The Americans: The Final Season (Spoilers) pt. 4

[Martini Sigil]

Man, I am really gonna miss this show... the finale was excellent, and yet totally not what i expected, but what I loved most about it was...

Spoiler

The loose ends... Paige drinking alone in Claudia's apartment... and where is Claudia?... and what will happen to Oleg?... and will we ever find out about Renee?

I also thought that Claudia would have beat them there, and the KGB was going to whack them... 

 

[dooog]

Not perfect but it was a pretty damn good finale. Rhys' acting got better each season it seems. Russell was also fantastic.  I'll definitely miss this show.

 

I kind of wish they'd confirmed the Jennings as spies in the penultimate episode. The show's been going on years and much of the suspense was often created through the close calls and Will they / won't they be caught... so while I thought the garage scene was great, I also felt perhaps they could have confirmed Stan's suspicions beyond doubt sooner, to let all the implications sink in and steep a little longer. As it was, Philip "putting it all out there" didn't even fully disclose, lied in places and inexplicably Stan let them leave after a 2 minute conversation.  Paige once again annoyed the piss out of me.

[RumHam]

24 minutes ago, dooog said:

As it was, Philip "putting it all out there" didn't even fully disclose, lied in places and inexplicably Stan let them leave after a 2 minute conversation.  

Yeah, it seemed a little ridiculous to me at the time. Especially cause even when Phillip finally dropped the veil they still tried to lie about killing people and about knowing Oleg and he called them out on both. But then let them go anyway. I get that he was emotionally conflicted, but I would have thought he felt so betrayed, especially once Phillip suggested that Renee could be one of them, that he should not have let them just roll out of that garage. 

Edit: it's gotta be the "henry loves you" thing. But I need to rewatch. 

[Jaxom 1974]

Dear gods...one of the best finales of any show just about ever...

Music played such an important role...essentially finishing the season with U2...and who knew the best song use of the season with Crowded House at the very start of the season was telegraphing so much with, "Don't Dream It's Over"...

I think, if we're to interpret the lyrics of "With or Without You", I believe it indicates Stan isn't going to let Phillip's last words on Renee matter...frankly, if it's true she's a spy, I've come to believe it wasn't to use Stan as a source, but as a monitor of the Jennings...

I thought we'd get a touch more closure with Oleg though...that Stan would somehow use what Phillip and Elizabeth told him to get the dead drop info to the Soviets...

That parking garage scene was some of the best television I've ever watched...

[lady narcissa]

Really really enjoyed it.  As so many other have mentioned, such a great use of music in this finale from U2's "With or Without You" to Tchaikovsky’s “None but the Lonely Heart”.  I only regret they didn't find a way to work "Back in the USSR" into the episode...at least as they ran the credits.  Billy Joel released a version of it in 1987 if they wanted to stick with that theme.

Love that Paige stayed.  She's got something on Stan with being able to say he let her parents get away so something to use to her advantage with him if need be - I won't mention what I know about you if you don't mention what I know about you.  If she did get caught or if she turned herself in, I would think she could negotiate some kind of deal.  But in that case, a good chance she'd be stripped of her citizenship and ultimately sent to the USSR and end up with her parents after all.

Glad they left Henry behind.  It would have gotten them caught by someone other than Stan and/or Henry wouldn't have easily left and they would have lost valuable time.  I can see Philip reconnecting with him on social media once that becomes an option down the road.

I'm not to worried about Oleg.  I think between Gorbachev and his father's connections and doing the right thing and Stan he will be traded sooner rather than later.

The ambiguity about Renee was great.

How appropriate that the Jennings last supper was at McDonalds.

[Annara Snow]

1 hour ago, Jaxom 1974 said:

Dear gods...one of the best finales of any show just about ever...

Music played such an important role...essentially finishing the season with U2...and who knew the best song use of the season with Crowded House at the very start of the season was telegraphing so much with, "Don't Dream It's Over"...

I think, if we're to interpret the lyrics of "With or Without You", I believe it indicates Stan isn't going to let Phillip's last words on Renee matter...frankly, if it's true she's a spy, I've come to believe it wasn't to use Stan as a source, but as a monitor of the Jennings...

I thought we'd get a touch more closure with Oleg though...that Stan would somehow use what Phillip and Elizabeth told him to get the dead drop info to the Soviets...

That parking garage scene was some of the best television I've ever watched...

There is no need for a dead drop, when Philip and Elizabeth themselves are in USSR now and can tell Arkady all.

"With or Without You" struck me as very on point from Paige's POV - "I can't live with or without you" regarding her parents..and "nothing to win and nothing left to lose..."

@lady narcissa Ugh, no "Back in the USSR" - the show has never been this on the nose with its music selections.

[Winterfell is Burning]

4 hours ago, Annara Snow said:

 

- Also, I'm pretty sure Oleg won't be executed. Sadly, he will be in prison for quite some time. But we can hope that he eventually gets released in a few years time (come on, Arkady! Work on it!)

 

 

Actually, considering the anti-Gorbachev coup was thwarted, Oleg- and Phillip and Elizabeth- will be considered a hero in their government's eyes. Plus, he's the son of a minister. I'm thinking now he'll probably be released eventually.

[Jaxom 1974]

7 minutes ago, Annara Snow said:

There is no need for a dead drop, when Philip and Elizabeth themselves are in USSR now and can tell Arkady all.

@lady narcissa

Of course the dead drop info is ultimately irrelevant, but who knows that? Stan can only assume that Phillip and Elizabeth make it out and back... but he could have used the info to actually help Oleg... just seemed like a missed opportunity...

[red snow]

7 hours ago, RumHam said:

Am I reading too much into that? I know it's way too soon but I can't think of another top tier drama that was more ripe for some form of follow up. Which obviously would be a spin-off about the mail robot enslaving humanity. 

I think it's more them saying "we leave it to people's imaginations" but I agree there's a lot of potential for revisiting the show - maybe in the 90s 2000s. Or even a contemporary show - with 2nd/3rd generation illegals still operating. The creators might think that's a bit too timely with real world events.

Paige could wind up working as an american agent somewhere rather than let those skills go to waste? I highly doubt she'd evade the FBI for long on her own. Who knows where Henry might wind up under Stan's tutelage and it'd be fascinating to see how the revelations affected Henry over time.

I definitely want to hear an announcement on what Fields and Weisberg are working on next though! I find it hard to believe that the quality in craft could drop between shows. If FX has any sense they'll have them under contract for "whatever the hell you want" deal.

[Mark Antony]

Not much to add that hasn’t been said. I loved it. FX know how to nail their final seasons/finales. 

Paige getting off the train was a perfect twist. Surprised the fuck out of me when I saw her but really was the only choice. Garage scene was brilliant. I mean Stan knew they were never gonna lay on the ground and I don’t think he had it in him to kill them but I think Paige saying “you have to take care of Henry” really swung Stan into letting them go. 

[Ran]

I really doubt a follow-up to the show is in the cards. I think it was a wise choice to leave us with the sense that there's more story, but that we'll never really know what it is beyond speculation. 

Definitely agree with @Mark Antony on Paige's request doing a lot to sway Stan. 

[Jaxom 1974]

Upon reflection, I think I almost expected a epilogue scene of the Wall coming down and various reactions to it...I mean it wasn't the actual fall of the Soviet Union, but it really was a watershed moment that essentially sealed its fate in a lot of ways...

[SerHaHa]

+1 @ Marc Antony, I can't add anything else, all my feelings are pretty much summed up here.  Such a brilliant show that I'm truly going to miss, Wednesday night, you just aren't going to be the same going forward.

Not only was Paige getting off the train brilliantly conceived and shot, I think what I loved the most was the look Russell had on her face - brilliant actress, I'm so sold on anything she chooses to do in the future. 

 

The creator of The Americans is a former CIA intelligence officer, he actually had to send in his scripts a month before shooting each episode for them to be vetted and approved.  Oliver North was even given a story credit for all the information he provided for one of the story arcs about South America.  There was a lot going on beneath the surface that made this show so great.  (Not that North is great or anything).  The show was based on the 2010s "illegals" from Russia - one Russian agent/woman from those times who was caught by the FBI and traded for an American agent now hosts a TV show of her own in Russia.  Truth is stranger than fiction sometimes. 

[Winterfell is Burning]

8 hours ago, Triskele said:

But then play the tape forward a bit, and someone help me out here if they have better knowledge:  after the fall of the USSR might it not have been more feasible for the family to reconnect?  

Sure, Henry and Paige would be free to visit them in Russia, assuming Paige isn't in jail, or they could go to a place with no extradition treaty to the US. The question is of course if Henry would even want to, and what a reunion would look like.

[Annara Snow]

7 hours ago, Winterfell is Burning said:

Sure, Henry and Paige would be free to visit them in Russia, assuming Paige isn't in jail, or they could go to a place with no extradition treaty to the US. The question is of course if Henry would even want to, and what a reunion would look like.

I don't know if either Henry or Paige would be too happy to see them. The damage has really been done. In any case, they are never going to be a family again.

@SerHaHa The episode North got a "story" credit for (which was written by Tracey Scott Wilson) was "Martial Eagle", the episode where Philip and Elizabeth break into a secret camp where the US military was training the Nicaraguan "Contras". This, of course, was later the subject of the big Irangate or Iran-Contra scandal. Oliver North, as one of the people involved and exposed, certainly would have been in position to provide a lot of info. 

I find it incredibly interesting that a show partially conceived, run and written by a former CIA officer is one of the least jingoistic, most politically unbiased American shows I've ever seen. Nothing is ever black and white, not when it comes to characters and even less so when it comes to countries and political factions. But as a former CIA officer (I think he describs himself as a disillusioned former CIA officer), he is also in position to know about espionage first hand, more than most TV writers, and the show has always been about the toll that that kind of life has on people who lead it (which we see with Stan - the long-term effects of his former undercover mission we only hear about, for starters) just as we see it with Philip and Elizabeth).

 It's also incredibly atypical for an American TV show to do so much research into everything, including other cultures and countries. Usually you get total nonsense - they can't even come up with names that sound remotely like they could be from the country they are supposed to be from, and you can do that by using goddamn Google (I'm still laughing at those "Serbian" terrorists in season 1 of 24, and the pilot episode of The Blacklist had a similarly nonsensical "Serbian" character. Don't get me started on shows like Deception, which recently had a character described as "the prince of Montenegro" LMAO). And this show actually cared enough to hire actors who speak Russian well for scenes in Rezidentura and scenes in USSR, and has extensive scenes with only Russians speaking Russian. They also had people who actually speak Serbocroatian (or whatever it's called these days) in the scenes in Yugoslavia in season 5. The Russian Orthodox priest character actually looks like an Orthodox priest, and the wedding ceremony was accurate, with the priest singing in Church Slavic. After the low standards of accuracy re: other cultures I'm used to watching US TV, I'm impressed.

[Mladen]

2 hours ago, Annara Snow said:

I find it incredibly interesting that a show partially conceived, run and written by a former CIA officer is one of the least jingoistic, most politically unbiased American shows I've ever seen.

I completely agree. The thing that some of us, like Annara and I, can notice is how political almost ALL the shows have become. It's like we are sometimes watching propaganda videos and not movies or TV shows. Heck, some of my friends didn't even want to bother with "Black Panther" because it was "fairy-tale for the masses" (I was trying to explain that entire MCU is a fairy-tale for masses, but people weren't receptive). Even Greys anatomy went political. And that is the last place you want to be political.

2 hours ago, Annara Snow said:

 It's also incredibly atypical for an American TV show to do so much research into everything, including other cultures and countries. Usually you get total nonsense - they can't even come up with names that sound remotely like they could be from the country they are supposed to be from, and you can do that by using goddamn Google (I'm still laughing at those "Serbian" terrorists in season 1 of 24, and the pilot episode of The Blacklist had a similarly nonsensical "Serbian" character. Don't get me started on shows like Deception, which recently had a character described as "the prince of Montenegro" LMAO). And this show actually cared enough to hire actors who speak Russian well for scenes in Rezidentura and scenes in USSR, and has extensive scenes with only Russians speaking Russian. They also had people who actually speak Serbocroatian (or whatever it's called these days) in the scenes in Yugoslavia in season 5. The Russian Orthodox priest character actually looks like an Orthodox priest, and the wedding ceremony was accurate, with the priest singing in Church Slavic. After the low standards of accuracy re: other cultures I'm used to watching US TV, I'm impressed.

Was it Kraljevo in Blacklist, IIRC?  My friends from Kraljevo didn't recognize their city. I remember that Russian President in "2012" was speaking Serbocroatian (BTW, isn't the EU new name for it BCS?). There IS the prince of Montenegro (and the one that we call President these days too). You are right regarding the priest and the service. It was extensively researched and it looks authentic for the show, which was the point, I assume. And, speaking of priest, I like that Aderholt reminded the priest of communist government's sentiment regarding Orthodox Churches. Someone may correct me, but I think that I have read somewhere that the refugees from SSSR have found Orthodox Church to be the pillar of their communities all over the world, especially in Western countries. 

So, yeah, it is indeed impressive feature. Especially in climate where no one really bothers with that, 

[Mladen]

10 hours ago, Winterfell is Burning said:

Sure, Henry and Paige would be free to visit them in Russia, assuming Paige isn't in jail, or they could go to a place with no extradition treaty to the US. The question is of course if Henry would even want to, and what a reunion would look like.

I actually  don't think that writers want us to think that such outcome is possible. Even though, logically speaking, it is feasible. We all spoke about comeuppance for the crimes they have committed. And I think many felt cheated because both of them survived. But having to go to Russia without the kids, to be separated from those whom they love the most, is probably fate worse than death. They lost their children, they lost the cause and we do know what will happen to SSSR.

It really reminded me of Harry Potter and the duel at Ministry between Dumbledore and Voldemort when Dumbledore said to Voldemort that there are different ways to destroy a man. In terms of comeuppance for Jennings, would death satisfy us? But, this, sad life they are left to live? That one nailed the whole idea of "The Americans"

[RumHam]

Maybe one day they could see their children again, but like.... that wouldn't go well.  I don't think them meeting Paige and/or Henry (and/or a retired uncle Stan?) in some neutral country would be a positive experience for anyone. 

I know one of the the post-finale interviews said they didn't want to do spin-offs. but man do I want more of these characters. I know it probably won't happen, but you guys can't tell me you don't want to see Elizibeth's reaction to the collapse of the government she spent her whole life fighting for and ultimately sacrificed her relationship with her children for. I'd go see a movie about her character ten or twenty years down the line that contained no action whatsoever. But I know most people wouldn't...

[Annara Snow]

5 hours ago, Risto said:

 

Was it Kraljevo in Blacklist, IIRC?  My friends from Kraljevo didn't recognize their city. I remember that Russian President in "2012" was speaking Serbocroatian (BTW, isn't the EU new name for it BCS?). There IS the prince of Montenegro (and the one that we call President these days too). You are right regarding the priest and the service. It was extensively researched and it looks authentic for the show, which was the point, I assume. And, speaking of priest, I like that Aderholt reminded the priest of communist government's sentiment regarding Orthodox Churches. Someone may correct me, but I think that I have read somewhere that the refugees from SSSR have found Orthodox Church to be the pillar of their communities all over the world, especially in Western countries. 

So, yeah, it is indeed impressive feature. Especially in climate where no one really bothers with that, 

What I remember from the Blacklist pilot is that there was a Serbian guy from Bosnia who had a last name that actually sounded Albanian, who was pissed off over something or other and was trying to kill or blow up something (I don't remember - I guess international Serbian terrorists didn't stop being a thing on US TV after 24) and the best part was when a crucial plot point involved a tattoo which Red explained he couldn't have because he's Serbian Orthodox and apparently, that means he can't have tattoos for religious reasons. Wait, what? 

Ha ha, I know there's a dude who callsi himself a prince of Montenegro, but they were like "this is (some name), the Prince of Montenegro, one of the richest men in Europe."  Clearly in the world of Deception, Montenegro is a princedom like Monaco (well, it kind of sounds similar)...  I mean, sure, Djukanovic may as well crown himself King after ruling for 30+ years, but still.. 

Quote

BTW, isn't the EU new name for it BCS?

Just in the Hague Tribunal, for practicality I assume.

[HexMachina]

A finale that subverted all of my expectations yet for me was still flawless and delivered in every single way possible. I mean I couldn’t have asked for more really. 

Nothing substantive to add here really. But damnit my heart is breaking still from Elizabeth’s reaction to seeing Paige off the train. Gah, it makes so much sense but it still hurts.

i’ll rewatch the show in its entirety soon I think, to properly appreciate it. Quick question though - did we ever get furth follow up on Kimmy after Philip essentially spilled the bean soup to her.