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[Cornballer]

Slate podcast for this week:

In this installment about episode 411, “Dinner For Seven,” H. Keith Melton, author and co-founder of the International Spy Museum, joins June Thomas and show runners Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg to discuss his collection of KGB spy gear and how he advises the show on everything from lock picking techniques to what type of camera the characters should be using.

 

[IronRinn]

I have to say that I was a little disappointed that it wasn't Claudia pretending to be Patty's mom.

 

[Cornballer]

I have to say that I was a little disappointed that it wasn't Claudia pretending to be Patty's mom.

Indeed. They got Kathy Geiss from 30 Rock, though.

 

[Cornballer]

More reviews:
- NYT
- WSJ
- NY Mag
- USA Today
- IGN

 

[jett]

Here's the promo for the penultimate episode https://youtu.be/LwK21QS7iIM

Omg much happenings

Paige is so annoying.

 

[Cornballer]

- Poniewozik in the NY Times: ‘The Americans’ Finished? Thank You for Killing My Favorite Show

Good news, everybody! The best drama currently on television is going off the air!

FX announced Wednesday that “The Americans,” its resonant Soviet spy drama set in 1980s suburban Washington, has signed a deal for two additional and final seasons. If you love the show like I do, this is — like so many things on “The Americans” — sad but perfect, because it will have the chance to end well.

This strange phenomenon — cheering for the end of one of your favorite dramas — is a curious byproduct of the peak-TV era. Traditionally, networks wrung everything they could out of hits, and TV history is full of greats (say, “All in the Family”) that are greater if you don’t think much about their last few seasons. Ending a veteran series was once more a matter of crafting a bang-up finale episode than plotting a multiseason story arc.

But the more ambitious and serial TV became, the more jarring it was for a series to abruptly end, or worse, continue past its creative peak by fiat. More and more series were naturally driven toward an endpoint, like “Lost,” for which ABC took the unusual step of setting a three-season glide path to its finale. Whether you loved that ending or hated it, it was preferable to spinning out the story, “Gilligan”-style, until the Harlem Globetrotters washed ashore on The Island.

“The Americans” is one of those rare series that actually has gotten better every season. But we shouldn’t kid ourselves that it, or any show, would do that indefinitely.

More via the link.

His sequel suggestion is "Better Page Paige"

 

[IvanJ]

I want to see Paige come out of this situation tougher and stronger. No longer a whiny little teen with idealistic rosy outlook on life.
She has seen people willing to throw others under the bus out of panic and despair.
She has seen people willing to hurt others for a pack of cigarettes. And willing to attack girls just because.
And she has seen her mother protect her no matter the cost.

I see the future in which Paige is the one putting the finishing touches on the Pastor Tim/Alice story arc.

 

[Disgraced]

I think the interesting thing is she maybe didn't want to avoid it.

Very true.

Wouldn't that almost certainly be a career ender for Stan too? His only associates outside of work are spies. I don't imagine a bright future in counter intelligence follows that.

I could also see the opposite scenario where he's decorated/declared even more a "hero" for "single-handedly" taking down one of the "greatest spy rings" but the tragic irony is they were indeed his only, closest friends who also happened to be partly responsible for ruining his life. He's left with nothing. Although, I don't see that end as likely.

I've always imagined an ending that blends into real history, meaning Phil & Liz are never caught in some form (via returning, defection, death, I could even see an end where everything is kind of in the shitter but they keep on spying to their eventual, ambiguous doom).

 

[jerry113]

I could tell as soon as they were walking around in the streets that they were getting mugged. It's the 80s and cities are getting swallowed up in violent crime. Pretty sure the mail robot sent those guys after Elizabeth.

What was wrong with the 80s anyways

 

[Link]

I have to say that I was a little disappointed that it wasn't Claudia pretending to be Patty's mom.

Remember they needed a women well-versed in computers.

 

[Dan]

I think the interesting thing is she maybe didn't want to avoid it.

She's certainly been sick to death of Paige not taking their predicament seriously, she might instinctively think this could help get her in line.

I've always imagined an ending that blends into real history, meaning Phil & Liz are never caught in some form (via returning, defection, death, I could even see an end where everything is in the kind of in the shitter but they keep on spying to their eventual, ambiguous doom).

H. Keith Melton made note in today's Slate podcast that 1985 was dubbed "The Year of the Spy" by the media because of 8 high profile arrests of domestic spies (not all Soviet), although 1984 actually featured even more arrests at 12. So the near future in this show does include a good deal of the FBI successfully rooting out spies. I could see our protagonists getting swept up in that, or perhaps being motivated to finally cut and run.

 

[Disgraced]

H. Keith Melton made note in today's Slate podcast that 1985 was dubbed "The Year of the Spy" by the media because of 8 high profile arrests of domestic spies (not all Soviet), although 1984 actually featured even more arrests at 12. So the near future in this show does include a good deal of the FBI successfully rooting out spies. I could see our protagonists getting swept up in that, or perhaps being motivated to finally cut and run.

Very interesting, didn't know that, thanks.

I have to wonder if Phil & Liz share the same fate too.

I'm not sure if this too dark even for The Americans, but Paige's character consistently strikes me as doomed. I don't know if to death necessarily, but she's certainly getting deeper and deeper in an extremely dangerous situation way over her head where she's one of the least physically dangerous, and in genre that does often mean death. That said, it didn't mean that for Martha.

*Actually, I completely forgot S2. I can easily see Paige taking a stray bullet in the end.

 

[KingKong]

alright Henry's thing with Stan has gone from funny to weird and unsettling

 

[Disgraced]

alright Henry's thing with Stan has gone from funny to weird and unsettling

Aside from the secret spy business and the fact that Stan's a horrible murderer I'm okay with it. He's like an uncle. No more unsettling than his parents' true nature.

 

[spindoctor]

Paige discovering the true nature of her parents through a random mugging attempt is too crude for a nuanced and thoughtful show like this.

 

[Disgraced]

Paige discovering the true nature of her parents through a random mugging attempt is too crude for a nuanced and thoughtful show like this.

I agree, but for now I can forgive it because A. it was executed well B. it's a very "TV thing," but it's also totally a thing that happens in reality C. Liz going all the way is an interesting mistake that's a direct consequence of the nuanced arc she's been going through.

 

[Ristifer]

It was a very TV-type thing, but I love how it just happened. I figured that was still a way off, but she finds out pretty much out of nowhere. It's convenient, but I'm glad there wasn't some large build up to it for some reason.

And like Disgraced said, it's an interesting exclamation mark within Elizabeth's arc. I think it has more to do with her than it does with Paige at this point. But I'm sure it'll unfold more for Paige in the coming weeks/Season 5.

 

[jerry113]

This is a show where an FBI agent happens to move right next door to two undercover Soviet spies. I'm willing to accept a mugging attempt.

 

[-griffy-]

I think this might fall under the Pixar mantra that says "Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating."

I think we were all expecting and waiting for a moment when the KGB stuff puts one of the kids in danger and one of the parents has to act and kill someone. This is in line with the way the show likes to subvert things, by having a so called "normal" situation force the truth out of Elizabeth in front of Paige.

And we can probably expect some other kind of consequences beyond Paige's reaction with the way every little thing can matter on this show. How will Pastor Tim react if he finds out some guy was killed just around the corner from their food drive, on the same night Elizabeth picked up Paige, for example?

 

[Ristifer]

I think this might fall under the Pixar mantra that says "Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating."

I think we were all expecting and waiting for a moment when the KGB stuff puts one of the kids in danger and one of the parents has to act and kill someone. This is in line with the way the show likes to subvert things, by having a so called "normal" situation force the truth out of Elizabeth in front of Paige.

And we can probably expect some other kind of consequences beyond Paige's reaction with the way every little thing can matter on this show. How will Pastor Tim react if he finds out some guy was killed just around the corner from their food drive, on the same night Elizabeth picked up Paige, for example?

This is exactly what I was thinking. Plus, one guy is still alive from what happened. They weren't both killed, right? Could be interesting to see if the dots are connected, since they both had just departed from Pastor Tim.

 

[Sober]

His sequel suggestion is "Better Page Paige"

All jokes aside I would love to one day see Holly Taylor headlining a tv show. Even better if she has to play a spy!

 

[Sloane]

This is a show where an FBI agent happens to move right next door to two undercover Soviet spies. I'm willing to accept a mugging attempt.

Yeah. Elizabeth probably could have gotten rid of the guys without killing them but whatever, it will probably pay off.

The whole pregnancy business was great, they really sold it as being one of the worst things they have ever done, which says a lot considering they've killed dozens of people so far.

Not quite happy about the title lending dinner though. That could (or should) have been a really tense, twenty minute long, Breaking Bad style sequence, instead it was just an awkward moment to let Pastor Tim know that they're friends with an FBI agent. Eh.

 

[blackflag]

Lol most awkward dinner ever.

 

[Cornballer]

All jokes aside I would love to one day see Holly Taylor headlining a tv show. Even better if she has to play a spy!

We need a Holly Taylor - Kiernan Shipka vehicle.

 

[Justin]

It seems like they could've you know just called the cops.

Was I the only one freaking out when Stan showed up to the dinner party? I seemed way more concerned than Philip and Liz.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

It seems like they could've you know just called the cops.

Yeah, I'm sure those guys would just let them walk to the phone booth.

 

[Ristifer]

It seems like they could've you know just called the cops.

No cellphones

 

[Justin]

Lol I meant after the attack although I should probably wait till next week to make that complaint though.

 

[Link]

It seems like they could've you know just called the cops.

Was I the only one freaking out when Stan showed up to the dinner party? I seemed way more concerned than Philip and Liz.

Not sure why they'd be concerned. The narrative wouldn't change at all since Henry was there anyway.

 

[Disgraced]

Lol I meant after the attack although I should probably wait till next week to make that complaint though.

That would attract way too much attention. She's just killed someone—it doesn't matter that it was self-defense, there would be all kinds of proceedings, and we have no idea how far their "authentic" paperwork goes. If someone catches a whiff of anything fishy, the feds are there and they are toast. Even if it all checks out they don't have any time for questions like that.

 

[Dan]

Pretty sure Elizabeth doesn't want to sit down and give statements to a police officer and get involved in an investigation. That would be very dangerous, and it would do little to alleviate any suspicions that Paige and Pastor Tim might have about Elizabeth's true abilities.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

What was wrong with the 80s anyways

AIDS epidemic, crack cocaine and other drugs in the inner city destroying people and neighborhoods, recessions, too much to choose from.

 

[Disgraced]

That would be very dangerous, and it would do little to alleviate any suspicions that Paige and Pastor Tim might have about Elizabeth's true abilities.

That too. It'd be an all-around horrible idea for a constantly fluctuating, ever volatile situation.

I don't know if they have any choice but to let Paige in deeper. If not now, with her still snooping around and another moment like last night in the oven surely soon. The only way to keep her safe (what is safe even?) and from talking might be to start officially making her an Illegal Junior.

 

[CMojicaAce]

 

[Niraj]

I think the interesting thing is she maybe didn't want to avoid it.

Yeah, I felt the same. It's telling that the situation happened shortly after she listened to the message from Young-Hee. That almost felt like a fucked up bit of stress relief over the situation she has been in. I don't think that was really what Pastor Tim was getting at in his advice to her though

Fantastic episode overall. The dinner was awkward as expected, and loved Stan's eagerness to join them. Cool to see Gabriel in the field, but definitely felt bad for poor Don. Whole situation with their family is heartbreaking, and somehow would be even worse if that ends up being for nothing. Can't wait for the next two episodes, should be great stuff up ahead.

 

[Disgraced]

S++

 

[LouisaFerre]

The whole mugging attempt feels a little too convenient for the show, but I know it makes sense for it to happen eventually. Woman walking alone with her daughter at night. DC has some pretty rough neighborhoods, and as another poster said the 80s weren't an easy time for those communities. Also, Elizabeth was trying to avoid it because she knows it's not good to get swept up in the shit, but you know that she was really just too stressed out from everything that was going on with Don and Young-Hee. Not just the message, but also finding out from Phillip that all of that shit might have been for nothing. Earlier on in the series, she probably would have thought of another way to get out of that situation, but she wanted to do that. Not just punching the dude in the face, but with her kind of training she probably could have disarmed him or knocked him out without any fatal injuries. Elizabeth is really starting to come apart.

I found the stuff with Pastor Tim to be really interesting, because it was messing with me a little bit. Whenever she starts talking with him I kept wondering whether or not she was opening up a little bit or whether she was working him, and obviously that's intentional.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

They should invite Young Hee's family for dinner too.

We need a Holly Taylor - Kiernan Shipka vehicle.

True Detective season 3~

"Thing is, you ain’t that thing no more. What you used to was.”

“I never lost a tooth. I never even had a fuckin’ cavity.”

Bonus:

“Maybe it’s just a little too close to sucking a robot’s dick.”

 

[Saty]

Paige discovering the true nature of her parents through a random mugging attempt is too crude for a nuanced and thoughtful show like this.

'Discovering' is the word. How do you propose this revelation to have played out? Phillip and Elizabeth weren't going to do anything around Paige that would have shown her their full capabilities. This revelation needed to be forced out by way of them being blindsided or needing to react quickly to an unforeseen situation.

 

[Blader]

I immediately thought of GAF :lol

 

[Cornballer]

Someone posted these on reddit this week. Old, but amusing:
S1 gag reel
S2 gag reel


EDIT: Bonus:

 

[Disgraced]

^That one's getting some use lol.

 

[Dominican Power]

Elizabeth could of easily disarmed that guy without killing him.

 

[Dominican Power]

I want to see Paige come out of this situation tougher and stronger. No longer a whiny little teen with idealistic rosy outlook on life.
She has seen people willing to throw others under the bus out of panic and despair.
She has seen people willing to hurt others for a pack of cigarettes. And willing to attack girls just because.
And she has seen her mother protect her no matter the cost.

I see the future in which Paige is the one putting the finishing touches on the Pastor Tim/Alice story arc.

is the 2nd one Alice?

Who was trying to hurt someone for a pack of cigarettes?

 

[Ashby]

Someone posted these on reddit this week. Old, but amusing:
S1 gag reel
S2 gag reel


EDIT: Bonus:

lmao this breaks my heart. The Jennings are like his rock at this point.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Elizabeth could've avoided that...

Paige discovering the true nature of her parents through a random mugging attempt is too crude for a nuanced and thoughtful show like this.

I'm not sure how to feel about that development. It felt incredibly contrived in the moment but I think it could ultimately work, depending on how they play it.

 

[VeryGooster]

this is my new disgunbegud.gif

 

[Saty]

Stan almost brought the mirror crashing down.

 

[Dan]

is the 2nd one Alice?

Who was trying to hurt someone for a pack of cigarettes?

He means the muggers, but the cigarette question is just an attention grabber. That's not what they actually want.

EDIT: Bonus:

It's the opposite of that opening the fridge gif.

 

[Funky Papa]

lmao this breaks my heart. The Jennings are like his rock at this point.

I already feel awful for him. We all know *that episode* will be a real tear-jerker.