The Americans on FX

Aderholdt said to Stan that they were monitoring Henry at school. Was it risky for Stan to go up there and reveal the truth to Henry? Would those watching Henry wonder what was Stan doing there?

Surely, if the FBI assumes Philip and Elizabeth would come to Henry, seeing Stan there would spook them away.

 

I cried when I saw Paige on the platform.

It's a scene that probably strikes all of us about something.

I had the same look on my face Paige did when my ex-wife served me with divorce papers more than a year ago.

The same "if this is what you want... fine... I'll go live a better life" absent look. Fear and relief in one.

 

I've been thinking about Renee since last night.
What did they do - scriptwise and shotwise - to create this subtext for her?
How did the show so subtly convince viewers and Phillip that she's a spy?
I find the craft of that amazing.

I still think one of them needed to die. I figured it would be Phillip.
The ending would be more haunting if Elizabeth was alone at the end, wrestling with her life in reflection.

I also thought a completely pointless, fatal car crash while driving with Arkady would've been interesting.

 

I was worried they were going that route when we saw a tired Arkady wipe his eyes just before Philip asked him to pull over.

 

Paige on the platform was fantastic. You see Elizabeth and Phillip relieved that the police don't recognize them from the wanted posters then there's Paige. I thought it was too easy that they got away from the police until I saw Paige. So good.

At the end I thought Elizabeth and Phillip were going to get shot.

I think the finale was good. It left me wondering what was going to happen next. It wasn't overly cheesy. It wasn't prefect (too slow in some parts) but good.

 

I'd like to see Stan on the trail of whether Renee is a spy.

"Dennis, we need to do an exhaustive background check on my wife. I suspect she may be a Russian illegal."

"Stan, are you nuts? Why would you think that?"

"Because the Russian illegals I let escape told me she might be."

 

Just point of order:
Calling them 'Russian illegals' is biasing.
Preferred term is 'undocumented Russians.'

 

Undocumented?

Hell, they have documents for any and every occasion. Stashed in that garage or in the cubbyhole behind the washer/dryer.

 

Something's been bugging me:

Paige was in disguise on the train. Why? She wasn't on any FBI wanted list a border agent would check.

And even if it was necessary . . . when did she pose for the passport photo of her in that disguise?

They had a passport ready for Henry, too (that they buried). When was THAT photo (in disguise, of course) taken?

I gotta stop thinking about this show.

 

One thing I found odd ... with all that food Philip got at McDonald's, you'd think they would get a few drinks to wash it down.

And, judging by the size and immobility of the bags he was carrying, I'm hoping there were a few of these in there:

 

Whatever trance Stan was in when they dropped all that spy stuff and big reveals on him in the parking garage would have ended, IMO, when Phillip made that comment about Renee probably being a Rooskie spy too.

As in, "Yeah, dear friend, we totally hoodwinked you and made you look like a fool but we are rather tortured souls and besides, Paige is right here so don't go ballistic ... oh, and by the way, your girlfriend is playing you for a dupe too and we know more about her than you do."

To me, that little kicker to their conversation should have pissed off Stan so much that he snapped back to reality, said "Screw you Commies" and done his duty.

My takeaway from the series overall: I want one of those circuit-breaker box secret safes in my house.

 

I don't think they posed in those disguises. They matched their disguise to the picture.