Glad I read this because I couldn't understand the final scene involving the digging up of the body. Not sorry that Hans has been killed off. The actor had a truly awful South African accent that made me cringe. I miss the glorious Martha and the gorgeous Nina, at least we still have Claudia!
zzzzzzzzzzz....hoping for better tonight. I found the opening disorienting and the ending interminable.
No, Mr. Hale--the Soviet border security and prohibitions on its own citizens leaving their prison-like country, are nothing like the US airport security of today.
2
Maybe a biohazard expert could explain to me why William's body was not just incinerated? And why, when Gabriel was apparently infected with the virus, did Elizabeth and Philip patiently nurse him back to health, only to execute Hans on the spot when he became infected? I'll also be interested to learn what is so fascinating and deserving of Elizabeth and Philips' attention about an agriculture bureaucrat's defection to the U.S. There have to be greater strategic priorities than getting to a defector who can only share with the US government what it already knows - that the food situation in Russia is not very good.
Also, time for Paige to either run away or embrace her legacy. My guess is that she will somehow be put into a position where she must get her hands dirty to save her family, and that will be that.
Also, time for Paige to either run away or embrace her legacy. My guess is that she will somehow be put into a position where she must get her hands dirty to save her family, and that will be that.
4
@ Brandon
(pt. 1)
You ask,
“Why, when Gabriel was apparently infected with the virus, did Elizabeth and Philip patiently nurse him back to health, only to execute Hans on the spot when he became infected?”
The short answer is, Gabriel had been infected with a different microrganism (a bacterium, not a virus), one that was a little less virulent, and that they could treat.
Specifically, in episode 3 of season 4, “Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow,” P&E find Gabriel collapsed in his apartment, apparently infected from a leak in the vial of the glanders pathogen that they’ve been having such trouble passing on to a courier who will take it to the USSR. William has access to medications that can vaccinate against glanders, and treat the active disease; they force him to bring those to Gabriel’s place, and help them treat Gabriel.
Much of the rest of season 4 revolves around the Center’s increasing pressure on William to obtain the really nasty stuff at the bioweapons lab, and William’s increasing reluctance to do so, as he grows convinced that •neither• side should have such weapons, and in particular that Soviet technology is ill-equipped to handle those pathogens securely. The whole mission with Young-hee and Don was to get access codes to the higher-security areas of the lab, so William could obtain samples of the more dangerous organisms.
(cont’d)
(pt. 1)
You ask,
“Why, when Gabriel was apparently infected with the virus, did Elizabeth and Philip patiently nurse him back to health, only to execute Hans on the spot when he became infected?”
The short answer is, Gabriel had been infected with a different microrganism (a bacterium, not a virus), one that was a little less virulent, and that they could treat.
Specifically, in episode 3 of season 4, “Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow,” P&E find Gabriel collapsed in his apartment, apparently infected from a leak in the vial of the glanders pathogen that they’ve been having such trouble passing on to a courier who will take it to the USSR. William has access to medications that can vaccinate against glanders, and treat the active disease; they force him to bring those to Gabriel’s place, and help them treat Gabriel.
Much of the rest of season 4 revolves around the Center’s increasing pressure on William to obtain the really nasty stuff at the bioweapons lab, and William’s increasing reluctance to do so, as he grows convinced that •neither• side should have such weapons, and in particular that Soviet technology is ill-equipped to handle those pathogens securely. The whole mission with Young-hee and Don was to get access codes to the higher-security areas of the lab, so William could obtain samples of the more dangerous organisms.
(cont’d)
3
(pt. 2)
(cont.:) This finally culminates in William’s smuggling out the sample of Lassa virus. But Oleg’s hints to Stan have enabled the FBI to focus their scrutiny on William. Agents corner him as he attempts to deliver the sample to Phil, and William infects himself with the virus.
That strain of Lassa is much deadlier than the glanders pathogen that had earlier infected Gabriel. The Army lab’s medical center, knowing what William has and with the most advanced treatment resources, could not keep him alive. Clearly, P&E would have had no hope of treating Hans successfully; as soon as he was infected, it was a death sentence.
— Brian
(cont.:) This finally culminates in William’s smuggling out the sample of Lassa virus. But Oleg’s hints to Stan have enabled the FBI to focus their scrutiny on William. Agents corner him as he attempts to deliver the sample to Phil, and William infects himself with the virus.
That strain of Lassa is much deadlier than the glanders pathogen that had earlier infected Gabriel. The Army lab’s medical center, knowing what William has and with the most advanced treatment resources, could not keep him alive. Clearly, P&E would have had no hope of treating Hans successfully; as soon as he was infected, it was a death sentence.
— Brian
10
Thank you for so eloquently clearing that up, Brian. I suspected he would get killed by one of them as soon as he fell in the pit, I was just surprised it happened so quickly.
1
An absorbing, and telling, scene was Oleg’s “entry” interview with his as-yet unnamed new boss. The KGB colonel asks,
“Want to hear a joke? A woman walks into a food store. Says, ‘Don’t you have any meat?’ The man behind the counter says, ‘We don’t have fish. The place where they don’t have meat is across the street.’ ”
It’s subversive, but Oleg is sufficiently confident in his position, with a highly-placed father (and, probably, in his estimate of his superior across the desk), to show he’s amused, and laugh lightly.
“Funny?” Oleg agrees. Then, his boss asks the trenchent question. “Why do we even have a joke like this? We should be able to feed our own people a hundred times over. But we can’t.”
His answer for the cause of Soviet food shortages, however, is tellingly off the mark:
“We can’t because there’s corruption. Bribery, favors, double-dealing, fraud. . . . Our office is cracking down on corruption in the food trade organizations.”
It’s a chat between two intelligent, well-informed men. And yet, neither shows he recognizes that corruption, though real, is not the cause of shortages; it’s a side-effect of them. The real problem is the system itself.
So I wonder: in 1984 are these two KGB officers still true believers in the party line they’re talking about? Or does one — or both? — of them recognize that their anti-corruption crackdown is merely rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, even if they can’t quite yet say so openly to each other?
— Brian
“Want to hear a joke? A woman walks into a food store. Says, ‘Don’t you have any meat?’ The man behind the counter says, ‘We don’t have fish. The place where they don’t have meat is across the street.’ ”
It’s subversive, but Oleg is sufficiently confident in his position, with a highly-placed father (and, probably, in his estimate of his superior across the desk), to show he’s amused, and laugh lightly.
“Funny?” Oleg agrees. Then, his boss asks the trenchent question. “Why do we even have a joke like this? We should be able to feed our own people a hundred times over. But we can’t.”
His answer for the cause of Soviet food shortages, however, is tellingly off the mark:
“We can’t because there’s corruption. Bribery, favors, double-dealing, fraud. . . . Our office is cracking down on corruption in the food trade organizations.”
It’s a chat between two intelligent, well-informed men. And yet, neither shows he recognizes that corruption, though real, is not the cause of shortages; it’s a side-effect of them. The real problem is the system itself.
So I wonder: in 1984 are these two KGB officers still true believers in the party line they’re talking about? Or does one — or both? — of them recognize that their anti-corruption crackdown is merely rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, even if they can’t quite yet say so openly to each other?
— Brian
5
Terrific writing and acting
I just wish this streamed and all episodes were released at once
Waiting a week for another episode is too hard!
I just wish this streamed and all episodes were released at once
Waiting a week for another episode is too hard!
2
Why was William's body dug up? This seemed like an incredibly risky and pointless mission. Lassa fever was widespread in Africa; it wasn't some unknown virus that only the U.S. had samples of.
3
@ Anne — I think previous episodes established that it was a strain of the virus the U.S. had engineered for especially high virulence, to the point it would be usable as a weapon.
— Brian
— Brian
4
I see Stan taking in Paige once this all comes crashing down. I also think Phillip will defect. Elizabeth gets offed as she is the most deplorable character quite possibly by Paige.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt disappointed by this episode. For some reason I felt like I wasn't watching the same show as last season.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt disappointed by this episode. For some reason I felt like I wasn't watching the same show as last season.
3
Finally has a chance to watch the entire episode. The high quality of this series continues. The digging scene well done, although I think that the spies might have tried risking use of an automated ditch-digger that the group should have been able to drive through a section of the fence that was cut out for the purpose, larger than that for the entry by the humans, but not much different.
Of course this is all fantasy layered on fantasy, but fortunately entertaining and not too far fetched to ruin the enjoyment. Digging a hole of such depth and size is not doable by the group there in the time frame available, but so it goes. Hans' remnants to remain with those of his erstwhile comrade for eternity, or at least until seismic shifts or similar move everything around or blow parts of the earth into the universe.
Someone noted that the helmet used by the person wielding the oxygen-acetylene torch is the wrong type of protection. Not sure why that remark is made. I use eye protection for electric arc welding, but I believe helmets/masks such as that shown are appropriate for oxygen-acetylene cutting or welding.
Of course this is all fantasy layered on fantasy, but fortunately entertaining and not too far fetched to ruin the enjoyment. Digging a hole of such depth and size is not doable by the group there in the time frame available, but so it goes. Hans' remnants to remain with those of his erstwhile comrade for eternity, or at least until seismic shifts or similar move everything around or blow parts of the earth into the universe.
Someone noted that the helmet used by the person wielding the oxygen-acetylene torch is the wrong type of protection. Not sure why that remark is made. I use eye protection for electric arc welding, but I believe helmets/masks such as that shown are appropriate for oxygen-acetylene cutting or welding.
5
No snarky 'wig-spy' comments? I'm surprised you're still watching.
@ Larry — If memory serves, It wasn’t Murray who was indulging in the creaky “wig-spy” disparagements.
— Brian
— Brian
Mea culpa: I clearly wasn't paying sufficient attention during the musical montage, missing both the continental shift and the fact that the song was a Russian-language cover of "America the Beautiful." No excuse, though I honestly think I was distracted by how out of character that scene was for this show. I stand by the assessment that it didn't work. A colleague said to me, "Now that you know it's 'America' and that it has the line 'amber waves of grain,' doesn't that change your judgement?" No -- if anything, it strengthens it. "The Americans" is nearly always more subtle than that.
On the other hand, I'm a fan of the 14-minute dig. I thought it was exactly what the show does well -- it kept me wondering what they were going to find (which, with regard to a previous comment, is why we weren't given the scene of Gabriel explaining the mission to Philip) and the killing of Hans was perfectly handled.
Regarding DSM's comment on Tuan -- I asked Weisberg and Fields if there was a real-life basis for the character, or for the general notion of an embedded Vietnamese Communist agent working with the KGB. They said that there wasn't, per se, and that they extrapolated the possibility of Tuan from the influx of boat people.
On the other hand, I'm a fan of the 14-minute dig. I thought it was exactly what the show does well -- it kept me wondering what they were going to find (which, with regard to a previous comment, is why we weren't given the scene of Gabriel explaining the mission to Philip) and the killing of Hans was perfectly handled.
Regarding DSM's comment on Tuan -- I asked Weisberg and Fields if there was a real-life basis for the character, or for the general notion of an embedded Vietnamese Communist agent working with the KGB. They said that there wasn't, per se, and that they extrapolated the possibility of Tuan from the influx of boat people.
6
Mike, I don't buy your no-pology. After (to your credit) admitting you completely misunderstood the musical montage, you're doubling down by saying that somehow *strengthens* your original judgment, which you and we now know was based on a false premise? That's an almost Trumpish argument. I found the scene effective. It was very "Americans" to set America the Beautiful to Russian-language lyrics. And yes, the transition from midwestern amber waves of grain to blighted collective farms was obvious, but must everything be so subtle that many viewers might miss it? There are enough other subtleties throughout the show - a slightly more accessible scene is necessary now and then.
The grave robbing scene? Come on guys, get a grip! Did you ever cut metal with an oxy-acetylene torch (as used in the scene)? A fire storm of white hot gas, dust and smoke jets out the bottom of the cut. The idea that you could cut open a metal 'locker' with an oxy torch and find a pristine plastic sheet and untouched body inside is, frankly, ridiculous.
And by the way, the full-face welders mask used in the scene is used for electric arc welding, which generates a light as bright as the sun. For cutting with an oxy torch, the usual eye protection is simple dark goggles. Get some advice from an engineer next time...
And by the way, the full-face welders mask used in the scene is used for electric arc welding, which generates a light as bright as the sun. For cutting with an oxy torch, the usual eye protection is simple dark goggles. Get some advice from an engineer next time...
5
If Morozov has defected to the U.S., how could he be Oleg's new boss?
1
Odds are that things will pick up, but my reaction at the end was, "has this show jumped the flounder?"
4
I liked the long digging scene. It held my attention for several reasons: the lack of dialogue meant that these superb actors had to communicate with looks and gestures, which they did so well. It showed us the details of their spy craft, the exact tools needed to get the job done. It showed us the literal dirty work they are willing to do as Russian spies, and it demonstrated the ruthlessness required to complete the task - Elizabeth comforting then shooting the sweet operative, Hans, who became infected with the virus. The Americans is a great show and it just jumped right back into the fray with this new episode. Can't wait for the next one.
11
Yeah, I think that an occasional scene •showing• the hard work and drudgery of much of the spying, adds value to the “big picture” we see of the series.
Nevertheless, this scene was problematic in the same sense of some others in the series. It raised the question, why has the KGB assigned •these• agents to this particular task? The series posits that the Jenningses are enormously valuable assets because of their ability to pass as native-born Americans. But that ability was not particularly relevant to, essentially, a grave-robbing expedition.
The challenge for that six-person team was not to blend in, but to keep hidden! And a half-dozen agents with merely passable English skills could have accomplished that mission just as well. Sure, it was part of a mission that Phil & Elizabeth were already deeply involved in, but ultimately that seems like a thin rationale for assigning them work that unnecessarily exposed them to a risk of discovery; their direct participation in the digging added little obvious value to accomplishing the mission.
Well, the obvious answer is that while P&E’s participation in some tasks may make little sense as a matter of story logic, it’s driven by the narrative imperatives of a dramatic series. The digging scene is a key element in a good story, and Russell and Rhys are the stars of the show — they’re already on the payroll! — so, the show will use them for the scene, even if it doesn’t quite make sense, when you really think about it.
— Brian
Nevertheless, this scene was problematic in the same sense of some others in the series. It raised the question, why has the KGB assigned •these• agents to this particular task? The series posits that the Jenningses are enormously valuable assets because of their ability to pass as native-born Americans. But that ability was not particularly relevant to, essentially, a grave-robbing expedition.
The challenge for that six-person team was not to blend in, but to keep hidden! And a half-dozen agents with merely passable English skills could have accomplished that mission just as well. Sure, it was part of a mission that Phil & Elizabeth were already deeply involved in, but ultimately that seems like a thin rationale for assigning them work that unnecessarily exposed them to a risk of discovery; their direct participation in the digging added little obvious value to accomplishing the mission.
Well, the obvious answer is that while P&E’s participation in some tasks may make little sense as a matter of story logic, it’s driven by the narrative imperatives of a dramatic series. The digging scene is a key element in a good story, and Russell and Rhys are the stars of the show — they’re already on the payroll! — so, the show will use them for the scene, even if it doesn’t quite make sense, when you really think about it.
— Brian
4
Rififi.
I agree with pmhswe though on the the lack of logic of having your most productive Section M sleeper agents doing the retrieval.
I agree with pmhswe though on the the lack of logic of having your most productive Section M sleeper agents doing the retrieval.
2
One of my favorite parts of the episode was how Tuan talks disgustedly about Alexei Morozov and we're prepared to think the latter is a wife beater or child molester. Instead, we meet an affable guy, a caring husband and father, who's honest about the suffering in the Soviet Union.
9
What happened to Henry?
2
He grew!
2
Welcome back to the best drama on tv--compare the superb underacting by Keri Russell with the tired overacting of Claire Danes in Homeland.
I did, however, think the grave digging scene went on much too long for no apparent reason.
Mr. Hale assumes Tuan came to America when South Vietnam fell, but he more likely was the result of North Vietnamese-Soviet cooperation.
Mr. Hale might also have mentioned that Hans murdered someone even when Phillip told him not to, which makes his death less tragic.
I thought Mrs. Morozov was portrayed as too negative about her new homeland, given the vast increase in their comfort, even if she did not value the increased freedom.
Why doesn't Paige ask Phillip how he can be so negative towards Matthew while so friendly towards Stan who is a much greater threat?
The advertisers have certainly become attracted to the show--even watching on a DVR, the abundance of commercials to zap through was annoying.
I did, however, think the grave digging scene went on much too long for no apparent reason.
Mr. Hale assumes Tuan came to America when South Vietnam fell, but he more likely was the result of North Vietnamese-Soviet cooperation.
Mr. Hale might also have mentioned that Hans murdered someone even when Phillip told him not to, which makes his death less tragic.
I thought Mrs. Morozov was portrayed as too negative about her new homeland, given the vast increase in their comfort, even if she did not value the increased freedom.
Why doesn't Paige ask Phillip how he can be so negative towards Matthew while so friendly towards Stan who is a much greater threat?
The advertisers have certainly become attracted to the show--even watching on a DVR, the abundance of commercials to zap through was annoying.
10
I watch both Homeland and The Americans and I too am surprised that Homeland seems to get more critical acclaim. The Americans has always been better; but especially this season, Homeland is more like a soap opera. A dramatic decrease in quality.
3
I fell asleep during the digging scene. When I woke up they were still digging.
16
The Soviet famine plot looks like it could have been borrowed from Frederick Forsyth's The Devil's Alternative (1979).
1
I'm guessing we need some sort of a pool here. Who winds up putting a bullet in Tuan's head? Philip? Elizabeth? Paige?
2
I see some complaining about all the commercial breaks. It's 2017 - who watches commercials? Just ecord it and then watch it on delay. I rarely watch commercials anymore (although that "Fargo" tease was fantastic - I saw what you did there, FX!).
I thought the opening montage was brilliant. Clearly went over the (no doubt rushed) reviewer's head, however! "Amber Waves of Grain? Ring any bells there, Mike?
I even liked that prolonged digging scene. Poor Hans, indeed. :(
I thought the opening montage was brilliant. Clearly went over the (no doubt rushed) reviewer's head, however! "Amber Waves of Grain? Ring any bells there, Mike?
I even liked that prolonged digging scene. Poor Hans, indeed. :(
17
You'd think they'd want Paige to work Matthew.
Win.
Win.
Paige has a boyfriend.
Her parents have a mole inside Stan's family.
Win.
Win.
Paige has a boyfriend.
Her parents have a mole inside Stan's family.
5
Philip is no longer able to deal with the human cost of their work. He doesn't want his smart, good, lovely daughter Paige to be damaged by her manipulation of Matthew, or Matthew to be emotionally destroyed or killed because of a revelation. They've had too many Marthas, and the Korean family whom Elizabeth and Philip ripped apart after Elizabeth seduced the husband so Philip could extort him with the fake news of her suicide.
15
Big fan of the series, but disappointed in last night episode. That digging scene...after waiting a long time for the new season and suffering through the commercials we deserved better than that. Not just overly long ( without much tension), but pretty ridiculous. That a chemical/ biological weapons facility would be that unguarded - please! The " break- in" was as sophisticated as some teenagers looking for a place to drink some beer.
And please....more Oleg! As we know following Andropov and Chernenko comes the great reformer himself, Gorbachev! Maybe Oleg is behind the end of the USSR?
And please....more Oleg! As we know following Andropov and Chernenko comes the great reformer himself, Gorbachev! Maybe Oleg is behind the end of the USSR?
15
Donna M I agree totally re the digging
4
Having spent over 25 years in the chemical weapons (destruction) business and visiting all of the major production/destruction facilities including Tooele Utah, Umatilla Oregon, Pine Bluff Arkansas, Pueblo Colorado and Johnston Atoll (JACADS) I can assure you that the security for each and every one of those facilities is much, much stricter than what was depicted in this episode. But this program is strictly fantasy and not meant to be a documentary. Gotta suspend belief a little to make it work. Did I mention all of the wigs?
3
You are dead wrong about the security. It was a perfect depiction of 1980's security at Ft D. One would think that cremation for a bio-weapon victim would have been in order, but security-wise, what you saw was accurate: bury the body in a corner of the farm in a hole 2x as deep as a normal burial hole.
2
I'm still waiting for Paige's pastor to drop the hammer on all this Russki spying. Sounds like Paige isn't attending church much, so why hasn't that raised his suspicions.
4
That "grainy montage set to martial music" was actually a rather cleverly-executed compare-and-contrast, which employed the image of satellite that takes the camera (meant to be us, the viewer) from one side of the planet--America's side--with its broad expanse of agricultural land and plentiful crops, up, across, and down to the other side, wherein we see the collective laborers, dour conditions, and failing crops, and then, the long lines for sub-par bread. And it wasn't martial music--it was America, The Beautiful, sung in Russian. The song from which the episode gets its name: Amber waves of grain.
Superb premiere. As one would expect of this great show!
Superb premiere. As one would expect of this great show!
28
Agree that the farming and music montage was a misstep. The show never felt the need to explain the ins and outs of how the Soviet system compares to the US. Adults already already know that; plus the sequence showed the limitations of this show's TV-ness. Zooming out to the bad CGI globe was really jarring.
Otherwise I love the transparent TV-ness of this show. Oleg's Moscow apartment building is clearly somewhere in Park Slope; because they live in a cookie cutter subdivision, Stan's and the Jennings' houses are identical inside (save on set decorations!); they hire Margo Martindale at cheap hourly rates to shoot one scene, etc. Compared to a show like Fargo or GoT, the Americans really has no sense of style. But they make it work!
What distinguishes this show is the casting, writing and acting. Even the minor characters come off as so genuine. I was moved by Elizabeth and Mrs. Morozov's kitchen conversation; the latter's cute embarrassment and frustration over her english was just perfectly expressed and really humanizing. Too bad that she and her family are probably next in line for the gulag.
I think Oleg was underutilized last season so I hope he gets some big scenes this time. In a show called The Americans, about spying, it's fun because he's more American at heart than the Jenningses are - you call tell all he really wants to do in life is to be in a new wave band - and now he has the chance to do to the Soviets as the Jennings do to the US.
Otherwise I love the transparent TV-ness of this show. Oleg's Moscow apartment building is clearly somewhere in Park Slope; because they live in a cookie cutter subdivision, Stan's and the Jennings' houses are identical inside (save on set decorations!); they hire Margo Martindale at cheap hourly rates to shoot one scene, etc. Compared to a show like Fargo or GoT, the Americans really has no sense of style. But they make it work!
What distinguishes this show is the casting, writing and acting. Even the minor characters come off as so genuine. I was moved by Elizabeth and Mrs. Morozov's kitchen conversation; the latter's cute embarrassment and frustration over her english was just perfectly expressed and really humanizing. Too bad that she and her family are probably next in line for the gulag.
I think Oleg was underutilized last season so I hope he gets some big scenes this time. In a show called The Americans, about spying, it's fun because he's more American at heart than the Jenningses are - you call tell all he really wants to do in life is to be in a new wave band - and now he has the chance to do to the Soviets as the Jennings do to the US.
6
I endorse everything you say except for the reference to cheap hourly rates. The Screen Actors Guild sets minimum rates per episode for actors who appear in a series, regardless of how many scenes they appear in or how many hours they spend on set. (And Margo Martindale is, presumably, making more than the minimum.)
12
My guess is this will be an ambitious season given all the juggled subplots episode 1 put in the air. But it also created a surprisingly disjointed episode, unusual given "The Americans" so often integrates its story lines with a seamless, even-handed tone. A bumpy takeoff for the new season, though still, I'm happy it's back on.
6
I'm new to all this... binged on The Americans right through last season, even on these recaps. But not all the comments, so perhaps someone has already commented on this, my Big Question: how on earth does Elizabeth's house always look ready for its Better Homes & Gardens photo shoot? Where does she find the time? A full-time business partner, spy and MMA expert, and all we ever see of her housekeeping--apart from making meals--is folding laundry in, what I can only call, the spy nerve center. But love the absolute mundanity of the shows premise, a sort of Sopranos for Spies.
16
Elizabeth is the extremely focused on detail and rigid about how to do things--she would no sooner let a dustball survive than an eyewitness.
9
They have a maid - from Nicaragua - come in twice a week.
3
Phillip: "Do you think she's really a maid?"
Elizabeth: "I have no idea."
Elizabeth: "I have no idea."
2
A question for fans:
Was Hans killed because now that he could be infected, he would be considered a security risk?
Was Hans killed because now that he could be infected, he would be considered a security risk?
Yes
2
He would have died the same terrible, prolonged death as William.
1
I think he was shot to spare him the agony of certain death through Lhassa fever.
7
The martial music was "America the Beautiful" in Russian. The montage began with "amber waves of grain" in America before the camera traveled across the globe to the blighted Russian fields and food lines.
9
A great show but way too many commercials.
17
You can purchase & watch it the day after TV broadcast, without commercials, for $1.99 (SD) from an online streaming service starting with 'Am..' There are a few 5-second blank breaks where the commercials used to be...
2
Or you can buy a season pass from iTunes and watch it the next day. Well worth it for this brilliant show — I'm so glad it's back! Lots of set-up in this episode for what's sure to be a great season. I'm glad more people are discovering our retro Russian spies.
Pavel Morozov - the ultimate child betrayer. It's a not very subtle reference but I'm intrigued by this story line. Very happy to see this show return.
4
So excited the show is back! The dinner at the Mozorovs felt so tense. I find it hilarious that the Jennings live in that beautiful home but long to go back to the motherland to eat soup made of boiled water and an onion.
14
Home is where the heart is.
True. Also soviet citizens made do whenever they had to.
The season feels a little bare without Martha and Nina and the romantic lines they carried. I am not disappointed, however, with the first episode and am looking forward to more juicy episodes down the line!
4
In the last couple of seasons, the Americans has lost its sparkle. Some of the plot lines were left dangling (the teenage girl with a crush on hippy Philip)–or ended abruptly (Martha and Nina). It sure felt as though new writers were changing the direction of everything. I loved the dark, brooding, character-driven plots of the first season, but I haven’t enjoyed this series as much lately. The “suggestion” by Oleg’s boss that he might find his loyalties divided (hint, hint) seemed too heavy-handed, and the introduction of Mischa (Philip’s son) who is coming to America in search of his long, lost father seemed too soap opera-ish. And that digging scene went on forever. Call the old writers back–these new plots are degenerating into cliches.
4
Did I miss something , but how did they know where to dig and why wasn't the body cremated?
5
They seemed to have satellite photos. I was thinking about why not cremation also -- but they handled that. There was a warning on the body that said toxic, do not burn. I guess it would release the virus into the air. At any rate, it was addressed.
12
These are the same writers. And I like it they're covering a large span of time. It's taking a long time, for example, to track how disillusioned Phiiip is becoming and how living a comfortable American life is changing the Jennings.
But of course I miss Nina. She was the best character by far.
But of course I miss Nina. She was the best character by far.
2
Before anyone starts thinking of Stan as a goofy FBI version of "Father Knows Best", it would be well to remember how ferocious and deadly he was when the KGB killed one of his colleagues. He will be enraged when he finally realizes the Phillip and Elizabeth not only are spies but are the very KGB agents responsible for his friend's death. And since there only is one season after this current one, my guess is that Stan's great awakening will come at least in part during this season. That would leave plenty of time to explore the plot possibilities of the cataclysm we all have been waiting for. The gloves will be off. No more Mr. Nice guy with the Miller High Life and pizza.
18
I hope they hold off on Stan's "awakening" until 2-3 episodes before the end of the series next year. That was he can fly off the handle when he finds out.
2
Dreading Stan's future Hank-Schrader-in-the-bathroom moment. Hoping it will occur after the Jennings are safely on their way back to Russia.
2
Hale describes the montage early in the episode as beginning with “images of collectivist agricultural might,” and then “seguing to blighted fields and long lines outside stores.” That suggests the montage contrasts the Socialist Realist myth of Soviet agricultural plenty with the reality of Soviet backwardness and shortages.
But that isn’t what the connecting scene between the two montage segments shows. After the initial shots of combines reaping a rich harvest, the camera zooms out above the landscape, to a surveillance satellite over the American heartland (Iowa or thereabouts). The view then transits east around the globe, till it reaches another satellite, over the steppes of the Soviet Union. We then zoom in, to the views of failing fields.
In other words, the contrast was between American abundance and Soviet deprivation, not between collectivist myth and Soviet reality.
— Brian
But that isn’t what the connecting scene between the two montage segments shows. After the initial shots of combines reaping a rich harvest, the camera zooms out above the landscape, to a surveillance satellite over the American heartland (Iowa or thereabouts). The view then transits east around the globe, till it reaches another satellite, over the steppes of the Soviet Union. We then zoom in, to the views of failing fields.
In other words, the contrast was between American abundance and Soviet deprivation, not between collectivist myth and Soviet reality.
— Brian
26
That's the way I saw it and was wondering why the reviewer missed that.
4
Spot on. Also wasn't that "America, The Beautiful" (of "amber waves of grain" fame) being sung in Russian? But I'm not gonna lie - I rewound the opening three times to get it right. Perhaps Mr. Hale had a deadline awaiting and only time to watch it once?
5
@ Lee — Yes; at the beginning of the montage, the closed-captioning states specifically, “[Choir singing ‘America the Beautiful’ in Russian.].” A zestfully ironic touch — with the American patriotic standard being sung in Russian the sort of surreal note that the series sometimes uses to heighten effect. (The CCs are often pretty helpful like that, incidentally.)
Another instant clue for me, that the opening shots were in the U.S., was the colors of the combines. I’ve spent a lot of time on relatives’ farms in Indiana, and the green-with-gold-trim of John Deere equipment is unmistakable.
Hale did get the article posted pretty quickly after the episode aired — but I think journalists often get advance copies to review, with the understanding that they won’t publish a review revealing important plot points till after the initial broadcast. (While I was momentarily unsure where the opening shots were set, the zoom-out to an orbital view over the U.S. made it clear for me, on the first viewing, that we were starting in America.)
But, hey, getting such details right is why he gets the big bucks for this work!
— Brian
Another instant clue for me, that the opening shots were in the U.S., was the colors of the combines. I’ve spent a lot of time on relatives’ farms in Indiana, and the green-with-gold-trim of John Deere equipment is unmistakable.
Hale did get the article posted pretty quickly after the episode aired — but I think journalists often get advance copies to review, with the understanding that they won’t publish a review revealing important plot points till after the initial broadcast. (While I was momentarily unsure where the opening shots were set, the zoom-out to an orbital view over the U.S. made it clear for me, on the first viewing, that we were starting in America.)
But, hey, getting such details right is why he gets the big bucks for this work!
— Brian
2
Kudos to "Fargo" for their ad, set in a diner, in a snowy landscape, with a female cop and some characters in some attention-getting wigs. For sure thought it was a scene from the show.
That said, great episode. Poor Hans, but no #poormartha. Abrupt, unexpected and well-done introduction of a new Directorate S family. Oleg returns to his family in Russia. The show really is about family, and families: real, fake, contrived, struggling. The need for family, which seduces people even more than ideology.
That said, great episode. Poor Hans, but no #poormartha. Abrupt, unexpected and well-done introduction of a new Directorate S family. Oleg returns to his family in Russia. The show really is about family, and families: real, fake, contrived, struggling. The need for family, which seduces people even more than ideology.
23
Forgot to add, again the Center sees teens as major operatives. Tuon reminds me of Jared in Season 2 (the kid from the other illegals family, who was recruited by their handler and killed them, before getting killed himself in the season finale.) He is quite intense, and a bit of foreshadowing? "You should have put a bullet in his head a long time ago." And of course, Paige, in training and already being used to monitor Pastor Tim.
Realized that I should not have described the "Eckerts" a new Directorate S family in the mode of Jared's, but rather as another manifestation of the Jennings's undercover work.
Realized that I should not have described the "Eckerts" a new Directorate S family in the mode of Jared's, but rather as another manifestation of the Jennings's undercover work.
2
I think a credible end to the final episode is going to be Paige killing her parents. Either because they're traitors or because she's become a good little spy willing to sacrifice anyone to the cause.
I also think Misha is not the only child Philip doesn't know about. I'm convinced Martha is pregnant somewhere in the U.S.S.R.
I also think Misha is not the only child Philip doesn't know about. I'm convinced Martha is pregnant somewhere in the U.S.S.R.
1