Support NeoGAF

[Ristifer]

Another fantastic episode.

Not really sure where they're going with Nina, though. I just can't envision her arc going anywhere else. But we'll see. I do enjoy the perspective from the Soviet Union, so I'm okay with it stalling a bit.

 

[Cornballer]

Slate podcast for this week:

- The Americans S:4 | E:3 Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow

In this installment about episode 403, “Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow,” former FBI counter intelligence agent Richard Kollmar joins June and show runners Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg to talk about what it's really like to try and turn KGB spies. Plus, line producer Mary Rae Thewlis and Sr. VP of Productions for Fox 21 Bob Lemchen stop by to discuss their roles in episode 403.

 

[Cornballer]

- Promo for next week's episode (please spoiler tag discussion as appropriate)

 

[helloresolven]

The impending doom this season is so suffocating. This is really amazing so far.

 

[Sectorseven]

That lethal virus they've developed and been terrified of can be counteracted with an antibiotic?

 

[Cornballer]

- Vox panel discussion on last night's episode

 

[Mindlog]

i dont understand why liz is still going out on missions WHEN THEIR COVER IS BLOWN

edit: they were so fortunate to have chosen such a strong actress to play Paige

Been saying that for a few seasons. Child actors can really drag a show down, but she is definitely contributing to the show's quality. Her character is naturally written with plenty of that typical angst yet it never feels burdensome. That could be because most of her worries are actually well founded lol.

From Sepinwal.

* Earlier this month, Fields and Weisberg were guests on Andy Greenwald's podcast, and they revealed something interesting about their creative philosophy for the show: they don't care if the audience can follow all the details or professional motivations for Philip and Elizabeth's various operations, so long as the emotional context of it makes sense with what they're dealing with elsewhere on the show. The subplot here with Elizabeth's new Korean friend Young-Hee fits that bill nicely, in that we have no idea yet what is that Elizabeth is going to need her to do, but we can still appreciate how genuinely happy and relaxed Elizabeth seems under her Linda Evans wig and makeup. She very badly needs a friend, even if it'd be an even faker friendship than the one Philip used to have with Stan.

Good to see some reassurance on that front. We were assuming the Korean husband was the mark.

 

[CoolOff]

We need more Residentura and less Nina, basically.

 

[Cornballer]

 

[Saty]

Good use of the over-arching bioweapon plot to throw a wrench in their Pastor Tim's plan. Elizabeth or Phillip are going to have to risk exposing others to the sickness to message Center to abort, right?
Love it that the Pastor Tim problem isn't swept aside easily. Most shows would have chosen the easy path and eliminated him, restoring safety to the Jennings.'Let's just kill him'. Welp, Paige told them she told Tim so that's off the books. 'Go for a vacation together and we'll send a team to take care of them so Paige will have little to suspect'. Stuck in this room together to make sure the sickness doesn't take hold.

Great to see Stan stalking Martha, though i hoped not buying Gene's setup would have been something shared by the organization itself and the FBI pretending they closed the book on it to not alert the actual mole.

 

[Saty]

Spare us the lowly .gifs

https://my.mixtape.moe/hhmojb.webm

https://my.mixtape.moe/enraux.webm


That look by Paige. If she decides to clue Henry in about it all..

 

[Sectorseven]

So from the way that scientist dude was talking, the Russians have a bunch of these bio weapons. Couldn't they just infect the pastor rather than straight up murder him? It would look more natural, and maybe one of the viruses isn't air born.

 

[Sober]

I actually kind of like the scenes with Liz and the Korean friend and family. Like damn what a huge shift in tone but still fun to watch in some ways.

 

[Disgraced]

I actually kind of like the scenes with Liz and the Korean friend and family. Like damn what a huge shift in tone but still fun to watch in some ways.

Agreed. Liz and her have pretty good chemistry and there's ace dialogue between them. The pepper dance was great; I was worried Liz was getting so hot the wig would melt off.

Thus far it seems like a good source of levity in what is likely the story's most dire point yet.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

I actually kind of like the scenes with Liz and the Korean friend and family. Like damn what a huge shift in tone but still fun to watch in some ways.

I liked that too. The hot pepper dance was cute.

 

[Niraj]

I actually kind of like the scenes with Liz and the Korean friend and family. Like damn what a huge shift in tone but still fun to watch in some ways.

It's kind of refreshing in a way since Elizabeth always comes across as super serious almost everywhere else. I really like those scenes too, you can tell that she's enjoying it.

 

[Sober]

It's kind of refreshing in a way since Elizabeth always comes across as super serious almost everywhere else. I really like those scenes too, you can tell that she's enjoying it.

I like how Keri Russel can play that and then in the very next scene she can be literally the female reincarnation of Josef Stalin.

I also liked how it carried back home which was nice. Her feet hurting and that she liked it was sort of fun.

 

[CMojicaAce]

Just watched the latest episode. Shit is really starting to hit the fan!

And nice to know I was completely wrong in thinking the pastor was KGB

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Help me out here a little... what is with the Mary Kay Korean sales lady? I must've missed what the objective is with that one.

I actually thought this was a weaker episode. I don't know where they're taking the Nina stuff, and frankly at this point I'm wondering why that character's story is important at all.

Anyway, I found myself drifting to browse GAF which is something I rarely do with this show.

 

[Niraj]

I like how Keri Russel can play that and then in the very next scene she can be literally the female reincarnation of Josef Stalin.

I also liked how it carried back home which was nice. Her feet hurting and that she liked it was sort of fun.

It was a nice bit of normalcy in an abnormal life.

Help me out here a little... what is with the Mary Kay Korean sales lady? I must've missed what the objective is with that one.

They haven't indicated where that's going yet.

 

[MisterFalcon]

They haven't indicated where that's going yet.

I bet it somehow leads to Liz and Phillip being responsible for KAL007 being shot down.

 

[IronRinn]

Agreed with everything said about the scenes with Elizabeth and Young-hee. It was so nice to see her just have a friend. On the other hand, now I feel a real sense of dread in not knowing why she's really making friends with this woman. Or maybe this is Elizabeth's EST moment.

But probably not. Probably something unfortunate is going to happen.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Agreed with everything said about the scenes with Elizabeth and Young-hee. It was so nice to see her just have a friend. On the other hand, now I feel a real sense of dread in not knowing why she's really making friends with this woman. Or maybe this is Elizabeth's EST moment.

But probably not. Probably something unfortunate is going to happen.

The fact that Philip basically asks whether she's "in" is clearly pointing to a mission in the works.

Didn't realize we're all in the dark on what it is, though. It was nice to see Elizabeth actually enjoy her time on a mission for a change.

This week just felt a bit more disjointed to me than other weeks do. It felt like we hopped around quite a bit.

 

[Ristifer]

Love the Young-Hee scenes. Like everyone else is saying, it's nice to have a bit of levity on this show, even if it's not going to have the best outcome. But who knows?

I didn't feel like this episode was very disjointed. It felt a little more fast paced for an episode with not a lot of action, which was a bit different.

 

[Alpende]

People on reddit are speculating that Young-Hee's husband is the guy with level 4 access to the facility their KGB buddy needs access to.

I also liked how Philip spit in that other spy's face. He does not care.

 

[IronRinn]

The fact that Philip basically asks whether she's "in" is clearly pointing to a mission in the works.

Didn't realize we're all in the dark on what it is, though. It was nice to see Elizabeth actually enjoy her time on a mission for a change.

This week just felt a bit more disjointed to me than other weeks do. It felt like we hopped around quite a bit.

Yep.

People on reddit are speculating that Young-Hee's husband is the guy with level 4 access to the facility their KGB buddy needs access to.

I also liked how Philip spit in that other spy's face. He does not care.

Oooo, yeah, that makes sense.

The spitting in the face was great. It was such a schoolyard nerd/bully moment (slightly echoing Philip's recurring childhood memory).

 

[Ristifer]

Yep.

Oooo, yeah, that makes sense.

The spitting in the face was great. It was such a schoolyard nerd/bully moment (slightly echoing Philip's recurring childhood memory).

This is an excellent point. Never really thought of that. Looking back at Philip chasing down William, it's definitely reminiscent of his memories as a ten year old. Different contexts for sure, but this show always has certain aspects that mirror each other.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Yep.

Oooo, yeah, that makes sense.

The spitting in the face was great. It was such a schoolyard nerd/bully moment (slightly echoing Philip's recurring childhood memory).

This is an excellent point. Never really thought of that. Looking back at Philip chasing down William, it's definitely reminiscent of his memories as a ten year old. Different contexts for sure, but this show always has certain aspects that mirror each other.

I saw the spitting in the face as Philip's way of ensuring the guy was going to help them and not try to run off again. Basically, "if I'm infected, now you are, too."

 

[ZoddGutts]

Wasn't it mention that they want that scientist to get higher level clearance and that they'll find a way? Think the Korean husband is a scientist in that lab and that she's there to get rid of him, so that the scientist that's their informant will get the higher clearance level.

 

[Ristifer]

I saw the spitting in the face as Philip's way of ensuring the guy was going to help them and not try to run off again. Basically, "if I'm infected, now you are, too."

Yeah. I think that's definitely the whole point of that. But I was thinking more of Philip chasing William, tackling him and pretty much making him help them out.

 

[Cornballer]

Podcast is worth a listen this week, too. They talked to an FBI agent about tracking spies and if the show is close to how things really work irl. Also, they run through a few situations with a couple of people involved with budgeting and logistics about the latest episodes. Interesting stuff and it only runs about a half hour long.

Slate podcast for this week:

- The Americans S:4 | E:3 Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow

In this installment about episode 403, “Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow,” former FBI counter intelligence agent Richard Kollmar joins June and show runners Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg to talk about what it's really like to try and turn KGB spies. Plus, line producer Mary Rae Thewlis and Sr. VP of Productions for Fox 21 Bob Lemchen stop by to discuss their roles in episode 403.

 

[Cornballer]

Emily Nussbaum on The Americans and Outlander in this week's New Yorker:

- Out of Time: Remaking history on “Outlander” and “The Americans.”

Although the show is about the power of deception, it won’t let us fool ourselves into luxuriating in antihero escapism, the way many dramas might. In one of last season’s best episodes, Elizabeth rationalizes her life to a motherly older woman (a fantastic Lois Smith) whom she’s about to kill: she’s committing bad acts for a greater cause, she says. Smith replies, in horror, “That’s what evil people tell themselves when they do evil things.” Eerily, a nearly identical exchange takes place in “Outlander,” as Claire and Jamie face the fact that they are harming people they’ve falsely befriended. “We’re doing a bad thing, but for a good reason,” Jamie argues. “Isn’t that what all bad people say?” Claire asks. On both shows, pulling off even the best-motivated con is corrosive, because, in the end, what even bad people crave isn’t power, it’s intimacy, to be known and accepted for who they really are.

The Jenningses have sins blacker than the loving soul mates of “Outlander” could even imagine, among them the endless lies they’ve told their children. This season, the bomb they planted in their home finally goes off, after the couple’s idealistic Christian daughter, Paige, spills her parents’ secret to her pastor. The plot moves fast, crimping in terrifying ways, letting us see the repercussions without the easy vamping that other TV thrillers engage in—and suggesting that the next teen-ager Philip corrupts might be Paige. She’s the same age that Philip was, after all, when he was first trained to manipulate and seduce. In spy terms, maybe we’re all our parents’ “assets.”

There are plenty of pleasures to be had in “The Americans,” from the crazily varied spy wigs to the revelatory performances, like that of Annet Mahendru as Nina Krilova, a double agent serving time in a Russian prison, whose bleak plotline has, buried deep within it, something almost hopeful to say about moral resilience. But I’m not going to lie and tell you that “The Americans” is a fun weekly watch. It’s heartbreaking, provoking literal nausea, with a psychic hangover unlike any other show. Believe it or not, that’s a recommendation.

 

[-griffy-]

Missed the ep live last week but caught up over the weekend. Disappointed to see only one post referencing the glorious return of Mail Robot.

 

[The Illiterati]

I thought this last episode was really great. However I'm really sick of the Nina plotline. It highlights the overall faults of the show, wherein it went absolutely nowhere last season and then the entire plot to get her traded was unceremoniously dropped with a sentence.

 

[IronRinn]

I saw the spitting in the face as Philip's way of ensuring the guy was going to help them and not try to run off again. Basically, "if I'm infected, now you are, too."

Oh, that was definitely why he did it. But from a visual perspective I saw similarities.

Missed the ep live last week but caught up over the weekend. Disappointed to see only one post referencing the glorious return of Mail Robot.

Mail robot for life.

 

[Cornballer]

New episode tonight:

Chloramphenicol

Spoiler

A devastating flaw during a mission forces Philip, Elizabeth, William, and Gabriel to confront the depths of their patriotism... and their mortality. In Russia, in striving to be a better person, has Nina put her life on the line?

 

[Cornballer]

- CBC Radio interview: The Americans' creators on the similarities between spies and spouses

Lol @ Henry in the header picture:

 

[Alpende]

Is it me or does Henry looks young in that picture.

 

[IronRinn]

Is it me or does Henry looks young in that picture.

That's a first season shot, for sure.

 

[Cornballer]

Is it me or does Henry looks young in that picture.

Just a little bit. He looks so much older even though it's only been 3+ years between when they shot the pilot and what we're seeing now.

 

[Grizzlyjin]

I didn't notice Henry's growth spurts until this season's first episode. I thought he was going to ask Stan for tips on setting up a 401k.

Am I the only one bored by the Russia plot? It wasn't that bad last season since it was such a dramatic shift from what we usually get to see on the show, but it isn't grabbing me this year. I guess part of that is me not seeing where Nina's plot is going.

 

[Walpurgis]

- CBC Radio interview: The Americans' creators on the similarities between spies and spouses

Lol @ Henry in the header picture:

I haven't watched this since season 2 because of Netflix but I heard this interview in the car this morning. I knew that the showrunner was ex-CIA but I didn't know that he was actually taking full advantage of that. He said that he has to run all of his scripts through the CIA in case there is any confidential info in the show and he accidentally breaks NDA. I think he said that so far they've approved them all and seem to be fans. He also said that the Soviets actually used children as spies like Paige (at least I think that's what's happening, remember, season 2, so radio spoiler :/, but I had a feeling anyway ).

It's crazy how authentic this show is.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

I haven't watched this since season 2 because of Netflix but I heard this interview in the car this morning. I knew that the showrunner was ex-CIA but I didn't know that he was actually taking full advantage of that. He said that he has to run all of his scripts through the CIA in case there is any confidential info in the show and he accidentally breaks NDA. I think he said that so far they've approved them all and seem to be fans. He also said that the Soviets actually used children as spies like Paige (at least I think that's what's happening, remember, season 2, so radio spoiler :/, but I had a feeling anyway ).

It's crazy how authentic this show is.

that's cool and all but why the hell aren't you watching anymore.

 

[Walpurgis]

that's cool and all but why the hell aren't you watching anymore.

I watched it all on Netflix like a year ago but there were no more episodes available. I just checked and if Netflix doesn't detect me masquerading as a Frenchman, I can watch season 3 now. But they'll probably know.

 

[Cornballer]

It's time.

 

[-griffy-]

Looking forward to visiting Epcot.

 

[Niraj]

Let's do it comrades

 

[Ristifer]

Let's gooooo!

 

[IronRinn]

Time is go, Comrades.

Aaaaaaaw yeah, Sexual Situations.

 

[IronRinn]

Paige has no chill.