The Americans

[Deleted]

May 10, 2018 15:12:12 GMT -4 Ladybug said:

Pretty sure Philip's not going to make it. He will sacrifice himself for Elizabeth, then she will have to live with 1. losing her husband and 2. losing the Cold War.

I think he’s going to end up taking that cyanide pill. My guess is Philip dies, Paige goes to prison, Henry is deported to Russia and Elizabeth gets away somehow but has to live with her family being destroyed. I hope it’s not that bleak. Philip and Elizabeth don’t deserve a happy ending but I hope the kids get to have a better life when they are gone. Especially Henry.

[riosamba]

May 10, 2018 15:12:12 GMT -4 Ladybug said:

Feb 10, 2008 11:29:03 GMT -4 @bronze said:

Now he just better not tell Renee about it in case she is a sleeper agent.

Oh, yes. If he relays his suspicions to Renee, he's a goner. She was probably put there to keep tabs on the Jennings. I'm trying to recall the timeline, she met Stan at the gym. Who made the first move? What was going on with E&P at that time? Wasn't this around the time Philip got out of the spy game?

I couldn't breathe while he was snooping around their house. Obviously he wasn't going to find anything, but wow, he got so close. Just a couple of tugs on that breaker board and he'd see their spy stuff.

Pretty sure Philip's not going to make it. He will sacrifice himself for Elizabeth, then she will have to live with 1. losing her husband and 2. losing the Cold War.

Those are excellent questions about the timing of Renee’s arrival on the scene. It would make perfect sense for the Center to want eyes on with Philip checking out of his mission.

Watching Philip see the axe, hesitate, and then break the glass tugged at my heart. The removal of the head and and hands were disturbing (although I guess she’d been dead long enough in cold Chicago that we were spared blood spatter), but I found watching Elizabeth while Philip worked even more horrifying. Elizabeth was so thrilled and full of admiration. This is the man she wants!

I felt sorry for Stan as he connetected the dots. Will it blow back on him when the truth comes out if he isn’t the one to catch them?

The best scene for me was Philip reflecting on his “real” marriage to Elizabeth. Not a word spoken, but I felt him grieving the loss, trying to determine just who he is, and what to do next. Pass Oleg the information from Harvest and keep on keeping on, or end things?

Department of complaints: No Oleg. None! And only three episodes left. I want to know more about everyone on this show. I want to know Harvest’s backstory! There’s so much good story left to tell. I know I will watch this show over and over.

[scarlet]

I don't think Elizabeth was thrilled at watching Philip. I think she sees that sort of thing as just part of the job, but her going to check on him at work later showed she knew how much it wasn't something he could stomach anymore and that the only reason he did it, was even there, was because of her.

[Ladybug]

Well, Elizabeth is finally starting to come to her senses. She had several moments of humanity in the last episode. I really wanted her to keep that painting. I think she really wanted it too, because why take the biggest one of the bunch if you just knew you were going to burn it?

"You lied to me for months because of Gorbechev?"

I'm worried for Stavros. Liz and Phil are not as good as they think they are. That's always been one of my nitpicks of this show, that they have been these super spies for SO LONG - since the 60s - without getting caught. Their behavior wrt their front business and domestic life has always been shady and now we know it has not gone unnoticed.

I keep going through scenarios with Renee. She's a sleeper agent placed there to ensure Stan doesn't discover Liz and Phil. She has to take him out when she realizes how close she is. Phil (and maybe Liz) cannot cope with losing his one actual friend.

The movie Phil was watching was called The Garage. More about the film.

[riosamba]

Elizabeth's humanity shocked me. I really thought that she was going to kill Philip when he revealed that he'd been spying on her. Is it solely the strength of her bond to Philip? Or is it seeing the cracks in the Soviet system, seeing the Center as a political entity with a shady agenda and not the sacrificial guardian of the People? I hope we get some revelation here, because it was an enormous change for her.


The "patient" really did seem to get under her skin in a way that few people have. Perhaps it was her strength and endurance, qualities that allowed Elizabeth to feel more connected to her. The scene in the garage with the painting was amazing. I felt like she was going to burn the painting at first because that's what a spy does. Then she hid it away because she wanted to keep it. Then, with great regret, she burned it because she had to- for herself.

Someone in the Jennings household better talk to Stan immediately. Hopefully when Renee isn't home. If they betray the Center, maybe they can live a few more years somewhere before they get plutonium cookies. I don't know, maybe the show will end with Philip and Elizabeth revealed and whatever that means (death, WitSec, prison, deportation), the penultimate scene will be Renee consoling and congratulating Stan, and the final scene will be Renee communication with her handler at the new and improved Center.

One of the best exchanges ever:

Elizabeth: Philip, I know what I'm doing.
Philip: Do you? You're wearing a cyanide pill around your neck.

Two episodes left and still NO OLEG.

[scarlet]

Wow, that was a really good episode! Elizabeth finally seems to be opening her eyes to what Philip said to her in the first scene and actually questioning the things she's asked to do and taking ownership of them. Love it! But, ugh, so nervous about that note from the priest and how it plays into them getting found out. I just...I don't feel like there's any way P and E both make it out of this alive. Especially not with Chekov's cyanide pill still around E's neck.

I can't believe only two more episodes. I've watched from the beginning (I still remember the ads prior to it premiering and thinking "this looks like it could be good" without really knowing what it was about) and it's been high quality from the pilot.

[scrabblequeen]

Do we know what Paige's major is in college?

[scarlet]

Ho-lee crap, my heart is still in my throat after watching Philip race through the streets to avoid getting caught. I guess he's kept up with his cardio over the years.

Sniff, sniff, the end is upon us!

[riosamba]

I’m glad we got some explanation of Elizabeth’s process. It wasn’t really a change of heart at all. She’s still a communist to the core, and it’s the Center turning on comrades that is her nreaking point. This fits with the Elizabeth I’ve come to know. I’m glad they didn’t have her suddenly fall in love with America, or surrender her life’s work and beliefs in devotion to Philip. I do think she loves him, but her primary drive is still to serve her people.

I loved the scene with Oleg and Stan alone in the cell. Oleg’s intense frustration at trying to make Stan understand the importance of a faction trying to do away with Gorbachev was perfect. Thick head was exactly right. And Oleg’s steely determination and courage blow me away. The moment when they put him in the car after seizing him, and he seemed to shrink for a moment was amazing. He permitted himself 15 seconds of grief, and that was it. In the parallel universe where we are both real, single, and he shaves again, I REALLY want him to call me.

Paige deserved the dressing down she got from Elizabeth. What an entitled little snot.

Pastor Tim!!!!!! He didn’t crack, but will he make a return call? Father Andre looked scared and lost, he could also flip.

Tatiana. She went after Oleg because he went home to console his parents instead of following her to Egypt. If she wanted him so badly she could have gone home too, but she didn’t, and he moved on. I really didn’t mind Elizabeth shooting her. At all.

One more episode. 😭

[Ladybug]

May 22, 2018 17:53:28 GMT -4 scrabblequeen said:

Do we know what Paige's major is in college?

I think Political Science. Their plan was to have her work at the State Department to gather intel.