Previously on The Americans: Martha is leaving for Russia, the FBI is trying to pick up the pieces, and Paige’s trouble with Pastor Tim has been put to sleep…for now.
With the developments of Martha’s character in the last episode, it should be very clear to viewers that she can never go back to any semblance of her old life. In this episode, we get a small glimpse of what Martha’s life will look like in the future. Sadly, it isn’t very pretty. Additionally, the repercussions of her apparent departure could have enormous effects on Philip. Philip’s emotional responses in the past have been quite drastic. In the aftermath of emotionally troubling events, he has openly struggled to keep it together and has let it affect his operations. This time with Martha however, things are quite different. Philip’s relationship with Elizabeth could be affected by how he responds to Martha’s departure and he knows it. Long time fans of the series will remember that Elizabeth was in a fairly similar situation with another agent that didn’t get quite the “happy” ending that Martha did. Does Gregory sound familiar?
Additionally, this episode features a lot of growth for Elizabeth as a character. She has struggled in the past to understand Philip’s emotional spats and, while she always seems to want to understand and sympathize, it’s also not something she seems to be very good at. In this episode, expect Elizabeth to go the extra mile to understand what Philip is going through.
Two characters that we have not seen in awhile return in this episode. Claudia, who for some reason only has scenes with Gabriel now, returns to offer Gabriel a bit of advice on how to deal with Philip and Elizabeth’s current situation. Additionally, Lisa, the Northrop employee who Elizabeth is conning for information, returns with some startling news that could result in some violence.
Rating: 9.8/10 - Yet again this feels like a season finale. This episode gives you a pretty good idea of where the show is heading without Martha around all the time and also allows viewers time to adjust to Martha’s departure. Additionally, one might think that Martha and Nina's exits this season would signal an end to the revolving door for now. Going into this episode, I would advise against this assumption.
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.
