Previously on The Americans: The KGB wants Paige to become a spy, Phillip is adamantly against it, and
Elizabeth is on the fence about the whole thing. Additionally, Yousaf kills Anneliese and Phillip is
tasked with cleaning it all up (not a fun activity). Amidst all of this madness, Nina is still sitting in a prison cell in
Moscow.
Something I was very worried about after the end of last season was how The Americans was going to be
able to continue using Nina as an interesting character. Her romance with Stan was getting stale and I
also wasn't overly interested in her relationship with Oleg. This season, Nina's new story arc begins
with her uneven relationship with a new cellmate. I'm not sure whether her "friendship" with this
cellmate is meant for a long term story line, but if so, I would love to find a bit more background on
this cellmate. In the meantime, Nina has a somewhat forced, yet equally fantastic discussion about
children with Oleg's father who could help get her out of her current predicament. Overall, I'm not sure what direction the writers are going to take with
Nina's story, but so far I'm liking it.
While keeping Stan and Nina separated, the writers were able to give Stan a story line that was not only
interesting, but also quite exciting. Tasked with accompanying a new Soviet defector by the name of
Zinaida, Stan spends a large portion of this episode watching over her. I'm not entirely sure where the
writers are going with this story either, but given the possibilities for interesting story lines it's bound to
build to something good. In the meantime though, Stan is continuing to see the pure amount of ignorance
that led him to cheat on his wife. A near death experience leads him to confide in his (ex?)-wife, but,
unfortunately for him, it is clear that she has already moved on. The Americans only weakness continues
to be Sandra Beeman. Susan Misner does an excellent job portraying her, but the writers seem to want to
hold on to her even after she serves little to no point in the overall story. In the coming weeks, it will be interesting to
see if the writers decide to eliminate her character in some way or are instead able to breathe new
life into her role.
Anneliese's murder at the end of the last episode was not only brutally shocking, but also incredibly
revealing about Phillip. Anneliese was a person that Phillip cared deeply about and despite this,
Phillip was completely functional in the aftermath of her death and was able to make the tough call to
continue on without her. Even more shocking in this episode was the sound of Anneliese's bones being
broken as she was condensed down to the size of a small suitcase. Moving through this episode, Phillip
seemed to almost pity Yousaf's sad role in the spy world. At first I found this perspective to be quite
perplexing. Most people would think that Phillip would feel no pity for the man who just killed someone
he cared about. Instead, The Americans goes deeper; Anneliese was a person forced into a way of life
because of her relationship with a family member. Similarly, Yousaf was forced to kill someone he loved because of the spy world It would be incredibly difficult for Phillip to not
see a potential future version of Paige in Anneliese or Yousaf.
In the middle of all of the mayhem and destruction, Phillip and Elizabeth are still able to find a good
amount of time to argue about Paige's future. Elizabeth's memories of her parents plague her ability to
see what is best, while Phillip still seems to favor the American way of life for their children. While it's clear that Elizabeth wants what is best for her daughter and her country, her talks with
Gabriel (Frank Langella) are certainly not helping to sway her away from turning Paige into a spy. Gabriel fills her mind with thoughts of the past,
honor, and the idea of "making a difference". Elizabeth is definitely going to be the wild card when it comes to Paige's future. These discussions continue to prove what an excellent addition Frank Langella has been to the cast.
9.2/10 - Following the brutal murder of Anneliese, this week's episode of The Americans sets up more than anything. Phillip and Elizabeth have a new asset arrangement, Gabriel and her mother's influences are weighing heavily on Elizabeth as she decides what to do with Paige, and Stan has a new task at work. No big game changers, but a lot of fantastic drama that is sure to make next week's episode as fantastic as everyother episode of The Americans.
Additionally, SpoilerTV will be discussing the third season of The Americans with comrade Annet Mahendru (Nina) on Tuesday, February 10th. If you have any questions for her, please post a comment on this page.
