The Americans
Each of The Americans’ previous two seasons began with a mission gone wrong, a series of mistakes or unfortunate accidents that led inexorably to the major plot points of the seasons. “EST Men” is no exception to the rule, and while it feels more disjointed that the other two Americans’ premieres, it does a good job spinning the many plates of the season’s new plotlines.
Season three begins with Elizabeth about to receive an important document — a list of Near East and Special Activities Division operatives working against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan — from a defecting CIA officer, but the unexpected variable of human nature gets in the way. The officer, tearful and immediately regretful for betraying her country even for its potential sexist treatment of her, calls in the reinforcements, hoping to trap the spy in her midst. Elizabeth realizes what’s wrong and manages to escape, but barely survives a fight with a FBI agent and none other than Gaad, Stan Beeman’s boss himself. Gaad gets a good look at her face moments before she slams his gun into his face.
Lest Philip be considered blameless in the Jennings operations, the end of the episode shows his project — Anneliese’s seduction of a valuable asset — go wrong, as she’s brutally murdered while trying to tell the truth to her new love. Yet Philip manages to twist this failure into a success, trading up from merely hearing secondhand from Yousaf’s plans to getting the man himself. Philip is no doubt upset about letting Anneliese die, especially since he was continuing an unnecessary affair with her, but the move is still cold, showing just how deeply embedded his training goes.
The Jennings, though undoubtable skilled, are far from perfect, and this latest mishap leaves ample room for an overarching problem of the season. Are Elizabeth’s fingerprints on the list? Is her jaw going to get worse unless she sees a doctor? Will Gaad somehow see and recognize her? Will Yousef prove a dangerous ally? How long can Stan go before realizing that his only real friends outside of work, the ones helping him deal with the collapse of his marriage, are the very Soviet spies he sacrificed his marriage to hunt? It’s unclear right now exactly how this season is going to unfold, but it — rather timely — will definitely involve the proxy war in the Middle East and both sides’ aversion to it even as they’re getting more deeply embedded into it, unaware of what will this will mean in the decades to come.
If season one was about Philip and Elizabeth learning to be married and season two about them raising their kids, this one is about protecting their kids from the darkness of the real world. Paige is a teenager now and heavily involved in a liberal church group fond of protests and pacifist rallies. Elizabeth is closer to her than before, though how much of it is genuine interest and how much is training her remains to be seen. The first scene of the season shows Elizabeth remembering how she threw Paige into the pool to teach her how to swim. She’s not an easy parent, and if she eventually comes to the conclusion that Paige needs to fight for the cause, she likely won’t budge. It’s too early to conclusively know, but it seems reasonable to guess that Paige will find out about her parents’ true allegiance sometime this season, either through her own ingenuity, her parents telling her themselves, or some outside force letting her know. It’s hard to know how she’ll react; her newfound faith will likely push against the violence and lies of a spy life, but she’s already developed a sense of America’s penchant for injustice couched in patriotic language.
While Elizabeth is seemingly on the fence about Paige’s involvement, despite her protests to the contrary, Philip remains steadfastly against even the remote possibility. This tension between the two is going to reach a head sometime soon, especially if the Soviets get fed up with waiting and try to contact Paige themselves.
There are so many ticking time bombs and potential problems for this season and the series itself. The show has so many options to go down and can feel free to let some of the bombs fizzle out and other remain ticking away in the background.
There’s one last Chekov’s gun to consider — and this one’s been building for many episodes. Martha’s got a gun, and now she’s learning how to use it. She’s going to find out that she’s been the ultimate dupe in Mark’s scheme, and she’s going to be incredibly angry. The question remains — who is she going to use the gun on? The Americans can’t really exist with Philip, so it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll die, but she could still wound him. She could go after Elizabeth if she learns the truth. She could kill herself, but it doesn’t seem likely now given her training, and while it would be undoubtedly tragic, it would too easily clean up this mess. Either way, it doesn’t look like Martha will get out of this one alive or sane, and like Anneliese, she may have to be sacrificed for the greater good of Mother Russia.
For all of the show’s sympathy towards its titular couple, The Americans doesn’t shy away from the chilling actions that Philip and Elizabeth can and often do commit. Philip lets his agents die in gambits for bigger fish, while Elizabeth seems to be considering thrusting the life of a Soviet spy on her teenage daughter. We know that the Jennings are on the losing side of history, but it doesn’t make their choices any less real, any less compelling. Here’s hoping for 12 more excellent episodes.
Tidbits:
– It crushes me every time I think of how devastated Stan’s going to be when he inevitably discovers that his best friend is a Soviet spy. His completely earnest joy at being asked for dinner by Elizabeth is at once heart-warming and heart-breaking. The guy’s made some awful choices, but doesn’t deserve this. Though it’s even worse for Martha…
– Speaking of Martha, does her entire marriage consist of randomly seeing her husband and having bizarre sex?
– Where is Nina? Her actress’ name was in the credits, and given Oleg and Arkady’s conversion, she might return.
– I have to give props for the marketing team for this season’s image; the Soviet and American flags encased in ice, frozen in a cold war.
