The Americans - The World Council of Churches - Review

Much like last week’s “Dyatkovo”, the final minutes of “The World Council of Churches” are haunting, yet are so in a vastly different way. Where killing the Granholms didn’t sit right with either Jennings spy - even being the final straw for Elizabeth to suggest going home - they still knew it had to be done. Tuan’s plan to have Pasha’s suicide attempt be the factor that makes Evgheniya return to the Soviet Union is a crazy and extreme idea, one that is too much even for Philip and Elizabeth.

In theory, Tuan is right: the plan should work regardless of whether Pasha cuts too deep or not. But it isn’t guaranteed to work and, even if it does, essentially killing an innocent boy to make progress on the mission is utterly abhorrent. It’s no surprise that Philip is particularly outraged, storming off to try and save Pasha when neither he nor his parents answer the phone - his continued horror at the death of innocents by his hand (most recently, the lab technician earlier in the season) means he was always going to be more desperate to prevent this than Elizabeth. But even she appears far more inclined to save Pasha than to let this twisted plan play out.

What makes that final sequence so fascinating is not what it says about Tuan, or about Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, the spies. It is fascinating for what it says about Philip and Elizabeth as parents. She suggested to Tuan that they need to rethink their strategy, but that his instinct is to push Pasha towards suicide is scary. He obviously isn’t KGB, but he knows how his handlers operate, and the ruthlessness with which they usually carry out their work - look to his fear of what they’ll do to him after his trip to see his brother for proof of that. And although he may not be their son, that is the outward appearance of their dynamic and with him being relatively inexperienced - compared to the Jenningses, at least - it isn’t hard to see him gaining knowledge from them.

Which makes it so fitting that his terrible act, carried out in the thought his handlers would approve, comes as we see Paige setting up a punching bag and practising, and at the end of an episode in which the Jenningses wonder about life for their kids in Russia.

Henry’s strongest character trait at this point, aside from the jokes about him always playing computer games or being somewhere unknown, is probably that he has developed into a well-rounded, intelligent teenager with very little hands-on influence from his parents. They knew nothing of his school success, yet he has triumphed anyway. He may or may not have one or several girlfriends, but his parents aren’t sure (*). Stan calls him the greatest kid in the world, but he has become that in the past few years on his own.

(*) And, given that the series is told largely through Philip and Elizabeth’s eyes, we aren’t sure either.

Paige, meanwhile, has been groomed to become the KGB’s next rising starlet, a crucial cog in the Soviet’s Cold War machine. It’s resulted in months of sleepless nights, possible depression, a view from Pastor Tim that she may be permanently damaged, and a general sense that living with her parents keeping their heritage secret may have been the better option, frustrating as that was to her. For as enjoyable and compelling the show, and Holly Taylor, has been since that reveal, Paige’s life has crumbled at a rate parallel to that of Henry’s life becoming great.

For the Jenningses to contemplate returning to Moscow, they must first consider exactly how it will impact their children, who may have been born for the sake of their cover but are almost certainly the most real thing about their life. As Tim notes, the transition would be difficult. The whole thing speaks volumes when thought about in contrast to Tuan’s actions, especially with regards to Henry. He makes dinner, much to his parents’ surprise, and is so happy they are letting him attend the boarding school. Although Tim suggests there is plenty about American life that isn’t great, Henry seems to be going along just fine.

And therein lies the problem.

Tuan’s idea of making Pasha so miserable that his parents take him home is a viable one: it would benefit the mission, obviously, but it would also make his life far better. Pasha didn’t want to leave for the US, and he certainly doesn’t want to be there right now. It’s hard to imagine Henry having a different reaction to leaving behind all he knows for a foreign country. (Not to forget learning the lies his parents have told, which will be a crushing blow.)

Of course, Pasha’s troubled life hasn’t been helped by Tuan secretly meddling, intentionally making his life more difficult. And in the Soviet Union, there may not be anyone like Tuan trying to make Henry’s life worse and worse and worse.

But it isn’t impossible to imagine that simply living there might not one day push Henry - or Paige, for that matter - into a spiral so dark that slicing his wrists open doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.

Some other thoughts:

• Oleg was put through the wringer somewhat, questioned on William’s capture by the FBI and whether he divulged secrets told to him by Tatiana during their “encounters”. It’s clear that they think he betrayed his country - and we know what happens to people found guilty of treason. His father offers to help - Boris Lee Krutonog allowed to play Igor more emotional and desperate than we usually see him - but Oleg rightly declines. “It’s too dangerous,” he says, before going off on one of his walks. I still don’t know where this story arc is going, but the show is making it enjoyable and interesting enough that I’m happy to just roll with it.

• Tim got offered a job in Buenos Aires with the eponymous World Council of Churches, and Paige was very happy about it. He may have helped give her life a sense of purpose back when they met, but for the past two seasons, he has been a large part of the reason for her sadness. It’s unsurprising, then, that she gets sleep the night after learning the news.

• Sofia thinks it’s a good idea to bring Gennadi unannounced to her meeting with Stan and Aderholt, even though he claims they’re all on the same side (and after they tell the FBI pair that they’re going to get married). Wolfe’s wait and see approach is going to backfire drastically, I suspect.

• The Jenningses name comes from a married couple that died, Elizabeth Korman and Philip Jennings. “But I miss my old name, too,” Philip says; later, Elizabeth says the kids should take his name, as she will, when they move to Moscow.

What did everyone think of “The World Council of Churches?” Leave your thoughts in the comments!