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The Americans - S4 of the KGB spy drama - Keri Russell & Matthew Rhys - Wed on FX

G

-griffy-

Banned
This and Better Call Saul are kind of weird shows. They don't really give a fuck about normal pacing. They'll introduce stuff in bits and pieces and let it build up over time, not worrying that they have to payoff something off right now. It's like the episodes are just kind of a formality, the story isn't concerned with them so much and just unfolds as it wants to. I like these shows.
 
N

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
-griffy- said:
Yeah. 4 seasons been leading up to this stuff.
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-griffy- said:
This and Better Call Saul are kind of weird shows. They don't really give a fuck about normal pacing. They'll introduce stuff in bits and pieces and let it build up over time, not worrying that they have to payoff something off right now. It's like the episodes are just kind of a formality, the story isn't concerned with them so much and just unfolds as it wants to. I like these shows.
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Yeah, exactly. I think the showrunners were talking about this in some interview or another as well. They just take it as one cohesive work, they're not necessarily concerned with where and when X or Y happens during an episode/season, just that it happens. I think the example they used was Philip and Elizabeth telling Paige that they were spies. Most shows would probably end a season like that, but they put it in an episode well before that.


-Sepinwall's review
-Onion A.V. Club review
 
P

-Pyromaniac-

Member
-griffy- said:
This and Better Call Saul are kind of weird shows. They don't really give a fuck about normal pacing. They'll introduce stuff in bits and pieces and let it build up over time, not worrying that they have to payoff something off right now. It's like the episodes are just kind of a formality, the story isn't concerned with them so much and just unfolds as it wants to. I like these shows.
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Yup it's why they're both the best shows on tv. They're allowed to breathe and the story unfolds naturally and because it's trying to hit milestones.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
Great song choice at the end. They talked about it in an interview before the season.
There have been so many great ’80s music moments over the course of the series. What’s the process like of finding the perfect song for any given scene?

Fields: First of all the process, we have an incredible music supervisor P.J. Bloom and his team who lead that effort. Also it’s kind of a group effort with our writers, our directors, our incredible editing team. Sometimes a singular song is pitched in a script, such as the Yaz song “Only You,” and it just stays the same throughout. And sometimes, we don’t even know there’s going to be a song and then over the course of an episode, a sequence emerges as something that’s going to carry a song and we’ll spend a lot of time listening to many, many different options. But it’s fun. Joe and I were around back in the early ‘80s and we get to listen to a lot of songs from our youth.

Weisberg: That’s a nice way to put it, we were “around.”

Is there one that sticks out that you really love or just felt like the perfect fit?

Weisberg: We love a lot of them, and they become sort of special to us. But there’s a big David Bowie one this season that is obviously going to have some special and sad resonance.

Was that chosen before he passed?

Weisberg: Literally moments before.

Fields: Yeah, we actually saw it in the cut, fell in love with it and knowing that he was a fan of the show, reached out to his representatives to get the song I think the week prior to his passing.

Wow. Can you share anything about the context in which the song is used?

Fields: We can share what the song is but we’ll let the context wait until the episode airs. It’s “Under Pressure.”
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IronRinn said:
"I dunno."
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Elizabeth turning up the yucks recently.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
She's extremely useful as a source since she's basically photocopying field reports and has access to Gaad.

Philip genuinely cares for her, so he doesn't want to kill her. Gabriel knows that he would completely alienate Philip if he asked him to off her.
 
Y

yellow submarine

Member
Also it would look really bad offing a source that's currently being tailed. Would let the FBI know that the KGB knows, and they would change up or harden their op-sec even more.

But then again, extracting Martha to mother russia would be the same thing, it's not like they're going to mosin-nagant her skull while she walks into the FBI office or anything.

This show is sooooooo good. This and Better call saul are head and shoulders above the other shite that's popular these days like walking dead. Honestly how is walking dead even popular.. the story makes no fucking sense, the characters have no reasonable story motivations and people still watch it.
 
S

Sectorseven

Member
Well they're crazy if they think they can keep using her. Next thing you know the feds will be baiting her with fake Intel.

Doesn't that CDC guy have something he can infect her with? No one would be the wiser.
 
E

evil solrac v3.0

Member
that last scene felt more than just people having sex and releasing stress.
wonder if anything happens from it down the line, but the Americans isn't known for soap opera like swerves.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
I see Paige is still walking into bedrooms without knocking. Did she learn nothing from the last time?

I feel like Henry is going to royally screw over the family some day by revealing something meaningful to Stan. All this focus on Paige and other vulnerabilities, and it'll be Henry who somehow blows it, without even having a clue.
 
E

EmpressInYellow

Banned
Dan said:
I feel like Henry is going to royally screw over the family some day by revealing something meaningful to Stan. All this focus on Paige and other vulnerabilities, and it'll be Henry who somehow blows it, without even having a clue.
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"Your turn Henry."

*The answer reads "Julius and Ethel Rosenberg"*

"Name the married pair of Soviet spies who spent years passing military secrets to the USSR."
 
I

IronRinn

Member
MisterFalcon said:
Noah Emmerich directed this ep so at the end Stan is standing there in the bedroom. Talk about weird.
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Sober said:
Not sure if the last part was simulated sex or not :\
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"CUT! No no no NO! That was terrible! Is that how you two do it at home? Let's do it again. Keri, more hip action. Matthew, at the end, I need to feel like you're really railing her good. You people made a god damn baby, try to fucking act like you know how to fuck each other. All right people, places! Aaaaaaaaaand action!"

evil solrac v3.0 said:
that last scene felt more than just people having sex and releasing stress.
wonder if anything happens from it down the line, but the Americans isn't known for soap opera like swerves.
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I think that on some level, Elizabeth is a little upset by how emotionally invested in and distraught Philip is regarding Martha. I think it was to relieve stress, for sure. I also think it was to reestablish that connection and maybe even "remind" Philip of who he's actually with.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
Slate podcast for this week:

- How Noah Emmerich Got A David Bowie Song Onto The Americans Two Days Before He Died
In this installment about Episode 5, “Clark's Place,” Noah Emmerich (who plays FBI agent Stan Beeman and directed this week's episode) joins June and show runners Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg to talk about the awkwardness of directing a steamy sex scene between co-stars (and real life couple) Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell. Plus, the story of how he got a David Bowie song onto the show two days before Bowie passed away.
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Should be a fun one.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
More reviews:
- NY Mag
- Slant magazine

WSJ Speakeasy podcast:
- Alison Wright Talks ‘The Americans’
Anyone who watches FX‘s Cold War drama “The Americans” has gotten used to carrying around a heavy heart for the character of Martha Hanson. The lonely, beleaguered FBI secretary has spent much of the series in a sham marriage to Matthew Rhys‘s KGB agent – whom she only knows under his alias “Clark” – and now with her employers getting closer to figuring out her treasonous activities, it’s getting harder for Martha to keep up appearances. On last night’s episode, Martha revealed to Clark (a.k.a. Philip Jennings) that she recently suffered from a panic attack, sending viewers’ worries about Alison Wright’s fan-favorite character into overdrive.

Martha’s situation may be a nonstop bummer, but talking to Wright is anything but. The actress stopped by the Wall Street Journal offices recently to chat about what’s in store for her character on “The Americans,” as well as her upcoming role as Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas (Wendell Pierce), in the HBO telefilm “Confirmation,” which premieres Saturday, April 16.
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C

Cornballer

Member
This should be fun. A journalist spent 6 months in production with The Americans to learn about how tv gets made:

- Vox: “We’re creating a world that feels true”: How to make great TV, explained by FX spy drama The Americans
To truly understand the phrase "controlled chaos," you should consider crashing the set of a television show.

It's my first day on the set of The Americans, FX's stellar Cold War spy drama. On this frigid November morning, I step into a nondescript Brooklyn warehouse and am immediately whisked through a labyrinth of endless hallways, half-assembled sets, crowds of crew members jostling around a catered lunch. I grab some food, turn around, and immediately run into series star Matthew Rhys. He's laughing with the crew, so fresh off filming that he still has wig clips embedded in his curly hair.

Someone introduces me. I tell Rhys I'm here to report on how an episode of television gets made, and he laughs, cocking his head. "So," he says, his thick Welsh accent already coming through, "are you bored out of your fuckin’ mind yet?"

He's gone before I can answer; we're both supposed to be at a table read for "Clark's Place," the fifth episode of The Americans' fourth season, and we're already late. This behind-the-scenes access might be exciting for me, but for the cast and crew hustling to produce this episode, it's just another busy day on the job.
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Very long article via the link.
 
Ristifer

Ristifer

Member
Really awesome, in-depth article. Also shows the name of the woman operator who sends and receives all the coded messages for the Centre. Apparently, her name is Joan.

Honestly not sure if that was already stated on the show or not, but I can't remember hearing the name Joan.
 
G

-griffy-

Banned
RatskyWatsky said:
lol
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paige.0.gif
 
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