The Americans on FX

If you'll look at what their missions have been about, it's mainly been about protecting themselves, not letting the Americans get an edge on them that could embolden them to start a conflict. This stuff is rarely about "taking down the other guys." It's usually about "making sure the other guys don't get too far ahead."

--- Combating the Star Wars technology (which theoretically would make the US seem invulnerable).
--- Getting a biological weapon to equalize what they believe the US has.
--- Stopping a suspected "wheat destroying pest" that could cause them to starve.
--- Getting a radiation sensor that can tip them off to a US attack. Sabotaging the START talks because they believe the US will go back on its word once the Russians start to whack down their nuclear arsenal.

This is a country in which 1941-45 is still fresh in the memory banks and that will stop at nothing to make sure it never happens again. That was the thinking at that time. War was real to them. It's nothing but a video game to us, something that's always staged "over there."

 

I agree, its in season 1 epp 1 when she tells Phillip he’s soft for enjoying the comforts of their American life. She’s always been the heel

 

I get in real life the Feds likely get tipped off by something as random as checking a seemingly insignificant lead but this feels like a short cut. I like Phil getting back into it to help Elizabeth but I kind of wish we could have seen the FBI stumble across something rather than the digging a hole or endless montages (even if Rocky got a montage).

 

There's a line from a Tom Clancy book from when I was a kid that always stuck with me for some reason. They stumbled upon the possibility of a Secret Service agent being a sleeper agent for a terrorist group and started digging into his life.

"The tradecraft was perfect. The problem was that when you were looking for it, it looked like tradecraft."

That's what is going to close the noose on the Jennings. Now the FBI knows where to look, and when they do, they're going to find a whole bunch of stuff that looks like tradecraft. It felt like the show was putting the foot on the accelerator for the final push, wrapping up the radiation sensor storyline and paying it off.

I think I've watched the preview for next week's episode 20 times already. It's possible, maybe even probable, that it's all tricky preview editing to pull some lines out of context and make us think it's going to be bigger than it is. But I want to believe.

 

--- Can't figure out the Philip flip-flopping. He's working against Elizabeth; but then he agrees to do this one big thing she wants; no, he won't; OK, he'll help Elizabeth in Chicago, even though it goes against what he's doing with Oleg.
--- Some of the next-week preview lines are just too delicious to be true (but it is kind of late in the game now). Imagine Henry, basically ignored for the entire run of the series, tipping off Stan that something's not right with his parents and their sudden, out-of-nowhere trips.
--- Philip actually SMIRKED when he told Elizabeth about warning Kimmy not to visit a Communist country. That seemed almost suicidal.

 

On Point 1 - I think he believes Elizabeth won't survive her plan and needs his (or someone's) help to pull it off, hence him going to Chicago.

 

Need to know what message he sent to Oleg. Is he still on the team, or was it a "Sorry, I'm out. Family first." ?

 

Predictions for next week.

Mission to extract Harvest is a failure, FBI gets him. But like Elizabeth, he was issued a pill when he joined the hardline side and takes it.

Longer shot: Henry tells Stan about the money problems. Philip is caught or nearly caught dead dropping with Oleg. Stan assumes Philip is selling some sort of information to the Russians.

 

The "I've been meaning to tell you for a while" line in the trailer I thought was going to be Philip admitting his marriage was on the rocks but it suddenly makes sense that it would have been Henry telling Stan about the money problems.

The part where Stan is waking through the garage I wonder if that is going to be Harvest's place and now he is keen to what Philip has in his.

 

Right. Pragmatism aside, he's still in love with her.

 

If that's Harvest's place, they have literally identical fuse boxes and laundry rooms.

 

I know we're supposed to be suspicious about Renee, but her and Stan have been together 4+ years now (factoring in the timeline jump). Wouldn't she have sought a coveted FBI job before this? Slow burn, build trust, etc. ... I get that.

Just think with 4 episodes left that this is going to be much ado about nothing.