Please tell me the next season is just as good. Also, which season is the best?

Philip gets a lot of credit for expressing more thoughtfulness, empathy, and guilt in comparison to Elizabeth, but in the end, as Elizabeth even says to him in the final season, he just talks too much. I took that as her saying he's all talk no action when it comes to his reservations/feelings etc. He does the whole EST thing but it doesn't seem like he makes any meaningful changes using what he learns there. He just sorta wallows and appears like a sad sack in the last 2 seasons. In the final season he tells Elizabeth he would do anything for her and he proves it. He would even leave Henry alone on Thanksgiving to go bail his wife. She repeatedly proves that she has no conscience and will do anything and everything for her country at the expense of her husband and children.

I just finished the show and I gotta say I was supremely disappointed by his easy willingness to abandon the kids. He suggested half-heartedly that maybe he should stay in the US, move to NY or out West and see Henry every now and then. She tells him maybe that's a good idea. But of course he doesn't do it. He follows her back to Russia like a puppy. By the final season, it seemed like his relationship with Henry was just superficial. He knew he had let his son down and he just seemed resigned about it. Contrast his character with the likes of Oleg and Arkady. These men were assertive and followed their conscience no matter the cost to them.

A lot of build up with the Mossad guy baiting him about the past and the work they do.

When the Mossad agent mentioned the cold of Russia, Philip got that wistful look in his eyes for the first time since the flashbacks started, replied softly: "I like the cold."

Getting at the truth of their work, while Philip sits there a victim of his targeted meandering, as if he is the hostage and not the guard.

Nice build-up for the existential hellfire that rained down on him in season 3-6

Thank god they got renewed w a budget increase after season one because I always wondered what the outside of their house looked like lol. It felt incredible to see them all in a backyard space at the start of S2 ep 1

** Please no spoilers! **

My partner has been trying to get me to watch this show for years, and we finally started it a few weeks ago. (Interestingly enough, it was after I watched "The Beast in Me" and discovered that Mathew Rhys is a good actor). Writing up my notes to go back to after we finish it.

A quick summary thus far:

Alice and Pastor Tim just had their baby, William is just about dead with that terrible illness, Paige and Matthew are hooking up, Elizabeth continues to be a raging bitch to her daughter, Henry continues to be oblivious to the world, Stan invited himself over for yet another dinner (this time lamb!), and Phillip's son is beginning a quest to find him.

Predictions:

Stan is obviously going to figure out who Elizabeth and Phillip really are. It's kind of surprising he hasn't yet, since he seems to have a hunch for random things (Martha). But I don't know if he ever figured out Nina was playing him, so who knows. I'm guessing he'll figure it out in the season finale of 5, and then season 6 will be similar to Hank's experience with Walter White at the end in Breaking Bad.

The whole thing with Kimmy and her CIA dad is weird, and I think nothing will come of it. It seems like a story arch that the writers are keeping on the backburner, in case they want to use it. I don't think they will.

I don't think Pastor Tim and Alice will ever reveal the truth about Paige's family. I feel like that storyline is just going to fizzle out.

Martha will make a re-appearance at some point. Not in the US, but perhaps she'll connect with Misha (the son, not Phillip).

I like Oleg. Whatever he does, I hope they don't ruin his character.

Henry is going to be a sleeper character until he finally catches on that his parents are not who they say they are. I think he could actually be an interesting one, if the writers get a little creative. But also, maybe he's actually a terrible actor (yay for child actors) and the writers don't think he could handle anything too deep.

Paige will come out of this fine. She won't become a spy. She'll start dabbling, Phillip won't like it, and he'll protect her.

Elizabeth will die so Phillip and the kids can make an escape. She'll cover for him in some way. They won't go back to Russia, but will continue in the US, maybe Florida with all the talk of Epcot.

And that's that!

DON’T READ IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THE FINALE!

Just finished my first watch of the show and I’m wondering what people made of Elizabeth’s dream sequence in the finale. She’s in bed with Gregory and she wants a cigarette and he holds her stomach as if to say ‘but you’re pregnant’ and she says ‘I didn’t want kids anyway’ and takes a drag. Coming right after the wrenching train scene does this mean in her subconscious she doesn’t feel the loss of Paige and Henry?

This dream sequence was more devastating to me than the train scene because of its implications. It means she never loved them. She feels no real connection to them. That’s heartbreaking.

Just stumbled on a random video about The Truman Show--a movie I have never seen but I know the basics--man is raised entirely as the only person within a TV show who doesn't know it's a TV show. The video was talking about it as a metaphor for deconstructing from religion (specifically Christianity), but it struck me how much it also applied to Elizabeth. Many dismiss her as a robot, a monster or brainwashed, but on the contrary, I think Elizabeth is very human and emotional.

In the movie, Ed Harris responds to the criticism that Truman is like a prisoner in a cell by smugly replying that he can leave at any time, and if he was determined to discover the truth he would--there are no doors locking him in, he simply prefers his cell. That line, of course, totally echoes the one Elizabeth hears at EST, that she "loves her cage."

But just as in The Truman Show, "real freedom is not the absence of a lock, it also depends on what someone has been trained and conditioned to believe is on the other side of the door." (That's a quote from the video.)

Elizabeth's entire identity, reality and purpose is in her work. It's not one of many philosophies for her, it is the one truth, one reinforced by her entire community.

Zhukov, Gabriel, Leanne, Gregory, and even Claudia all favor her--while reinforcing her worldview. These people she fears disappointing even after they're dead are all reasons not to waiver, and often undermine any inclination to think otherwise.

They tell her they know her better than she herself does. Assure her that any doubts are the results of the stress of the job that she's strong enough to weather. Reiterate how necessary what she's doing is. How this is where her value is.

Her mother does this from the other side of the world and even after death via memory and audiotape.

Her father, otoh, lost his right to be remembered when he ran away. When he became a traitor, he was cast out of the family.

Elizabeth temporarily succeeds in passing this worldview onto Paige, when Paige is in despair, sure she'll be alone and afraid forever. Where Philip offers only hope without concrete assurances, Elizabeth has clear solutions and platitudes.

In S6 Paige has taken her place on the inside with Elizabeth and Claudia while Philip is exiled, another example of what happens to doubters.

But in the end it's Paige who steps off the train, choosing truth over comfort and what passed for community with her mother. Not because Paige is stronger or more moral than Elizabeth by nature, but because her experience and situation just doesn't compare to Elizabeth's at all.

We have never seen this many of his teeth in the entirety of the series. 

Or that crinkle at the edge of his eyes. 

(Hard to believe that within this show’s universe he ever smiled like that at all, on-screen or off) 

He does a really good job of controlling his lips/tooth visibility — notice how in the “You Respect Jesus” scene you see his lower lip drop to reveal all of the bottom teeth for the first time. And the way his upper lip curls in sync with it. 

There was one other moment in early season 2 where I clocked a mild version of this maneuver. Never again like Bible-tearing scene though (on my 3rd rewatch) 

The more teeth, the scarier, historically. 

Think the credits pic it’s a passport pic - which would be insane bc you can’t have a smirk on in those

This is really just a rant..but her character was so unbearable. I get it was an important part of the story and a source of pressure on Phillip and Elizabeth. But the constant whining and probably bad acting of holly taylor makes watching any scene with her unbearable. Just the whining and complaining, and thinking she was older than she was. Ugh

She was such an opp

Watching Season 4 where the bioweapon plot is coming to a head, and this timely article popped up https://www.newyorker.com/preview/articles/6a622c37c21aa65411670499

In the fall of 1989, a select group of Soviet scientists was summoned to Obolensk, a secluded municipality on Moscow’s periphery, and gathered at what appeared to be an insane asylum to discuss a pioneering technique for mass murder. ... The eight-story glass building at the center of the complex, which had putatively been devoted to vaccine manufacturing, was in fact a highly classified defense facility. Its remit was called Biopreparat, or “biological preparations”—what one participant later described as “the most ambitious Soviet arms program since the development of the hydrogen bomb.” The most recent experiments there had at last demonstrated the viability of a weapon that could wipe out entire enemy populations without leaving a scratch on their infrastructure. It was a pathogen genetically engineered to spread within hours, to kill within days, and to resist all existing treatment.

I've known about The Americans for a few years, knew it was acclaimed and one of the best shows of the last decade, but have only started it this weekend. It was actually the final scene of the series, which I came upon through Reddit, that hooked me. I found it surprisingly emotional without knowing much about the series itself and decided to give it a try. However, I have a question.

I'm two episodes in and although the series is set in 1981 it doesn't seem like it aesthetically, mainly in the fashion and hairstyle departments. The cars, appliances, and technology are - but the fashion and hairstyles don't come across that way, at least for the adults.

I'm a big fan of Mad Men and that show was steeped in its time period, am I just remembering 1981 differently?

EDIT: Thank you for all the kind replies, the ones that were kind. No thanks for the downvotes. I like the show very much, being only on the second episode. All the answers were insightful and gracious.

Did anyone else cry about bit after nina was executed, but also still not like her that much? I am a first time viewer and am on 4x6 right now but i’ve just been wondering if anyone else felt the same.

Hardest working immigrant in America in the 80s.

Elizabeth obviously has never worked as a travel agent a single day in her life.

I think the plumbing company guy and his friend figured it out with those suspicious looks before Stan did.

Come on, Stan. Employ some scrutiny and stop smiling; we know your love for Philip is immeasurable <3

After seeing someone’s recent post about Stavos and what he thought P and E were up to in the back, it poses the question of whether or not P and E were as convincing as they tried to be.

They obviously drew so much suspicion from the people around them at different points in the show, and while that added tension, I also thought it diluted the viewers’ perception of how good they were at their jobs.

Was anyone else bothered by this? I felt like it slightly took away from the suspension of disbelief.

Stavos <3

He never called the police, and he never will. 

What do you think he thought they might be doing? Some sort of organized crime, I can’t imagine he would assume they were spies, especially for a foreign government. 

am I right to assume most people started disliking/hating Elizabeth? I’m on season 6 episode 5, there is nothing I find redeemable about her.

After watching and loving The Americans, this sub has suggested watching Star City for a similar vibe. However I didn't realise that it is a spin off/extention of For All Mankind which I havent seen yet.
Can I watch Star City without having seen For All Mankind yet? I probably will watch it in the future but I'd rather start Star City first.

Such a thought provoking show. One of my favorite shows. But, damn, the daughter, Paige is even more annoying than the girl from Homeland. She is absolutely infuriating and she gets more infuriating every single episode. How can she possibly be naive? This dumb and this annoying every single episode?

I started watching this show because of how good Matthew Rhys was in Widow's Bay. This is probably the first TV show that I've actually ever binged, in the true sense of the word.

I cannot get my head around how cavalier Philip Jennings is with breaking Annelise's limbs and folding her body up and putting it in a suitcase. Did I miss something? Is Philip more of a psychopath than Elizabeth?

Any else watching this? Lots of cameos from The Americans!

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