Author Topic: The Americans. Please use spoiler tags. (Read 44830 times)

Vork+The Knights of Good · « **Reply #320 on:** May 7, 2016, 11:01:03 pm »

Forgot to mention it, but I think my favorite part of the episode and something that rang really true to the core of the show was

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how Martha handled her exfiltration much better than Phillip did. He had had years to prepare for this possibility and wasn't the one whose world was being spun like a top, but even at the airfield he seemed to take it harder than Martha did. I'm sure I wasn't the only one expecting some sort of breakdown from Martha at her imminent departure, but we got the exact opposite. I just thought it was beautifully done and so very true to the character they've written over the last four years. Everything we would have expected to think about the character of Martha when we first met her has been a false trail. I think it's fair to state that we have all, either generally or at one point or another, viewed her as a victim, but even after finally learning the truth, Martha never seemed to view herself in the same way. I think that's why she was able to accept her plight. I absolutely loved when Phillip stood up for her to Elizabeth later in the episode because he was spot on. She was nowhere near as simple as Elizabeth wanted her to be or as we first imagined her to be when we met her as Clark's gullible mark all those years ago. It was a wonderful ode to a truly great character.

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sideshowme · « **Reply #321 on:** May 7, 2016, 11:31:41 pm »

Quote from: Vork+The Knights of Good on May 7, 2016, 11:01:03 pm

Forgot to mention it, but I think my favorite part of the episode and something that rang really true to the core of the show was
Spoiler
how Martha handled her exfiltration much better than Phillip did. He had had years to prepare for this possibility and wasn't the one whose world was being spun like a top, but even at the airfield he seemed to take it harder than Martha did. I'm sure I wasn't the only one expecting some sort of breakdown from Martha at her imminent departure, but we got the exact opposite. I just thought it was beautifully done and so very true to the character they've written over the last four years. Everything we would have expected to think about the character of Martha when we first met her has been a false trail. I think it's fair to state that we have all, either generally or at one point or another, viewed her as a victim, but even after finally learning the truth, Martha never seemed to view herself in the same way. I think that's why she was able to accept her plight. I absolutely loved when Phillip stood up for her to Elizabeth later in the episode because he was spot on. She was nowhere near as simple as Elizabeth wanted her to be or as we first imagined her to be when we met her as Clark's gullible mark all those years ago. It was a wonderful ode to a truly great character.
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amen to all that.

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that moment when she confronted gabriel in the street a couple of episodes ago. you never would have imagined it possible a few seasons ago. thematically, the archetypal all-american girl accepts the disappearance of her (statue of) liberty far better than philip did, or indeed has at any point during the series. like most of the russians, he's frequently railed at the idea of losing his american lifestyle, right down to not doing the 'decent' thing and accompanying martha, even when elizabeth offered him an out to do just that.

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really fascinated where they take it now after the last few minutes of the last episode.

Pistolero · « **Reply #322 on:** May 12, 2016, 06:50:32 pm »

Good interview with the splendid Alison Wright

http://www.watchingtheamericans.com/wta-53-alison-wright-interview/

Yiannis · « **Reply #323 on:** May 12, 2016, 11:52:02 pm »

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Love the dynamic right now between Paige and Elisabeth. Was it like the first time they used music on the series? Nice pick of song-Major Tom(coming home)- although for a second I thought I was watching Deutschland 83

Nice scene(s) with all our characters watching 'The Day After' and then the subsequent talk with Philip and Elisabeth about telling the Centre or not. She only had to remind him about the States droping two atomic bombs...

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Gorgeous. Absolute gorgeous and as William told Philip, his best look so far.

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Brian Blessed · « **Reply #324 on:** May 13, 2016, 12:19:19 am »

I feel sorry for the man at the end.

Yiannis · « **Reply #325 on:** May 13, 2016, 07:40:42 am »

I did too.

Pistolero · « **Reply #326 on:** May 13, 2016, 02:11:20 pm »

I really dislike Elizabeth

Brian Blessed · « **Reply #327 on:** May 13, 2016, 02:12:15 pm »

Quote from: Pistolero on May 13, 2016, 02:11:20 pm

I really dislike Elizabeth

I love her.

Pistolero · « **Reply #328 on:** May 13, 2016, 02:23:22 pm »

Quote from: namseulB on May 13, 2016, 02:12:15 pm

I love her.

dont, she'll only end up killing you

Brian Blessed · « **Reply #329 on:** May 13, 2016, 02:39:33 pm »

Quote from: Pistolero on May 13, 2016, 02:23:22 pm

dont, she'll only end up killing you

If she'll actually have sex with me first....I'm sort of okay with that.

Vork+The Knights of Good · « **Reply #330 on:** May 13, 2016, 05:12:44 pm »

The scene watching "The Day After" was fantastic and, as mentioned above, Phillip's new disguise is his best yet. That needs to go to the top of the rotation.

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The scene with Elizabeth and Don was gut wrenching. Felt awful for both characters which was pretty remarkable considering Elizabeth's actions. Keri Russell played that to perfection.

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sideshowme · « **Reply #331 on:** May 14, 2016, 03:56:04 pm »

superb as usual.

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love philip's full-on walter white look

i really like paige's character right now. the actress is surfing that uncomfortable place between loyalty and duty and right and wrong beautifully. and yet not so morose that she forgets to be a teenager. a really excellent performance (in amongst lots of excellent performances). i reckon pastor tim's going to get whacked by the centre, philip and elizabeth will know nothing about it, but paige will blame them anyway, maybe letting henry know (there has to be a reason for so much time spent at stan's).

i also love the driving-lesson-as-spying-lesson motif

the scene with don and 'patty' didn't quite hit home for me - he hadn't shown any signs of interest in her before this point, and he had to drive home, so i can't see him having more than a taste of wine, if any. it seemed a bit contrived that he would be in a position to fall into such a trap. but the pay-off was skin-crawlingly horrible, so i'll forgive that

the william character - is he also a directorate-S? i can't remember anything being mentioned about him actually being russian (rather than an american sympathiser) but that seems to be how he's talking?

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Ray K · « **Reply #332 on:** May 14, 2016, 04:03:24 pm »

I have to say I laughed out loud when I heard the Deutschland 83 theme music. Then started imagining crossover opportunities.

Quote from: namseulB on May 13, 2016, 02:39:33 pm

If she'll actually have sex with me first....I'm sort of okay with that.

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

Yiannis · « **Reply #333 on:** May 16, 2016, 11:29:13 am »

Quote from: Ray K on May 14, 2016, 04:03:24 pm

I have to say I laughed out loud when I heard the Deutschland 83 theme music. Then started imagining crossover opportunities.

Excellent idea, Ray.

Ray K · « **Reply #334 on:** May 16, 2016, 01:27:21 pm »

Quote from: Yiannis on May 16, 2016, 11:29:13 am

Excellent idea, Ray.

Elizabeth will have slept with Martin in the first 10 minutes - neither of them realising they're both on the same side - while Philip will have seduced the blonde pregnant girlfriend and be filled with even more self-loathing than usual.

Meanwhile Arkady will meet up with General Edel at some conference and will have a whale of a team drinking schnapps.

Paige will join that hippy commune while Henry will still be playing computer games.

Yiannis · « **Reply #335 on:** May 16, 2016, 01:34:04 pm »

Quote from: Ray K on May 16, 2016, 01:27:21 pm

Elizabeth will have slept with Martin in the first 10 minutes - neither of them realising they're both on the same side - while Philip will have seduced the blonde pregnant girlfriend and be filled with even more self-loathing than usual.

Meanwhile Arkady will meet up with General Edel at some conference and will have a whale of a team drinking schnapps.

Paige will join that hippy commune while Henry will still be playing computer games.

Hahaha. Well done.

saoirse08 · « **Reply #336 on:** May 18, 2016, 01:11:45 pm »

Wow! The Day After...

Dark, depressing and utterly without any form of redemption. That episode dripped with disgust. Can't describe the feelings I had for Young-Hee's husband by the end.

And the end of the episode - and Elizabeth's body language as she re-enters the family home - reminded me of this song:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/TYoxHskCnSo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/TYoxHskCnSo</a>

Brian Blessed · « **Reply #337 on:** May 19, 2016, 04:45:43 pm »

On the last weeks episode...

I love the way they weave historical events into this. Oleg and his girlfriend discussed this.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Soviet_nuclear_false_alarm_incident

Ray K · « **Reply #338 on:** May 20, 2016, 09:16:37 am »

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Poor ~~Martha~~ Agent Gaad

I love how indignant Elizabeth got with Paige when she questioned if they had anything to do with Pastor Tim's disappearance. 'How dare you?' etc etc.
Then Paige leaves the room and Philip turns to her and says 'we didn't have anything to do with it, right?'

And Elizabeth responds with 'like we'd be so stupid to leave Alice alive'. Solid point, there.

Elizabeth's closing scene with Gabriel was incredibly strong though. Never thought she'd actually say yes to him when he asked if she wanted an alternative to the Yung-hee's husband plan.

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Yiannis · « **Reply #339 on:** May 20, 2016, 11:01:41 am »

Quote from: Ray K on May 20, 2016, 09:16:37 am

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And Elizabeth responds with 'like we'd be so stupid to leave Alice alive'. Solid point, there.

Elizabeth's closing scene with Gabriel was incredibly strong though. Never thought she'd actually say yes to him when he asked if she wanted an alternative to the Yung-hee's husband plan.

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Wanna see the repercussions in diplomatic levels (and not) now after the death of agent Gaad. Sure they will find out that Russians were involved and put the blame on them without being at fault.

It was a great retort by Elisabeth and a solid point indeed. I half expected Paige to tell that to pastor's wife after having grilled her parents previously.

Spot on about the last scene. Best point of the episode for me and the main reason I came to post here really. Either answer would have been fascinating cause had she had said 'NO', it would have still been somewhat cruel but would still show how tough she could be when her personal duty towards the country is on the line and her mission (and the fact she wants to get the job done on her own) despite being clearly in distress about it as shown previously.

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saoirse08 · « **Reply #340 on:** May 20, 2016, 12:40:49 pm »

The brilliance of this show is that it constantly refuses the obvious. It is always wrong footing me in regard to the history of the period. Every time I think the writers will deal with a major incident from 1983, they concentrate on something less earth shattering and global, and instead observes at close quarters how the world outside affects the domestic realm.

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Rather than referencing the shooting down of a Korean airline, we see Elizabeth explode a metaphorical bomb inside a stable, loving Korean family. The dinner table scene with Elizabeth, Don & Young-Hee was horrible. Instead of dealing with the Able Archer war games - operations which nearly led to war between Nato & the Warsaw Pact counties - we see the power watching a TV drama (The Day After) has on an entire group of people, many of whom are in direct conflict with each other; yet both feel deeply the realisation of how close they all are to annihilation. They are united by mutually assured destruction. That was powerfully done.

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Quote from: namseulB on May 19, 2016, 04:45:43 pm

On the last weeks episode...

I love the way they weave historical events into this. Oleg and his girlfriend discussed this.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Soviet_nuclear_false_alarm_incident

Once again, the above is only mentioned in passing by two KGB agents after sex! Remarkable. But it works because we live so much of our lives in the dark about such manoeuvres/incidents, especially back then.

More here on how 1983 was such a dangerous year:

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/05/the-ussr-and-us-came-closer-to-nuclear-war-than-we-thought/276290/

Btw, was it just me or did Pastor Tim's wife, Alice, look like a pregnant Stepford wife?

Brian Blessed · « **Reply #341 on:** May 20, 2016, 05:48:40 pm »

The little details are so great in this. When Paige and Elizabeth were arguing, Henry's tennis ball against the garage door (which annoyed them both) ratcheted up the tension a notch or two.

sideshowme · « **Reply #342 on:** May 21, 2016, 01:08:08 pm »

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good point about defying the predictable - i thought my prediction from the last episode was about to come true in this

that tape is going to come into play somehow, and it's going to take a lot of killing to stop it being heard.

agent gaad was a weird scene, especially as we never actually found out what the russians wanted. it reminded me of this scene from BrBa, right the way down to the way it was shot...

i think it's also looking like stan's son is going to get drunk with paige, and paige is going to spill all (or some at least) to the son of an FBI agent... whether that means she'll end up having to get with him to keep him silent is an interesting prospect, and only enhance the similarities between paige and elizabeth.

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Flinstone · « **Reply #343 on:** May 21, 2016, 04:39:47 pm »

^
Just NO

Also, didn't Philip tell Elizabeth there was no mention of a tape?

sideshowme · « **Reply #344 on:** May 21, 2016, 10:38:25 pm »

Quote from: Flinstone on May 21, 2016, 04:39:47 pm

^
Just NO

Also, didn't Philip tell Elizabeth there was no mention of a tape?

no to what bit?

and no mention of a lawyer, but that doesn't mean there wasn't one.

Flinstone · « **Reply #345 on:** May 22, 2016, 02:58:30 am »

the paige bit...

Yea, she lied about giving it to the lawyer.

Garrus · « **Reply #346 on:** May 22, 2016, 03:26:26 am »

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Am I the only one who found Gaad's death unintentionally funny? Those 3 seemed like bumbling insurance agents and were apologetic as he laid there, bleeding out

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sideshowme · « **Reply #347 on:** May 22, 2016, 02:16:50 pm »

Quote from: Flinstone on May 22, 2016, 02:58:30 am

the paige bit...

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well, they've already set up her getting close to him, and them drinking together, and him trusting her with parental secrets. she's alienated from her parents, can't be herself around the church people... so of course she doesn't have anyone to confide her fears in.

it's a bit of a theme of this season too, that the truth finds a way to get out, however careful you are.

just wild speculation

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Ray K · « **Reply #348 on:** May 25, 2016, 06:15:16 pm »

Two more seasons announced by FX: 13 episode season in '17 followed by a 10 episode season in '18 to finish off the story. Yay! More wigs! More Mail Robot! More gruesome deaths!

I assume the spinoff show The Adventures of Martha in Moscow is only a matter of time.

Brian Blessed · « **Reply #349 on:** May 25, 2016, 06:39:15 pm »

Quote from: Ray K on May 25, 2016, 06:15:16 pm

Two more seasons announced by FX: 13 episode season in '17 followed by a 10 episode season in '18 to finish off the story. Yay! More wigs! More Mail Robot! More gruesome deaths!

I assume the spinoff show The Adventures of Martha in Moscow is only a matter of time.

They're just going to make a Martha film.

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Weekend At Nina Krilova's

Too soon?

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Brian Blessed · « **Reply #350 on:** May 26, 2016, 01:51:03 pm »

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Poor ~~Martha~~ Don

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Ray K · « **Reply #351 on:** May 27, 2016, 09:15:47 am »

Quote from: Ray K on May 25, 2016, 06:15:16 pm

Two more seasons announced by FX: 13 episode season in '17 followed by a 10 episode season in '18 to finish off the story. Yay! More wigs! More Mail Robot! More gruesome deaths!

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Well, I got all I wanted in one episode. New Wigs! Mail Robot returning! Elizabeth shivving a guy in the neck!

Boy, was I feeling tense during that dinner scene. Last time I felt that tense in a dinner scene was the one in Breaking Bad

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saoirse08 · « **Reply #352 on:** May 28, 2016, 01:11:02 pm »

Guess who's coming to dinner...

Like the idea of a sitcom 'Martha in Moscow.' Sounds boss, a sort of inverted Moscow on the Hudson.

Martha walks into a shop and asks, "You wouldn't happen to have fish, would you?"

"You've got it wrong – ours is a butcher's shop," the assistant replies. "We wouldn't happen to have meat. You're looking for the fish shop across the road. There they wouldn't happen to have fish!" *

*nicked from Wikipedia.

sideshowme · « **Reply #353 on:** June 4, 2016, 06:17:30 pm »

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so... sort of right in my prediction for paige, and i'm not sure we've seen the end of that story. they've foreshadowed the possibility of her getting stinking drunk and sharing too much with matthew pretty well. and her handlers' insistence that her relationship with matthew has nothing to do with their mission pretty much guarantees it will end up being so...

poor william

gearing up for an epic finale

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red mongoose · « **Reply #354 on:** June 4, 2016, 06:24:10 pm »

Quote from: Garrus on May 22, 2016, 03:26:26 am

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Am I the only one who found Gaad's death unintentionally funny? Those 3 seemed like bumbling insurance agents and were apologetic as he laid there, bleeding out
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It was always goofy casting to have John Boy Walton in that role anyway

Timbo's Goals · « **Reply #355 on:** June 5, 2016, 12:03:23 pm »

Would love to dip in but just quickly scrolling down it's clear we're a fair way off the pace [Series 4/episode 4] so I'm best out of it.

Vork+The Knights of Good · « **Reply #356 on:** June 7, 2016, 06:24:02 pm »

So so good. Fell a few weeks behind thanks to work again, but caught up last night. The way they're able to depict the tension for all the players, regardless of his/her allegiance or naïveté, is phenomenal. Is there a character on the show who you don't feel for, at one point or another?

Keri Russell has taken her game to another level this season. She's been outstanding. That phone call where she checked her messages? Ugh! I know neither will, but she and Alison Wright deserve to win all the awards.

sideshowme · « **Reply #357 on:** June 7, 2016, 08:52:29 pm »

Quote from: Vork+The Knights of Good on June 7, 2016, 06:24:02 pm

So so good. Fell a few weeks behind thanks to work again, but caught up last night. The way they're able to depict the tension for all the players, regardless of his/her allegiance or naïveté, is phenomenal. Is there a character on the show who you don't feel for, at one point or another?

Keri Russell has taken her game to another level this season. She's been outstanding. That phone call where she checked her messages? Ugh! I know neither will, but she and Alison Wright deserve to win all the awards.

amen to all that

Ultimate Bromance · « **Reply #358 on:** June 9, 2016, 05:14:21 pm »

Whelp, that's it for 8 months.

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Most of it unfolded like I thought it would, but I still couldn't tear my eyes away. Looks like Phillip's first born is going to cause chaos next season. Do we know what his mother does? Can't remember if I should know why she'd go on the run.

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Blinis · « **Reply #359 on:** June 9, 2016, 05:27:06 pm »

Quote from: Ultimate Bromance on June 9, 2016, 05:14:21 pm

Whelp, that's it for 8 months.

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Most of it unfolded like I thought it would, but I still couldn't tear my eyes away. Looks like Phillip's first born is going to cause chaos next season. Do we know what his mother does? Can't remember if I should know why she'd go on the run.
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She is Irina, the spy Philip felt in love with before getting assigned to the US and Elizabeth. We saw her during the first season, if I remember correctly.

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Tremendous episode. Tremendous series.