Previously on The Americans: Stan is investigating Martha, Martha is getting more than a little uncomfortable with her “marriage”, and Stan and Oleg are about to get some really bad news (spoiler alert: Nina received a quick shot to the back of the head after having her appeal denied).
Over the course of the last four episodes, Martha has seen her unorthodox marriage go from bad to worse. As the walls continue to close in, Martha’s ability to cope with the situation becomes less and less. Expect to see this also take quite a toll on Philip. As the years have gone on, Clark has become more of who he really is, and as a result, Martha has become an integral part of his day to day life. I don't want to give away too much here because it's so well paced, but there is a lot of movement in this story this week as evidenced by this episode's title.
Similarly, Paige is also feeling pressure from multiple angles. While her situation is not quite as dangerous as Martha’s, the appearance of danger can make things even more dangerous when an amateur spy is involved. Regardless of how little Philip and Elizabeth want Paige involved in their work, because she knows the truth she will forever be involved with the KGB in one way or another. Lying to Stan last week about her parents' whereabouts was surprisingly difficult for her. Despite the numerous times that she lied to her own parents, she found it quite difficult to spin a tale for Stan. This is completely understandable because when she lied to her parents in previous seasons, the stakes weren’t very high. Now with the weight of the world on her shoulders, lying doesn’t come quite as easy as it used to.
Back in Russia, Oleg hears the news of Nina’s execution, and is upset by it. Unsurprisingly, Oleg decides that he must find an outlet for his anger. Following his brother's death and his father's multiple appearances on the show, I really want to see more of Oleg’s family in the coming season. Oleg is an interesting character (far more interesting than Nina ever was in my opinion), but he needs more screen time and more meaningful character interaction. The best character interaction that Oleg has ever had was with Stan so I’m hopeful that we will see more of that this season. So far in this episode, we’re off to a pretty good start on that front.
Rating: 9.7/10: With the one exception of Breaking Bad, I don't think I've ever seen a show that has the ability to pace itself so well. This episode delivers in spades.
Additional Super Vague Notes:
Hans (Elizabeth's spy in training) and Matthew (Stan's actual son) return in this episode.
"Ok, I think wimp would have sufficed." - Philip to ? (Guess in the comments!)
Tune in to The Americans on Wednesdays @ 10/9c on FX Network. Be sure to come back here to SpoilerTV to let everyone else know what you thought of the episode.
