NFT: The Americans... penultimate episode (SPOILERS)

the same woman that we saw in flashbacks with Elizabeth in training back in the Soviet Union? I thought she looked different, but the way the camera held on her face, I'm wondering if we were supposed to make that connection.

The one Oleg had betrayed.

after all she's seen, THAT bothers her?

I thought the episode was a bit slow for the penultimate episode. OK, now we know they're on the run, and that Stan has gone beyond suspicion into full blown awareness, but they have a LOT loose ends to wrap up in one episode.

I think Father Tim was thinking of his personal safety when he answered those questions, because he deliberated long and hard on the answers, and I'm sure it wasn't all about preserving confidentiality. He knows he barely escaped there.

I did expect Stan, after having populated the Jennings and their business into the case system, to dig up his girlfriend a bit. That's one loose end I'd like to see tied up.

I don't usually critique writing and wrapping loose ends up but I have to say I'm a little disappointed in how they are playing out Liz. I mean her dedication to the USSR and its way of life and the cause and her stone cold resolve has been the bedrock of the show. Suddenly the 2nd to last episode she turns on them and goes full on Phil? She knew damn well when she met that guy in Mexico what the plot was all about, and suddenly she has a come to Jesus moment? On the Paige thing, yea her reaction was a little over the top, but I have to say I really saw her as a young adult there for the first time and not some kid. Interested to see how it ends up for Oleg, does it end with him headed to jail in America? probably. Stan called in an IOU for him once before with the CIA, can't see him getting away with it again.

In comment 13973843 Stu11 said:

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I don't usually critique writing and wrapping loose ends up but I have to say I'm a little disappointed in how they are playing out Liz. I mean her dedication to the USSR and its way of life and the cause and her stone cold resolve has been the bedrock of the show. Suddenly the 2nd to last episode she turns on them and goes full on Phil? She knew damn well when she met that guy in Mexico what the plot was all about, and suddenly she has a come to Jesus moment? On the Paige thing, yea her reaction was a little over the top, but I have to say I really saw her as a young adult there for the first time and not some kid. Interested to see how it ends up for Oleg, does it end with him headed to jail in America? probably. Stan called in an IOU for him once before with the CIA, can't see him getting away with it again.

Yeah, the Liz thing is a little hackneyed. She instantly had a 'come to Jesus' moment and does a complete about face.

I do think it's more about patriotism than you do - I think initially, she didn't question the logic of a black op kept secret from the rest of her organization, but ultimately decided that her policy of just following orders might not be unethical, but not patriotic as far as serving her country.

They must be getting desperate if they used someone with an official cover.

I think Renee is going to be a red herring. Since she wasn't in this episode at all, I don't think there's room for her in the finale. Just too much there to be wrapped up.

Regarding Paige: I didn't have a problem with her reaction. She's willfully naive and has swallowed all of her mother's bullshit about the nobility of their cause. Elizabeth told her one thing and then did the opposite, and she's pissed about it. It's an expected reaction from a young adult when what they see as the hypocrisy of their parents is exposed.

Philip's escape was a great scene. From paranoia to full on flight with the FBI in hot pursuit was exciting.

So why are they going to New Hampshire? They are on their own now, no support from the Center. Fleeing to Canada? I had an idle thought wondering how long they could be on the run before Henry would even notice, considering he gets calls maybe a couple of times a month and only from his father.

I found the Philip escape a little aggravating. It's become par for the course here - the FBI, in hot pursuit of the illegals that they've dedicated a ton of resources to find, somehow only have two guys on the ground, and they're usually in worse shape than an NYPD traffic cop.

She was a true believer through and through, right? A committed Communist whose sense of duty stems from absolute belief in the righteousness of the Party. This is in contrast to Philip, who is a Russian patriot but NOT committed to the Party. Elizabeth realizes that the things she does are horrifying but assuages her conscience with the knowledge that she does them in a noble cause. Now she finds out that the real motivation behind her most recent mission isn't noble at all. In fact, it's flat out murder of a man she knows to be innocent. If her handlers assigned her to do that, how many of her other missions were also based on much more venal motivations than pursuing the glories of Communism?

IOW, she's not turning on the ideal of Communism. She's turning on the integrity and honesty of the people she works for, and by extension the Soviet system itself. Now, you and I know the true horrors of the USSR, but she does not. Remember, she left for the US at a very young age, around 20 years old. Her knowledge of life at home is pretty limited. As Philip said to her, while they do what they do because they're following orders, they are the ones who actually kill people and destroy lives. They bear the ultimate responsbility. Elizabeth was fine with that when she believed those orders were righteous. Now she knows they weren't, and the enormity of what she's done over the course of 20+ years is weighing heavily on her. She understands now how Philip feels and why he removed himself from operations.

I've never paid much attention to that.

In comment 13973903 Greg from LI said:

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I've never paid much attention to that.

I just assumed, but a quick search confirms that's where he is.
http://theamericans.wikia.com/wiki/Henry_Jennings - ( New Window )

"Grab your stuff, Henry. We have to suddenly flee the country for no particular reason."

In comment 13973926 Greg from LI said:

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"Grab your stuff, Henry. We have to suddenly flee the country for no particular reason."

"The tuition check bounced and these prep schools don't f*ck around!"

In comment 13973902 Greg from LI said:

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She was a true believer through and through, right? A committed Communist whose sense of duty stems from absolute belief in the righteousness of the Party. This is in contrast to Philip, who is a Russian patriot but NOT committed to the Party. Elizabeth realizes that the things she does are horrifying but assuages her conscience with the knowledge that she does them in a noble cause. Now she finds out that the real motivation behind her most recent mission isn't noble at all. In fact, it's flat out murder of a man she knows to be innocent. If her handlers assigned her to do that, how many of her other missions were also based on much more venal motivations than pursuing the glories of Communism? IOW, she's not turning on the ideal of Communism. She's turning on the integrity and honesty of the people she works for, and by extension the Soviet system itself. Now, you and I know the true horrors of the USSR, but she does not. Remember, she left for the US at a very young age, around 20 years old. Her knowledge of life at home is pretty limited. As Philip said to her, while they do what they do because they're following orders, they are the ones who actually kill people and destroy lives. They bear the ultimate responsbility. Elizabeth was fine with that when she believed those orders were righteous. Now she knows they weren't, and the enormity of what she's done over the course of 20+ years is weighing heavily on her. She understands now how Philip feels and why he removed himself from operations.

I think she just realized the whole operation about the summit was completely rouge and she is a agent for her country and not a hit-woman or a serial killer. It was probably against the KGB rules at the time for her to participate in such an operation. The fact that in order to find someone to perform the assignment they had to use a legal cover agent (in the embassy no less) shows how shallow the operation was. From what I read the KGB always had numerous layers and actors to the operations they conducted so having someone from the embassy as plan B, just shows that they were desperate. The fact that Liz felt compelled to bodyguard the target is a testament to her feeling of professional responsibility.

Itself as traitorous and disloyal. A fact laid clear in tje comversation between her and Claudia when she pushrs the issue of the party, and Claudia responds that they all are the party

In comment 13974098 Sneakers O'toole said:

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Itself as traitorous and disloyal. A fact laid clear in tje comversation between her and Claudia when she pushrs the issue of the party, and Claudia responds that they all are the party

Bingo. Her career was built on lies. She now knows she was lied to, and has to face that it probably always was.

in Russia where she gets reprimanded for leaving a comrade to die in the street is foremost on her mind when she shoots Tatiana. Only now she sees her comrade not to be left to die as the Soviet diplomat who is doing his job honestly for the party as oppossed to her former KGB who are acting on their own

She is still putting country first

Just think its a bit of a stretch for her to flip like that and go to the length of killing Tatiana. I agree too that it appears Renee may be a red herring. You would think she would have been in last night's epi. They made reference to her interview for the job coming up but that's it. Interesting that there are not a ton of loose ends to tie up. It will just be about can they beat the FBI and escape. That Phil chase scene was awesome. the Liz-Claudia scene was great too. All that was missing was Liz going to town on her face again.

-Kerri Russell has some serious acting chops. The veins bulging out of her forehead in that scene with Paige was intense
-Can't believe we'll go the whole season without Martha. Maybe a cameo in the finale?

they've been pretty much setting it up all season long that the sex work, more than the job's danger, is something that would weigh on Paige's mind. So it's not completely ridiculous that she would deal with it as badly as she did.

And Elizabeth's response to her was functionally correct. To Elizabeth, sex isn't a primarily romantic expression of love or feelings. It's a tool she uses to get what she wants from a mark. Paige grew up in an entirely different milieu.

In comment 13974143 Stu11 said:

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-Kerri Russell has some serious acting chops. The veins bulging out of her forehead in that scene with Paige was intense -Can't believe we'll go the whole season without Martha. Maybe a cameo in the finale?

I don't think we're going to get one last shot with Martha. I'd be surprised. I think her adopting a kid last season was the close of her arc. Though we did get a scene with Pastor Tim, pretty much out of no where, so who knows?

Really interested to see what role Stan's girlfriend has to play (if any) in the finale.

In her teens she finds out that everything she knew about her parents was a lie. Think that would lead to some trust issues, maybe? Now she finds out that her mother has been repeatedly lying to her even though the "big secret" is long in the past.

Slight aside - amusing that Elizabeth's big accusation to Claudia is "You lied to me"....and then Paige says the same thing to her. Like mother, like daughter.

I'll be the creep who says I'm really bummed that we're not likely to get another shot of Kerry Russell's fantastic rear end.

Things I wonder if there will be any resolution of:

-Renee
-Misha - I still don't know what the point of all that was if he was never going to make another appearance after Gabriel sent him away.
-What the hell was going on when Gaad died? Why were the Soviets busting into his hotel room in Thailand when he was retired?

The writers have occasionally written themselves into a corner with storylines to where they didn't have any obvious path forward. The Misha storyline being one example. Nina, being another.

where the producers admitted the Nina-in-Russia storyline was a huge mistake. They liked Annet Mahendru (hey, who didn't? She's a knockout) and tried to come up with reasons to keep her in the show, which ultimately just dragged on and went nowhere.

seeming change of philosophy I still think it comes down to Elizabeth vs Philip and there will be collateral damage like Paige.

Paige was already concerned about the morality and how far "should" she go and questioned using her body to achieve her goals. I forget which episode, but Elizabeth said something like she'd give her life for the cause.

Philip escaping while another suspension of belief moment (especially after the debacle in Chicago) but was completely expected given the show's history. The moment he realized he might be being followed I knew he'd get away, and it was a perfect juxtaposition to Oleg who didn't make any attempt to flee.

Though he has less to hide.

It would be good to see Claudia get whacked, maybe Elizabeth covering her tracks, but she seems like a survivor.

Where would he go? With his accent and lack of documents, he can't blend in like P&E. He has no money, no car, no contacts.

I'm actually not really sure how this will play out. There would have been a Jennings family escape plan, of course, but now that there's no exfiltration back to Mother Russia where can they go? They go to NH to get Henry and then?

In comment 13974181 Greg from LI said:

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Where would he go? With his accent and lack of documents, he can't blend in like P&E. He has no money, no car, no contacts. I'm actually not really sure how this will play out. There would have been a Jennings family escape plan, of course, but now that there's no exfiltration back to Mother Russia where can they go? They go to NH to get Henry and then?

Oleg is a known Russian operative. So yeah, he wouldn't run anyway, just saying the reactions were predictable (Philip runs and of course evades the inept FBI and Oleg says take me in).

still has a role to play in the finale.

There's going to be a lot packed into the finale. On top of that, they're finally going to reveal that Renee is some kind of operative?

But impactful screentime. I dont think they set this character up for no reason. And if they decided she wasn't important to tje endgame, probably would jabe marginalised her more the rest of this last season

No idea how it plays out, loving this season, but she fits in somewhere IMO

Hate posting from phones. Text like an old man

In comment 13974204 Greg from LI said:

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There's going to be a lot packed into the finale. On top of that, they're finally going to reveal that Renee is some kind of operative?

Agree with this. I think she was put into the story as a misdirection. As a final nod maybe they have her "inadvertantly" delay Stan somehow in pursuing the Jennings and leave the question open about whether she was really a spy? I don't think there is any time to do a big reveal and involve her in the resolution.

When Stan was doing a data base search I totally understand why nothing or stolen identity info cam up on Phil and Liz, but why did nothing come up on the travel agency? It is a legit business no?

But it was a search of criminal case files. That's why nothing came up except a different Philip Jennings who was an arsonist.

In comment 13974247 Greg from LI said:

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But it was a search of criminal case files. That's why nothing came up except a different Philip Jennings who was an arsonist.

and he was a 23 year old black man.

In comment 13974247 Greg from LI said:

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But it was a search of criminal case files. That's why nothing came up except a different Philip Jennings who was an arsonist.

ahhh ok. Thats why nothing came up at all under Liz. Interesting I didn't realize that the episode was named "Jennings, Elizabeth".

In comment 13974201 Sneakers O'toole said:

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still has a role to play in the finale.

If she doesn't, then that was one gigantic waste of time.

They really didn't invest all that much in Renee as a character. She was mostly just background with the exception of a couple of episodes.

This season has been pretty tightly written, seems an odd thread to just be hanging. We'll find out soon 😁

not quite red herring, but not quite spy either - always leaving you wondering who out there might not be who you think they are.

so there�s more time to wrap up storylines.

Can save Stan from Renee? I mean Liz has to kill someone in The finale, she�s a killing machine. Has there been an episode where she hasn�t killed someone?? and I don�t trust Renee!😂😂

Maybe he contacts Paige and tells her that Stan was asking about them.

Maybe that's who Elizabeth is referencing when she asks "Can we trust him?"

Maybe they flee to Buenos Aires?

Pastor Tim lying to the FBI, there is no chance in hell I see him realistically (even for this show) tipping off Paige.

a good one at that because there was genuine drama as to what he was going to say. Doubt he's involved any more. The "can we trust him? " line from Liz was about Burov i'm pretty sure.

In comment 13973879 jcn56 said:

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In comment 13973843 Stu11 said: Quote: I don't usually critique writing and wrapping loose ends up but I have to say I'm a little disappointed in how they are playing out Liz. I mean her dedication to the USSR and its way of life and the cause and her stone cold resolve has been the bedrock of the show. Suddenly the 2nd to last episode she turns on them and goes full on Phil? She knew damn well when she met that guy in Mexico what the plot was all about, and suddenly she has a come to Jesus moment? On the Paige thing, yea her reaction was a little over the top, but I have to say I really saw her as a young adult there for the first time and not some kid. Interested to see how it ends up for Oleg, does it end with him headed to jail in America? probably. Stan called in an IOU for him once before with the CIA, can't see him getting away with it again. Yeah, the Liz thing is a little hackneyed. She instantly had a 'come to Jesus' moment and does a complete about face. I do think it's more about patriotism than you do - I think initially, she didn't question the logic of a black op kept secret from the rest of her organization, but ultimately decided that her policy of just following orders might not be unethical, but not patriotic as far as serving her country.

Elizabeth had second thoughts earlier. She was shaken when she killed Gennadi and Sofia and stood face-to-face with their child. I thought Claudia was toast. Pastor Tim couldn�t say anything. Pastor or not, he withheld information that jeopardized national security. I like the way the final episode has been set up. People will die and we have no idea who they will be. Elizabeth, Philip, Stan, Paige, Oleg.

In comment 13974289 shockeyisthebest8056 said:

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In comment 13974201 Sneakers O'toole said: Quote: still has a role to play in the finale. If she doesn't, then that was one gigantic waste of time.

Renee could be dispatched to kill the Jennings. I could see both her and Stan tracking them down and then coming face-to-face in the process. Or she doesn�t even get a line.

for me its up there with the great one hr cable tv dramas of this golden age.

In comment 13974603 UESBLUE said:

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for me its up there with the great one hr cable tv dramas of this golden age.

Agreed easily my favorite show in at least the last 10 years. Not one episode ever dragged.

What argues against the idea that she's been a spy all along is that Philip and Elizabeth both thought it was possible from the moment she came into the picture.

What argues for the idea that she's been a spy all along is that, in terms of the story, that question hasn't been explored or discussed in quite some time. And she just so happens to have an FBI interview just as the series is winding down.

So my theory is, when Renee was introduced, the plan was that she would be a red herring for the audience. But later on, the writers realized the opportunity to actually follow through on the idea. So they may be kicking themselves for having ever given that theory any oxygen. Now, if it turns out like that, people will say they saw it coming for years.

an agent - it would be unimaginably risky for an illegal to apply to work at the FBI. Even applicants for Personnel have to pass a background check, I'd imagine. How would she do that? She'd have no family - that would be an enormous red flag.