The Americans

[bklynred]

They won a Peabody Award for drama! (Oddly, only the secondary female characters were around to witness the win; I guess bigger folks were busy?)

[Ladybug]

Very well deserved. This show is awesome! Maybe the leads are working on other projects?

[bklynred]

That's my guess. The actress who plays Paige was absolutely beaming, I was a lil giddy for her.

[angelaudie]

Anybody watch the S4 premiere last week?

Pastor Tim is either a FBI or CIA plant. A young teenage girl tells you her parents are Russian spies and you want the whole family to come in for a therapy session? Yeah, no. If Pastor Tim was scared of Paige's mental well-being he would be calling Elizabeth and Philip and telling them, "Listen your daughter is making some pretty outrageous claims. I think it's very important you get her some serious psychological help." Instead he tells Paige to learn more about her parents activities and report back to him. This season is so going to end with Elizabeth and Philip caught with their ticket hope is to defect to the U.S.

Martha used to get on my last nerve but man I feel for her. The actress nailed the scene the "Gene is dead" scene. She didn't ask for this and thanks to Philip's manipulations she's completely caught up in it. Yeah, Philip has come to care for her but he has basically ruined her life in the very best case scenario. She just doesn't know it yet.

Gotta love those mother/daughter moments. Standing around the kitchen table, sipping coffee, and discussing dad talking to his source. Paige is sincerely worried for her father and Elizabeth just sees this as opportunity to teach Paige some spy trade. I'm not saying Elizabeth wasn't trying to comfort her as well but I have a feeling Elizabeth also saw it as an early training opportunity.

Nice move Stan! Flipping out and nearly causing a glanders outbreak! John Boy would really want to kill you then!

[scarlet]

I'm not convinced Pastor Tim is a plant; I think he could just be what he's been portrayed as, re an overly gung-ho, all-things-are-better-if-we-talk-and-pray-them-out dude.

Literally every episode for the past two years I've been waiting for Philip to kill Martha. Not because I want him to, but because I thought he'd be left with no choice. Last week, though, I thought she might kill herself. She really is ruined.

Also, if anyone is interested, Vulture has an interesting podcast with the showrunners. They talk about character motivations and growth, etc. It's about 50 minutes long and I found it really informative.

[Deleted]

Next week's episode is called Pastor Tim so I am guessing Elizabeth is going to finish listening to the whole recording and realize that he knows they are spies. I don't think he is a plant either and I will be very surprised if he makes it alive to the end of the season.

It can never be said often enough. Poor Martha. I read a long time ago that her situation is based on real women who inadvertently married double agents. I think some of them did end up eventually committing suicide.

I kind of wish they would drop the whole Nina story line. I liked her in season one well enough but now her plot is so disconnected from the rest of the show and is IMO not that interesting.

[celerydunk]

I agree that Nina's storyline is not very interesting. There are too many other ones they could be spending the screen time on.

Pastor Tim is so gonna die. Will Paige suspect her parents?

[Baby Fish Mouth]

Paige is so sly. Telling her mother about spilling the beans to Pastor Tim was genius. If he shows up dead, she knows exactly who to blame.

I think Stan's friendship with Henry will be far more dangerous than Pastor Tim. Henry has become a classic 80s latchkey kid, and he is flying under his parents' radar.

[Martini Girl]

The acting on this show is good, but I just couldnt' buy the conversation between Paige and her mom. Your kid blows your cover and you barely raise your voice? Let's face it... Elizabeth is a cold blooded killer for Mother Russia. She may love Paige, but she does not take to betrayal well.

[chiquita]

The end of tonight's episode shocked me. I'm curious to see the fallout. I'm also looking forward to seeing the new approach to the Pastor Tim problem.