Unlike the first two seasons, the third season finale of The Americans skipped the fireworks for
something much more insidious and disturbing. It’s strange that a season that
started with several nasty murders didn’t shed much blood at the end but that
made for a satisfyingly unpredictable finale.
I was surprised that the trip to West Germany to see
Elizabeth’s mother went off without a hitch. I was expecting all kinds of
trouble, especially given the way Elizabeth was sticking close to Paige on the
streets, emphasizing the fact that these two were very vulnerable and without
much of a support network. The meeting was emotional since I’m a sucker for
Elizabeth speaking Russian as she only does it at times of great import. The
way grandmom says Paige’s name in English spoke volumes, suggesting Elizabeth
has been keeping her mother informed of her grandchildren all along.
Stan risks his career for Nina but gets a reprieve at the
price of his relationship with Gaad. He also risks his career for no real
reason as America will not work to free Nina, preferring to free another agent.
Stan is realizing that there is a much bigger picture to consider as Nina is
far from the only chess piece on the board. Ultimately I was disappointed with
what they did with Zinaida. They didn’t actually show her doing much beyond
leaving that message in the restroom. She seemed like more of a plot device for
Stan, more of a symbol.
We leave Nina at a place of doubt in the USSR. “I can’t keep
buying back my life. I don’t know if it’s worth it,” she says. Anton suggests
that she stop playing the KGB’s games, emphasizing that they can imprison her
body but not her mind.
Philip solves Martha’s bugged pen problem easier than I
thought. I liked the way they shot this scene with him suddenly appearing
behind the FBI employee and then the guy’s hanged body suddenly appearing in
the background. After the build-up, it was odd that Martha didn’t appear at all
in this episode but after last week’s breathtaking wig removal, it might have
been anticlimactic to bring her back this week. She will break down further
when she finds out that Philip killed for her.
Philip is having a hell of a breakdown of his own, with the
murder of the FBI employee and the disposal of Annelise’s body making him
crack. Sending his wife and daughter to Europe was an act of rebellion against
the Center. The EST session was the first time all series that Philip did
something for himself. There was no source to work; it was just him searching
for answers.
He does not take Sandra up on her offer to confide his
feelings but he does start to confide in Elizabeth. Philip struggles to express
his deep reluctance to continue on his path but has the bad timing to talk just
as Reagan begins his famous “evil empire” speech. Notice that Elizabeth
immediately interrupts him to say they should watch the news report. This is
true to her character. She is certainly not unfeeling but whenever there’s spy
work to do, it’s a reflex for her to drop everything else and become Sovietbot.
In the next room, Paige is completely broken and this time,
she actually does call Pastor Tim and tell him her parents are Soviet spies.
She is in an impossible situation. She asked for the truth from her parents and
they expect her to spend the rest of her life living a lie. The big question
for next season: What will Pastor Tim do with this information and what will
the Jenningses do when they find out he knows? What will they do when they find
out their daughter ratted them out?
The last scene, with Reagan calling the USSR “the focus of
evil in the modern world” at the moment Paige confesses to her pastor, was
fantastic. This gauntlet has opposite effects on the two spies: It will rile up
Elizabeth and stoke her hatred of America while it will make Philip want to get
out of the game even more. The last shot was a resolute Elizabeth moving
forward into the frame as a broken Philip recedes into the blurry background. Love
it.
As I remember, after Reagan’s declaration on March 8, 1983, the
cold war really ramped up. This was the beginning of real fears about nuclear
war and that year ended with The Day
After scaring the hell out of everyone. This will be the battleground of
next season and there will be no relief until Gorbachev comes and institutes
glasnost and perestroika.
The Americans has
already been renewed for another season. I’ll be there next year and I hope a
lot of other people join me for its superlative acting and writing. What a
season.
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