The Americans [FX - Spoilers]

The Black Oil

Were they foreshadowing with the dying artist - were they saying Elizabeth going to die for her work?

Slydice

Gaaahh, Philips so dead..

I'd seen some film or tv show before where victims were found without Heads and Hands so they wouldn't be identifiable. I just can't remember where. Was it Mindhunter or some old CSI from ages ago? Doesn't feel right that it was a tv show unless it was something like Cracker. Must have been a film.

Stan is definitely onto them. Just a matter of what he can do with the info.

Still unsure about Elizabeth dying.

DMcL1971

You might be thinking of The Wire. The character of Sergei (Boris) would do that. Though it was never shown.

“Did he have hands, a face?. Yes, then it wasn’t us.”

Walter Bishop

DMcL1971 wrote: »

You might be thinking of The Wire. The character of Sergei (Boris) would do that. Though it was never shown.

“Did he have hands, a face?. Yes, then it wasn’t us.”

Is that not The Shield? The Armenian gangsters?

Milkman..

Stan hadn't told anyone yet. I wonder could that cost him

I'm seeing Elizabeth and Philip split over Stan's fate if they realize he's onto them.

Could be all wrong though

The Black Oil

Walter Bishop wrote: »

Is that not The Shield? The Armenian gangsters?

Yeah, The Shield had a fair few feet and such going missing, iirc.

Milkman.. wrote: »

Stan hadn't told anyone yet. I wonder could that cost him

I'm seeing Elizabeth and Philip split over Stan's fate if they realize he's onto them.

Could be all wrong though

Yeah, I'm a bit uncertain too. There was discussion in reviews about whether Stan really knows. Suspicion without confirmation, whether he'll get evidence and tell, or ultimately find out too late. It does seem that everyone's fates are somewhat sealed at this point, though again, it's impossible to predict what's going to happen. Chicago felt a little like they were reuniting Philip and Elizabeth, maybe not just for the job, we had that bed chat and honesty - yet they still seem so far apart. Elizabeth had done her homework on the route. Car stuff was as with past seasons, and the shooting unfussy, no exaggerated sounds, etc. And of course, Philip remains the saddest man on TV

Props to Sarah Nolen - her first writing gig on this, excellent work.

California Dreamer

Milkman.. wrote: »

I'm seeing Elizabeth and Philip split over Stan's fate if they realize he's onto them.

One thing that came out during the podcast with the writer was the admittance that Stan and Philip are best friends. If you think how each has been there for each other over the years that would be a hard one to call.

IF there is some killing, I would see Elizabeth doing it.

iguana

The Black Oil wrote: »

There was discussion in reviews about whether Stan really knows.

He doesn't know but when Philip hugged him it tipped him off that he was being 'worked' as he hugged Gennady the same way when he was working him. If Philip had just talked for a few minutes more, maybe about how awful it feels that Henry's schooling is at risk, then just walked away, Stan's spidey sense would have been satisfied. But instead, Philip moved to quieten Stan's suspicions in the exact same way that Stan had used to control an asset. So every not quite right thing about Philip that Stan had forced himself to ignore since the pilot suddenly came back to the fore. Now Stan is on the hunt, just like he was with Zinaida in S3. He's had a moment of revelation and he won't stop until he has evidence.

In this case he will be hoping for evidence that Philip really is just Philip Jennings, mild-mannered travel agent. But now that he's digging, it won't take him long to figure out the truth. All he has to do is a background check for death certificates of babies Philip Jennings and Elizabeth Corman in the 1940s and he'll have his evidence. No quick task, as he'd be acting alone and off the clock, but straightforward and not the kind of investigation that Philip or Elizabeth would have any chance of figuring out or stopping.

The Black Oil

The other thing suggested in reviews was if Philip had discussed difficulties in his marriage, more so than the travel agency's problems, that would passed the smell test with Stan.

How do you reckon it'll end?

iguana

I think it's almost impossible to guess. I can't imagine it being a happy ending, though I'm rooting for Oleg more than anyone.

Desktopper

"Competitive edge" that was too funny!

It's all a bit rushed imo

How many has Elizabeth killed ?,she must be Americas worst serial killer

charkee

watched ep 7 last night

I am not convinced re paige having what it takes to go the next level as a spy.

Henry ,will he be their downfall? No way,he is going to Russia.

I ll avoid ep 8 spoliers for the next week..

Slydice

Meeting the priest.. who is being watched.. uhuh.

The one thing that struck me this time is that plot device of Elizabeth smoking so much. It feels a bit forced. Her smoking never really struck me all that much in previous seasons.

Pelvis

Thought this latest ep was brilliant, one of those episodes you just want to keep going.

DMcL1971

Slydice wrote: »

Meeting the priest.. who is being watched.. uhuh.

The one thing that struck me this time is that plot device of Elizabeth smoking so much. It feels a bit forced. Her smoking never really struck me all that much in previous seasons.

I've just been listening to The Americans podcast and the showrunners mentioned that the character that Elizabeth put on while with Gregory was a heavy smoker whereas Elizabeth was not. But as she is currently under a lot of stress we have seen her smoke a lot more.

The Black Oil

Stan's face re the she smoked like a chimney line, and then later Stavos dropped that anvil about the back office. :eek: The opening scene had a verbal swing or three, Claudia's speech could have been a teaser too.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

expectationlost

The Black Oil wrote: »

Stan's face re the she smoked like a chimney line, and then later Stavos dropped that anvil about the back office. :eek: The opening scene had a verbal swing or three, Claudia's speech could have been a teaser too.

doesn't philip have to kill stavos

Textronic

It's all very chaotic to finish

Textronic

expectationlost wrote: »

doesn't philip have to kill stavos

It didn't come up in the latest episode but tbh I think Philip is tired of the killing anyway

LionelNashe

I wish I had a go-bag.

Fred Swanson

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Textronic

There has to be a standoff between Stan and the Jennings surely

Stan didn't reveal all the information he had to aderholt in the fbi corridor,he's still out there on his own with this.

California Dreamer

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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I was surprised Elizabeth didnt kill Claudia. There was issues in the past when she beat her to a pulp!

extra gravy

It all feels a bit rushed now even though we've building up to it for so long. Can't believe there's only one episode left

Textronic

extra gravy wrote: »

It all feels a bit rushed now even though we've building up to it for so long. Can't believe there's only one episode left

Not very satisfying it has to be said

Everything falling apart all at the same time,like they didn't put much thought into it

Ludo

Textronic wrote: »

Not very satisfying it has to be said

Everything falling apart all at the same time,like they didn't put much thought into it

Kinda like the Soviet Union.

The Black Oil

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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I don't get that vibe. The show has always been emotionally devastating and has leaned into that pretty heavily again this year. 6.09 was no less of an example of that. Claudia and Elizabeth, then Elizabeth and Paige. I said 'Christ' when she dropped the 'whore' reference. Next week will be more of this for Philip and Elizabeth and probably Stan too.

Slydice

Decent episode mostly but then at the end it really kicked in and .. that scene was done so well that I started feeling.. I dunno.. the heebie jeebies?

Arghus

Good episode, but I still wish they had another four episodes left instead of just the one. I don't know why they have to rush everything into the single episode, considering they've had 6 years to patiently build everything up - it does feel a little bit rushed, gripping, but rushed.

kearneybobs

Would have liked Stan slowly bringing the clues together a little earlier in the season and where the most recent episode ends would be great if there was a couple more to get through.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

iguana

I can't get over the fact that all these years they've been conducting super secret spy business in a basement with a window! :pac:

Cloudio9

Now that Elizabeth has burnt Claudia/the centre presumably they have no extraction option back to Russia.

I’m disappointed that they decided to rehabilitate Elizabeth. Her taking out the assassin was just ridiculous. It’s a weakness of US drama writing that our lead characters are both going to end up signed up to American values.

charkee

how does henry figure in all of this?

Are they going to do a runner and leave him at his college??

We are not seeing it from his perspective at all?

Slydice

I searched a good bit but can't find anywhere to confirm..
but in Grace's latest twitch stream Q&A she mentions (around 55mins in) that the finale of The Americans is due to be an hour and a half long:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/265088136

imdb only say 44mins so I dunno

90 mins would give them a good, mini-feature film finish to the show. That would probably do the trick once they have the story figured out.

FatherTed

Yes it's scheduled to be 90 mins on FX.

Pelvis

90 including ads, more like 60,which isn't much more than usual. Last episode was 48 mins

The Black Oil

It was always going to come down to their marriage/relationship/family. Think back to that moment from Philip an episode or two ago - we do it, not them.

Have to admit I didn't recognise Tatiana lying there after Elizabeth took her out. Almost like the wig on the ground was a nod to 'do the wigs ever come off?' :pac:

I did enjoy the Stan/Oleg stuff too - a coded message to the USSR - was expecting Stan to say are you fuppin' kidding me?!

Slydice

That was Tatiana!?! :eek:

SimonTemplar

Whatever happens in the finale, I'm really going to miss this show . I can't believe it doesn't have a wider audience. The writing is on par with some of the best TV series ever and the acting by the leads is phenomenal.

It'll definitely be high on my list of shows to rewatch.

Slydice

10/10 Top Tier Series Finale.
It's not always a show can find an ending for itself like this show has.
About 20 Mins longer than usual.

Overall: Very emotional. The vibes all resigned to the conclusion.

The story:

• The FBI interrogation of the priest was solid and what they got from him. Stan putting it together, the checking and then the standoff was well done. I didn't know how that was going to go.
• Then eveything coming together and them getting out of the country was right on the money. For the audience, I think, they're expert at that by now.
• I wasn't expecting Paige to jump ship at that moment. How she did it and how they showed her later was just right. She grew up in front of us in this show and this did feel kind of like her ultimate graduation to the big leagues.
• The Oleg (and his family) and Henry (with Stan) scenes were also well done. Getting some of the impact across to the audience. Olegs family.. jeez.
• Finally, the scenes in Russia. Either they filmed there or did some good creative work. Then the conversation between Philip and Elizabeth felt like a grand ole goodbye.

The future: I think they've left the door open for something with Renee & Paige on the spy front. Henry and Stan on the American side. Paige always seemed the contender to me:

Slydice wrote: »

No word of a spin-off (Paige or otherwise) yet.

I guess it'll be up to the networks. I imagine Paige would be a more 90s / early 00s show. That vodka scene was so cool!


Extras: Looks like With or Without You was in 1987: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/With_or_Without_You
It worked for me. Real kinda sombre feeling at that point I think. On youtube if ya want another listen:

Well done to all who made this show!

Slydice

https://twitter.com/TheAmericansFX/status/1002029040184713218

Twitter usually uses bing translate:
https://www.bing.com/Translator

Job completed

https://translate.google.com/#auto/en/%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5%20%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BE

Mission Complete

Both work.

The Black Oil

Managed to avoid reading anything before hand. It was trending on Twitter this morning.

Fup me. That garage scene. They really pulled the rug out from under the viewer by having this well before the rest, and the intent of that writing. No traditional interrogation room BS confession, completely shifted any tempo that might have set up expectations of handcuffs, just hit us right between the eyes. Noah Emmerich's face said it all. "You made my life a joke", and did you catch Philip's voice breaking as he mentioned Henry? Even before all of that, the decision to leave him - wow!

I was a little unsure of the garage scene's tone early on. It was hard to know what Stan was going to do after things clicked on his solo run. Of course as the audience we knew what he might ask, then Elizabeth's "why are you acting like this?" So much of it down to that Stan/Philip connection. Ultimately, it was not a scene you'd really punch the air for due to uncertainty - it was nerve inducing as heck. Starting out, Paige was the only one Stan addressed by name at first. If you remember some while back, I think the s4 finale, there was the discussion of it being like a horror film. In a way, that's what we've had all along like being at a theatre - "they're right behind you..." Then the comment about Renee and her face later on too. Back at the FBI, Stan and Adherholt need only share glance to know it was vault time and the trail of devastation left by P and E hangs so much in that room.

Even Bono got a look in?! :pac::eek::cool: I did get a slight tickle out of Philip's final wig, admittedly. Passports enough to pass the smell test. Almost jumped out of my chair seeing Paige on the platform, Christ. Back at home, absolutely nothing said in the car, it wasn't needed. Do, however, say Arkady's full name. In Russian. Those were the days.

But Henry...poor, poor Henry. Stan going to talk to him really got to me.

California Dreamer

So often when tv shows get cancelled you dont get a chance for a proper goodbye but this was known 2 years ago and the writers really did get it right.

For me I was hoping for more in Russia. Possibly even a reunion with Martha.

I was disappointed with the screen time this season for Oleg.

No challenge by Stan on Renee but you know that seed is firmly planted.

I think we have all had a best friend at some stage in our lives where we might have fallen out over a woman, or a man, maybe he slept with your girlfriend but not a Russian spy. You have to feel sorry for Stan and the total shell shock that he showed in that episode.

Overall for me its a 9/10! Its one show I will miss.


https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-americans-podcast/id962741924?mt=2

If you haven't heard it yet the podcast is quite good.

Walter Bishop

A great, satisfying ending to probably the best drama on TV the last few years.

thetimeisnow

Is this show worth a watch.I don't want to read much of this thread to avoid spoilers. On episode 1 . The only thing I know about it is that it has the guy from the wine shoe in it 😅

Walter Bishop

Yes it is, it's been criminally underwatched. That said if you are looking for constant action etc. forget it, this is a slow burner.

FatherTed

Such a great finale. Some were expecting a blood bath or at least someone to die or take the pill. But Phillip's and Elizabeth's sentence is now being apart from their kids which is the worst a parent can take. That parking garage scene, wow. And then the surprise of Paige leaving the train. I could see how she timed it for then as Phillip and Elizabeth would have no chance to jump off or even back track as the next stop was Montreal. Clever inclusion of Brothers in Arms and With or Without You. I'll have to rewatch it again tonight just for those 4 great scenes - the parking garage, the call to Henry, the train and the final scene.

California Dreamer

Listened to the podcast while stuck in traffic. Well worth checking out although Matthew Rhys's welsh accent takes some getting used to.