Obviously that is a thought Ive encountered quite a few times in the five seasons Ive watchedThe Americans.

It can be just straight up hard to follow.

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We begin with Philip posing as Gus Alexander and AgriCorp exec Deirdre in Topeka.

And then cycle right to Elizabeth posing as Mrs. Eckert with Pashas mom, Evgheniya Morozova.

Thats a lot to keep track of for even the staunchest ofAmericanssupporters.

HOW DARE YOU DOUBT MY BOY PHILIPS GAME FOR EVEN A SECOND.

PHILIP IS A GOD DAMN CLOSER.

PHILIP GETS IT INNNNNNNNNNNNNN.

EVEN IF IT MEANS LISTENING TO NONSENSE ABOUT LOTUS 1-2-3.

*

*Allow me a digression on Lotus and all of its wonderful products.

Lotus 1-2-3 is actually a kind of early Microsoft Excel spreadsheet program.

The Jennings youngest child gets very sparse screen time, mostly due to the limitations of child acting.

Its funny to watch how shocked Philip and Elizabeth are at this news.

They give a shot to play it off with each other like well, who knew!

but there is a deeper level of discomfort playing just below the surface.

How did they miss this?

How did they miss something so simple as their younger child being good at math.

On a much smaller level, Philip is starting to get a little more rattled by Stans relationship.

Renee is awesome and perfect for Stan.

Shes like a parody of male-centric 80s movie cool chicks.

A girl who likes sports?!?!?

No wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, bro!

It seems too good to believe and Philip thinks exactly that so he starts to trail Renee.

He thinks the Rezidentura might have been using information the Jennings collected on Stan against him.

Which begs the question: why does Philip care?

Maybe its just because after the Henry episode, Philip has come to realize that actions have consequences.

Ignore your son: become surprised when he excels in school.

Spy on your neighbor: that neighbor might get in serious trouble.

At least Philips dismissal of Henry and Stan led to undiscovered math skills and a hot girlfriend.

Philips relationship with Paige is fraught for another reason.

But then he did.

Thats…thats bleak, Paige.

Philip and Elizabeth were so fucking foolish to think they could continue this job without harming their children.

What are their values?

What are their priorities?

Its certainly something that Philip has to ponder as he pokes at that Chinese food.

Still, the nightmare of constant, life-upending revelations and realizations is not over.

Lets go back to Topeka to more.

Elizabeths AgriCorp boo Ben has always seemed to be nothing but a solid dude.

This episode he makes a lovely Egyptian meal and regales Elizabeth with stories of his time in Egypt.

Hes even annoyingly self-effacing enough to know when hes prattling on too long.

God damn it, hes the best.

Of course, things are even worse for Philip, as they usually are for fortunes favorite fool.

Philip throws on his Eckert garb and heads over to Tuans with some McDonalds.

Virtually every scene of this episode is on my list of favoriteAmericansscenes ever.

Theyre all so subtle and so brilliant.

This is what its all about.

There are people fucking starving and thats why Russia was so afraid.

The Americans could end this war within seconds if they contaminated the little food the U.S.S.R. had left.

Elizabeth asks when she arrives.

That guy in the lab…that cant happen ever again, Philip responds.

Well be more careful.

This has been hard for me.

For a long time.

You know that, right?

When we know this kind of thing is coming up, maybe it can just be me?

Theyre participating in this whole farce together.

Every decision they make has the potential to get people hurt.

And every decision they dont make has the potential to do the same.

Like poor Mischa, when hes told it will be impossible for him to see his father.

  • Philip wasnt even aware of this but hes complicit.

Because this is his life and these are the rules of engagement hes agreed to.

*What a phenomenal scene.

I was utterly heartbroken for Mischa.

Why do we watch TV as opposed to say a movie?

A big answer has to be the time investment, right?

TV has more time to work with and that presents exciting new narratives possibilities and challenges.

For The Americans, that time investment is never a challenge, only a boon.

The time weve spent with Elizabeth and Philip for these five years now has presented an interesting situation.

Thats TV, my friends.

The continual and gradual removal of excuses until we eventually discover which spare bits of humanity are left.

Rating:

5 out of 5