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

-griffy-

Banned
Paige....stop sayin things.
I think she's actually working marks or something? I'm not sure she was actually looking for Henry so much as trying to get info about Stan and buddy up with his son. And earlier when she put on the waterworks for Alice, that seemed like trying to solidify being on her good side. Think she's playing people for her own benefit.
 
Even if they find another way, how do you come back from that?

"oh we didn't really sleep together, I just faked it for ____________"

Doesn't even matter what you fill in the blank with lol
 

jerry113

Banned
Feels Bad Man: The Episode

edit: never thought we'd see kimmy again, and then she shows up 15 episodes later all of a sudden like it's nothing
 

Disgraced

Member
- Promo for next week (please spoiler tag any discussion)
"Dinner for Seven?" Stan at the dinner table with Tim and Alice?! Holy fuck! That's a proximity bomb about to go off if I ever saw one. All it takes is one slip. Agent Beeman is always so close, and he just keeps getting more reason to not only be driven but paranoid. One of these days lots of emotions are going to come flooding out of the poor guy at once...
 

Sober

Member
Even if they find another way, how do you come back from that?

"oh we didn't really sleep together, I just faked it for ____________"

Doesn't even matter what you fill in the blank with lol
Well yeah, true, but I think it's mostly about Elizabeth finally giving in to her feelings. Like last week she pushed it all down and was extremely adamant she was gonna do it, her feelings be damned. So it doesn't matter if ultimately she has to do it anyway, because now she knows she feels shitty about doing it. It's almost as if she had to follow it through as an order she might be able to justify it to herself but she pretty much took the initiative there.
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Henry and his damn tennis ball! Awesome sound design and story choice there.

I guess the USSR isn't sending its top men to do work in Thailand. They could have approached that a little smarter.

I've never eaten a Twinkie. Do I understand America?!

Feels Bad Man: The Episode

edit: never thought we'd see kimmy again, and then she shows up 15 episodes later all of a sudden like it's nothing
Kimmy was mentioned once or twice recently, so not too surprising for her to pop up.

I think she's actually working marks or something? I'm not sure she was actually looking for Henry so much as trying to get info about Stan and buddy up with his son. And earlier when she put on the waterworks for Alice, that seemed like trying to solidify being on her good side. Think she's playing people for her own benefit.
I don't think she's playing anyone consciously, but the thought about waiting a bit to ask Alice about the tape shows she's starting to gauge how best to maneuver relationships.
 

Sober

Member
"Dinner for Seven?" Stan at the dinner table with Tim and Alice?! Holy fuck! That's a proximity bomb about to go off if I ever saw one. All it takes is one slip. Agent Beeman is always so close, and he just keeps getting more reason to not only be driven but paranoid. One of these days lots of emotions are going to come flooding out of the poor guy at once...
Doesn't matter, everyone will forget once
Henry awkwardly asks about Mrs. Beeman again.
 

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
Elizabeth's plan to get these codes is going to end so badly. Her discussion with Gabriel just made it seem like it's going to be emotionally crushing.

Gaad. I was so excited to see him again and then he's gone a few minutes later. I wonder what the offer was. Maybe something related to Martha?
 

Sober

Member
Elizabeth's plan to get these codes is going to end so badly. Her discussion with Gabriel just made it seem like it's going to be emotionally crushing.

Gaad. I was so excited to see him again and then he's gone a few minutes later. I wonder what the offer was. Maybe something related to Martha?
It might've even just been a simple like, "well you basically got fired from the FBI, would you like to sell some secrets to us? we're willing to offer you a lot of money."
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Martha knows way too much to ever be traded back, so I don't know in what way it could involve her. The way Arkady reacted makes me think it was something basic, like Sober's idea, and he immediately knows the potential value of what they attempted was nowhere near worth the shit they're going to face now.
 

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
It might've even just been a simple like, "well you basically got fired from the FBI, would you like to sell some secrets to us? we're willing to offer you a lot of money."

That makes sense. Where the offer was simple, but the blowback will be huge.
 

Zaph

Member
Gaad:(

Just as I was thinking they were going to give him a cool overseas storyline...

What are the chances Mailrobot goes all Short Circuit to avenge him?
 

Ashby

Member
I didn't catch the part where Phillip talks about the tape. Did he say that there was no tape that the wife made or that there was no lawyer she gave it to? I don't know how he would have found that out.
 

IvanJ

Banned
I didn't catch the part where Phillip talks about the tape. Did he say that there was no tape that the wife made or that there was no lawyer she gave it to? I don't know how he would have found that out.

I think the tape he is talking about is the one in Kimmy's apartment.
I suspect the pastor's wife's tape will play a major role in this season's inevitable cliffhanger.

Overall, really liked the episode, there are a couple of new avenues opening. Gaad getting killed must be a starting point for a major shitstorm.

And is that Taub as the new boss? Can't wait for him to assume a bigger role.
 

Sean C

Member
"Us, kill Pastor Tim? Why Paige, how silly!" I feel bad for Paige, in that she was basically right about what her parents were capable of, but they were guilting her for discerning it.
 

IronRinn

Member
I didn't catch the part where Phillip talks about the tape. Did he say that there was no tape that the wife made or that there was no lawyer she gave it to? I don't know how he would have found that out.

I think the tape he is talking about is the one in Kimmy's apartment.
They have been tapping Tim and Alice's phone for a while now. Philip was saying that there was no call to a lawyer, I believe.

And is that Taub as the new boss? Can't wait for him to assume a bigger role.
Yep, good old Peter Jacobson playing his usual character, it seems.
 
Poor Gaad.
They have been tapping Tim and Alice's phone for a while now. Philip was saying that there was no call to a lawyer, I believe.
Yes. They have a bug in their room because they played tape earlier this season of Pastor Tim talking.
Yep, good old Peter Jacobson playing his usual character, it seems.
He was excellent on Colony this year, and he's a good fit here.
 
- Slate podcast for this week
How to Compose a TV Score, With The Americans' Nathan Barr

In this installment about episode 410, “Munchkins,” composer Nathan Barr joins June Thomas and show runners Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg to discuss his process for composing the show's score. In addition to performing some of his unique custom-made instruments like the sympathetic drone cello, Barr breaks down the Emmy-nominated main title theme.
 

IronRinn

Member
Something that we didn't mention in here: I'm glad the show finally addressed whether or not they would tell Henry, and Elizabeth's response was perfect. Henry might be too American.
 
Something that we didn't mention in here: I'm glad the show finally addressed whether or not they would tell Henry, and Elizabeth's response was perfect. Henry might be too American.

The thing I love with Henry is the hilarious but effective contrast in tone, sort of. One or two episodes ago the show is focused on the tension between Philip, Elizabeth, Paige, and Pastor Tim and it seems like things are about to combust and shit's about to get real.... and Henry is sitting at their computer playing fucking Lode Runner like he's on another show completely. It's so great.

I loved the tennis ball thing last night too.
 
- NY Times interview: Richard Thomas of ‘The Americans’ on Agent Gaad’s Fate, John-Boy and Jimmy Carter
When did you find out you were going to die on the show?

It was pretty clear for me that my story was very much tied to the story of my secretary, Martha, played by Alison Wright. When she went down, I had to fall on my sword. You can’t be the director of counterintelligence and have your secretary be married to a K.G.B. agent. So that was pretty much in the cards. Fortunately, they wrote very good things for me toward the end and allowed me to go out with a bang rather than a whimper.

What was it like shooting your final scene?

It was a very weird feeling. When I did “The Waltons,” TV shows didn’t kill off characters. You just did the show until it was canceled. But in the current novelistic style of cable series, everybody has a suspended sentence. Once you know your character is going to be killed and you’re still doing shows leading up to that, you feel like you’re on death row. I came onto the set that day and it was like, “Dead actor walking!” Everybody was very respectful. Members of the crew were coming up and shaking my hand. It’s a different and peculiar feeling. I was sad because I had a blast playing the character, and I really admire the show. Getting killed off was a new experience for me — unsettling but dramatically satisfying.

Why was the character so rewarding for you to play?

When the producers called me about the role, they said, “We don’t want him to be the typical hard-talking F.B.I. guy. Would you be interested?” And I said yes because this was not a part people would automatically think of me doing. The thing about Frank is that under normal circumstances on a series, he would be one of the good guys. But it was interesting to be walking around New York and have people say to me, “You’re such a bad guy on the show!” I thought: “Wait a minute, I’m not slitting people’s throats. I’m just trying to catch the bad guys.” But because of the brilliant concept of the series, everybody’s moral orientation is upended.
More via the link.
 
Why would killing Gaad create a shit storm at the FBI? He's been retired for months, and as far as anyone knows it could have simply been a burglary gone wrong. It's certainly not the Soviet's style (they'd probably dress it up as a suicide or simply make him disappear).
 

IronRinn

Member
Why would killing Gaad create a shit storm at the FBI? He's been retired for months, and as far as anyone knows it could have simply been a burglary gone wrong. It's certainly not the Soviet's style (they'd probably dress it up as a suicide or simply make him disappear).
It may not, (though I doubt that the FBI would let it go so easily, especially in the era we're dealing with) but what it will do is cause a shit storm with Stan Beeman.
 
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