FX's The Americans(spoilery)

[stevew]

So, I may be overly heaping praise here, but this show seems to be the heir apparent once the holders of the non pay channel throne(BB, Mad Men) exit very soon. Every episode it seems like something happens that was intelligent and well thought out, but not tipped off at all. Last night especially, when the (this is the only time I will use Spoiler tags)

Spoiler

agent who is Noah Emmerich's partner got offed

Noah Emmerich is pretty awesome as the FBI agent, and our "Americans" Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys are as well. Russell's performance is borderline scary. John Boy Walton(his name escapes, but not the massive face growth does not) is excellent as the possibly psycho FBI director.

And one minor note, FX FIX YOUR FUCKING TIME STAMPING. I lost the last minute of the episode when Emmerich interrogates the guy from the embassy.

[PackerFanatic]

Very much enjoying this show as well. We had let it pile up on our DVR and got to watch 3 or 4 in a row and it really does a lot to keep you intrigued.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I've really been enjoying this one too.

And I just extended my DVR to record 5 minutes after the show ends.

[Alan T]

[jeff061]

I've gotten bored with it after 4 or so episodes. Guess I should keep giving it a try.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by stevew

So, I may be overly heaping praise here, but this show seems to be the heir apparent once the holders of the non pay channel throne(BB, Mad Men) exit very soon. Every episode it seems like something happens that was intelligent and well thought out, but not tipped off at all. Last night especially, when the (this is the only time I will use Spoiler tags)

Spoiler

agent who is Noah Emmerich's partner got offed

Noah Emmerich is pretty awesome as the FBI agent, and our "Americans" Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys are as well. Russell's performance is borderline scary. John Boy Walton(his name escapes, but not the massive face growth does not) is excellent as the possibly psycho FBI director.

And one minor note, FX FIX YOUR FUCKING TIME STAMPING. I lost the last minute of the episode when Emmerich interrogates the guy from the embassy.

Really enjoying it too. Totally caught by surprise by last night's episode.

And yeah I missed the last minute too. Really pissed me off! Did the same as HB, extended my recording time to try to avoid this in the future. First time its happened to me on FX.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by stevew

So, I may be overly heaping praise here, but this show seems to be the heir apparent once the holders of the non pay channel throne(BB, Mad Men) exit very soon.

Unless it was a repeat or something, I'd think a secure spot on the throne would require better than the 0.4 rating (A18-49) the show got last night. Just 1.37m total viewers.

I know the show has gained from Live+7 numbers but that's an awfully small audience to warrant throne talk. It's already been renewed for a second season so it's not like it's going away or anything.

[stevew]

I'm talking quality. Yeah, the ratings suck, however

[stevew]

I'm glad it got renewed early...I think they jumped the gun

[vex]

FX posted last nights episode online due to the error:

FX Networks - The Americans - Full Episodes and Exclusive Video

[stevew]

The only part that got cut off was when


Spoiler
Emmerich asked the captive if he was KGB.. then if he wanted a drink and he shot him in the back of the head.

[stevew]

Dola-

It was apparent the White Supremacist shit had fucked him in the head. Now the death of the partner set him over the dark side. It seems obvious the Russian embassy chick will meet a grave ending and the fallout will be huge for both sides.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by stevew

The only part that got cut off was when


Spoiler
Emmerich asked the captive if he was KGB.. then if he wanted a drink and he shot him in the back of the head.

Oh shit.

[stevew]

Starts weds....can't wait. Looks like season 1 is going to be only on Amazon Prime streaming.

[Jas_lov]

Watched the 1st season over the last month. Solid show, looking forward to the 2nd season. Cast is great, even the kids. Martha is pretty dumb for an FBI employee, though. Will you marry me and plant this pen in your boss's office where he can't see it?

[vex]

Yeah, I can't wait for this as well. Should be good.

[Lathum]

Looking forward to it as well.

[PackerFanatic]

Very much enjoy this show - interested to see where it goes!

[Radii]

Review: FXs The Americans takes a big leap forward in season 2

Some seriously high praise here, I'm pretty hyped for this now!

[stevew]

Just a crazy intro. Not only do they throw in a three some, then they double down on the kid walking in on a 69. The strongest aspects of the show remain the conflict of family vs KGB. Paige is a really good actress for someone youngish. Russell and Rhys are really good actors and she doesn't seem out of place. (Henry on the other hand...)

[stevew]

Dola-
Really happy to see Margo Martindale will be back.

[Radii]

Loved the first episode, the intro was awesome, and the stuff with the other family worked really well and hit as hard as it was supposed to for me I think. The fact that they had the daughter walk in on a 69 instead of missionary or something was a hilarious touch. Agree that the girl playing Paige seems pretty solid for a kid actor. Not Kiernan Shipka level (Sally on Mad Men, gold standard for child actors to me), but like 100x better than Carl on Walking Dead

[stevew]

Is there some reason why the russians always call each other by their first and last name at the Embassy? I'm sure it's just cultural but it seems really formal in passing conversation.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by stevew

Is there some reason why the russians always call each other by their first and last name at the Embassy? I'm sure it's just cultural but it seems really formal in passing conversation.

I'm reading "The Brothers Karamazov" currently and the characters are usually given with first and last names every time they're mentioned in the book.

[saldana]

Originally Posted by stevew

Is there some reason why the russians always call each other by their first and last name at the Embassy? I'm sure it's just cultural but it seems really formal in passing conversation.

it is not their first and last, it is their first name and their father's name.

its kind of an honorific/form of respect in russian culture to call some one that way, so Ivan Sergeyivich means "Ivan, son of Sergei"

a real life example is Vladimir Putin's full name is Vladimir Vladimirivitch Putin...obviously, his father's name was also Vladimir

[Honolulu_Blue]

This season has been awesome.

[Radii]

Tonight's episode was so great. The acting by Matthew Rhys (Phillip) when the Mossad guy was trying to wear him down and talking about how he's lost his identity, and then the scientist yelling at him and crying and calling him a monster... Phillip was obviously deeply effected by it but had to do his job and not lose his cool on either of these people. Limited action in this one, but it was completely gripping for almost the entire hour+.


They're very different shows, but Hannibal and The Americans were my two favorite new shows last year. Last year I would have said Hannibal was clearly the better of the two. This year, I dunno... The Americans is seriously stepping it up.

[stevew]

Woke up at like 3am and saw this got bumped and immediately started watching cause I figured shit was gonna go down.

Also does anyone know why Nina was in the Pilot to The Blacklist? Was letting her live in season 1 a late decision?

[stevew]

Dola-
Figured the whole episode that Clark's dumbass wife was going to get killed. Keri Russell does an awesome job on the slow menacing burn.

[vex]

Originally Posted by stevew

Dola-
Figured the whole episode that Clark's dumbass wife was going to get killed. Keri Russell does an awesome job on the slow menacing burn.

Yeah, I thought the corkscrew would be the end of her.

Loved the line from Keri Russell., "Clark has some explaining to do."

[stevew]

Oh hey Nina.

Now I wish this show was on HBO

[stevew]

Also I love all of Phillip's disguises. The maintenance man was awesome.

[stevew]

Freaking awesome episode this week again. Also very crazy that one Oliver North was given story credit this week for apparently sharing many details about the Contra operation. Rhys is basically in the Cranston zone this week, it's amazing what he's able to convey

[Radii]

Originally Posted by stevew

Freaking awesome episode this week again. Also very crazy that one Oliver North was given story credit this week for apparently sharing many details about the Contra operation. Rhys is basically in the Cranston zone this week, it's amazing what he's able to convey

I had fallen a couple weeks behind here and just got caught up. This is the second episode this season where I thought Rhys was over the top outstanding (the other being the episode w/ the Mossad agent and the scientist). Every single episode continues to be top notch. Its incredibly rare in shows like this for me to feel 100% invested in the family life and internal struggles of the main characters as well as with the professional stuff (the spywork in this case). They've done a great job with it though, nothing that this show is doing this season drags any, even the conversations with the kids. They are seriously killing it this season.


I forget if it's been mentioned here or not, but the show has been renewed for a 3rd season. Apparently the ratings suck but the show has a very high percentage of DVR viewers.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Radii

I forget if it's been mentioned here or not, but the show has been renewed for a 3rd season. Apparently the ratings suck but the show has a very high percentage of DVR viewers.

That's great to hear.

I haven't seen last night's episode, but so far this season has been outstanding. Everything has been great. I really liked the show last year, but they've taken it up a notch. This is easily one of my favorite shows on TV now.

[stevew]

Last night was awesome

[Radii]

I assume we don't need spoiler tags for the episode from Wednesday?


Predictions for what happens with Nina the rest of the season? Is she going to try to turn Stan or is she going to try to defect/get protection? Will she survive the season (I would consider being sent back to the Soviet Union as *not* surviving heh).


I love the storyline with Larrick, but I expect we all know how that one is going to end, but I think the thing with Nina could go anywhere.

[stevew]

I think Nina gets killed, maybe even by Stan. Unless they can hold her contract, I doubt she comes back. IIRC the decision to come back to season 2 seemed on the fly. She was on the Blacklist Pilot.

Also I guess the Millers is renewed but we need more Margot Martindale. Was sad to see the new handler get killed. She didn't really get much character expansion

[vex]

Originally Posted by stevew

Also I guess the Millers is renewed but we need more Margot Martindale. Was sad to see the new handler get killed. She didn't really get much character expansion

I thought that the new handler was flaky/suspicious. I guess she proved her loyalty though..

[vex]

Dola

And I have no idea what to expect from Nina.

[stevew]

Do we know who killed Emmitt and Leanne? My guess is that Larrick seems too obvious. Were they defecting?

I doubt the Russians had the stealth stuff from us so invariably that means Stan is probably going to realize he's been played all along.

[thesloppy]

I'm enjoying this show, but the plot line with the other family's spy son is bugging the hell out of me, just because in every other instance our 'heroes' are incredibly deductive, suspicious, well-versed in all areas of intelligence and thinking critically on their feet, yet they're (repeatedly) flummoxed by why/how the handler could possibly have visited the kid out of costume, and why/how the kid knows about his family's spying. I wouldn't be surprised if they're extending that 'twist' to reveal that he killed his own family, and/or is actually working with Larrick.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by stevew

Do we know who killed Emmitt and Leanne? My guess is that Larrick seems too obvious. Were they defecting?

We don't know. Larrick does seem obvious, despite Phillip/Elizabeth's initial conclusion that they were pretty sure it wasn't him. Larrick's current behavior may have a part in trying to imply what happened? Larrick decided to work with them for some reason, they did something he deemed overstepping their bounds, and Larrick went nuts. Similar to what's happening now where Larrick was ok with the original operation involving the contras and Nicaraguans training in the US, but once some Americans got killed he's lost it.

I doubt the Russians had the stealth stuff from us so invariably that means Stan is probably going to realize he's been played all along.

I still am at a loss for predictions here. Which makes me really happy, I'm loving that storyline and it still seems like it could end up so many different ways.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

but the plot line with the other family's spy son is bugging the hell out of me, just because in every other instance our 'heroes' are incredibly deductive, suspicious, well-versed in all areas of intelligence and thinking critically on their feet, yet they're (repeatedly) flummoxed by why/how the handler could possibly have visited the kid out of costume, and why/how the kid knows about his family's spying.

I wouldn't be terribly surprised if all of that is entirely to add weight to Phillip/Elizabeth's own family situation. But I dunno.

I wouldn't be surprised if they're extending that 'twist' to reveal that he killed his own family, and/or is actually working with Larrick.

I would not be surprised if the kid doesn't want to leave the country and decides to tell the authorities what he knows. But finding out that he's involved with Larrick or that he killed anyone would be way out there to me.

I *assume* Larrick is just trying to get to Phillip/Elizabeth through him, but I dunno.

[stevew]

The guy that's been feeding them info...what if he's a triple agent. He was in the vicinity of Emmit and Leanne at the fair. I don't remember if he was behind the fake propeller work.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by stevew

The guy that's been feeding them info...what if he's a triple agent. He was in the vicinity of Emmit and Leanne at the fair. I don't remember if he was behind the fake propeller work.

Yeah I saw him mentioned in a review, also we have Claudia mysteriously talking about a man she let get too close to her, though I assume that is just to have an excuse to limit Margo Martindale's screen time b/c of her sitcom.

[stevew]

I bet there's more than enough clues to figure it out. I probably haven't been watching it close enough. Wasn't the scientist guy close to Emmit's kid as well?

[rowech]

Originally Posted by stevew

I bet there's more than enough clues to figure it out. I probably haven't been watching it close enough. Wasn't the scientist guy close to Emmit's kid as well?

They've been very good about letting you know most of what's going on but also keeping things confusing enough to make it tough to see what will happen.

[nilodor]

It doesn't really feel like a show where they would go off the board for the murders of Emmitt and Leanne. Also I'm not sure what drama they are going to want to set up for next season. I'm really curious if they want to start unraveling their family and their ability to spy as the Russians fall further behind in the cold war. I kinda hope not because I find myself rooting for them but I get a feeling that things are going to get a lot worse.

[Radii]

Dunno if I should spoiler tag this or not, I guess I will since its still day of the episode:

Spoiler

Halfway through this episode I thought we were in for a letdown, the resolution with Larrick seemed a little weak at first and the kid's confession just seemed fucked up.

But then we got the resolution with Stan, Nina being walked out presumably to be taken back home to spend the rest of her life in Siberia, Claudia's glorious return to explain what was actually happening with the kid (with the super important note that both Phillip and Elizabeth seemed to trust her information and trust the fact that she says she would have fought against this '2nd generation' plan), the instruction to "recruit" paige, and phillip having a quick chat with Arkady... holy shit!

I think I expected a little more action than we ended up getting, but in the end I was thrilled with the finale as closure for this season and as pretty incredible setup for the next one.

What a great season of television. My first instinct is to compare it to Justified Season 2, a show that started very well and that I liked after the first season, but during the second just went huge and nailed practically *everything* and became something that felt pretty darn special. That may be slightly too high praise given exactly how highly I rate Justified's second season, time will tell, but I just can't express enough how satisfying I thought every single episode this year was.