The Americans on FX

Yes, DirecTV.
It is re-aring at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, allegedly. I've set that to record. Previous setting was for first-run only.
I'm not staying up to 10 p.m. Saturday to watch it, though, which means I won't get to watch until Sunday evening.

 

Same thing happened to me. I usually let it tape and then watch it immediately after so I can fast-forward through the commercials.

Luckily, I was able to set the 12:30 a.m. episode to record.

 

I saw it was set to record a 20 minute Americans early in the morning and stupidly thought it would be a pre finale recap show. I didn't check to make sure it was recording the actual show later.

 

Thought I was the only one who had a glitch. Mine was on Dish and I just now got to watch the show.

 

I had the same issue. Thankfully I caught it late Wednesday night so I was able to record the replay.

 

Also had a DVR snafu where only 26 minutes were recorded. I have the FX app on my Roku, so we were able to watch it there. We weren't able to until last night, so I've been avoiding this thread like the Lassa virus.

First off, the "Would you like a Coke?" line might be my favorite on the show. I laughed way too hard at that.

I think it is brilliant the way the writers slowly and subtly developed Paige in this season. It was never full on spy training. It was working Pastor Tim a little here. Some information from Matthew there. Small suggestions that she is, willingly or unwillingly, becoming what the Center wanted her to become, much to Philip's dismay. I also like that they seem to be bringing it back to the conflict that they started the show with - two houses across the street from each other in stark opposition, although only one house knows it.

My heart is going to break for Stan when he finds out that his only friend is exactly who he has been hunting. That's exactly why he was so excited that he caught Paige and Matthew making out. It's a deeper connection to his friends across the street, another reason for Matthew to stay with him and a bigger family/friend network. His arch has been fascinating in this show. Always a brilliant detective but totally flawed family man. He was hard to feel for while he was cheating on his wife with Nina, but now he may be the most sympathetic character on the show.

 

I thought the finale was a big let down.

It should have ended with Gabriel telling them they were going back to Russia, period.

 

I don't think Gabriel was going to do that because he's been carefully working Phillip for a while now. Agents as skilled and valuable as those two are rare, but Philip could defect if pushed too hard. He's been careful for a while now to make Philip feel like he's making his own choices.

 

Good finale. A lot of slow-burn stuff.
Not great, as I'd hoped.

I didn't buy Stan's behavior when Phillip came to get Paige.
OK, I'll buy that Stan might be excited about a relationship between his son and Phillip and Elizabeth's daughter. He thinks his son is a little strange, and he likes the Jennings.
But still, Phillip is the father of a teen-age girl in January 1984. You not going to tell him about his daughter's make-out session in such a gleeful manner. I don't have a teen-age daughter, but I can't imagine I'd want to hear about it so gleefully from the boy's father.
That was strange.

Also, as happy and relieved Stan might be about his son and the connection to the Jennings, Stan just got done watching a man die a slow, agonizing death for several hours.
Even though the dying man was your enemy, that's is a brutal thing to watch. Under those circumstances, Stan's energy and statements when he greets Phillip at the door seem wildly out of place.

Other than that, good but not great finale.

 

In the tradition of keen and insightful SJ.com television critiques, that finale really set up next season nicely.

 

I want Philip to kill Gabriel.

 

I think that's part of why the finale was such a letdown to some. With two seasons remaining, there really needed to be more of a focus on setting up next season than some "Wow!" cliffhanger that many were hoping for. A cliffhanger just isn't going to have much punch knowing there are 23 more episodes.