The Americans S6 E2: Tchaikovsky

After the seismic season premier, “Tchaikovsky” seems like more of a table-setting episode, moving the pieces into place for the end.

This episode itself ends with the unforgettable image of Elizabeth’s bloody, brain-covered face (for a second I thought General Rennhull shot her eye out as he shot himself) warning her understandably freaked-out daughter away. She is still trying to protect Paige, lying to her about the nature of her spy work in the bedroom. Elizabeth fails to get the lithium-based radiation detector and the suicide of a general in the woods will not go unremarked upon by the authorities.

If there was a theme this week, it was unforeseen complications. The formerly treasonous general, not wanting to betray his country or have his past exposed, shoots himself and ruins the Center’s plans. Sofia kicks Gennadi out of the house and may be having an affair (I’m still a little slow on what these two are doing and what he was having X-rayed and photographed in the bathroom stall). Erica wants to die but Elizabeth, in what must be a first for her career, has to keep the woman alive until the summit. If she dies, Elizabeth leaves the house and they would have to send in another agent in another capacity. Erica wants the fake visiting nurse to start drawing, but the art lessons distract from what’s really important for Sovietbot: Taking pictures of documents. I don’t know who actually made all that art in reality but I love it. Elizabeth dismisses the art as decadent but it shows her things she doesn’t want to see.

Death imagery was heavy for Elizabeth this week. There was the bloody face at the end. There was Elizabeth lying on the couch at Claudia’s, in what could either be a therapy session or a deathbed. She asks Claudia to finish Paige’s training, something heavily reminiscent of a “take care of her” speech just before the end. Elizabeth is a dead woman walking, a ghost, looking like hell (at least, as much as Keri Russell can look like hell) fading into the background as we see a (very nice) blurry shot of her cigarette lighting up.

The really unsettling element of this episode was the backyard conversation between Philip and Elizabeth. When he asks if she can talk about what’s going on, does he really care or is he working her on Oleg’s orders? Is it a little of both? After all the trust those two finally built up, now they have to wear masks with each other as they do with so many other people.

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