The Americans
I think it's clear from the entire series that the Russian spies are much better at this than the FBI, so I don't find their ability to break into places surprising. I also don't think Stan Beeman has any idea they're spies. Once he put those suspicions to rest about the Jennings, he accepted them. It's the Jennings playing the long game here, and Elizabeth's use of the information she overheard at the dinner party at his house to follow him to the safe house is what pushed Phillip to halt the honey trap with Kimmy.
Coffeegretchen said:
I think it's clear from the entire series that the Russian spies are much better at this than the FBI,
. . . unless you're wrong about Stan, who as far as I recall did not seem satisfied as he stood in the Jennings's garage in the pilot.
I suppose that's a possibility, but would Stan have brought their son with him to the office if he was still harboring suspicions? Or been having them over for dinner with Adderholt & his wife? I do think he was suspicious of them for quite a while, but eventually put those suspicions to rest. I remember that Elizabeth was wounded at one point, in a way that they were looking for and managed to hide it from him early on, but it's been a while since I watched that season.
jamie said:
I think Stan will be Paige’s first kill
Whoa -- you're joking, yes?
Not joking - I think Stan may figure something out - possibly try to save Paige - then Paige will have to make a split section decision and do what's best for the family. It is the final season after all. 
Stan was developing Henry, never Paige. Paige’s loyalty is an open question.
ETA: Actually, it's not. Paige pursued enlightenment via a religious leader and then invaded his privacy. Paige is not trustworthy or genuine.
The_Soulful_Mr_T said:
unicorn33 said:whoa x2!
jamie said:Whoa -- you're joking, yes?
I think Stan will be Paige’s first kill
whoa x3!
I'm more worried about Oleg than Stan, truth be told.
Coffeegretchen said:
I suppose that's a possibility, but would Stan have brought their son with him to the office if he was still harboring suspicions? Or been having them over for dinner with Adderholt & his wife? I do think he was suspicious of them for quite a while, but eventually put those suspicions to rest. I remember that Elizabeth was wounded at one point, in a way that they were looking for and managed to hide it from him early on, but it's been a while since I watched that season.
Aderholt is perplexing and maybe not trustworthy. I have never had the sense that Stan trusts him or has any personal chemistry. Not sure what you mean by suspicious of them for "quite a while," but I don't see any evidence that Stan put away his mistrust from the very first episode
.
What evidence do you see that he is suspicious of Phillip & Elizabeth?
I found Aderholt's statement in "Rififi" that the Russians are "just trying to screw us" to be an eerie echo of some of Elizabeth's statements about Americans. He also doesn't seem nearly as upset about the risks and casualties as Stan is. I see him and Elizabeth lining up as the loyalist idealogues, and Stan and Phillip as the more compassionate, conscience driven members of their respective teams.
OMGOMG. What is Phillip's end game? At one point, before this episode, I thought he was going to defect!
Predictions:
Neither Elizabeth nor Phillip survive (cyanide x 2, perhaps).
Stan takes in Henry.
Paige thought to be innocent victim, but in reality she becomes the new Elizabeth, carrying on the spy game as State Dept intern...
I think Philip ditched that other pill in the bag that they threw in the bay/lake whatever.
I don’t think Elizabeth survives, but for some reason think Philip does.
Think somehow Henry doesn’t end well, since he’s been the good citizen the entire series.
Paige, ah, who cares.
vermontgolfer said:
I think Philip ditched that other pill in the bag that they threw in the bay/lake whatever.
I don’t think Elizabeth survives, but for some reason think Philip does.
Think somehow Henry doesn’t end well, since he’s been the good citizen the entire series.
Paige, ah, who cares.
Which other pill? The guy in the van didn’t take his? I assumed he did.
My theory is that Henry is another Jared.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echo_(The_Americans)
You heard it here first.
tom said:
My theory is that Henry is another Jared.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echo_(The_Americans)
You heard it here first.
Whoa, no, you heard it several pages ago. I predicted that Henry, Math Whiz, would join the family business. Although I predicted a couple of posts later that Paige was the Jared.
j_r said: Henry is going to do some kind of cyberhacking project from his boarding school because he's a math whiz, and will join the family business. I'm wondering what happens to Mischa. I'm convinced that soulless Paige will be better than her mother as a spy, and Philip, who from Season One has proved to be an adoptive American and completely unreliable, will align with Beeman. It's the only explanation for all of the line dancing.
Questions:
- What did Phillip say to Oleg in his coded message?
- What part will Oleg (& the Gorbachev wing) play in the end game?
- Is Phillip questioning his marriage to Elizabeth after the brutality of the botched mission?
- Will Stan track the VIN number of the car and really turn counter spy on the Jennings?
- What will happen to poor, smart, well-adjusted, clueless Henry? I must confess, I don't care all that much what happens to Paige.
- Did Elizabeth tell Phillip about the cyanide pill just to indicate the depth of her situation or because she needed to share that burden with him, even though she couldn't share the reason for it?
I hadn’t thought of that! It’s a possibility, but they don’t have much time to develop a new trajectory.
I can't imagine any scenario in which just one of them--Elizabeth or Phillip--survives but the other one doesn't. The death of one will result in the exposure of the other. The most likely outcome, I suspect, is that Elizabeth takes the pill, and Phillip follows suit (to avoid prison). I suppose there's a chance Phillip would defect, but after his involvement in the murder of two FBI agents, seems unlikely he'd get a deal. If they're smart, they'll board a plane back to the USSR now, but I don't see that happening.
I'm wondering if Stan will confront Phillip one on one before bringing down the wrath of the FBI on the couple...
Whatever the deal is, it needs to unravel quickly. It’s a shorter season. Will Paige be able to keep her internship at the State Dept once her parents are outed? I can’t imagine them just leaving their son hanging. What the heck will Henry do on his own?
ElizMcCord said:
Whatever the deal is, it needs to unravel quickly. It’s a shorter season. Will Paige be able to keep her internship at the State Dept once her parents are outed? I can’t imagine them just leaving their son hanging. What the heck will Henry do on his own?
They may not have any choice.
Henry will go live with Stan. He seems to spend most of his time there anyway.
The whole State Dept internship thing, followed by the intention to have a career there or at the CIA doesn't make sense. To get those kind of jobs, with security clearance, they do a thorough background check, including investigating your parents, where/how you grew up, checking out the rest of your family, finances, etc.
shoshannah said:
The whole State Dept internship thing, followed by the intention to have a career there or at the CIA doesn't make sense. To get those kind of jobs, with security clearance, they do a thorough background check, including investigating your parents, where/how you grew up, checking out the rest of your family, finances, etc.
Well, they've been in deep cover for many, many years, so I guess we're to assume their history is solid enough to pass a check. Of course, all bets are now off, given Stan's investigation.
What will happen to Paige is perhaps the most interesting question. To outsiders, she will be viewed as an innocent victim when her parents go down (as will Henry). What does she do then?
I have not read the last 24 posts because I don’t want to see spoilers.
I am in the middle of the fifth season, streaming a couple of episodes a day.
I am hooked, obviously, but am growing tired of their multiple disguises - are they sure which wig goes with which persona? I have zero empathy for this murderous couple.
Slicing veggies or doing laundry in between flights out of town to do mayhem is harder to believe. OK I know it’s fiction!
Our teenagers did their own laundry!
Vent over!
How about that about turn? Who knew Elizabeth’s cold, blackened & hardened heart could be moved? I was not prepared.
I love this show, but I continue to marvel at how easily they always manage to break in to wherever they need to get in to. Can’t tell me that the FBI was using that as a temporary safe house .