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(Spoilers) FX The Americans v.3


Mark Antony

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Not a great season. The daughter's subplot did nothing for me nor did Tuan and the Russian family.

 

I'm glad they're wrapping it up next year, there should be legitimate suspense on the whole will they / won't they get caught which has been sorely lacking since the first or second season.

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On May 30, 2017 at 11:32 PM, Mark Antony said:

Stans gf has to be a spy right?

Yes, and i think we saw Stan having an inkling of that possibility as well.  Her whole "but we need good people like you fighting the good fight," pep talk has got to echo some of the things that Stan has had to say to assets he's worked in the past.  And it was having to give that sort of encouragement to good people in tough situations that prompted his decision (and thus the discussion about his decision) to leave his current post.  It was so on the nose it may as well be the nose.  I think it all clicked for him.

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2 hours ago, The Mance said:

Yes, and i think we saw Stan having an inkling of that possibility as well.  Her whole "but we need good people like you fighting the good fight," pep talk has got to echo some of the things that Stan has had to say to assets he's worked in the past.  And it was having to give that sort of encouragement to good people in tough situations that prompted his decision (and thus the discussion about his decision) to leave his current post.  It was so on the nose it may as well be the nose.  I think it all clicked for him.

Interesting. Hope you're right. Shit needs to start hitting the fan quickly in the final season. Enough of the slow burn :D 

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8 hours ago, The Mance said:

Yes, and i think we saw Stan having an inkling of that possibility as well.  Her whole "but we need good people like you fighting the good fight," pep talk has got to echo some of the things that Stan has had to say to assets he's worked in the past.  And it was having to give that sort of encouragement to good people in tough situations that prompted his decision (and thus the discussion about his decision) to leave his current post.  It was so on the nose it may as well be the nose.  I think it all clicked for him.

Agree with this^

And the fact that Stan explicitly explained to Henry a couple of episodes ago how he could never fully trust anyone in his life should mean that he suspects she's not all that she seems

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I finally binged the last 4 episodes and all I can say is that I love it.

This show doesn't need any drama to be intense. Phillip's dilemma and everything he went through in the last episode was so intense and so powerful that no hunt, or danger could rise above. Simply, this show doesn't need the fireworks. And that is why I love it. 

I feel as if this season has been dedicated to the idea of family. Their wedding, the trouble of keeping family safe, reading Pastor Tim's journal about Paige, debate about moving to Russia. Even in cold Moscow and Martha's phenomenal storyline, it's all about family. I adored how Elizabeth handled Tuan and explained to him that without someone, he is hopeless. It is a very romantic notion. Even in the world of espionage, you need someone. 

I will miss this show. The dialogue, the acting... Everything is superb. Truly outstanding TV drama.

On 6/1/2017 at 4:07 PM, Mark Antony said:

Interesting. Hope you're right. Shit needs to start hitting the fan quickly in the final season. Enough of the slow burn :D 

I am not sure that it will be Stan who will end the slow burn, but I do expect the world to go crazy for the Jennings next season. Living in their world has to have consequences and I am sure they will learn what they are next season. 

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  • 1 month later...

Finally caught up.

Family is exactly what the theme if this season was.  What the family is and what the family means.

I cannot fathom where this goes from here, but I'm looking forward to it.

They sure pushed the idea that Stan's girlfriend is a spy. It makes sense. Yet it doesn't it.

I just realized that Oleg wasn't in the finale at all...

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On 7/10/2017 at 2:45 AM, Jaxom 1974 said:

Finally caught up.

Family is exactly what the theme if this season was.  What the family is and what the family means.

Well, what I thought is that this show was always about family, but this season they put that in front of everything else. The spy business took the back seat this year, which made it far slower than we accustomed to. But, the way it is done, was phenomenal. Usually, when it comes to dealing with family and its issues, TV dramas go soapy. This one hit hard to the point of what family really is about. And in the context of the show, it worked brilliantly for me. Simply, it was different from other seasons in some ways, but I really loved this slow-burn.

On 7/10/2017 at 2:45 AM, Jaxom 1974 said:

I cannot fathom where this goes from here, but I'm looking forward to it.

This season was like a deep plunge before the storm. I do expect hell to break loose in Season 6 but I am with you, I have no idea how it will play out.

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I haven't seen this season yet, so am avoiding spoilers. 

But as a general comment, the reason the show works and is so great is because of the family elements, which I didn't think would appeal to me. But its the contrast between their 'day job' and the family life, the effect it has on their marriage and Paige and Henry, that keeps bringing me back. 

The situations they are put under really just highlight the strains a marriage can be under, and try to get to the core of what love really means between a husband and wife and their family. 

The spy elements have always been some of the weakest bits of the show, with the silly wigs and over the top action. Its never felt that real to me. 

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Not finished the season yet but I can't say I think this is any lower quality than previous seasons. Different, yes, but not worse. I'm enjoying all aspects of it; Phillip/Elizabeth/Paige, Tuan and the rest of that mission, Oleg in Russia, Stan's disillusionment with the FBI. Great stuff so far, and I liked Martha briefly showing up in he supermarket. 

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3 hours ago, Risto said:

Well, what I thought is that this show was always about family, but this season they put that in front of everything else. The spy business took the back seat this year, which made it far slower than we accustomed to. But, the way it is done, was phenomenal. Usually, when it comes to dealing with family and its issues, TV dramas go soapy. This one hit hard to the point of what family really is about. And in the context of the show, it worked brilliantly for me. Simply, it was different from other seasons in some ways, but I really loved this slow-burn.

This season was like a deep plunge before the storm. I do expect hell to break loose in Season 6 but I am with you, I have no idea how it will play out.

What was absolutely brilliant about bringing "family" to forefront was that it permeated every single aspect of the show.  What it means in America, what it means in Russia.  Those that are looking for a family, be it Stan or Martha, who's bits this season held no other purpose than to drive home the theme.  How the job effected the family of Phillip and Elizabeth, but how it impacted the other families they dealt with in the course of the job, Pastor Tim, the Russian family of defectors, even Tuan and his old family.  The grain story was an outlier, but still held sway, to a degree, on the theme with how Phillip and Elizabeth approached the job and what it did for their relationship. 

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  • 5 weeks later...

Just finished Season 4.

Agree with the consensus that it wasn't the most enthralling of seasons but still of a very high quality. Elements worked and elements didn't.

What worked:

- Paige's progression. She has really grown over the seasons as a character, and as annoying as she was earlier she is starting to come into her own. I feared she would become a religious lunatic and just leave, but I liked that the jesus aspect was just her searching for something more. I do wish they would discuss more about what is wrong with her inside, because part of me feels like she hasn't really justified that level of 'mental damage' she claims. Sure her parents were absent a lot, but they still seemed to care for her.

- Tuan. The ending of the season regarding Tuan and Pacha was very tense and maybe the only time in the whole season I was on the edge of my seat. We've seen numerous agents who are too over eager, but Tuan was cold and calculated in a way that would really help him do his job. A true Sociopath. It was a good contrast to the Jennings, and it was quite effective showing them visiting him just to hang out, like he was their son.. while their own son is barely around.

- The Jennings. Both the main stars had a good arc and we are really coming to the point where they are starting to break away from the centre. Well Phil is anyway. Its heartbreaking watching him struggle to come to terms with everything he has done. Killing the flower guy was a big blow. 

What didn't work

-Russia. I'm still unsure why so much screentime was spent in Russia dealing with corruption and the grey weather there. I understand if it helps to balance the story out and give context to the work the agents in the US are doing, but we managed to do without it for seasons just fine. None of it is especially interesting and I was tempted to skip ahead every time the screen went grey blue! I guessed that the reason they were doing it was that the Jennings would head home at the end of S4, giving it a smoother transition. But that didn't happen, and now I wonder what the real purpose was.

- The whole story with Henry I suspected was going to lead to some big reveal. It didn't. He just is a nerd and he's been offscreen the whole time possibly due to massive puberty!

- Most of the 'spy' elements this year felt like rehashes of previous set ups, and weren't really that gripping. Martha 2 was funny, but on the whole there was very little chemistry there, especially with the Russian family. Understandable but the show was more entertaining when they all get on, Young Hee was a favourite of mine. 

I don't know where the show will go now, looking forward to next season, but it needs to push on a bit more.

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  • 6 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Tonight's the night, boys and girls! And to get you in the mood, here's the song the episode starts with, Don't Dream it's Over by Crowded House.

Also, here's a decent review from The Globe and Mail in Toronto. I especially like the fact he says what I also think, this series was never supposed to end well. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/television/article-the-americans-an-exquisite-series-ends-with-added-relevance/

 

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Awesome to have it back. Thought it was a really good opening ep. Stakes have finally been raised. This season is gonna be so intense. 

Loved seeing Arkady. The whole plot line introduced by him with the divides in the Soviet Union and using Oleg to get to Phillip and then using Phillip to get information from (or even stop) Elizabeth was/is going to be stupidly entertaining. 

Elizabeth looks so worn out. Shouldn’t be surprised by how brutal she is and especially by what lengths she would go to protect Paige but her stabbing the navy dude still caught me off guard. 

Time jump worked for me though I do wonder how the Kimmy situation from last season played out. Her dad had just got promoted to head of Soviet division and that was what made them stay in America iirc. 

 

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A strong start and the idea of oleg as phillip's handling trying to work against/take down his wifer (and daughter) certainly makes for a compelling end-game. And they've yet to throw Stan into the mix.

The time jump threw me in the sense I felt like i'd missed a season but it was necessary to get the show into the place it wanted for the finale. The only issue I really have is that it made Phillip come across as a bit selfish - enjoying life knowing full well his wife was still involved in the the thing that almost broke him. Especially when it was so damn obvious that Elizabeth is probably as broken as he was now. The conversation at the end went some way to alleviating that issue in the sense Phillip is aware of the problem.

I also hope we get some scenes with Phillip and his daughter as I'd assume Phillip would be suspicious of her being trained. It all feeds really well into the idea of this season being Phillip vs Elizabeth though as I suspect if he discovers Paige is an agent he won't be happy and mistrust Elizabeth more.

I just hope it's a bit more muddy than Phillip being on the "good side" and that Arkady may be playing him and Oleg.

Also was I the only one who for a split second thought they were going to kill Phillip off via a car bomb in the opening minutes? If so, that scene was well filmed and it says a lot about the show that I could genuinely think "that would be ballsy to kill him off at the start of the season". Although I guess I was thinking with the time jump we may be simply cutting back to a "X weeks earlier".

Anyway - a very strong start. I'm going to try and watch the final season weekly. I usually semi binge the show but I don't want to risk any spoilers this time around as I feel like all bets are off in this final season.

 

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