Previously on The Americans: Stan and Aderholt are closing in on William, Paige is getting close to Matthew Beeman, and things are ramping up for an amazing season finale.After 12 weeks of non-stop fantastic television, we have finally come upon the fourth season finale of The Americans. Ready…Set…идти (That’s “Go” in Russian…at least according to Google Translate.)
This episode opens with a long surveillance scene. The Americans has always nailed the spy aspect of the show (along with every other aspect in reality), but this sequence stands out because of how subtle and amazingly well edited it is. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is guilty of trying to watch TV while doing other things, so I would advise everyone to closely watch the opening scene so as not to miss anything. It’s a great scene that culminates in something rather unexpected and you definitely don’t want to miss it.
One of the greatest strengths of The Americans is the show’s ability to run a single storyline much further than actually thought reasonable and still remain entertaining. Martha went on three full seasons after I thought it could and represented some of the show’s greatest moments. While Martha was obviously featured quite heavily over those seasons, other characters that we’ve known about for many years have only ever made subtle appearances on the show, but remain major players in the overarching plot of the series. Expect a character we haven’t heard much from in awhile to return.
Lastly, even though this was easily the bloodiest season of The Americans yet, don’t expect the cast’s revolving door to stop anytime soon. Exits on The Americans can take many different forms and this season finale is especially clever in designing a number of potential exits. From a plane to a gunshot to a deadly pathogen…to a door (Sorry Agent Gaad), you never quite know when or how your number is up on this show.
Rating: 9.1/10 - This episode does not follow the normal structure of a story in regards to “Rising Action”, “Climax”, and “Falling Action”. It’s quite oddly structured if you think about it once it is finished, but it is also heavily entertaining. It sets things up for next season well and gives you something to think about over what is sure to be a very long wait until next season. Catch you next season, comrades.
Memorable Quotes:
“Would you like a Coke?”
“Father of the bride…You’re paying…”
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.
