The Americansrightfully gets a lot of credit for its 80s soundtrack.
No period-piece is complete without some period music.
Having never seen the 80s myself, I have a fairly limited, stereotypical view of the decade.
Honestly, its a little surprising that this is the first time thats happened.
Still, Im sure there was little to no consideration given to ever including it as its A.
Very on the nose and a little corny, and B.
But that doesnt even matter.
Everybody is looking for something in Born Again, even if theyre not quite sure what.
Even Philip whips out a hail mary of his own.
Most of them have capital C Causes.
I loved them both in different ways.
In the end they both loved their countries more than they loved me.
By the end of the episode, Nina has found a new cause: herself.
Props as they were, his family was always an important part of Stans cause.
He couldnt be an all-American hero without a wife and a kid in the suburbs.
This continues when Stan finds out a good friend of his has died in a plane crash.
As for Philip and Elizabeth, well, their cause makes up the entire premise of the show.
Ok, tearing them apart is a bit strong.
Theyre going about it, in subtler, sneakier ways now, spys that they are.
Philip helps Paige hang up a poster and tells her You should always do that.
Stand up for your beliefs.
Later Elizabeth takes her to her friend Gregorys* neighborhood and tells her apart her activist years.
Im more like you than you think, she says.
*Remember Gregory from season one?
Went down in a hail of bullets?
Philip and Elizabeth are downright peaceful in Born Again.
There are no rules of engagement when it comes to Kimmy, however.
I remain astonished with how wellThe Americansis handling this storyline.
But Im not sure any other show on the planet can pull off whatThe Americanshas done with it.
Its like the worlds quietest horror movie.
Philip, on the surface, has all the power.
Hes the adult after all and a professional liar.
Still its not to see him as some kind of victim or prey.
Philips exuberance at pulling it off is infectious.
Matthew Rhys plays him as a man who just won the lottery.
The KGB wants weekly reports from the bug he placed in Kimmys dads briefcase.
This means getting closer to Kimmy than just a still feeling each other out relationship.
So Philip does something interesting.
He combines his initial appeal to religion with a little bit of truth from his own life.
He has a son, Mischa, that hes never met.
Gabriel informs Philip that Mischa is now a Russian soldier deployed in Afghanistan.
The idea is to light a fire under Philip to end this war as soon as possible.
Philip sticks to his story of finding religion to Kimmy but he adds an important detail: the truth.
As he asks her to pray, Kimmy says c’mon watch over James son wherever he is.
Everybodys looking for something.
Rating:
5 out of 5
