the young actor's best scenes. Jared’s been a helpless teen for so long that his last-minute reveal of bravery still felt like a young person begging to be seen as an adult. Amid these pleas came snippets of what happend that fateful day in Alexandria: Jared and Kate had been seeing each other for a while. The two had plans to run off and do "great work" together. Emmett did not approve of this plan and got angry with his son. Committed to Kate and the Cause, Jared then used his father’s gun on his parents. His younger sister Amelia "would’ve gone straight to the police." Jared cleaned up and hit the pool. Mystery solved (kind of—but more on this later). His final words: "You have to tell her. When you see her..." I cried as life left his eyes.

Elsewhere, Stan the Loverboy struggled with his future: Would he deliver Echo to the Russians and save Nina? All signs pointed to yes for most of the episode, as he wore a wire into the top-secret Pentagonal site and learned of the code’s two other locations (Cheyenne Mountain and another place where you’d have to kidnap the president to access it). That he also met with Arkady on where to deliver the program and meet Nina further implied he was game. But dude was also having hella mixed feelings. Stan’s stress dream featured Martha lifting files from the mail room robot (I wonder if his subconscious was aware of this), Vlad coming back from the dead, and screwing Sandra. Let’s see: I figure that Vlad is the embodiment of Stan's guilt over taking a man’s life, and a representation of the sort of emotional wedge that drove Stan and Sandra apart. Like, in imagining his ex-wife's lover, Stan's mostly projecting his own emotional hang-ups. But I do not have a degree in Feelings, so don't quote me.

Quick question, though: When is a love triangle not a love triangle? When both suitors abandon the object of affection. Stan left SOMETHING at the drop point, but we didn’t find out what it was until a perfect, nearly wordless scene at the Rezidentura: Arkady handed Nina a sheet of paper—already bad news, for not being a disk. "This is what he left," Arkady stated, emotionless. We saw Nina's face fall, as she saw what was on the page (the 1982 equivalent of breaking up via text):

With Nina’s fate sealed, she spent the remainder of the season in elegant silence. No hysterics, no bargaining. As soon as the sun came up, the doors opened and she was marched out, still healing from the bruises sustained for Mother Russia. Oleg, overcome by a need to share one last look with Nina, stormed out, too—though only far enough to maintain his innocence. Then, more quiet drama: Arkady watched Oleg, Oleg broke the gaze; Arkady left with the Lenin painting. Stan, still torn (or hopefully concocting a plan for next season), waited outside for one last glance. One last look back, and once more Nina was alone. I doubt—and hope—this is the last we've seen of the skilled and beautiful triple agent.

Now, I don’t know what it was about watching a teenager die right before her very eyes that made Elizabeth think it was a good idea to induct Paige into the Cause. The ever-dubious Claudia returned to deliver some unsettling news: One year prior, the Centre had developed a program called "Second Generation Illegals," the goal being to groom a spy child into eventual candidacy for the FBI or CIA. The Centre asked Emmett and Leanne to induct Jared, but they reacted like any protective parent would, and declined. So, the Centre went over the couple's heads and sent Kate to woo Jared into espionage. Like a teenager being disallowed to do grown-up things, the Connors boy flipped out. I can only imagine that Moscow inexplicably assigned Kate to Philip and Elizabeth this season for the same reason.

And so, in a stroke of remarkable storytelling, "Echo" and The Americans' second season ended with the fulfillment of the show's original theme, then transitioned into another. "Paige is not just yours," threatened Claudia "She belongs to the Cause. Forgotten that?" Uh, wait, she may technically be part of cover, but she's also a human being that Elizabeth and Philip made with their own biology. Take it easy, Moscow. Don't be weird. With one last disguise for the road, Philip confronted Arkady (who chose Popular Mechanics, while Philip picked up Rolling Stone—the Warren Beatty issue). The message: Stay the hell away from his daughter. Word of warning, Arkady, the last dude who hassled Paige got a skewer in the nards way back in the pilot. But since this show can’t resist twists (thankfully it EARNS them), who should start to warm to the idea but Elizabeth. Make up your mind, lady! Last week you thought Paige would be dead in an alley in a week. Now you want to "turn" your own daughter? Either way, I appreciate this as a conflict for next season. It’s organic, it raises the stakes. "It would destroy her," reasoned Philip "To be like us?" countered Elizabeth. I’m sure the dinner conversation was wonderful.

EXTRA INTELLIGENCE

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- – Even handcuffed, the Jennings can still kick ass.

– "Hard to believe the future of the free world rests on all those numbers and symbols, huh?"

– "Don’t tell her 'I you love' so much. A Russian woman doesn’t like that. She won’t respect you."

– Still no Kelli.

– Remember when Claudia said she got involved with someone and had to duck out of the picture? Who was that?

FROM THE WRITER:

Hi guys, it’s me, Ryan. I have to say it’s been a real pleasure reading your reactions to basically my favorite show on TV. You commenters are so intuitive and passionate, these past 13 weeks went by too fast. Until next time, fellow fanatics. Until next time.