The Americans – 2.05 – The Deal – Review : “Nothing is Easy”

   “The Deal” was an excellent episode of “The Americans”. I really like this season, I find it especially well balanced and written. It’s always very just. The episodes are well constructed, each characters and each storylines have the amount of time they deserved, it’s nicely balanced between action and dialogues. Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell are really amazing this year. They have such wonderful chemistry. And even individually, they still amaze me.

   After last week’s attack, Philip had to take care of the man, who turned out to be a Mossad agent. And Elizabeth went home. Matthew Rhys was astonishing in “The Deal”. His scenes with the Mossad agent were powerful and very meaningful for Philip . He insisted on how different they were. They were secret agents living in a foreign country, they had to hide what they do, but Philip also had to hide who he really is. He can’t raise his children the same way he was raised. He can’t be called by his real name. It was sad, I know the Mossad agent was telling that to touch Philip and try to get out but he knew exactly where it hurt. Philip has a very strong character and is well trained so he only focused on his mission : make a trade to get Anton back.
   And it worked ! Kate, Philip and Elizabeth’s new handler came in with the good news. I was disappointing they picked Kate over Claudia. Claudia was so great. Kate is all new at this and wants to make them “happy”… I’m not sure she is the right handler for Philip and Elizabeth. She is way too inexperienced and will probably die because of it.
   Anyway, Philip got Anton back and the scene in his car was very heart breaking. Anton tried to convince Philip to let him go, he just wanted to stay in America, with his wife and son. He even spoke about his son’s bar mitzvah in three months. Of course, it had to affect Philip in a way, especially after Emmett and his family’s murders, but Philip still was focused on his mission and so Anton was sent back to Russia. Philip can be so cold and Matthew Rhys is so good at playing how tortured Philip feels despite having a cold face.

   While Philip was locked in the safe house, Elizabeth got to play Jennifer, Clark’s sister… I must say I absolutely love Jennifer’s look. Keri Russell really pulls it off. I really loved Jennifer and Martha’ scenes. As it was only dialogue and no action, it could have been boring. But with Allison Wright and Keri Russell, it was simply stunning.
   Because of Martha’s phone call about her application, Elizabeth had to go visit her, play Jennifer and convince Martha to erase Clark’s name from the application. If Martha let it, Elizabeth would have probably kill her. I really hope Martha will stay in the show, I know her situation is delicate, and she is most likely to be killed but I really like her. She is so funny and natural. She was even funnier drunk. I loved it when she talked about her sex life with Clark. It was so inappropriate and weird… Nobody wants to hear about his brother’ sexlife.
   Their scenes were great also because it showed how the situation, and Philip’s double life affects Elizabeth. Their relationship is complicated even, but now to hear about his performance in bed and to watch pictures of Martha and him, his side of the bed… It really touched Elizabeth and I hope this won’t affect too much their relationship. They have been better since the beginning of the season, they got really closer so I hope this won't make Elizabeth put some distance between them.
   Elizabeth also got to see Bradley again, and for the last time. He gave her the files and she made an easy excuse to end their relationship. It was sad once again, poor Elizabeth, that wasn’t a good day for her. I could really feel a connection between Bradley and her, he was so nice and kind. But, as always, mission comes first and Elizabeth got what she needed, so Bradley was useless for her. I secretly hope in a few episodes Elizabeth could call him back and see him again.
   Philip and Elizabeth are really going through major stuffs since the beginning of the season. Their whole world has been shaken up. They finally realized their job put their own children at risk, a mysterious murder might be onto them and the FBI and Stan are never very far from them. I really love that direction of their story. The only letdown of the season for now is Nina. I wish we would see more of her, but I understand after everything she went through last year, she deserves a rest….. But it has been 5 episodes now, it’s time to focus on her.

   “The Deal” started to put Nina’ story in motion. Since the beginning of the season, Arkady and Oleg had developed this very tense relationship and it became clearer every week one of them will go down soon… And it will probably be Arkady. I love their dynamic and how they keep disagreeing on everything. They clearly have two opposite ways of thinking. Oleg seems to understand better the Americans, but he might also be too attracted to their culture. Arkady is a bit more old fashioned.
   And Nina is right in the middle of them. Because she can’t do anything against Arkady, he can expose her betrayal and now Oleg is having suspicion about her operation with Stan. He knows something is up and I'm guessing it won't be too long until he figures it all out. I don't want Nina to be under the influence of a man, she needs to be stronger and maybe kill them all (Arkady, Oleg and Stan) so she could be free at last.
   Oleg also spoke with Stan about Nina. I've never expected them to meet so soon but it was nice. Stan learnt about Anton’s disappearance and did everything he could to find him before the KGB. Stan always loves the hunt. He even got help from Nina who told him about Oleg’s comment on Arkady being too much of a bureaucrat. Stan knew the KGB would try to extract Anton and send him back to Russia.
So, they followed Oleg's car when he left the Rezidentura. But it was the wrong car to follow. I love how the FBI followed Oleg, with several cars. It was so good.
   So, Stan and Oleg finally met and Oleg asked Stan what he could give him in exchange for Nina’ safety…. Stan is now in a quite delicate situation. Big troubles are coming for them. It can’t wait to see how it will all play out.

   I really enjoyed “The Deal”, despite its lack of action, I found the stories very entertaining, and Philip and Elizabeth both had a hard time, I was glad at the end they got together on the sofa. It was touching. Their relationship is so doomed, everything is so complicated but still in a way, they’re a great couple.

Spy Notes : 
• Paige appeared briefly ! It was okay, she is still going through her teenager crisis of the week.
• Stan’s wife has been quite useless since the beginning of the season. But with the whole Oleg/Nina thing, I’m pretty sure it will affect their marriage.
• Did you miss Claudia ? I hate Kate ! Claudia is the best, bring her back !
• The toilet scene with Philip and Mossad agent was very powerful and so realistic.I loved it

   What did you think of “The Deal” ? Hit the comments !

About the Author - Romain Ossust

I'm 27 from France, living near Paris. I love a lot of TV shows, (this is a non exhaustive list) : Orphan Black, True Blood, Dexter, Weeds, Person of Interest, Criminal Minds, 24, Ab Fab, Carnivale, Lost, The Americans, American Horror Story, Once Upon A Time, Desperate Housewives, Glee, Ugly Betty, Scandal, Looking, Sleepy Hollow, The Walking Dead, Raising Hope, Orange is the New Black, Grey’s Anatomy, HIMYM, Girls, ...
For SpoilerTV, I'm reviewing The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Looking, Continuum, Sleepy Hollow, The Americans, True Blood & Orphan Black