The Americans

[lady narcissa]

I really didn't like the second episode...and it had nothing to do with what happened and more to do with what I felt was lacking in that episode compared to the first one. I still find myself thinking about certain scenes from the first episode. So I'll continue with the next few episodes and see how it continues.

[Tears of Lys]

Great episode, IMO. I'm rewatching it, actually. A lot happened. :P

The characters are being fleshed out, made human. I wondered in the first episode how Phillip and Elizabeth could live for so long with each other and not have something going on where they could express their true selves. Now we know.

I've gotta admit, though, I don't know how the hell this plays out when there's kids involved. You'd think there'd be some kinda rule about it or something. Kids are a game-changer.

ETA: And Gregory is on borrowed time, methinks.

And John-Boy really f'd up big-time. "We can ALWAYS bring her in." uhh, not so much.

Oh, and nice seeing a preview for the new season of Game of Thrones! Doh! It was an ad for the DVD of the 2nd season. :(

[Spring Bass]

Btw, while this is clearly a work of pure fiction plot and character wise, is there any evidence (beyond the Anna Chapman thing a few years back, in 2011) that the Soviets actually had these kinds of cells in the US?

Not sure, but I doubt they were that common. The group that got caught a while ago didn't get anything valuable in terms of intel, and the FBI was spying on them for years before they finally made a move.

In general, the whole "sleeper agent" thing is overrated. Most "human intelligence" espionage involves intelligence officers recruiting agents from the country they're spying on, since then they just have to invent a rationale for their officers to be in the country (they don't have to try and create a whole fake history for them, and get people who are so good at acting that they can blend in with the target country without drawing attention).

Read that more then once, but since either we couldn't do it, or couldn't afford to do, at least the rumor of it help bankrupt the USSR.

The crazy version with nuclear bomb-pumped lasers was probably impossible, but other forms of missile defense weren't, and that's why the Soviets were afraid of it. Like I said, they had their own system around Moscow that was pretty good when combined with anti-air defenses.

[Tears of Lys]

I'm getting the impression that the section S or whatever they call it in The Americans is not something that's widespread across America, but a special one-off. If the Russians were going to plant a sleeper cell, the ones in the series are particularly well placed for scooping up intel.

[lady narcissa]

Well last nights episode brought back memories. It was funny to see an event I lived through as a child and have always thought of as "contemporary" from a "historic" perspective. I liked seeing it from the other perspective. As a child I wasn't really worried about what could happen to our country when a president was shot, I just assumed things would go on as normal as they did. But I liked the reminder that such an event wouldn't have been so certain elsewhere.

Its funny but earlier this month the Golden Globes were on and Jodie Foster was awarded with a lifetime achievement award which she used as an opportunity to sort of maybe come out. She also talked about privacy and its importance and trying to maintain that in light of being a somewhat public figure. I instantly thought of Hinkley and how of course that must be a huge cause of her wanting to try to stay out of the public eye. But none of the many articles about her speech brought that up at all, instead they all focused on her maybe saying she was gay and that being the privacy issue for her. And then it dawned on me that probably most of the people writing these articles had no idea that she was the reason Hinkley shot Reagan. So I thought this episode was rather timely.

[Fragile Bird]

I enjoyed the way Elizabeth and Phillip interpreted the reaction to the assassination attempt and General Alexander Haig's announcement differently. You could really see how it could have been misinterpreted by the Russians. I'm old enough to remember how shocked and surprised people were (I was 26 at the time) and it really did make people nervous for a moment. It took a few days for people to start mocking him.

The show has been picked up for another season, not bad after 4 episodes. I'm really getting into it.

[Tears of Lys]

I enjoyed the way Elizabeth and Phillip interpreted the reaction to the assassination attempt and General Alexander Haig's announcement differently. You could really see how it could have been misinterpreted by the Russians. I'm old enough to remember how shocked and surprised people were (I was 26 at the time) and it really did make people nervous for a moment. It took a few days for people to start mocking him.

The show has been picked up for another season, not bad after 4 episodes. I'm really getting into it.

Yeah, that was interesting. Phillip has fully absorbed the American experience and understands it. Elizabeth has been shown to be a bit more reserved in her emotional make-up, so that in itself would probably result in her not making the social contacts with the common people as much - outside of her relationship with Gregory, who shares her view of things anyway.

Did anyone else love the part in the first episode where Phillip and his associate (can't recall his name offhand) were waiting to ambush the defector? It was the perfect blend of light comedy and tension.

[Tears of Lys]

Is this one of, if not THE, best series on? The wheels within wheels is fascinating.

ETA: So how long will it be until FBI agent Beeman starts sleeping with Nina, his Soviet mole? And will Phillip be able to keep himself from killing that MF'er who beat up his wife? And how the hell do their wigs stay on during the rough sex scenes??

[Winterfell is Burning]

Yeah, those wigs are pretty damn good.

Overall, a pretty good episode.

My favorite moment was the FBI boss rolling his eyes right after that lady Phillip is using as an accidental mole leaves.

[aeu]

I like the wigs. Philip looks legitimately like a different person in some of those.

Haven't seen the last episode, but based on the previous one, Beena (Ninman?) is going to happen very soon.

[Morpheus]

I need to catch up on the last two weeks, I turned it on last night only to realize I missed last week's and forgot. I guess it just hasn't quite impressed me enough yet that missing an episode registers.

Why do all of Phil's disguises make him look like creepy perverts?

Is that what he thinks Americans are?

[Winterfell is Burning]

Why do all of Phil's disguises make him look like creepy perverts?

Is that what he thinks Americans are?

Yeah, I can't imagine why he would think that. :P

Also, I'm surprised that this emoticon wasn't used yet: :commie: :commie:

[Tears of Lys]

I need to catch up on the last two weeks, I turned it on last night only to realize I missed last week's and forgot. I guess it just hasn't quite impressed me enough yet that missing an episode registers.

Why do all of Phil's disguises make him look like creepy perverts?

Is that what he thinks Americans are?

Everyone looked like a creepy pervert in the early '80s. We had just come out of the '70s where everyone looked like a porn star.

Was that the most chaste kiss ever seen on television? - the one between Phillip (in disguise) and the woman with the new shoes.

Apparently it was enough to keep her happy, though - at least for a while.

And, yeah, the wigs and disguises do really change Matthew Rhys' looks AND Keri Russell's too. I wasn't sure that was even her for a while during that rough sex scene with the military contractor douche.

How stupid is Beeman going to feel when he learns just who Phillip is? Beeman's good at his job and works hard at it, and to have the Soviet spies living right by him - hell, playing racquetball with him AND beating him (albeit, by cheating?) would sting, to say the least. His instincts were good when he first sensed something off about Phillip, but he's been lulled into a sort of comfort zone.

And I must say, the Communist sleeper cell, as played by Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell, are soooo good at their jobs that it makes you wonder how the Soviets ever lost the Cold War. Russell's slitherering around on top of the car on the hoist and sneaking into the trunk was a tour de force!

ETA: Correction of grammar fail.

[Where Boars Glow]

In general this show is just getting better and better picking up steam every week. I think the only thing that could go wrong now is if they try and get to big and convolute the original concept.

[DivisionByZero]

It's definitely interesting to have the protagonists basically be the people I'd generally think of as the antagonists. For instance, when she was getting the codes from the trunk of the car, I was all like, "Hell yeah!" And then I was like, "No wait, that's bad! Curse you enemies of America!"

[Black Wolf Smith]

Is this one of, if not THE, best series on? The wheels within wheels is fascinating.

ETA: ? And how the hell do their wigs stay on during the rough sex scenes??

Well for a show not on HBO, Sho, etc, it sure has lots of sex. I really lol when the Russian women pick up the cup and rinsed her mouth out. Not sure where this show is going but I do like the ride.

I like the wigs. Philip looks legitimately like a different person in some of those.

His face really does seem to change with the hair pieces.

I was watching Boy meets World the other morning, and Keri Russell played Finny neice. That was '93 and she was really young.

[Tears of Lys]

Well for a show not on HBO, Sho, etc, it sure has lots of sex. I really lol when the Russian women pick up the cup and rinsed her mouth out. Not sure where this show is going but I do like the ride.

His face really does seem to change with the hair pieces.

I'm not subscribed to HBO or Showtime, etc., at the moment. (Waiting for GoT) So this show fits the bill for me for edgy drama.

[Tears of Lys]

Another great episode. Even though I suspected who had kidnapped Phillip, it was a mind game how it played out. But are they going to be able to walk away from this episode totally unscathed with the KGB? Beating the shit out of your direct command seems like it might be a bad career choice.

I find myself really fascinated by Beeman's character. The way he refers to his past experiences when he infiltrated the skinheads in such an oblique way makes you wonder what exactly he did there. And his wife does sense there's something more going on with this assignment - she's no fool.

This episode was all about trust and betrayal. It was entitled "Trust Me," which was a theme that ran through all the personal interactions of all the characters.

[Fragile Bird]

I immediately suspected it was the KGB who kidnapped them as well. ToL, your comments about trust and the title explained a lot for me - I was in the kitchen when it started so missed the title.

At first I thought Elizabeth suffered the biggest breach of trust, since she is so dedicated to the cause, but the realization that Elizabeth was reporting about him really looks like it might be a devastating blow to the relationship that was just recovering from the reveal of Elizabeth's affair with Gregory. Although if Phillip is so American (ie soft) he'll forgive her, won't he? :P

And I was wondering if the perv who picked up the kids would show up again in the future, but if he was only there to demonstrate how important it is to know who you can trust, I guess not. It's a nice contrast to all the other characters who, as adults, haven't got a clue who they can really trust.

[Frog Eater]

After reading the first few pages of this thread last week, I went online and caught up with this show over the weekend. What a good show. I wish there were more that I could watch online. The fact that FX puts them on its website for free is awesome. The CDC anti-smoking commercials every ten minutes gets old though....

I dont watch a lot of television, and rarely (other than NASCAR on Sunday) have "appointment television". The fact that FX will put this on its website so slackers like me can come on and watch when I want is great.