A link to a recap work? I'd say we could make a spreadsheet showing which characters end up dead/in jail/on the run/bitterly unhappy but 'safe' in the USSR etc. but I'm worried we all know that's going to be one depressing-ass table. At this point I'll be shocked if Phillip or Elizabeth are alive at the end. :|
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The Americans - Season 5 of the award winning KGB spy drama - Tuesdays on FX
- Thread starter Cornballer
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A link to a recap work? I'd say we could make a spreadsheet showing which characters end up dead/in jail/on the run/bitterly unhappy but 'safe' in the USSR etc. but I'm worried we all know that's going to be one depressing-ass table. At this point I'll be shocked if Phillip or Elizabeth are alive at the end. :|
TangoAlphaLima
Member
I told y'all Elizabeth was cold-blooded.
LQX
Member
Man, for some reason this episode more than any other really brought home how cold blooded Elizabeth and Phillip are. Here they are digging up a dead body and even though you know they have killed before and thus know death very well, you see the hesitation and think; man, even killers sometimes find their job too gruesome....nope. The hesitation is from the fact they do not want to get infected and when one of the helpers does make bodily contact with the infected body they fucking shoot him in the head and throw him in the coffin with the dead body. Not for a second were they going to allow him to come out of that grave.
Gaius Cassius
Member
And that guy was in love with Elizabeth, wasn't he? I remember a few seasons ago him admitting something to the effect of that to her. He ended up murdering that one innocent south African kid to impress her if I recall.
spindoctor
Member
That's a stupid thing to say. Not everyone is going to like every TV show and your post makes you sound like an ass.
Anyway I thought the first episode was really good but I think I missed why they are interested in the Russian kid's family. Or was that not revealed yet?
Also the last sequence was great. I was hoping the camera would show the others' reactions to when Elizabeth shot Hans but they never did. But seriously, 10 minutes of just quiet digging in an episode... not many shows would try that.
Cornballer
Member
It hasn't been revealed yet. From the interviews with Fields and Weisberg (not really spoilers)
Well I don't mind the (will Stan find out??) plot line because it's the final payoff for the series, kind of like how Breaking Bad was. Yeah the other marks are just eh. Then again I thought Season 3 was terrible and way too spread thin. But Martha was way more of an actual character, so it's hard to replicate.
It was the side plot for Elizabeth to do last season, she became best friends with this woman and some other stuff happened.
Ristifer
Member
I mean, the other marks haven't really been significant for a reason. Martha was significant because she was the pull for Philip. She represented the side of life that he'd been getting more and more attached to in America. Elizabeth never had that kind of attachment. Except with Gregory, which was before she felt her marriage to Philip was legitimate and more than just an arrangement for the cause.
That's why Young-Hee's plotline was significant, because she finally broke through Elizabeth's colder exterior and made Elizabeth realize why Martha was more than just a "mark" for Philip. For the audience, the payoff was seeing Elizabeth struggle to reduce her to just another "useful" person for the cause. It finally made her second guess the Centre's direction.
The whole show has been about character development. Not always the sexiest approach, but that's how it goes sometimes.
That's why Young-Hee's plotline was significant, because she finally broke through Elizabeth's colder exterior and made Elizabeth realize why Martha was more than just a "mark" for Philip. For the audience, the payoff was seeing Elizabeth struggle to reduce her to just another "useful" person for the cause. It finally made her second guess the Centre's direction.
The whole show has been about character development. Not always the sexiest approach, but that's how it goes sometimes.
Sectorseven
Member
Why would the government bury that guy instead of incinerating him?
Ristifer
Member
That's what I was wondering, too.
Can't certain viral/bacterial strains survive extremely high temperatures? Plus, it could be an airborne pathogen. With something that contagious (and poorly understood, given that it was still in R&D), it's not surprising they would hermetically seal the body, and bury it deep underground in a toxic waste container.
Then again, I'm an arts major, and this is a TV show.
Cornballer
Member
That's how I interpreted it. They didn't say anything about it in the podcast or the interviews this week other than mentioning that it was a military coffin that they used and it was a pain in the ass to get it through customs.
I thought the same thing. Also if you're going to bury him at least fill the coffin with cement just in case.
Cornballer
Member
Oh, I missed this, but apparently William's body bag had a "DO NOT BURN" tag on it, too.
Ristifer
Member
I thought I saw something on it, but I couldn't make out what it was. I guess that explains that. Thanks!
Cornballer
Member
tearsintherain
Member
The only real argument you could make is that the govt wanted to see what happens with the virus after X years in an isolated environment, but thats kind of stupid. There is zero ability for any bacteria or virus to survive 80s industrial/military incinerators so it doesn't really make any sense they did it for safety.
I just thought it was funny none of the other team members seemed to react, like all they saw was the dude fall down and then elizabeth fire a gun. Sure, maybe he got infected or maybe Liz and Phillip were told to execute the team after extraction.
I know it was artistic and all to have a 6 minute pit digging sequence but it was pretty easy to guess ahead of time what they were doing ("he has to do one last service") so I thought the whole thing was a bit too much. Still a great episode, I especially liked that dinner scene where Elizabeth is clearly angry at someone for criticizing the USSR and Philip clearly is thinking that maybe capitalism is better.
Also interesting how much corruption was talked about in the episode, usually we think the USSR fell because of inefficiencies (the farming scene) and inability to keep up technically but corruption was such a huge part of it, and sort of makes you wonder how corrupt the top countries are nowadays.
I just thought it was funny none of the other team members seemed to react, like all they saw was the dude fall down and then elizabeth fire a gun. Sure, maybe he got infected or maybe Liz and Phillip were told to execute the team after extraction.
I know it was artistic and all to have a 6 minute pit digging sequence but it was pretty easy to guess ahead of time what they were doing ("he has to do one last service") so I thought the whole thing was a bit too much. Still a great episode, I especially liked that dinner scene where Elizabeth is clearly angry at someone for criticizing the USSR and Philip clearly is thinking that maybe capitalism is better.
Also interesting how much corruption was talked about in the episode, usually we think the USSR fell because of inefficiencies (the farming scene) and inability to keep up technically but corruption was such a huge part of it, and sort of makes you wonder how corrupt the top countries are nowadays.
distantmantra
Member
My wife and I had been marathoning through the previous seasons on Amazon Prime recently. Kind of a strange feeling to be all caught up and having to wait a week between episodes now.
Sectorseven
Member
Burning isn't the same as incinerating though, at least not in practice.
Cornballer
Member
They've included easily identifiable period notes before (tv shows, speeches, etc...) In this episode, they discuss watching the Sarajevo Winter Olympics which puts it in Feb 1984.
I'm not sure what the point is of that story line unless he confronts Philip, but going to America to search for a travel agent isn't much of a lead.
That digging sequence was great. Few shows would dare play that out for so long. Poor Hans.
You're wrong. They've had it from the beginning, and almost always play the full thing. Minor adjustments have been made over the years, like adding more evidence of the kids, I think.
I feel like a dolt haha, didn't notice they mentioned that at all.
Thinking back, I'm remembering some other moments as well.
They've been very specific about when the show takes place, down to the day. To the extent that they've nixed stuff appearing in the show (like a commercial or show on TV or something) because it didn't line up.
TangoAlphaLima
Member
I'm just hoping they make it to October of '85 before the show ends, so Henry can get his hands on an NES.
Dominican Power
Member
I know that feel.
Grizzlyjin
Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
I didn't expect Hans to go out like that. Now I wonder where this plot with Philip's son will go. Wouldn't shock me if Elizabeth puts him down too.
Goddamn The Americans is back.
They will probably a lot tension between the two.
Yeah I think Philip's son is goner. Don't see him making it to the end of the season even.
TangoAlphaLima
Member
I could see Mischa trying to find ol' Pops Jennings, then the Russians taking him out so Philip's cover doesn't get blown. Then Philip witnesses it or finds out, and that starts him down a road towards defecting.
Hydrogen Bluebird
Member
Wait, why are ya'll saying there's a new henry? It's still the same kid right? Lol
captjohnboyd
Member
They're joking because of the Asian kid they're using to spy on the Russian family that emigrated
Yo, that could be an endgame igniting event. Season 6: Mr. and Mrs. Smith?
Cornballer
Member
New episode tonight:
As usual, this episode is scheduled to run a few minutes past the hour.
-Pyromaniac-
Member
That was not normal Paige.
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