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The Americans on Fx

From early into the series there has been, among many viewers, an anti-Paige feeling. I would ask those well-meaning folks to bear in mind that Paige's so-called training doesn't begin to approach the intensity and thoroughness of that which Elizabeth received back in Mother Russia. And Paige isn't fully aware of the extent of that preparation. Her acutely naive understanding of the spy game can be laid to the enormous amount of information that Elizabeth has withheld from her about the true nature of espionage and the role her mother has played in it over the past 20 years. Philip's little bout with Paige was meant to show her just how easily she can still be overcome. When he held her against the wall, I thought of Season 5, when he snapped the neck of that agriculture lab technician.

Holly Taylor has a look ideal for portraying a naive young woman who largely has been sheltered, hasn't had normal socialization development, and is being sold a bill of goods by Claudia, who is herself a ruthless Communist ideologue. Miss Taylor is capable of displaying effective facial expressions and body language that are in tune with the character she portrays.

Does anyone else out there think the showrunners have made Elizabeth a bit too murderous this season?
 
Dispatch Deac said:
Does anyone else out there think the showrunners have made Elizabeth a bit too murderous this season?
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Did they have a choice? She picked up the body count that was normally Phillips. They had to show her stretched too thin which leads to mistakes and more dead people.

I could easily see Claudia, Paige and Elizabeth all end up dead at the hands of the pro-Gorbachev portion of the Russian government. What do you think they are going to do when they find out Elizabeth is working against Gorbachev? Phillip finally gets arrested by the FBI and Henry gets the biggest what the hell just happened of all time and Stan becomes his guardian after being forced into early retirement. ( I realize just five posts above I thought Stan would probably die). It's a big stretch, but I don't see a happy ending for anyone.
 
Dispatch Deac said:
From early into the series there has been, among many viewers, an anti-Paige feeling. I would ask those well-meaning folks to bear in mind that Paige's so-called training doesn't begin to approach the intensity and thoroughness of that which Elizabeth received back in Mother Russia. And Paige isn't fully aware of the extent of that preparation. Her acutely naive understanding of the spy game can be laid to the enormous amount of information that Elizabeth has withheld from her about the true nature of espionage and the role her mother has played in it over the past 20 years. Philip's little bout with Paige was meant to show her just how easily she can still be overcome. When he held her against the wall, I thought of Season 5, when he snapped the neck of that agriculture lab technician.

Holly Taylor has a look ideal for portraying a naive young woman who largely has been sheltered, hasn't had normal socialization development, and is being sold a bill of goods by Claudia, who is herself a ruthless Communist ideologue. Miss Taylor is capable of displaying effective facial expressions and body language that are in tune with the character she portrays.

Does anyone else out there think the showrunners have made Elizabeth a bit too murderous this season?
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Paige is the fucking worst. Every scene with her drags and the actress has one response face.
 
I will say that Paige has improved as a character. Still not great but it's something.
 
Coach O said:
This is not going to end well for Elizabeth.
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Or anybody, really.

The best possible outcome for any of the major characters that I can think of would be Stan getting to catch Philip and Elizabeth. And even that would be bittersweet considering that Stan would have to live knowing that a pair of Soviet spies, whom he considered friends, operated under his nose for years.
 
This season has been great so far. Some thoughts:

- Paige was pretty insufferable during seasons 3-5, mostly with the Pastor Tim/religion horseshit. The character has come into her own much more this season, however.
- Stan's arc reminds me almost exactly of Hank from Breaking Bad. I don't see this ending well for him.
- What a complete mindfuck for Phillip with Kimmy this past episode. Matthew Rhys crushed it
- Elizabeth has been a one-woman strike force this season and it's badass
- Classic sitcom dad move from Phillip: half-paying attention/listening to daughter and wife, then as soon as daughter mentions anything about sex, he's juiced up. Zzzzzzzzz...wait, WHAT? WHO DID YOU SLEEP WITH? I don't know if that was intentionally meant to be funny, but I couldn't stop laughing.
 
100% chance Elizabeth initiated sex with Philip because she needed him to work Kimmie, right?
 
The self-loathing on Philip's face while having sex with Kimmie was perfect.
 
Phillip finally got to deliver his tube steak for Kimmie. The way that ended was VERY un-Phillip though. He officially broke.
 
If Gennadi and Sofia were being kept in a safe house, then why was the kitchen window (next to a fire escape!) unlocked?
 
The reemergence of Russia as an adversarial state has been good for the actor playing Oleg. He was the big bad of the past season of Homeland, basically playing a modern Oleg, just minus the development The Americans has been able to give him over several seasons.
 
Dispatch Deac said:
If Gennadi and Sofia were being kept in a safe house, then why was the kitchen window (next to a fire escape!) unlocked?
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Yeah, for a series that presumably prides itself on being realistic, the safe house situation was pretty bad. That window would have been nailed shut from the inside and the outside. Also, you don’t post an obvious agent standing outside the front entrance of a safe house.
 
Very good points about the safe house. While we were watching, my wife said "Elizabeth has no idea which apartment he's in yet." Also, the FBI took the assassination of their defectors pretty cavalierly. "That's too bad. Oh well....Hey, what are you doing for lunch?"
 
Episode 6 is a make up call for 5 seasons of ignoring Henry. He senses something is wrong and Henry may well be one who blows the cover off his family's real business. Payback is a beyotch!
 
Last week's episode may have been the best in the whole series.
 
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