Previously on The Americans: The FBI is attempting to track Elizabeth, Phillip and Elizabeth are having a major disagreement over Paige, and Yousaf is proving to be an extremely useful asset for the KGB's mission in Afghanistan.
This episode opens with an interesting discussion between Phillip and Gabriel. As I mentioned in my review of the last episode, I'm not so sure that Gabriel has Paige's best interest at heart. It's obvious that both Phillip and even conflicted Elizabeth want whatever is best for her. In all of this discussion, I don't think anyone has brought up what Paige thinks is best for her. As we have seen in the past, Paige is a freethinker and has a mind independent of the rest of her family. That being said, while Phillip and Elizabeth both want her to be able to choose her future, one has to wonder what choice she has in the situation. Once she is given that information, if she reacts badly (like Jared last season or worse) she could turn into a ticking time bomb. The debate of Paige's future with the KGB is sure to be a discussion that isn't going to be over anytime soon.
After retrieving the pictures of the people working in the CIA's Afghan group, this week's mission involves developing a way to use one of them as an asset along with the typical wigs that the series is so famous for. As the name of this episode suggests, Phillip and Elizabeth attend an open house in order to get closer to this possible asset. Unfortunately for them, things don't go quite as planned. Fortunately for viewers, this results in one of the greatest and most intense scenes of the season so far.
Martha fans will be pleased to know that Martha returns in this episode. Although, she doesn't have a lot of screen time in this episode, her actions have the possibility to alter the course of the entire series. In the only scene that she has with Clark, she touches on a sore spot in their relationship that leaves Clark (and Phillip) nearly as conflicted as Elizabeth. This is obviously going to continue to be a problem as the Martha/Clark story becomes more difficult to uphold as the years go by.
Meanwhile, Stan is given a new perspective on his "baby-sitting" duties for Zinaida, the new Soviet defector. Her introduction is an interesting change of tone for the series. The majority of the spy work has been "hush-hush", but her defection to the United States has been a huge media spectacle including press conferences and nationally broadcast interviews. Given her range of influence, Stan begins to suspect that she may not be quite what she seems. Is he especially intuitive or just plain paranoid? You'll have to tune in to find out!
Overall, fans of The Americans who have come to expect excellent drama mixed with excellent action and excellent wigs, will not be disappointed in the slightest. This is another phenomenal 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.
