The Americans
One element that ’s made time of year 1 ofThe Americansso appealing is its startlingly emotional ( and sometimes bleak ) observation of a modern American marriage involve two individuals who are , for all intents and purposes , ultra outsiders enwrapped on untune the particular way of life they ’ve inadvertently become habitual to . Take out all of the intriguing spycraft , the helping hand - to - hand scrap and the wigging , and you ’d still have an incredibly compelling domestic play on your helping hand .
But of line , there ’s more toThe Americansthan that ; it is also an intricately woven taradiddle of espionage told from the singular advantage spot of theCold War in the early-’80s . And as we ’ve ascertain in the Soviets ' track pursuit of anything relating to the American plans for the aim anti - ballistic missile shield ( leading up to the tautness - filled meeting withSanford Prince ’s pricey American colonel ) , sometimes the prize at the ending of the race is remarkably similar to a spy ’s top – i.e. , a sodding fable .
There ’s something elegant in the way of life creator Joseph Weisberg and co - author Joel Fields have subtly enter extension to the failed space - aged defense programme as an elusive objective for not only Philip and Elizabeth Jennings , but also nearly everyone back home in Russia .
And while it has historic significance , inasmuch as everyone from the media to President Reagan glommed onto the notion of a gamey - technical school projectile shield as the next saltation forward in the ever - escalate weapon airstream , it would prove to be a piping dream , a game changer that simply was n’t in the carte .
As the colonel tease to a mustached and blonde - wigged Philip , the whole matter could be technological grandstanding , but it could also simply be a clever artifice intended to distract the foe . In effect , the anti - ballistic projectile shell was a spectre for the Russians to chase , just as the seemingly nonphysical illegals of Directorate S were homicidal spectre stalk the FBI .
And that ’s how affair play out in ' The Colonel ' : with Weisberg and Fields connecting the dots they and the series ' other writers strategically placed throughout the previous 12 episodes of the time of year . The close does more , though ; it wraps those disparate points of intrigue together in an end that gratifyingly brings several lineament arc full lap , without end up back at square one or clearing the tabular array and leaving themselves with no foundation on which the series might continue .
Instead , The Americansends its stunning first time of year by doing what Philip had want to do all along : it puts family first . There ’s a touching back - and - away between Philip and Elizabeth in which they recognize the other ’s strength as a parent and a mate , as they ’re face with the very real prospect that one of the three-fold assignments the Center has in fund for them could be a trap and will doubtlessly head to farmore permanent separationthan the one they ’re in the midst of now . It ’s a fear for the saving of one ’s self interests that carries over to well-nigh every subplot the series has developed this season .
Take for representative two characters seemingly on the fringe that have on the spur of the moment become major players as the plot of ground has expanded . On one hand there ’s Claudia , who has been a secret and a master operator since her debut in ' Gregory , ' and while Elizabeth may not conceive Grannie ever had a human relationship with her much - loved Gen. Zhukov , Claudia mayhap prove her wrong by taking payback forhis assassinationinto her own hand , dispatching Richard Patterson in a specially horrible way .
Meanwhile , self - attend Nina has go from a simple stereophony smuggler to an FBI informant to a loyal KGB operative who now has Stan Beeman firmly enclose around her little finger , following his inability to successfully exfiltrate his lady love .
And utter of Stan , the flavour on Emmerich ’s boldness when he has to tell Nina her relocation West has been cancel hints that he may have needed that tiny victory far more than Nina ever did . What ’s bad , Stan seems more disheartened by Nina ’s aborted transfer than he is by Sandra ’s rejection of their marriage or the Jamaican vacation packet Philip get them such a great rate on .
The Americanssucceeds in its storytelling because , in the end , it comes down to the personal degree with several in an elaborate way weave arcs that are just as captivating and enrapture as the dramatic event surrounding the Jennings ' wedlock . But even more so , the serial publication has had a leading first season and secured a place as one of the good dramas on tv set because it knows how to balance outthe two drive forcesat the center of its storyline .
And as dramatically tense as beat drops , surveillance and the occasional shootout are , The Americansknows thatthe emotional violenceinflicted upon its fiber is far more devastating than any gunshot wound or tongue to gut could ever be .
When a decrepit , wounded Elizabeth breaks her Zhukov ’s order never to speak in her aboriginal tongue so that she can tell Philip to"come home,“it ’s a hefty implication of their adhesion at a metre when things seem most potential to fall asunder .
That joined front will be vital as the series come on . The Jenningses may be able to position themselves out of the FBI ’s considerable reach , but as Paige begins to suspect something ’s just not right with her her seemingly fair parents , the line of sectionalisation between their two world may have become a lot less clear .
As the marvelous musical cue near the end of the episode suggest : it ’s all just ' Games Without Frontiers . '
The Americanswill counter for time of year 2 sometime in 2014 on FX .
