Previously on The Americans: Phillip is getting dangerously close with Kimberly, Nina has a new mission, Elizabeth is planning to move ahead with Paige's recruitment without Phillip, and Paige is planning a baptism.
This episode of The Americans opens with Paige's baptism ceremony celebration (the cross outs will make sense when you watch). Everything from the acting to the camera work in this scene is perfect. Phillip and Elizabeth stare forward only smiling when Paige casts a glimpse over at them and the audience is left holding back laughter at the ludicrousness of the entire situation. It starts another excellent episode by setting the perfect tone.
If you thought episode four's scene with Pastor Tim and his wife made for an awkward dinner, just wait until you see Stan and Tori discuss the merits of EST meetings with Henry. Henry has more lines in this episode than he has had in a very long time. He quite literally interrogates Stan and Tori which I originally attributed to general teenager nosiness, but may actually have more to do with his apparent crush on Sandra Beeman. All the same, while Paige is busy being recruited for the KGB and baptized at church, it would appear that poor Henry is destined to remain the comic relief for a bit. He does his job well though.
Paige's upcoming recruitment is addressed head on in this episode. Elizabeth and Phillip are more honest with Paige in this episode than I have ever seen them before. It's an important step towards revealing their secret because Paige is eventually going to have to have full trust in them. Trust will definitely be a difficult thing for Paige when she discovers all the terrible things that her parents have taken part in, including murder, treason, and the seduction of a fifteen year old girl!
"Born Again" delves deeper into the Kimberly story (with more awesome '80s music as teased in the title of this preview) with Phillip doing his best to keep the relationship moving slow for as long as possible. As I said in my review of the fifth episode of this season, Matthew Rhys continues to be one of the greatest actors on television. How he does not yet have at least an Emmy nomination, is completely beyond me! While I can't give anything away, Phillip may have no choice, but to make a decision that will stay with him and Kimberly for the rest of their lives.
Nina and Gabriel are both back in this episode as well!
Tune in to The Americans on Wednesdays @ 10/9c on FX. Be sure to come back here to SpoilerTV to let everyone else know what you thought of the episode.
