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The Americans - S2 of the KGB spy drama - Keri Russell & Matthew Rhys - Wed on FX

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F

Fantastical

Death Prophet
Tamanon said:
Holy fuck at the preview. It better run long next week.

Arkady and Philip meet. Shit went south I guess
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That's exciting. Something I love about the show is how separated (but obviously connected) Nina is to Phillip and Elizabeth. Seeing those characters interact with each other now will be interesting if that's where it's headed.
 
R

ReturnOfTheRAT

Member
Jared/Jarrod is fucked and so is Elizabeth healer in the cabin. Larrick is right their on the trail. I thought the tracker would damper his ability to keep up, but then he just flashes a badge and people want to give up the info they've got. Time have changed.

Sneaky, sneaky Paige. Giving her a phone is understandable, but at least Philip knows when another line has been picked up in the house. For a second I thought someone else was tampering with the line, but it was just her. Things are definitely different with cellphones in this day and age.

Beeman getting played like a fiddle by The Russians, but it's not all bad, he gets to keep his house and his wife moves out. I guess that's a consolation prize...

Oleg gave Nina the money to run away before things go sour or if they do?

Another great episode in this fast moving season. As usual with finales, I didn't watch the preview so things should be quite interesting come next week.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
I can see where this is going... Jared is fucked and it's going to be made explicitly clear how much danger Paige and Henry are in.

Tamanon said:
Keri Russell is great on this show, but a terrible interview on Colbert!
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She's been pretty boring on panel discussions I've seen. She seems to get shy or disinterested when in front of an audience. That's my guess, since the one-on-one interviews I've read have been far more lively and engaging.

Edit: She's rocking the oddest laugh in this interview.
 
S

Slacker

Member
ReturnOfTheRAT said:
Oleg gave Nina the money to run away before things go sour or if they do?
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You got it. The relationships between the Russians (the non-secret Russians) has been the best part of this season for me. Oleg started out a bit cocky when he arrived (a side effect of his station back home) but quickly realized the serious and important nature of what the people were doing there. He recognizes that Nina is special, and respects what she has done for the cause, so he doesn't want to see her imprisoned or worse back in Russia, so he's doing what he can to get her out.

I'm going to whimper like Mrs. Beeman if next week is Annet Mahendru's last episode (no spoilers - I don't even watch the next-time-on-The-Americans clips). Her performance has been just awesome.
 
T

Tamanon

Banned
So I wonder if Stan is going to get Martha to take the fall for stealing documents? I guess Clark would have to kill her if so.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
A few quotes from the reviews:
Sepinwall said:
The season has had so many moving pieces that it hasn't had a lot of time to deal with the mystery of who killed Emmett and Leanne. For a while, we thought it was Larrick, and maybe it will turn out to be true, but the last real clue we got of any sort involved Claudia's lover many episodes. But the fact that the Centre is so concerned about Jared, and apparently was sending an undisguised Kate to spend time with him and teach him the signals, at least opens the possibility that this was an inside job — that Emmett and Leanne had done something their KGB masters did not approve of, and they had to be eliminated (with their daughter as collateral damage). That level of ruthlessness doesn't seem beyond either side of this not-so-cold war, and if that turns out to be the case, boy oh boy is that going to create some tension for season 3. And even if the killer turns out to be Larrick (who appears on course to have one last fight with the Jennings family next week), Claudia's lover, Fred (if it turns out he's not as shy as he seems) or some other player we haven't met, the job having consequences of this degree — where Paige and Henry could be orphaned, or sent to live on their own in a strange and faraway country, or killed alongside their sleeper agent parents — is definitely putting some doubt in Elizabeth the true believer, to go nicely with the ones her husband has had for quite some time.
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Rolling Stone said:
The episode ends with Larrick, who has been trailing Jared from the moment "Ann" picked him up, ominously interrogating a train-station janitor in the dead of night about the whereabouts of a "teenage runaway." But the danger Larrick poses is more of an afterthought than anything else. At this point, I'm more curious about how much Jared actually knows – despite learning the truth about his parents, he was still oddly calm for an American-raised kid who's just been told, "Hey, ditch everything you've known for the past 18 years and get ready for exile in a foreign country." Strangely enough, Elizabeth doesn't even pick up on this fact. Once she gets home and de-briefs with Philip, she's too busy agonizing over how Paige and Henry wouldn't keep such cool heads if the same thing happened to them. Philip, to his credit, disagrees about his daughter: "Paige is smarter than anyone," he says. That's great, Phil, but maybe now it's time to address the 800-pound elephant in the room, which is that they can't keep up this charade with their kids for much longer. Especially when Elizabeth, after all they've been through, refuses to take her eyes off the task at hand: "One day, it's coming. You know it is."
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NYT said:
When Elizabeth asks Philip what Fred Timbrook (John Carroll Lynch) is like Philip describes him, among other things, as “grandiose.” He adds: “He tells himself he was working for the cause but Emmett could have had him working for space men from Mars and made him feel like he was better than everyone else.”

There’s at least a sense here that ideologies don’t hold a candle to the personal agenda of the person holding them. Elizabeth has had the revelation that Paige is just like her, but when does the next logical step – that believing whole-heartedly in Communism isn’t much different from believing whole-heartedly in religion, that each belief is merely an outlet for a personality to follow?
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Alyssa Rosenberg said:
Andrew Larrick (Lee Tergesen) has been such a powerful antagonist for Elizabeth and Philip precisely because the balance of his loner tendencies and his social attachments has shaken out so differently. He became an asset for the Moscow Center because he was initially afraid to be outed as gay.

But he has abandoned the fear of exposure, as well as any fear of being seen as criminal. Larrick is willing to be anyone — a phone company inspector, a fake cop, a man who might kill a teenage boy — precisely because he has decided to be no one at all. Philip and Elizabeth disguise their real identities because they have many things to lose: their family, their ties to Moscow, their freedom. Cut free from all attachments, Larrick is extraordinarily dangerous to them.

“You people destroyed my life, not that I didn’t have a hand in it,” Larrick tells Kate (Wrenn Schmidt), Philip and Elizabeth’s naive new handler, shortly before he snaps her neck. “An unwilling hand. I made my bed, now I will have to lie in it. As will you.”

That same sort of isolation, which has turned Larrick so feral, is what binds other sources to Philip and Elizabeth. Scientist John Skeevers (Zeljko Ivanek) is so desperately lonely and angry about the occupational causes of his illness that he is willing to tell Philip the latest in stealth research almost for the kindness of being spared humiliation at a pharmacy and a visit over a bowl of soup. Fred (John Carroll Lynch) wants a family of his own so badly that when Philip does him the honor of letting him meet Elizabeth, he agrees to take on a dangerous mission.
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NY Mag said:
Even though these people are spies and FBI employees, individuals trained to look critically at all information before them, it’s notable that Stan, Philip, Elizabeth, and Martha were all so confident in their ability to escape detection and in the consistency of their organization’s behavior. Stan batted down Nina’s suggestion that he could be in trouble for fiddling with surveillance reports, noting that things are so disorganized at the bureau that he could easily blame any breach on a mole, an attitude that echoed Martha’s rant about mail robots and general FBI disorganization. When Elizabeth darted out of the house to deal with the Jared situation, she told Philip to signal the Centre from their home instead of another location, because “What are the odds the FBI is signal-chasing in Falls Church, right now?” (I don’t know ... not terrible, considering that an FBI agent lives across the freakin’ street?) And later, when Elizabeth expressed concern about their safety, Philip said of their Russian bosses, “If they thought we were at risk, they’d tell us.” Philip was trusting entirely that their mother country would protect them, even though it’s obvious no one in the KGB is keeping particularly tight tabs on Larrick.

It’s human nature to want to believe in the institutions in which we’re taught to have faith from the earliest of ages: our parents, our government, our church, our fellow countrymen. But sometimes that faith is not repaid. Nina Sergeevna learned that lesson this week when she allowed herself to be physically brutalized for the sake of duping Stan into infiltrating Echo, only to realize via the mute counsel of Oleg that her sacrifice won’t be rewarded. She’ll likely be sent back to Russia to face trial no matter what she does. The only option she has is to silently take Oleg’s money and run.

“They tried not to make it hurt too much,” Nina told Oleg of the bruises and bumps she suffered in the name of Stan Beeman–brainwashing theater, “but it had to look good.”

It was a line that I could imagine a much older Paige or Henry or Jared saying someday about the secret undercover world they were unwittingly pulled into by their own parents: “They tried not to make it hurt too much. But it had to look good.” Then again, maybe these kids of undercover KGB agents are tougher than they seem.
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Onion A|V Club said:
When this season began, I had trouble imagining Stan ever betraying his country. Now, as we head into the finale, I have trouble imagining him not doing so. The Americans is a slow burn—almost defiantly so in a TV culture that increasingly favors plot burn and big twists above all else—but that’s what makes its big moments so monumental to me. I suspect that Stan won’t betray the government—the FBI vs. Soviets setup is too valuable to the show, and rupturing that dichotomy even a little bit could really harm it—but less because he’s that good of a guy and more because of something physically keeping him from doing so. (I have some speculation about this, based on a throwaway line from the computer tech, in the strays.) Yet just the decision, just contemplating that possibility, is a major change from the Stan we saw in the pilot. This kind of organic character growth isn’t as in vogue right now as it used to be (much more popular is the slow revelation of back-story motivation, which Game Of Thrones and Walking Dead have popularized), but when done well, it’s still one of my favorite things.
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R

ReturnOfTheRAT

Member
Slacker said:
You got it. The relationships between the Russians (the non-secret Russians) has been the best part of this season for me. Oleg started out a bit cocky when he arrived (a side effect of his station back home) but quickly realized the serious and important nature of what the people were doing there. He recognizes that Nina is special, and respects what she has done for the cause, so he doesn't want to see her imprisoned or worse back in Russia, so he's doing what he can to get her out.

I'm going to whimper like Mrs. Beeman if next week is Annet Mahendru's last episode (no spoilers - I don't even watch the next-time-on-The-Americans clips). Her performance has been just awesome.
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Does Oleg have the ability to let her slip away that easily? she'll need help or maybe things have been set up for that with the car Stan was buying. I guess we'll see.

Interesting comments in those review excerpts you posted, Cornballer. I stopped reading many of them half way through the season. I actually want to revisit them after the season and take a collective look at them all.
 
R

rockman zx

Member
The Colbert interview was so painful, maybe she is not the best person to interview but the questions were crap.

Great episode but WTF with the ending, they should have cut in other place or air both episodes together.
 
M

Mercury Fred

Banned
Wtf, first Stan on the Q (Manhattan btw) now Lee whatshisname who's playing the antagonist is on my flight to Seattle. I assume this means I'll see Keri Russell at Trader Joe's or something soon.
 
B

Blader

Member
I've been losing the plot on Larrick lately, but wouldn't his line to Kate about wanting to find the scumbags who killed his people exonerate him of killing Emmett and Leanne? Or was he referring to the people that Phillip and Elizabeth killed at the training camp?

I've completely lost track of who was handling Larrick, why, and what exactly he's looking to accomplish now. :lol
 
C

Cornballer

Member
Blader said:
I've been losing the plot on Larrick lately, but wouldn't his line to Kate about wanting to find the scumbags who killed his people exonerate him of killing Emmett and Leanne? Or was he referring to the people that Phillip and Elizabeth killed at the training camp?
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It's the latter.
 
L

Linius

Member
It's a bit too convenient that everyone has seen Jared and is ready to spill the beans to Larrick. Sure the badge is convincing, but it's odd that Jared is apparently so noticable that everyone remembers him coming by. But okay, I just hope it's all a trap and they want Larrick to close in and show himself. Though they don't know it's him yet of course, it's still just 'a killer' to them at this point.

Anyways, great episode. Good stuff at the safehouse. The car dealer had a great scene, good sales talk. Stan being ignored by his son, poor Stan. Nina getting some run away money just in case. And at this point I can't predict how the finale is gonna go and that's a positive for me. This show keeps surprising me and I like it.
 
A

ambientmystic

Member
Just caught up with the penultimate episode of the season. Good stuff.

Best bit (as someone mentioned above) was the "performance" Nina had to put on for Beeman, and the follow up scene to that with Oleg and Nina speaking in "code".

(The place was oestensibly audio tapped, so I figure Oleg had to say all the "right" things to Nina as he was slipping her the dough for her eventual getaway, if things went awry.)
 
C

Cornballer

Member
Critics on the finale:
Sepinwall said:
Just finished next week’s “Americans” season finale. Holy cow. Need some vodka, stat.
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VanDerWerff said:
I try not to get you guys too hyped, but The Americans finale is, in the words of 1950s Variety, BOFFO. I mean, that shit GUTTED me. I realize I'm atypical when it comes to this show, but it hit me harder than I expected.
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Alyssa Rosenberg said:
Well, just watched what I am pretty sure will be one of the ten best episodes of television I will see this year. Okay, people, I am giving you a week. Catch up on The Americans. Watch the finale live. Just do it.
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Matt Zoller Seitz said:
On THE AMERICANS S2, Matthew Rhys is giving one of the best performances I've seen anyone give in anything.
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Poniewozik said:
Have watched the AMERICANS finale. Question now is can any show knock it out of the best of 2014 slot.
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Dominican Power

Dominican Power

Member
I finally caught up. This show is amazing. The tension is palpable and the risks become greater. The centre asks a whole fucking lot out of the illegals. The best part of this season is the dialogue between the Russians in the Rezidentura.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
- Warming Glow: 13 Important Open Questions Going Into ‘The Americans’ Second Season Finale
1. Foremost, the biggest question of the season is: Who the hell killed Emmett and Leanne Connor? Larrick says it wasn’t him (that someone else got to them first), but then who is it? And why is Andrew Larrick so hellbent on killing Jared? Or is he?

2. Actually, what is so special about Jared, anyway, other than the fact that he’s the son of two dead Russian spies? Why is the KGB so adamant about removing him? Are they just trying to do right by him, or does he know something?

3. What message did Kate give Jared? Why did she meet with him out of disguise and reveal his parents real identities? Is that message what Larrick is after?

4. Or is it possible that Larrick is not specifically after Jared, but using him as a way to track the Jennings and kill them? Is it possible even that Jared is actually in cahoots with Larrick somehow? It might explain why Jared is acting so calm about the fact that he’s about to be spirited away, and why he’s so immediately trusting of Elizabeth. Is it possible that Jared knows who killed his family?

Honestly, the Jared/Larrick plotline is a clusterf*ck of possibilities.

5. Will Fred be able to obtain the radar-absorbing paint from the Stealth factory, or will he be caught and potentially killed trying to do so? Should Philip have trusted him?

6. Kate is dead. Who is the Jennings’ handler now? Will Margo Martindale/Claudia return for the season finale? (Sadly, The Millers was renewed, so we know she won’t be back as a regular recurring character next season.) Will Larrick somehow get to Claudia? Given her state of mind this season, she seems to be in the kind of position to sacrifice herself to save Elizabeth.

7. What is going on with Martha? She knows that “Clark” wears a toupee now, and she wants children, and Clark decidedly does not. I would argue that it’s time for Clark/Philip to cut ties with Martha (or perhaps even kill her), but she’s also finally providing good intel. Does the value of intel outweigh the risk of her ripping off Clark’s toupee and/or exposing him?

8. Martha managed to steal confidential FBI documents right under Agent Gaad’s nose. Will this cost him his job? Will he be reprimanded for it, or possibly even accused of traitery? Or will Martha get caught and sent down the river?

9. Instead of leaving the trash can on her side of the bed and disposing of Clark’s used condoms for him, will Martha move the trashcan to the other side of the bed so he can dispose of his used condoms himself?

10. How will the Beeman/Arkady/Oleg/Nina plotline play out? Will Beeman get the Echo program to Arkady and save Nina? Will Nina somehow take Oleg’s money and run with Beeman’s assistance? Will Beeman and Oleg work together to spare Nina’s life? Will Nina die? Will Arkady find out that Oleg gave money to Nina to escape and punish Oleg? Will Oleg or Beeman kill Arkady to save Nina? Or will Oleg spirit Nina away, blame it on Arkady, and usurp his position? Or will Beeman and Nina run away (setting up a season three plotline in which everyone is after them?)

There’s a lot of possibilities there.

11. Beeman and his wife? What’s up with that? Will their imminent divorce play into the season finale. Is his wife’s new boyfriend THE MAN WHO KILLED THE CONNORS? (p.s., how cool and surprising would that be? I mean, we haven’t met the guy. He could be anyone. He could be Arkady for all we know.)

12. What’s up with Pastor Ted? He can’t honestly be into Paige for innocent reasons, can he? How is Paige’s decision to go to church camp going to affect the Jennings’ mission? IS PASTOR TED SOMEHOW IN CAHOOTS WITH LARRICK? Is she going to find out Pastor Ted is up to no good and call the Jennings in the middle of their mission, distracting them from their goal? Is Paige going to find out her parents are spies? Will The Americans take yet more swipes at organized religion?

The Paige subplot is either a minor throwaway one, or it’s going to be hugely instrumental in the season finale.

13. Most importantly, WILL THE FELICITY WIG BE USED TONIGHT?
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It gets rather silly in the end, but needless to say, there's a lot at stake tonight.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
- TampaBay.com: Must-watch: Wednesday's 'The Americans' finale is a doozy
The Americans heads into this episode as calculated and thrilling as ever. This has been a remarkably confident sophomore season, even for a show that seemed to have a grand sense of where it wanted to go right out of the gate. And Wednesday's finale, "Echo," is a master class in tying off loose ends and bringing things full circle. It's constantly surprising and efficient, addressing long-gestating themes, revealing answers to plot points introduced in the season's first episode, and adding new, shocking developments to the mix for next season. The episode is also a showcase for the show's incredible actors, led by Matthew Rhys as Philip and Keri Russell as Elizabeth. The places both of them take their characters in this final episode is astonishing.
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R

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Excited for the finale tonight. Reading the critics' comments, I'm thinking that someone might die tonight. Nina Sergeevna or Paige maybe.

Cornballer said:
- Warming Glow: 13 Important Open Questions Going Into ‘The Americans’ Second Season FinaleIt gets rather silly in the end, but needless to say, there's a lot at stake tonight.

Instead of leaving the trash can on her side of the bed and disposing of Clark’s used condoms for him, will Martha move the trashcan to the other side of the bed so he can dispose of his used condoms himself?
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lol
 
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