The Americans - Season 4 (FX) (1 Viewer)

[joshEH]

FX just officially announced the return date for the fourth season -- Wednesday, March 16th. Also, a new poster just released:

FX also revealed details of the season premiere episode:

The Americans is a period drama about the complex marriage of two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington D.C. during the Reagan administration. The arranged marriage of Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) grows more passionate and genuine by the day, but as the pressures and demands of the job grow heavier, the personal toll becomes almost too exhausting to bear. Having revealed their true identities to their teenage daughter Paige (Holly Taylor), Philip and Elizabeth must keep their daughter’s best interests at heart while ensuring that their cover identities, and thus their lives, remain protected.


Their previous missions have already placed Philip and Elizabeth in great jeopardy. Martha (Alison Wright), a valued secretary at the FBI whom Philip married while undercover, has been an invaluable source of intel. However, when her cover is nearly blown, Philip must make increasingly difficult decisions to ensure her safety and allegiance. The Jennings’ neighbor, FBI Agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), could also prove to be a renewed threat. His KGB lover/asset Nina (Annet Mahendru), having failed to turn him against the U.S., was sent back to Moscow to face an unsure fate.


With Nina gone, Stan has made an effort to become closer with his family, and has formed a bond with the Jennings’ 12-year-old son, Henry (Keidrich Sellati). He has also cultivated his relationship with KGB officer Oleg Burov (Costa Ronin), behind the back of Oleg’s boss, Director of the KGB Rezidentura Arkady Ivanovich (Lev Gorn). Stan’s newfound dedication to wiping out Directorate S has also led him to become suspicious of Martha’s uncharacteristic behavior. As he begins to investigate what’s been in front of him all this time, he might finally get closer to uncovering the “Illegals” – Philip and Elizabeth – that have eluded him for so long.

The premiere episode, “Glanders,” picks up on the heels of last season’s finale. Philip and Elizabeth are dealing with the fallout of all they’ve wrought. What will happen when the FBI finds out about Gene’s suicide? How will Pastor Tim deal with the revelation that they are Russian spies? And will they be able to handle a dangerous new bioweapons assignment? The episode was written by Joel Fields & Joe Weisberg, and directed by Thomas Schlamme.

Easily the best show on television last season (along with the final season of Justified and Better Call Saul). Thrilled it's coming back for another round.


Also, this show is setting the bar for TV posters. Honestly, is there a show with better official promo artwork? Just hoping for more scenes like this next season:

 

[joshEH]

Really good opening. I was hoping for something bigger from the fallout of the finale, but this was still solid.

Pastor Tim is so out of his depth here. And Martha...poor, poor Martha. This is how supervillains are born.

 

[DaveF]

Great opener for what I hope to be another fantastic season.

I don't see many possible futures where Martha doesn't end up dead by Phillip's hands.

 

[TravisR]

I don't see many possible futures where Martha doesn't end up dead by Phillip's hands.

I probably said it in last year's thread but it would almost be a mercy killing at this point. Sick as it sounds, I want her to die so more bad stuff doesn't happen to her.

 

[joshEH]

...Well, at least it wasn't "Muskrat Love" at the airport.

Man, I looked at the clock after the car-scene, and I was stunned that the show was over. This fucking show.

I love that so many secrets are being revealed, and we're still only on the second episode. Philip opens up to Elizabeth about his past, Sandra and EST, Elizabeth finds out about Pastor Tim...nothing gets dragged out. Speaking of EST, the look on Philip's face when she said she would go with him positively melted my cold, black heart. EST don't hold nothing back. EST don't give a fuck.

Poor Oleg, I wanted to reach through the screen and hug him. You know, for comforting reasons.

 

[joshEH]

Also, they spilled the biggest secret that the show has revealed in 3.2 seasons:

Ralph Lauren! Henry is wearing Ralph Lauren cologne! I was way off with my Stetson-guess, and the popular Brut-theory is right out the window now, too. Henry Jennings: MILF Hunter.

Apparently, according to Elizabeth, Ralph Lauren is a Level 2 biological weapon, unlike the Level 3 hidden behind their clothes dryer.

 

[joshEH]

I sort of want a Young-hee spinoff now.

Yes, she's the new Mr. Magoo. She's recently befriended a Russian spy. Tune in next week, when her new friend, the Zodiac Killer, stops by for new foundation and blush.

This episode totally crystallized the Jenningses' dilemma. Their home, the only place they could be safe, is Russia. But their children can't live there; they're literal American citizens, born and raised here, and a move to Soviet Russia would be devastating. They're already trapped, and they know it.

I'm just glad Philip and Elizabeth didn't head to Epcot to spread the plague.

 

[John Lee_275604]

I sort of want a Young-hee spinoff now.

Yes, she's the new Mr. Magoo. She's recently befriended a Russian spy. Tune in next week, when her new friend, the Zodiac Killer, stops by for new foundation and blush.

This episode totally crystallized the Jenningses' dilemma. Their home, the only place they could be safe, is Russia. But their children can't live there; they're literal American citizens, born and raised here, and a move to Soviet Russia would be devastating. They're already trapped, and they know it.

I'm just glad Philip and Elizabeth didn't head to Epcot to spread the plague.

(Also, I had a college professor with an intelligence background who would seriously lose his shit if you ever wrote, "I feel.")

Thanks for the AVClub commentary summary

 

[Josh Dial]

Thanks for the AVClub commentary summary

I don't know what that means.

 

[ScottH]

RIP Nina. That was pretty much telegraphed the entire episode. I feel like the Nina story line had run its course a long time ago so this was probably for the best. She was a good character though.

Looking forward to the weekly board game nights with the Jennings and Tim & Alice. Speaking of which, I can't believe Pastor Tim is also Dollar Bill from Billions.

 

[DaveF]

Though Nina's story has been effectively exhausted since last season, I enjoyed her tertiary arcs and was shocked by her death. I'm sad to see her character gone.

 

[ScottH]

Though Nina's story has been effectively exhausted since last season, I enjoyed her tertiary arcs and was shocked by her death. I'm sad to see her character gone.

That's surprising considering every episode since last season I've wondered, "Is this the episode Nina doesn't make it to the end?" As soon as Olaf exchanged staying in Russia for his father to help her I knew she was a goner.

 

[John Lee_275604]

I don't know what that means.

Go to TheAVClub and look at the recap of this episode. This post was a verbatim collection of 3 or 4 different comments from below it. Not a crime or anything, just strange. I just happened to read this thread right after reading the comment section, and the turns of phrase sounded familiar, so I tabbed back over.

 

[TravisR]

That's surprising considering every episode since last season I've wondered, "Is this the episode Nina doesn't make it to the end?" As soon as Olaf exchanged staying in Russia for his father to help her I knew she was a goner.

Speaking only for myself, I was surprised by her death because it happened in episode 4 rather than episode 11 or 12. If it was the season finale, I'd have thought "This MUST be the end of the line for her." but since they've kept her around in her own satellite story for over a year, I figured they'd have kept her around until at least the end of this season.

 

[MarkMel]

2 episode have passed and no action in the Americans thread. I'm watching but not as enthusiastically as past seasons. I find myself reaching for the laptop to surf while watching this show mainly looking up to read the Russian subtitles. I don't know why this is? Maybe it seems as if the story and characters are just walking around in circles. I'm all for the slow burn but it feels like this season they haven't even started the tinder.

With that said Martha can not be allowed to survive, right?

 

[TravisR]

With that said Martha can not be allowed to survive, right?

That's seemed like the obvious outcome for so long that I think that the writers will come up with a way that she lives.

 

[DaveF]

Fantastic episode! I was on edge as Martha was leaving the house.

 

[ScottH]

This week's may have been the best episode of the series. Kind of felt like a season finale. Interestingly also directed by Matthew Rhys, who might deserve an Emmy for the episode as director. Not to mention Keri Russell for her performance.

 

[TravisR]

It was pretty harsh of Elizabeth to dump the blame on Paige but I didn't think anything she said was wrong either.

Kind of felt like a season finale.

With a few deletions, I thought it could have been a series finale.

 

[John Lee_275604]

It was pretty harsh of Elizabeth to dump the blame on Paige but I didn't think anything she said was wrong either.


With a few deletions, I thought it could have been a series finale.

Interesting distinction between whether or not 'Beth's tirade was factually 'wrong' and whether it was reprehensible.

The show does a good job of putting the audience in the shoes of the anti-heroes, but it's pushing the breaking point to get us behind the moral authority to blame an American teenager for all the killing and increased spying the family has to endure because she let her pastor know her parents are treasonous KGB agents.