The Americans - Recap: Here, There and Everywhere
The Americans continued tonight with an episode that put the focus on children, family and the responsibilities of parents. As Paige and Henry Jennings continue to grow up, how safe is their parents’ secret?
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Stan:
After receiving a tip during Episode 2 from Nina, Stan took staking out a Laundromat for information on last week’s Rezidentura walk-in, Bruce Dameran, to the next level. What single man does four loads of laundry? A little background research on Dameran revealed him to be a Vietnam veteran who’d suffered through a shattered pelvis and subsequent time in rehab for the injury. As Agent Gaad (Richard Thomas) put it, soldiers who end up sucked into the world of post-war rehabilitation stay there “forever.” Meaning, it seemed like this was the type of a situation where a man had a decent life going for himself prior to time served overseas. Upon returning home to find he no longer fit into his own prior plans, he turned to the KGB for fulfillment.
Stan subsequently took a trip over to Dameran’s place of employment where he learned that he was a fairly average and somewhat new worker. In fact, he had little to no, “home,” so to speak, built at the office whatsoever. Everything about his lack of an impact in the office sent up small red flags, but the biggest one surrounded a looming event of epic proportions; a meeting of World Bank leaders at the Marquee Hotel, an event venue located directly across the street from the Laundromat that had previously been the site of Dameran’s numerous laundry loads during Stan’s stakeout. Stan managed to get to the bottom of the impending chaos quickly, weaseling his way onto the building’s rooftop where Dameran kneeled, ready to take out several important figures on the street below via sniper. Stan attempted to coax the man into complying, but it was simply too late. Bruce Dameran was now targeting the people he felt to be the true enemy, those men driven by capitalist greed and a lust for power. Stan, unfortunately, was forced to put him down.
News of Stan’s victory and talk of a possible medal of honor was shared with Nina later on. Episode 3 finally found the two in the conversation Nina had been hoping for since the beginning of Season 2.I love you, Nina.That was all she needed to hear. Her report was next shared with Arkady (Lev Gorn), who was very impressed with her recent work of redemption. Nina’s plot this season is interesting in that we don’t really know just how her loyalty is divided. Sometimes it seems like she’s completely betrayed Stan. Other times it seems like she splits her emotional investment between two different causes. One thing is for sure; Oleg Igorevich, the new man courting her from within the walls of the Rezidentura, is getting under her skin. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for Nina, we’ve yet to learn.
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Paige:
To be quite honest, I’m finding Paige’s plot during Season 2 to be the most interesting to follow. I like the idea of this teenage girl digging for answers, even if she has absolutely no clue what she’s searching for. It’s interesting to see her unknowingly doing Stan’s work for him in snooping out the KGB aka her parents.
During Episode 3, Paige covertly hopped on a bus to visit “Aunt Helen,” the woman Elisabeth supposedly spent time when, in reality, we know she was healing from a severe bullet wound. The bus ride into the boonies introduced Paige to a new friend who understood the pitfalls of pesky private parental relationships. Even more entertaining was her trip to “Aunt Helen’s.” Every single detail of these cover-ups has been planned out. A photo of Elisabeth with Paige as a baby hung on the wall as a “senile” older woman, “Aunt Helen,” feigned excitement at the sight of Paige, whom she claimed to incorrectly recognize as her own deceased daughter.. Later, the agent phoned Philip (Matthew Rhys) to let him know that his daughter, Paige, had begun to do her research. Every single piece of this was planned out.
Paige returned home to an epic scolding from Philip, who berated her with a speech about lies under his roof. Funny enough, Philip seemed more like a ruthless KGB agent here than he ever had in the field, at least as far as I can recall. Yes, it was somewhat frustrating to watch this man who leads a double life lecturing his daughter on deceit, but we know Philip is adamant about protecting his children. Paige ended her arc this week, however, by phoning her new friend and sneaking out for some fun. This was The Americans’ way of telling us that she’s nowhere near ready to call off the hunt.
FX "The Americans"
Elisabeth:
Elisabeth’s plot this week surrounded her own thoughts regarding children, family, etc. First, we witnessed her conversations with Leann, the KGB friend who was slaughtered by an unknown enemy during the Season 2 premiere. Just as Philip and Elisabeth are growing increasingly aware of the deadly nature of their work in the present, Leann and Emmitt had begun taking precautions in the past. Back in 1966, Leann and her husband penned a letter confessing the truth behind their identities to their children should anything ever happen to them in the field. Elisabeth, acting as a true friend, sincerely promised to carry out Leann's wish. About a year later, we also witnessed Elisabeth’s first attempt to conceive a child with Philip amidst the chaos of the work and the war.
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In the present, we also saw the tables turned on Elisabeth. The Jennings were sent on a mission this week that involved retrieving plans from a mill housing a CNC Cylindrical Grinder responsible for turning out a new kind of propeller blade. More importantly, Elisabeth had an encounter with an average worker there who truly happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This man quickly realized that he was not dealing with a simple equipment inspector, "Jackie," but rather, someone looking to steal government-related plans or information. He quickly began working in stories of his children, even going as far as to show Elisabeth aka “Jackie” photos in his wallet. It was interesting to watch this man, trembling with terror as he quietly attempted to convince her to spare his life. In the end, Elisabeth merely snatched a photo of his youngest son, Danny, from his wallet, leaving the man very much alive but with the true fear of God put in him. Just as she’s been so fixated on protecting her children, she used the same tactic to most likely silence this man into submission for good.
The most important part of Elisabeth’s plot during Episode 3 centered on her quest to deliver Leann’s expository letter to her living son. Jared had been spending his days post-tragedy with a neighboring family who were looking to help him begin to cope. Elisabeth, disguised as a worker sent from an organization also looking to help the traumatized boy adapt, made sure to milk the kind woman who’d taken the boy in for information, probably to learn more about Leann’s son and home life but also to make sure he’s safe. In the end, a heart-to-heart between Elisabeth and Jared revealed that Leann had never wanted him to take a swim during the hour his family was killed. Today, Jared is guilt-ridden over having not been there. It’s always great to see Philip and Elisabeth revealing honest glimpses of themselves from within the depths of disguise. It’s impossible to be completely emotionally detached on some occasions, and this was one of them. In the end, Elisabeth knew that she could never shatter the boys image of his perfect parents. Instead, she took the letter to an empty lot, lit up a cigarette, and burned it with a tear in her eye.
What did you think of The Americans Season 2 Episode 3, “The Walk In”? Will Paige get to the bottom of her parents’ secret? Are you excited for Claudia’s return? Are you legitimately worried about the safety of the Jennings kids? What do you think about Nina’s intentions?
Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of The Americans Season 2 Episode 3, “The Walk In”!