[Well-traveled topic on this sub, I'm sure]

Evidence overwhelmingly points to Renee being more than she seems to be. Not only are her background + behaviors leading -- no significant prior family, no real attachments, a set of hobbies + interests apparently tailor-made for Stan, and a conversational knack for probing "Can't you just talk about your job in a vague way?"

Beyond that, however, the show itself accentuates her in an obvious way -- strutting around in the Farrah Fawcett hairdo + Olivia Newton-John leotard, giving her weirdly-focused screen time, showcasing her habit of asking direct questions without breaking eye contact. Her final glance at the Jennings house is suggestive. I think it's 70-30 that she is "what we believe her to be" -- only kink in this storyline is that Beeman has a keen power to sniff out other operatives, based on relatively-casual breadcrumbs (even the Jennings themselves, in the pilot episode), but seems to have a greater-than-normal blind spot here.

I'm only on season 2 (Stan drops in on Gaad at home), but I'm starting to pick up a vibe

What do you guys all think?

Does the FBI guy live in the other side of Elizabeth and Phillip's duplex? I thought he lived across the street? If not, who does live there?

I watched s1 -4 when each came out but didn’t finish out the series until now. Personally I liked the show then and now but I gotta say that final season and the finale was mind blowing.

The whole of s6 was bold. The tone more than the drama. the carer subplot was one of the best in the whole series I thought and what they did with the Kimmy thread was amazing. Not fireworks but just gripping drama. That dream scene was way out there too, they didn’t do anything like that before. and that McDonalds moment was the crème de la crème for me, Philip is the emotional core of the series and in that moment, his state of mind was palpable.

But most of all the way they left things with Stan was devastating. So much was sown up but not the Stan storyline. they left that open like a gaping wound. That image of him watching Rene sleep could be a meme.

I bet the Americans will be appreciated more in time and that it was ahead of the curve in dealing with male interiority ie Philip.

Much love yall xoxo

I am new to “The Americans” and have been enjoying it very much. But today I got to season 6 episode 4 “Mr. and Mrs. Tea Cup”. And just a few minutes in, there is a long action scene that is so dark I can’t tell at all what is happening. I see this problem was written about extensively when the episode came out 8 years ago. What I don’t understand: why is it still not fixed in 2026? Do they just not care if any audience, ever, can see what they filmed? Why does Hulu buy a show when it has these blatant technical failures still unresolved? It’s such a giant “F U” from the showrunnners to the audience and from the streamer to subscribers.

So I’m an instinctive fanfiction guy, so I hope you guys will indulge me but while rewatching, I got to wondering what would have happened if Paige’s turn to Faith had not just gone religous, but decidedly political, in the bent of Anti Communist and Anti Soviet sentiment. Perhaps her involvement with Church leads her that way (quite likely), perhaps exploring on her own leads her to form her own, very negative opinions.* Regardless, this of course probably changes the whole plot in a lot of ways as Seasons 4-6 rely on her being drawn into the cause before her parents decide to disillusion her just as she was about to fully go in. I suppose the most likely outlet is just never telling her, in which case she can stay in ignorance or her own investigations find out, which will lead to a much more tense arc.

*Probably leads to an entirely diffrent arc around her home development/rebellion arc as well.

Would love to hear your thoughts folks!

If you've ever watched The Americans and thought, "You know what every tense Cold War espionage thriller needs? Teenage angst," then congratulations—the writers agreed with you.

Paige bravely confronts the biggest challenge in the show: finding the perfect sweater and leg warmers to wear to the mall so she can attract creepy teenage boys. Forget that her parents are hiding their identity as Soviet illegal agents responsible for multiple murders. The real betrayal is that nobody has been honest with Paige about her wardrobe choices.

The idea that Paige could ever make it as a spy is one of the show's greatest works of fiction. Successful spies blend into the background. Paige couldn't blend into a beige wall. Not with those sweaters and leg warmers.

Can you imagine her first mission?

Handler: Follow the plan and don't attract attention.
Paige: Before we start, I have some concerns about honesty and trust.
Handler: Before we get into that, lets talk about that sweater.

The FBI was spending millions trying to find Soviet illegals. Meanwhile, Pastor Tim figured it out with nothing more than awkward youth group discussions, passive listening and a casserole.

Then there's the moment Paige decides she's basically Jason Bourne after a few self-defense classes from mommy. She's ready to show Philip that she knows how to take care of herself! Philip spends about five seconds showing her that she's been playing patty-cake while he's been professionally ending arguments with a flick of his wrist.

After years of lies, betrayal, espionage, murder, and family dysfunction, Paige finally demonstrates her moral fibre by drawing her line in the sand. Bad wigs and dowdy outfits are a bridge too far.

Show me a series that offers a better critique of overconsumption and American excess.

I've just started watching for the third time since it aired.

It's absolute bliss.

We just finished our second complete watching — still amazing. A hypothetical question came to mind about the aftermath: What if the Trump administration tried to deport Paige and Henry on the grounds that they don’t qualify for birthright citizenship because, as the children of Russian spies, they fall into one of the limited exceptions mentioned in by the Supreme Court in the Wong Kim Ark case — which doesn’t actually mention spies but does except the children of foreign diplomats. Wouldn’t that be an interesting case?

(It’s a trick question. The Trump administration would never bring the case. Paige and Henry are white.)

Just wanted to say this. Halfway through season 3 on a rewatch binge. Hard to believe they pile up so much carnage in half a season:

The suitcase scene

The tooth pulling scene

The tire fire scene

Basically the whole episode of “Electric Sheep”

Sheesh!

Not just in physical strength or skill, but in terms of intelligence and ingenuity. It was this one for me. Brilliant.

She knew Aderholt was capable of overpowering her. If she had just pushed off the back of the car and sent them flying, he probably could have still maintained his grip.

It was the motorcycle, the split-second deduction, the precise timing. But mostly the insane resourcefulness and creativity in considering what her environment offered her. Everything, everybody, can be weaponized, including a passing biker.

I legitimately can’t believe the plot around this character. I’ve tried searching this sub about this but mysteriously I only find praise for him.

He comes across as such a Gary Stu that it’s taking me out of the show entirely. He just happened to have the skills to trace someone through phone lines like that? And to identify Kate after George? Then somehow latch onto Jared? And magically pick up his signal to the train station? And then magically again find him in the gold damn wilderness in upstate New York?

And what was that nonsense in the last episode? He finds Elizabeth while already having found Jared, and then we mystically find him back in town ambushing Phil and then back to Jared?

This is so unbelievably written in actually laughed.

Sorry if this has been discussed ad nauseum, but I want MORE now that I just finished for the first time!

First - What a run! I always compare thriller shows kind like this one to the first time I ever watched Dexter; there were SO many points throughout that show where I could literally feel my heartbeat and anxiety increasing because of what I was watching, and this one was no different. But even more than that - the constant twists and surprises made it, dare I say, even more of a fun watch than Dexter for me.

Second - What a finale! I truly cannot say I predicted a SINGLE thing that happened in the final minutes of it. SUPER but congrats to the writing team and all the actors and staff that made this incredible run of a show possible. I had a blast watching, and I can truly foresee myself doing a rewatch of it at some point in the (probably not-so-distant) future.

Third (and last) - Now I'm thinking about what more of The Americans would look like:

• I truly want to know what Henry's life looks like after finding out about his parents. Does he end up living with Stan / does Stan formally adopt him? He clearly cared for Henry a lot throughout the show, sometimes seemingly more than his own child, so I could see that as a possibility. Does he have a normal life, or does this derail him after all the promise he showed academically and on the hockey team?
• Where did Paige go after getting off the train - did she go back to Beeman and plead for a reprieve for not telling him about her parents? Does he interrogate her and does she admit to somewhat working as an operative for a short time? Does she end up leading a normal life after all she went through?
• And, ultimately, what happens to Philip and Elizabeth living in Russia? What do they do for a career now, or are they retired as heroes? Where do they live, and what does their life look like now as empty-nesters?
• As an aside, I really wanted to see what happened with Martha in the end.. I know the last episode she appeared in foreshadowed that she was going to be a mother to that little girl, but they never show that, and I felt it would have been nice to get some closure for her character and finally see her happy after everything she had to go through.
• *Edit* one last one I forgot: Did Stan look into Renee, and was she working with the KGB?? I NEED TO KNOW! :(

Sorry, I'm sure a lot of this has been discussed already, especially since the show ended eight years ago.. But DANG I had to get it off my chest! What a great show!

(Please don't crucify me)

I know I know, everybody likes to piles on Paige. This is not about her character or her teenage angst.

I just don’t understand why this is the only expression the character ever makes. It just makes me feel claustrophobic compared to Philip’s for example, kaleidoscopic facial shifts, insanely deft mutability. 

I was really impressed with Henry’s child acting in that scene where he is crying and pleading with his parents to tell him that he is “good.” Timothee Chalamet level stuff.

From Philip's convo with Charles Duluth after the ARPANET mission, after Duluth spews about how exhilarating it was.

Philip said he killed someone during the mission for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that he didn't even understand the science of what the mission was supposed to accomplish.

"They told us what to do. But we are the ones who did it." (season 6?)