Last night we were all able to see a new episode of The Americans on FX. First impressions . . . still pretty much on board with this show but last week’s episode didn’t do a lot for me. Some moments which I think were important:
Philip and Stan eat Caviar together – This scene was especially interesting to me because of the way Philip reacted to the Caviar. I know that’s a super popular thing in Russia so I found it interesting that Philip said he’d had it but didn’t like it (pretty obvious later in the episode that he did). I would have thought it would have been easier to fake never having had it before which I also think is probably the more ‘American’ thing to do. After all, I don’t know anyone who has ever eaten it. Also, I think it’s important that Stan seemed to be legitimately trying to build a relationship with his next-door neighbor. The tension of the scene comes from the idea that Stan is snooping around trying to catch Philip in a lie, and whether or not Philip will get caught. However, I feel like they were having a legitimate bonding moment and that Stan actually didn’t like that guy at the speaker store so he took his Caviar. Stan is about to delve into what happened but then realizes he shouldn’t. The trust is almost there, which could be very valuable for Philip and Elizabeth . . . but they don’t know it yet.
Philip and Elizabeth in bed together – The bed as a place of trust and discovery (don’t make that weird!) seems to be a theme in this show. In the last episode, the two are in bed together when Elizabeth starts telling Philip about her old life. This week, she begins to wonder about what would happen to the kids if something should happen to them. They decide that their son would be ok. He can adapt. He’s like Philip in that way (her words). But she worries about the daughter; says she’s fragile in some way. I like the way that part was done. We see Philip looking at Elizabeth and we know that he feels she is fragile (if we keep going with the comparison of parents to kids). Elizabeth seems to be only thinking of her daughter but she is almost there . . . almost realizing it about herself. She doesn’t know exactly yet but she’s close. So Gooood!
Philip strangling the Maid’s son with the pillow – I was really curious to see what would happen. Would Philip actually go through with it? It’s obvious he doesn’t want to and in the end he doesn’t have to (cop-out?). But I still wonder what would have happened. I mean technically they were the enemy. Philip could have eased his conscience at least a little in that fact. In the fact that it was for the greater good. But he also likes America too so . . . it seems like a mixed bag for sure.
Phil’s girl on the side! – Still up in the air as to whether there is anything really going on between these two. Yeah it’s for the operation but she doesn’t know that and I’m sure Philip kind of likes it. Elizabeth doesn’t seem to mind (although we did get that one comment ‘You didn’t tell me she looks like that‘) but I can never tell what she’s really thinking. Brings up a whole bag of issues about extra-marital activities. Is it cheating? (C’mon babe it’s for the good of the country. I had too.) I don’t know. Sadly, I think it makes their cover more authentic. Extra-marital sex seems very American (awk . . .)
Oh and they added a character! – Almost forgot about it but yes they added a character. Nina is her name and according to IMDB she’s listed in more episodes than Matthew Rhys or Keri Russell so . . . I guess she’s important but I’m not sure how yet. She’s a Soviet turned American (don’t think that’s a good way to put it but eh). The CIA finds out about her and basically blackmails her into defecting. Now it appears she is still working as some kind of secretary in an important Soviet office and presumably feeding intelligence to America in that capacity. Lastly, I suppose I probably shouldn’t be judging how important a character is, or how long they’ll be around by how many episodes they’re listed in. Afterall, Stan is seemingly a pretty important character and Noah Emmerich isn’t even listed on IMDB. Also, don’t even get me started on Game of Thrones. If any show proved to me that you can’t always count on your main characters to last the full season, it was that show. I’m still in mourning.
Well, that’s mostly everything I’ve been thinking about after watching the second episode. I know I said I’d talk about the things that were important but I think I ended up just talking about everything. Still, it seems to early to start calling plot points and there probably won’t be any big reveals for a while, but the show is doing a pretty decent job of keeping things interesting (if not rivetingly so). Could do with some more action. Hopefully we’ll get another fight scene next week. I’ll certainly be watching for it so . . . see you then? Laters!
alligators and aneurysms! 