The Americans S3 E8: Divestment

Only on a show like The Americans would the interrogation of FBI employees be almost as harrowing as setting a man on fire. Almost, but not quite. That execution of the white South African was the most brutal thing yet on this show. Even the hardened Elizabeth and Philip looked appalled. I’m wondering if their reaction was partially because they met someone even more vicious than they are. It’s certainly a message from the South Africans not to mess with them. Maybe the human tire fire held a mirror up to them so the Soviet spies decided to be merciful to the other South African who set the bomb.

It’s kind of a neat trick linking the Soviets to apartheid. We have a philosophy on the wrong side of history (communist USSR) supporting a philosophy on the right side of history (anti-apartheid). It’s complex because I want to oppose the KGB but I support their efforts to bring down the racist South African regime but I don’t support setting people on fire. It reinforces one of the show’s themes: Who are you rooting for?

Nina again has very little control over her fate. Again, they are using her as a puppet, this time sent to seduce Anton, the kidnapped Refusenik scientist. First, they sent her through a humiliation conga line with the confrontation with the former Rezidentura director who slept with her and got shipped back to the USSR over some smuggled diamonds. Then she faced further nastiness from the understandably bitter scientist. She is in an impossible situation, with her only hope of freedom being lying and further betrayals of her countrymen.

Those scenes of Walter Taffet grilling the FBI employees were deliciously tense. Taffet is very intimidating and I loved moment when he walked straight toward Martha, probably terrifying her, before going to talk to someone else. Alison Wright is again doing a great job playing someone trying to keep her cool and lie credibly to her boss.

That scene with Martha and Clark at her apartment was spectacular. Martha acknowledges something I never realized before: Walter Taffet has the job Clark supposedly has. So if Taffet is conducting the internal investigation, just exactly who is her husband? She asks who he is and he tells her, “I’m your husband. I’m the man you married.” This is not the source of comfort that Clark intended but instead it’s horrifying for Martha as she continues to realize just how trapped she is. She married this man and she betrayed her country. She was duped into the former and she didn’t realize she was doing the latter but she did them just the same.

Notice that Clark didn’t answer Martha’s question. He never told her who he was but his evasiveness was as much an answer for her as if he’d told her. The way he professed his love to his wife was a creepy callback to the flashback showing Philip’s KGB training in seduction.

Martha knows she’s his hostage. I think she’ll turn on him and come clean with the FBI. If that happens, once Philip realizes, she’s done.