And Now, A Belated Review Of The Americans

Nearly 2 months ago, I revealed that I was horribly late to agreeing with the cultural consensus that The Americans was the latest iteration of The Wire, or Breaking Bad, in that the show evokes a unilateral belief among critics that, popularity be damned, it's the best program on television. Fittingly, I now present a review of the final season a mere 2 months after the show ended; more fittingly, it's a review that's belated personally, as I actually completed my viewing 4 weeks ago today.

Anyhow: I will be responding to the questions I asked in my preview of the season, in lieu of doing a full-on thinkpiece, of which there are so many quality examples already. But I do want to declare, before breaking down the elements of the season, how phenomenal the finalé episode was. Every facet of the storyline was wrapped up in a heartwrenching, devastating bow.

Be prepared, because henceforth comes the MASSIVE, SHOW-RUINING SPOILERS:

The finalé-- well, really all of Season 6 was masterful, and solidified the show as head and neck above its peers in this golden era of television. Its send-off episode, though, was The Americans at its best. Every moment drips with tension, but the entire program came to a head thanks to two pivotal scenes: the gutwrenching train scene, and the pivotal parking garage scene, both of which will be addressed later in this piece. But I don't know that I've ever had my heart pound as much as I did during both those instances. I also don't know the last time an episode of a TV show (or a film, for that matter) affected me so much; I sat and stared blankly at work the next day, and pored over countless reviews of the episode.

So, to the questions my younger, more innocent self posed an eternity of 2 months ago:

Is Paige joining The Force?

In short: it’s complicated. But ultimately, no. The 6th season starts 3 years in the future from where the 5th season ends, and Paige is now full-blown in training, meeting regularly with Elizabeth and Claudia to learn more about Russian culture. That she would join the KGB is almost a given for much of the season, especially when she starts to join Elizabeth on missions. Then, in the penultimate scene of the series, she ditches that fate in stunning fashion, hopping off the getaway train to Russia, to the dismay of her parents. We do see her start to deliberate some moral quandaries as the season moves to a close, but still, nothing prepares us for the moment we see Paige is NOT joining the KGB. Rather, we’re resigned to the same conclusion Paige is when we see her quietly accept her fate early in the episode, that she has no choice but to live in Russia.

Does Henry learn?

Does he ever. The “scene” wherein Henry learns of his family’s fate, and his parents’ true identities, lasts about 15 seconds, but is one of the more devastating moments in a truly sucker-punching finalé. Phillip and Elizabeth have come to the awful realization that they cannot afford to bring Henry back home with them, and need to leave him behind, in the hopes that Stan Beeman or someone else will provide a home for him. So, the passing shot we see of Stan sitting with a teary Henry after his hockey match is the only glance we get of the Jennings’ 2nd child learning the truth, but we can feel the sadness and disbelief just from the looks on the faces.

Is Stan's girlfriend 'one of them'?

Oh, silly Daniel. You thought you would learn the answer to this one?

The Renee question persists as the one loose end The Americans did not tidy up in the season finalé. For anyone thinking we would get some sort of visual confirmation before the show was up that Stan’s then-girlfriend, now-wife was in fact a secret agent, all you were given was one parting shot of her looking at the FBI raid on the Jennings’ home with…incredulity? Satisfaction? Pain? So subtle is Laurie Holden’s acting that “the look” alone has reignited one of the favorite American debates. Depending on what you thought of her storyline going into the finalé, you likely could construe Renee’s last appearance however you want. Regardless, the varying theories on her true nature remain some of the most fascinating conversations among fans of the show. The actress herself stated that she knows Renee’s identity, but will never share, and furthermore, “When the audience goes back and re-watches these episodes, they will be able to find clues which will better inform them as to who she really was.” With that in mind, I direct you to my comment on this topic from last time:

“I genuinely don't know how this one will end up, but the most humorous and intriguing argument I heard for Renee being a spy was that, in a seemingly throwaway scene wherein she tells Stan about a college road trip gone awry, she refers to Indiana University as "U of I." As this online commenter pointed out, it is very well-known (and trust me, MY girlfriend has hammered this home) that Indiana is "IU." Of course it's more likely just a misnomer by one of the screenwriters, but do the writers of The Americans make mistakes? Real question.”

Meanwhile, in Russia...

Turns out there was a combining of worlds in the works! The Russian storyline was effective in showing the motivations of the ‘other side’ in the Cold War, and the domestic KGB processes were perhaps even more fascinating to watch than were their missions in America. But nothing about the Russian characters was more pertinent to the viewer than the moment in the first episode of Season 6 wherein Arkady Ivanovich convinces Oleg Burov to return to the States. That decision set off the chain of events (Oleg working with Phillip, drawing the attention of Stan, directing the FBI to Father Anton) that ultimately led to the Jennings fleeing the United States.

Does Stan find out?

Stan finds out. And though it may not be the cathartic, shock-gasp reveal we probably all were secretly hoping for, Stan’s discovery is arguably even more effective, and certainly more realistic. The FBI agent isn’t blinded by the fact that his neighbors and friends are KGB in disguise, he begins to suspect it on his own. And of course it would be a slow burn. Did we really expect one of the agency’s best detectives to not ever question why Philip and Elizabeth were working crazy hours as travel agents, and somehow making enough money for a sizable house in a nice area and spontaneous trips all over the place? With a few episodes remaining, Stan Beeman starts to get the crazy feeling that just maybe, the people the FBI are looking for live right next to him. It all builds towards the aforementioned parking garage scene, where Stan’s worst fears are confirmed. Watch his face when Phillip is the first to fess up:

He might have ‘known,’ but he didn’t want to believe. Better and more devastating than a Shocked Stan reaction could have ever been, Noah Emmerich’s depiction of his character’s heart slowly breaking over the course of the mammoth scene deserves all of the Emmy’s. It makes his decision to let the Jennings leave feel like a realistic, deflating concession and not a pothole designed to give some semblance of a happy ending.

It may not be how I would have written it, but that’s why I’m writing for a blog and not for one of the most air-tight television screenplays of all time.