"Should we tell Paige about this?"
Well, I'll say that The Americans achieved just about the most natural exposition-delivering device I've ever seen on television. In an obvious development between the relationship of Paige and her parents, Phillip and Elizabeth tell Paige an update on their latest mission. Not only is it an important plot point, but boy did I need that update. Sometimes these plots can be too dense for me to follow and having a literal newbie to this thing get it explained to her was helpful. Granted, this is certainly not the first show or movie to have characters deliver exposition to a "new" character, but I don't think I've ever seen it done where it was, you know, a plot development and the natural next point in a relationship.
Paige can only handle so much though, at least right now. I have absolutely no idea what the endgame plan is for Paige - she turns to Russia, she rejects her parents, she dies? - I feel like literally anything could happen at this point. Her parents tell her this to distract her from Matthew with the theory being that she'll be so concerned with their mission, Matthew will seem unimportant. Which is true and is what happened, but damn: Paige is going to be even more stressed out than before. (Hypothetically, imagining what her parents are doing could stress her out more though than getting told what they are doing, even if they aren't strictly telling her the whole truth.)
They tell her for obvious reasons. The potential problem, as Elizabeth and Phillip understand it, is literally life or death for Russians. They don't need to pretend at all here. They are genuinely trying to prevent a disaster from happening. It's also the next logical step in gaining Paige's trust. Share specific details about a mission after trying the whole "be as vague as possible" strategy.
Paige seems to be trusting her parents more too. She employs the thumb trick when evading Matthew's question about what's wrong with her (with a helpful update on the progress of Stan and Laurie Holden's relationship - still going strong, Stan's crazy about her). She finds it remarkably easy to lie, even though she feels gross doing it. Like I said, this could go in about a million different directions and I'm honestly not sure in which direction that will land.
Phillip and Elizabeth get a lead from Gabriel to go to Oklahoma to further investigate the bugs. I'm not entirely sure they made much progress. The bug is a type of midge that destroys grain, but they found that out from Gabriel. Randy, that poor, poor guy, said that it was a weed killer and that they shipped 400 eggs to a location we are not currently privy to. But honestly, it's possible it's just a weed killer. Then again, it was curious at how top secret the whole thing seemed to be, which would certainly indicate there's something to their worries.
We also find out more information about Alexei, the apparently main source of this season. He unexpectedly left the country without telling his son or wife. So he's probably a traitor to the USSR. That's not a surprise in the slightest but it does help explain why neither his son or wife are happy with their move. Once again, he talks shit on Russia again and Elizabeth manages to not immediately strangle him on the spot.
Unless I missed it before, we find more details about Tuan too. He's from Vietnam so he is definitely very angry with the US for damaging his country. He seems weirdly convinced that the US is definitely going to destroy the USSR, which I found odd. You'd think he would think the US would lose given whose side he is on. He has an extreme hatred of Alexei. Honestly, I think it's about time to place bets on who kills Alexei between him and Elizabeth. I'll take Elizabeth.
In Russia, Oleg is trying to avoid being a traitor in his country and it's unclear if he'll succumb, but for now he knows the Americans have something on him. He missed his meeting with a secret agent, but they found him and placed a tape of him in his pocket that would probably not go over too well with his superiors. At least it seemed like he was good at his job, sweet talking the grocery store manager into giving up her source for the good groceries. She definitely seems like she's going to rat that person out. Stay tuned for the extremely slow burn on: food corruption in Russia.
Lastly, Stan and Aderholt try with little success to talk to a man involved with the Amtorg Trading Corporation. Wikipedia is not very clear on what the organization does, but it seems as if it was mostly dead during this part of the Cold War and became extinct when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1988. So I have no idea how this is relevant. Again, slow burn of The Americans happening here.
Notes
- We got a very quick flashback to Phillip's childhood. Matthew Rhys did that thing where he just stares at a mirror and with his eyes alone you can tell what he's feeling. Honestly it was a quick enough flashback that I'm not entirely sure what that scene was about except to point out how poor he was when growing up. I expected flashbacks to be a recurring thing throughout the episode, but nope. Just that two minute flashback.
- MARTHA IS ALIVE. That is literally all we get. She's shopping at the same place Oleg is.
- More slow incremental progress on Mischa coming to America - He needs to go from Yugoslavia to Austria and his mom's source has gone to prison, so he's dealing with an unknown here. This guy seems perfectly willing to screw over Mischa.
- "You think it would be fair to put that burden on him?" Man Elizabeth is good. It's not that it would be wrong to tell him the truth, but THINK about how Matthew would feel? As if Elizabeth gives even a single shit about Matthew. I also thought Elizabeth gave some pretty bad advice to Paige about relationships, but I suppose it's not terrible advice in the spy business.
- Phillip somewhat agreed with Alexei about why Russia has such problems growing their own grain and Elizabeth responded with tenderness instead of lashing out. Those two are in a good place right now.
- Ok I can't be the only one who laughed at that final line right?
Playlist
"Old Flame" - Alabama - 1981 country song that accompanied some good ole fashioned banging
"More Than This" - Roxy Music - 1982 pop song that accompanied some good ole fashioned murdering
Showing posts with label Matthew Rhys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matthew Rhys. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
The Americans "Pests"
"They used to have a Lincoln. Now they have a Reagan"
Due to the nature of the Cold War, both the Russians and Americans are developing technology and toxins that would destroy the other side in unconventional ways. Usually in a war, it's relatively simple: shoot the other guy. Sure, it's more complicated than that and you still have to be creative in order to win, but you can be direct. Here both sides had to get extremely creative in ways to destroy the enemy.
In 1984 - at least in this particular show, which is usually based off facts - it's now a war on food. According to intel by the Russians delivered via Gabriel, the Americans are trying to infect food with a deadly pathogen. Phillip and Elizabeth are both aghast at this revelation, because it was understood that there were unspoken rules in this cold war. But if one side is willing to contaminate food - and let's face it the Russians are 100 percent also willing to do the same - then it leads nowhere good.
I confess: I really love Alexei Morozov. I am as certain as one can be that he is going to die, probably at the hands of a seething Elizabeth, but for now, I'm glad he's alive. He's got an infectious enthusiasm for all the options he has for food. He probably loves America as much as the most patriotic Americans. Anyway, this scene was kind of a rehash of last week's scene: he praises the food options, talks shit on Russia. We do find out his son, Pasha, really misses living in Russia. It's teenager talk, but he'd rather die there than live in America.
We also get a bit more backstory on Tuan, whose entirely family was murdered. It usually takes me two or three times to understand everything going on, but basically I don't actually know where Tuan is from and whether his country was bombed by Russia or America. Sorry. He had an earlier scene where he explained "he's one of them" because "have you seen what communists did to my country?" which implies that it was Russians, but I don't really know why he'd be spying for them if that were the case. Either way, there's his motivation. He also calls Pasha weak and that he can get him to do anything he wants. He's definitely a good addition to the cast.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth checks out a farm and sees... something. She doesn't know either. She breaks into a greenhouse and discovers crops as far as the eye can see. She's browsing through and eventually finds herself by a collection of crops with bugs everywhere. Literally everywhere. I got itchy just watching that scene. This seems to be proof enough that the Americans are tampering with the food. Whatever rules the Cold War had before, the goalposts have moved.
The Americans are breaking the unstated rules in other ways too. Stan and Oleg had a good rapport, understanding, and due to that, both were able to avoid a disaster. Oleg has moved to his home country, investigating fraud among the very rich - no real news on that yet - but the FBI has taken this as a sign that they need to turn him as an agent. This suddenly and dramatically lowered Oleg's odds of living past this decade. Stan is pissed at this, and understandably so. Oleg essentially just saved the fucking world and in return, he's going to get fucked. They are going to use his humanity against him.
In other Stan news, the pathetic grade school pining last episode has morphed into a full blown relationship with at least one great date. Due to the fact that the show talks about Stan's love life a ridiculous amount in these two episodes - like seriously who gives a fuck - and that she's played by Laurie Holden and, let's face it, she's out of his league - something tells me she's way more important than simple love interest would suggest.
The most obvious route to go is that she's an agent too, which would make sense. It'd be weird if they didn't tell the Jennings this though. But honestly, his dick already got him into hot water with Nina so that appears to be the way to make Stan vulnerable. Then again, remember how that ended. He ultimately chose his country. The show reminds us here that Stan is a good agent too. He notices that Paige is not happy. He loves the relationship between Paige and Matthew, but he picks up on her general "off-ness."
You know who does not love the relationship between those two? Phillip and Elizabeth. They are fucking terrified of it in fact. They have reason to worry. Paige and Matthew have progressed to boob-touching. I don't know if it's because the show has put me so effectively into Phillip and Elizabeth's shoes or what, but I do not feel comfortable watching those scenes. The making out is painfully realistic - natural, but very awkward looking for two teenagers - and that goes a long way towards making me want to move the fuck on to the next scene.
All things considered, they are taking it pretty well. The self-defense classes continue and they are going to start teaching her ways to not accidentally tell him things. The rubbing of the thumb and index finger seems particularly helpful if you want to calm down. Funny how that works. I might actually do that the next time I'm stressed. They apparently don't care if she has sex, which I find weird, but makes sense because of how they use sex for their job. In all, I do think this was a lesser episode of The Americans - but that's still pretty good for most shows.
Notes
- I've never actually taken self-defense classes and the creators attention to detail is good enough that I trust this is actually a technique, but the casually swinging your arms and hitting that target does not seem useful to me.
- Also, I think in TV (and movies of course), sound effects are added after production - what you hear is not necessarily what you would actually hear if you watched the scene being filmed in the background - and the strength with which she was swinging her arms was considerably weaker than the noise that was supposedly coming from her hitting the target. I don't know if I was the only one noticing that.
- IMDB informs me that Holden is in six episodes of this show. She's probably a more important character than Stan's last girlfriend (who was also considerably out of his league. Sorry Noah Emmerich)
- Interesting that this episode was written by the creators themselves. Usually more important things happen when creators write an episode. Oh well. It was directed by Chris Long, his second straight episode of the season.
- I suspect the people who found the digging scene boring will not like this episode either. Just a guess.
Due to the nature of the Cold War, both the Russians and Americans are developing technology and toxins that would destroy the other side in unconventional ways. Usually in a war, it's relatively simple: shoot the other guy. Sure, it's more complicated than that and you still have to be creative in order to win, but you can be direct. Here both sides had to get extremely creative in ways to destroy the enemy.
In 1984 - at least in this particular show, which is usually based off facts - it's now a war on food. According to intel by the Russians delivered via Gabriel, the Americans are trying to infect food with a deadly pathogen. Phillip and Elizabeth are both aghast at this revelation, because it was understood that there were unspoken rules in this cold war. But if one side is willing to contaminate food - and let's face it the Russians are 100 percent also willing to do the same - then it leads nowhere good.
I confess: I really love Alexei Morozov. I am as certain as one can be that he is going to die, probably at the hands of a seething Elizabeth, but for now, I'm glad he's alive. He's got an infectious enthusiasm for all the options he has for food. He probably loves America as much as the most patriotic Americans. Anyway, this scene was kind of a rehash of last week's scene: he praises the food options, talks shit on Russia. We do find out his son, Pasha, really misses living in Russia. It's teenager talk, but he'd rather die there than live in America.
We also get a bit more backstory on Tuan, whose entirely family was murdered. It usually takes me two or three times to understand everything going on, but basically I don't actually know where Tuan is from and whether his country was bombed by Russia or America. Sorry. He had an earlier scene where he explained "he's one of them" because "have you seen what communists did to my country?" which implies that it was Russians, but I don't really know why he'd be spying for them if that were the case. Either way, there's his motivation. He also calls Pasha weak and that he can get him to do anything he wants. He's definitely a good addition to the cast.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth checks out a farm and sees... something. She doesn't know either. She breaks into a greenhouse and discovers crops as far as the eye can see. She's browsing through and eventually finds herself by a collection of crops with bugs everywhere. Literally everywhere. I got itchy just watching that scene. This seems to be proof enough that the Americans are tampering with the food. Whatever rules the Cold War had before, the goalposts have moved.
The Americans are breaking the unstated rules in other ways too. Stan and Oleg had a good rapport, understanding, and due to that, both were able to avoid a disaster. Oleg has moved to his home country, investigating fraud among the very rich - no real news on that yet - but the FBI has taken this as a sign that they need to turn him as an agent. This suddenly and dramatically lowered Oleg's odds of living past this decade. Stan is pissed at this, and understandably so. Oleg essentially just saved the fucking world and in return, he's going to get fucked. They are going to use his humanity against him.
In other Stan news, the pathetic grade school pining last episode has morphed into a full blown relationship with at least one great date. Due to the fact that the show talks about Stan's love life a ridiculous amount in these two episodes - like seriously who gives a fuck - and that she's played by Laurie Holden and, let's face it, she's out of his league - something tells me she's way more important than simple love interest would suggest.
The most obvious route to go is that she's an agent too, which would make sense. It'd be weird if they didn't tell the Jennings this though. But honestly, his dick already got him into hot water with Nina so that appears to be the way to make Stan vulnerable. Then again, remember how that ended. He ultimately chose his country. The show reminds us here that Stan is a good agent too. He notices that Paige is not happy. He loves the relationship between Paige and Matthew, but he picks up on her general "off-ness."
You know who does not love the relationship between those two? Phillip and Elizabeth. They are fucking terrified of it in fact. They have reason to worry. Paige and Matthew have progressed to boob-touching. I don't know if it's because the show has put me so effectively into Phillip and Elizabeth's shoes or what, but I do not feel comfortable watching those scenes. The making out is painfully realistic - natural, but very awkward looking for two teenagers - and that goes a long way towards making me want to move the fuck on to the next scene.
All things considered, they are taking it pretty well. The self-defense classes continue and they are going to start teaching her ways to not accidentally tell him things. The rubbing of the thumb and index finger seems particularly helpful if you want to calm down. Funny how that works. I might actually do that the next time I'm stressed. They apparently don't care if she has sex, which I find weird, but makes sense because of how they use sex for their job. In all, I do think this was a lesser episode of The Americans - but that's still pretty good for most shows.
Notes
- I've never actually taken self-defense classes and the creators attention to detail is good enough that I trust this is actually a technique, but the casually swinging your arms and hitting that target does not seem useful to me.
- Also, I think in TV (and movies of course), sound effects are added after production - what you hear is not necessarily what you would actually hear if you watched the scene being filmed in the background - and the strength with which she was swinging her arms was considerably weaker than the noise that was supposedly coming from her hitting the target. I don't know if I was the only one noticing that.
- IMDB informs me that Holden is in six episodes of this show. She's probably a more important character than Stan's last girlfriend (who was also considerably out of his league. Sorry Noah Emmerich)
- Interesting that this episode was written by the creators themselves. Usually more important things happen when creators write an episode. Oh well. It was directed by Chris Long, his second straight episode of the season.
- I suspect the people who found the digging scene boring will not like this episode either. Just a guess.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
The Americans: "Amber Waves"
"Nothing scares those two." - Gabriel
"Everything scares those two." - Claudia
Welcome to the fifth season of The Americans, the greatest show currently on television. The show wastes no time in the premiere episode of the penultimate season. Here's a show completely unafraid to throw you into the proceedings with no context and little indication of what exactly this has to do with the show we love. It trusts the viewers to put the pieces together. That could lead to a slightly frustrating experience when first watching it, but believe me when you rewatch the show, you'll be grateful they didn't hold your hand. Also I'm bringing back my episodic reviews of The Americans. Obviously.
The fifth season starts with an unknown, later revealed to be Tuan Eckert. He befriends a lonely Russian transfer student, who can barely speak English. He clearly does not want to be there as being a Russian who can barely speak English in the middle of the Cold War is high on the list of undesirable places. Pasha plays son to Elizabeth and Phillip in this episode. For maximum confusion, he comes home to them and calls them mom and dad and to make matters weirder, both are wearing disguises. Actually, it would have been weirder if they weren't.
It seems clear that they are targeting the Russian transfer student because of his father. He hates the ever living shit out of Russia. I actually thought Elizabeth would strangle him on the spot. He also touts the beauty of being able to get food wherever you want in America. This dude is not long for this world. Anyway, he has something to do with agriculture. Russia's farming in the post-credits scene does... not look good. It looks like food within the Soviet Union would be an important plot point throughout this season. The Jennings cultivating (sorry) a source that is connected with agriculture and Oleg investigating food corruption.
Speaking of Oleg, this episode is just an introduction to his new digs. He decided to come home to comfort his mother, who has still not gotten over the death of her son. He is living in Moscow, specifically Lubyanka, which is the headquarters of KGB. His new boss seems nice. His boss (whose name I did not get) will be primarily investigating popular people who use bribery, extortion and such to take control of food. He believes it is the "chief threat against the Soviet Union." So we'll guess we'll be getting an inside look at the self-destruction of the Soviet Union for the rest of the series that's mostly just been hinted at so far.
Paige does not appear to have improved her relationship with her parents whatsoever since she saw her mother kill a mugger in front of her. She's having nightmares. Elizabeth's solution is to teach her basic self-defense. I'm not actually sure this will help her with her nightmares, but it's a good idea nonetheless given that they are spies. Neither parent wants her to be with Matthew, but that does not appear to deter her much.
Speaking of which, there's a really weird dynamic going on between the Beeman family and the Jennings family. Apparently, both Henry and Paige started eating with Stan on a semi-regular basis for dinner. Stan also just comes over with beer later in the night to discuss how great it is that Matthew has Paige. Stan is happy, because Matthew is happy and because he has a crush on a girl at the gym. Stan has never seemed like a high school boy more than there with his "I met someone" actually meaning "I handed her a cup of water."
Lastly, Gabriel gives them a job and the show sure takes its time with this job. It's a simple job, but it takes forever and is highly dangerous. I guess no job is truly simple if it's really dangerous. They figure out the location of William's body (from Gabriel) and dig it up. It is dug really fucking far into the ground. The show expresses this point by taking about 8 minutes for the digging scene alone, though I did not count. They eventually get to him and CUT OFF A PIECE OF HIS SKIN. Jesus. Poor William. He didn't want to give this disease to the Soviet Union because he knows what it can do, which is probably part of why he was willing to kill himself and yet it gets out anyway.
All is going well until, Hans falls into the hole and cuts his hand on William. Hans was a minor character with no character development, but the actor portrayed with a naive innocence that made him sympathetic. So I was sorry to see him go. He somewhat stupidly was delighted at how it didn't hurt and didn't realize that he was going to need to die. Like I said, the actor did a good job giving him a naive innocence that was obviously an intentional part of his character. He sure went out like an idiot though.
Notes
- Mischa is on the way to America. For an idea of how good The Americans are at this, there's a tense scene where he needs to get past airport security. Despite the fact that he's obviously getting past it, I still felt tense. Not to mention, as a person rooting for the Jennings to somehow get out of this and live happily ever after stop laughing at me, it's probably better if the son doesn't reach Phillip.
- Claudia and Gabriel are aware that Mischa is missing and think he might be visiting Philip. They do not tell Philip this. I'm sure this will go splendidly for all.
- There's a great shot when Oleg is with his mother. The camera zooms in on a picture of his brother, but in the background is a mirror with Oleg and his mother talking right above it. It's a good way of expressing that neither of them have put his death behind them.
- The AV Club review of this mentions that the, well, mention of the Sarajevo Winter Olympics places this episode around February 1984.
- Any bets on how quickly the Russian father dies? The Americans tends to zig when I expect it to zag, but I'd still find it hard to believe he makes it out of the season.
- I was promised more Henry. I do not actually care if Henry is confined to one scene for the rest of the series. But I was promised.
- "What's the right time?" - Elizabeth ponders to Phillip about when to go back to Russia. Yeah you guys are never stepping foot in that country again - I'm guessing.
- Paige is reading The New Hotel Hampshire by John Irving (1981), which appears to be a coming-of-age novel. I haven't read this book, but sometimes shows like to make points about the show with quick shots of books or TV series reflecting the characters' reality.
- RIP Hans
Soundtrack
- "That's Good" - Devo
- There also appeared to be a Russian sung version of "America the Beautiful"
"Everything scares those two." - Claudia
The fifth season starts with an unknown, later revealed to be Tuan Eckert. He befriends a lonely Russian transfer student, who can barely speak English. He clearly does not want to be there as being a Russian who can barely speak English in the middle of the Cold War is high on the list of undesirable places. Pasha plays son to Elizabeth and Phillip in this episode. For maximum confusion, he comes home to them and calls them mom and dad and to make matters weirder, both are wearing disguises. Actually, it would have been weirder if they weren't.
It seems clear that they are targeting the Russian transfer student because of his father. He hates the ever living shit out of Russia. I actually thought Elizabeth would strangle him on the spot. He also touts the beauty of being able to get food wherever you want in America. This dude is not long for this world. Anyway, he has something to do with agriculture. Russia's farming in the post-credits scene does... not look good. It looks like food within the Soviet Union would be an important plot point throughout this season. The Jennings cultivating (sorry) a source that is connected with agriculture and Oleg investigating food corruption.
Speaking of Oleg, this episode is just an introduction to his new digs. He decided to come home to comfort his mother, who has still not gotten over the death of her son. He is living in Moscow, specifically Lubyanka, which is the headquarters of KGB. His new boss seems nice. His boss (whose name I did not get) will be primarily investigating popular people who use bribery, extortion and such to take control of food. He believes it is the "chief threat against the Soviet Union." So we'll guess we'll be getting an inside look at the self-destruction of the Soviet Union for the rest of the series that's mostly just been hinted at so far.
Paige does not appear to have improved her relationship with her parents whatsoever since she saw her mother kill a mugger in front of her. She's having nightmares. Elizabeth's solution is to teach her basic self-defense. I'm not actually sure this will help her with her nightmares, but it's a good idea nonetheless given that they are spies. Neither parent wants her to be with Matthew, but that does not appear to deter her much.
Speaking of which, there's a really weird dynamic going on between the Beeman family and the Jennings family. Apparently, both Henry and Paige started eating with Stan on a semi-regular basis for dinner. Stan also just comes over with beer later in the night to discuss how great it is that Matthew has Paige. Stan is happy, because Matthew is happy and because he has a crush on a girl at the gym. Stan has never seemed like a high school boy more than there with his "I met someone" actually meaning "I handed her a cup of water."
Lastly, Gabriel gives them a job and the show sure takes its time with this job. It's a simple job, but it takes forever and is highly dangerous. I guess no job is truly simple if it's really dangerous. They figure out the location of William's body (from Gabriel) and dig it up. It is dug really fucking far into the ground. The show expresses this point by taking about 8 minutes for the digging scene alone, though I did not count. They eventually get to him and CUT OFF A PIECE OF HIS SKIN. Jesus. Poor William. He didn't want to give this disease to the Soviet Union because he knows what it can do, which is probably part of why he was willing to kill himself and yet it gets out anyway.
All is going well until, Hans falls into the hole and cuts his hand on William. Hans was a minor character with no character development, but the actor portrayed with a naive innocence that made him sympathetic. So I was sorry to see him go. He somewhat stupidly was delighted at how it didn't hurt and didn't realize that he was going to need to die. Like I said, the actor did a good job giving him a naive innocence that was obviously an intentional part of his character. He sure went out like an idiot though.
Notes
- Mischa is on the way to America. For an idea of how good The Americans are at this, there's a tense scene where he needs to get past airport security. Despite the fact that he's obviously getting past it, I still felt tense. Not to mention, as a person rooting for the Jennings to somehow get out of this and live happily ever after stop laughing at me, it's probably better if the son doesn't reach Phillip.
- Claudia and Gabriel are aware that Mischa is missing and think he might be visiting Philip. They do not tell Philip this. I'm sure this will go splendidly for all.
- There's a great shot when Oleg is with his mother. The camera zooms in on a picture of his brother, but in the background is a mirror with Oleg and his mother talking right above it. It's a good way of expressing that neither of them have put his death behind them.
- The AV Club review of this mentions that the, well, mention of the Sarajevo Winter Olympics places this episode around February 1984.
- Any bets on how quickly the Russian father dies? The Americans tends to zig when I expect it to zag, but I'd still find it hard to believe he makes it out of the season.
- I was promised more Henry. I do not actually care if Henry is confined to one scene for the rest of the series. But I was promised.
- "What's the right time?" - Elizabeth ponders to Phillip about when to go back to Russia. Yeah you guys are never stepping foot in that country again - I'm guessing.
- Paige is reading The New Hotel Hampshire by John Irving (1981), which appears to be a coming-of-age novel. I haven't read this book, but sometimes shows like to make points about the show with quick shots of books or TV series reflecting the characters' reality.
- RIP Hans
Soundtrack
- "That's Good" - Devo
- There also appeared to be a Russian sung version of "America the Beautiful"
Sunday, June 1, 2014
The Americans S2 Review
For its second season, The Americans abandoned what essentially was the main focus of the show and re-directed it to a new purpose. The first season was about two people who had been in a loveless, arranged marriage who were starting to love each other. While the first season was great, the Jennings leaving each other only to reconcile had already become repetitive. Returning to that well would have made the show seem stale and out of ideas.
That is probably why the marriage is basically an afterthought, a comforting presence in times of increasing turmoil. The marriage is seen as sound and a rock to guide the Jennings while multiple threats are thrown their way. The love the two share is no longer in doubt. If anything, it may be suggesting that falling in love may have been the worst thing to happen to them.
The next logical step to take for a show about a Russian family in America during the Cold War is exactly what step the show took. They made it about their love for the kids. In the first episode, a family of four gets shot and killed, with the exception of the son. (I really think this portion would have been more effective if they had introduced the family in the first season, but alas). It forces them to look at what life after they're gone looks like with their children.
And that's pretty much how the rest of the second season is framed. They seemed to commit more murders, put themselves into higher risk jobs, and expose themselves to people like Andrew Larrick - really the show's first villain. The tension and the risk seemed ever escalating and increased with each episode.
Another impressive feat pulled off by The Americans is that this season felt more cohesive and less standalone. The spy plots seemed connected each episode. They are working on stealth planes most of the season and each mission more or less connects to that basic framework. They also inherit the turned informant of Emmet and Leane Connors, Fred. With the addition of Lucia, a possible mentee for Elizabeth, and you have basically every mission the Jennings had in the second season.
It's a little misleading to only have talked about the Jennings, because a rather large part of this season was also the deteriorating relationship between Nina and Stan. Nina became a regular just as much as the Jennings while Stan kind of just sat in the corner making smiley face emoticons to Nina while secretly making sad face emoticons to himself.
One of the weaknesses to this season is that they really destroyed Stan's character for me. I mean the third season could clearly rejuvenate him and it's not like any of the the things he did were irrational - I get why he did them. He just doesn't look good at all doing them. First, he takes advantage of the situation he's in and gets with Nina while the dynamics of the relationship are clearly him as a superior. It's the same reason bosses aren't supposed to date their employees, except it's like ten times worse because Nina's life is at stake. On top of that, he cheats on his very faithful and - as portrayed by the show - really sweet wife. I mean his wife seems pretty great if not exactly as exciting as Nina. He's not exactly irredeemable, but let's just say that when he got what was coming for him, I wasn't feeling bad for him at all.
Meanwhile the big twist was shocking, but the more you think about it, the less sense it actually makes. Maybe it's because I'm... you know.. not crazy, but I don't think a girl could get me to KILL MY PARENTS. Maybe turn on America. I don't know, it's just hard to buy. Oh and not to mention that the prospect of trying that again on the Jennings makes no sense when they picked a new inexperienced agent over very experienced, skilled field agents. Then there's the practical things - a gun going off in a hotel three times doesn't elicit any alarm? This show is portrayed as realistic so these things kind of make everything fall apart.
That's not the type of thing to destroy a show - well I guess it did for Homeland for me - but it certainly puts on a damper to an otherwise great season. And it looks like they will be framing the third season in the light to convert Paige. I'm much more interested in the Phillip/Elizabeth argument as Elizabeth seems to think it'd be ok to get Paige in this life while Phillip is very much against it. But if there's too much meddling from the Soviets, it'd be distracting because it's just hard to accept that they would alienate their highly experienced and highly successful agents because they want a completely inexperienced, probably unreliable possibility. Doesn't add up.
But that's for the next season. This season was 12 episodes of greatness followed by a tension-filled finale that will probably be worse on second viewing (like Jared Connors speaks for 5 minutes or more when he has a bullet in his neck and he's explaining the twist), but I am no less high on this show than before. I still think people should watch this as soon as they can because I'm getting a little tired of the low viewership.
Grade - A-
Playlist
1. "Stay High" - Tove Lo (Habits Remix)
2. "Klapp Klapp" - Little Dragon
3. "Stress" - Justice
4. "Get Free" - Major Lazer ft. Amber
5. "We're an American Band" - Grand Funk Railroad
That is probably why the marriage is basically an afterthought, a comforting presence in times of increasing turmoil. The marriage is seen as sound and a rock to guide the Jennings while multiple threats are thrown their way. The love the two share is no longer in doubt. If anything, it may be suggesting that falling in love may have been the worst thing to happen to them.
The next logical step to take for a show about a Russian family in America during the Cold War is exactly what step the show took. They made it about their love for the kids. In the first episode, a family of four gets shot and killed, with the exception of the son. (I really think this portion would have been more effective if they had introduced the family in the first season, but alas). It forces them to look at what life after they're gone looks like with their children.
And that's pretty much how the rest of the second season is framed. They seemed to commit more murders, put themselves into higher risk jobs, and expose themselves to people like Andrew Larrick - really the show's first villain. The tension and the risk seemed ever escalating and increased with each episode.
Another impressive feat pulled off by The Americans is that this season felt more cohesive and less standalone. The spy plots seemed connected each episode. They are working on stealth planes most of the season and each mission more or less connects to that basic framework. They also inherit the turned informant of Emmet and Leane Connors, Fred. With the addition of Lucia, a possible mentee for Elizabeth, and you have basically every mission the Jennings had in the second season.
It's a little misleading to only have talked about the Jennings, because a rather large part of this season was also the deteriorating relationship between Nina and Stan. Nina became a regular just as much as the Jennings while Stan kind of just sat in the corner making smiley face emoticons to Nina while secretly making sad face emoticons to himself.
One of the weaknesses to this season is that they really destroyed Stan's character for me. I mean the third season could clearly rejuvenate him and it's not like any of the the things he did were irrational - I get why he did them. He just doesn't look good at all doing them. First, he takes advantage of the situation he's in and gets with Nina while the dynamics of the relationship are clearly him as a superior. It's the same reason bosses aren't supposed to date their employees, except it's like ten times worse because Nina's life is at stake. On top of that, he cheats on his very faithful and - as portrayed by the show - really sweet wife. I mean his wife seems pretty great if not exactly as exciting as Nina. He's not exactly irredeemable, but let's just say that when he got what was coming for him, I wasn't feeling bad for him at all.
Meanwhile the big twist was shocking, but the more you think about it, the less sense it actually makes. Maybe it's because I'm... you know.. not crazy, but I don't think a girl could get me to KILL MY PARENTS. Maybe turn on America. I don't know, it's just hard to buy. Oh and not to mention that the prospect of trying that again on the Jennings makes no sense when they picked a new inexperienced agent over very experienced, skilled field agents. Then there's the practical things - a gun going off in a hotel three times doesn't elicit any alarm? This show is portrayed as realistic so these things kind of make everything fall apart.
That's not the type of thing to destroy a show - well I guess it did for Homeland for me - but it certainly puts on a damper to an otherwise great season. And it looks like they will be framing the third season in the light to convert Paige. I'm much more interested in the Phillip/Elizabeth argument as Elizabeth seems to think it'd be ok to get Paige in this life while Phillip is very much against it. But if there's too much meddling from the Soviets, it'd be distracting because it's just hard to accept that they would alienate their highly experienced and highly successful agents because they want a completely inexperienced, probably unreliable possibility. Doesn't add up.
But that's for the next season. This season was 12 episodes of greatness followed by a tension-filled finale that will probably be worse on second viewing (like Jared Connors speaks for 5 minutes or more when he has a bullet in his neck and he's explaining the twist), but I am no less high on this show than before. I still think people should watch this as soon as they can because I'm getting a little tired of the low viewership.
Grade - A-
Playlist
1. "Stay High" - Tove Lo (Habits Remix)
2. "Klapp Klapp" - Little Dragon
3. "Stress" - Justice
4. "Get Free" - Major Lazer ft. Amber
5. "We're an American Band" - Grand Funk Railroad
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
The Americans: Operation Chronicle
What exactly is Andrew Larrick up to? Why did Kate tell Jared about his parents unbeknownst to the Jennings (and possibly the Center)? Hopefully these questions will be answered in the following episode, because this episode didn't really answer either question. Sure, Andrew is following Jared - which means he probably killed his parents - but it's not really clear what his ulterior motive is at this point.
At this point it seems clear that Jared will not make it to Australia or Switzerland or wherever he is intended to go. Larrick will find him. He could kill him, he could use him to help find the Jennings, or he could overturn them to the US government to destroy the Russians. But we don't really know Larrick's plan so it's hard to guess what he plans to do with Jared.
Jared is way more prominent than I ever expected. It's pretty sad that he is going to have to go to a foreign country on his own. Granted, I'm pretty sure he's not making it there, but that's not the point. It reflects a very possible future for Paige and/or Henry. Phillip is confident Paige could survive - and frankly so am I - and Henry's still too young to tell. But smart or not, upending your life like that is definitely not ideal.
Paige meanwhile is getting dangerously close to finding the truth. The show was able to bring about an impossible amount of tension from her listening in on her parents' conversation. Excellent directing during that scene with the camera slowly moving in a way that indicates Paige could possibly be sneaking downstairs. I fully expected her to be in the background at some point. And Elizabeth on the phone was also sort of filmed like she was being watched. She's too clever for her own good right now. She doesn't believe anything her parents tell her. (Speaking of which, the priest is straddling the line between really nice and kind of creepy for me)
And really who can blame Paige? Not only are her parents not giving her explanations for why they are doing certain things, but they are somewhat unpredictable and secretive. On top of that, Elizabeth can't help her pack and that type of thing can spur levels of disappointment and anger that leads to distrust. The beautiful thing about this - for me - is that her skepticism and doubt can really also be interpreted as normal teenage actions. I know I sometimes had times where I was always questioning any time my parents tried to keep something from me.
Speaking of children, it looks like Martha is having a maternal need. Thanks, The Americans for prefacing that with Phillip taking off the used condom! Could have gone without that... But wow when Phillip shut her down, I don't think I've ever felt worse for Martha - which is kind of saying something since every. single. episode she's in involves me thinking "poor Martha." I was just kind of begging that scene to end and it seemed to go on forever. Clark you are a bastard.
This came after Martha looked awesome for a few minutes too! Apparently, she just stole files that people have left laying around, which shocks Clark/Phillip. Better yet, she knows that Clark's hair is a toupee. I was mentally cheering for Martha, and then she asked for kids. And then the soul-crushing response from Phillip sucked all of that victory away from Martha.
Lastly, nobody's favorite couple Stan and Nina are going through some TOUGH issues. Like Stan buying Nina a car and trying to bolt. I don't think that salesman bought that Stan was buying it for his niece, but I also don't think he cared. Anyway, his plan quickly comes crashing down when he comes to the "safehouse" with Nina beat up by the Arkady and goons.
So it looks like Stan's going to betray his country. And I can't really tell if the Arkady cares about Nina or not. I mean every scene where he displays his cards is in front of Oleg and its in his best interests for Oleg to think of Nina as a co-worker and not a lover. So it would make sense that he's telling Oleg that he doesn't trust Nina, but I can't really tell if he actually is as harsh to Nina as his words would indicate because he's saying them to Oleg.
Other Notes
- Henry doesn't think Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan will be good. Haha that's funny because it's the best one.
- I also can't tell how "real" Oleg and Nina's relationship is. Everyone's playing everyone at least a little bit.
- Sandra is moving in with her boyfriend - I'm sorry I'm all out of shits to give for Stan right now
- "The Maverick's a piece of shit. If I sold it to you, I'd have to go to confession." - What a great line
- Tag for next week? Phillip and Elizabeth are done being secret agents. Probably not, but still interesting
Grade - B+
At this point it seems clear that Jared will not make it to Australia or Switzerland or wherever he is intended to go. Larrick will find him. He could kill him, he could use him to help find the Jennings, or he could overturn them to the US government to destroy the Russians. But we don't really know Larrick's plan so it's hard to guess what he plans to do with Jared.
Jared is way more prominent than I ever expected. It's pretty sad that he is going to have to go to a foreign country on his own. Granted, I'm pretty sure he's not making it there, but that's not the point. It reflects a very possible future for Paige and/or Henry. Phillip is confident Paige could survive - and frankly so am I - and Henry's still too young to tell. But smart or not, upending your life like that is definitely not ideal.
Paige meanwhile is getting dangerously close to finding the truth. The show was able to bring about an impossible amount of tension from her listening in on her parents' conversation. Excellent directing during that scene with the camera slowly moving in a way that indicates Paige could possibly be sneaking downstairs. I fully expected her to be in the background at some point. And Elizabeth on the phone was also sort of filmed like she was being watched. She's too clever for her own good right now. She doesn't believe anything her parents tell her. (Speaking of which, the priest is straddling the line between really nice and kind of creepy for me)
And really who can blame Paige? Not only are her parents not giving her explanations for why they are doing certain things, but they are somewhat unpredictable and secretive. On top of that, Elizabeth can't help her pack and that type of thing can spur levels of disappointment and anger that leads to distrust. The beautiful thing about this - for me - is that her skepticism and doubt can really also be interpreted as normal teenage actions. I know I sometimes had times where I was always questioning any time my parents tried to keep something from me.
Speaking of children, it looks like Martha is having a maternal need. Thanks, The Americans for prefacing that with Phillip taking off the used condom! Could have gone without that... But wow when Phillip shut her down, I don't think I've ever felt worse for Martha - which is kind of saying something since every. single. episode she's in involves me thinking "poor Martha." I was just kind of begging that scene to end and it seemed to go on forever. Clark you are a bastard.
This came after Martha looked awesome for a few minutes too! Apparently, she just stole files that people have left laying around, which shocks Clark/Phillip. Better yet, she knows that Clark's hair is a toupee. I was mentally cheering for Martha, and then she asked for kids. And then the soul-crushing response from Phillip sucked all of that victory away from Martha.
Lastly, nobody's favorite couple Stan and Nina are going through some TOUGH issues. Like Stan buying Nina a car and trying to bolt. I don't think that salesman bought that Stan was buying it for his niece, but I also don't think he cared. Anyway, his plan quickly comes crashing down when he comes to the "safehouse" with Nina beat up by the Arkady and goons.
So it looks like Stan's going to betray his country. And I can't really tell if the Arkady cares about Nina or not. I mean every scene where he displays his cards is in front of Oleg and its in his best interests for Oleg to think of Nina as a co-worker and not a lover. So it would make sense that he's telling Oleg that he doesn't trust Nina, but I can't really tell if he actually is as harsh to Nina as his words would indicate because he's saying them to Oleg.
Other Notes
- Henry doesn't think Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan will be good. Haha that's funny because it's the best one.
- I also can't tell how "real" Oleg and Nina's relationship is. Everyone's playing everyone at least a little bit.
- Sandra is moving in with her boyfriend - I'm sorry I'm all out of shits to give for Stan right now
- "The Maverick's a piece of shit. If I sold it to you, I'd have to go to confession." - What a great line
- Tag for next week? Phillip and Elizabeth are done being secret agents. Probably not, but still interesting
Grade - B+
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
The Americans: Yousaf
This was a solid episode of The Americans, but I think it ends the streak of amazing episodes. It wasn't a letdown, but it definitely seemed more like a place setter. I mean that most of the events in this episode are simply set-ups for what will happen later. Serialized television requires episodes such as this. It makes for a less exciting episode than we would normally get, but the payoff is usually greater when it's more set-up.
After last week's chaos, Phillip is back to normal and calmed down. He looks exhausted when the episode begins and Elizabeth comforts him. It's a touching scene and reminds us of the relationship at the core of the show. If the first season was about them finding love after many years of marriage, this one is less an examination of their marriage and more about their tight bond.
It's also an examination into the relationship between them and their kids, specifically Paige. Paige wants to go in a summer camp with her youth group. Phillip's not happy about it, but he's smart. He knows that he needs to allow her to go to make her own choices or she'll rebel in other, possibly worse ways. Elizabeth on the other hand, not so much. This is hardly surprising. This is perfectly in line with what we would expect to happen. Phillip is the one who better understands how to navigate in America while Elizabeth seems more in line with Russian values.
She discovers Paige forged her signature, but then she threw it away. This is a fact that she left out to Phillip because it shows that she DIDN'T end up doing it. Elizabeth seems strict in her views, and it probably won't lead to anything good between Paige and the two of them. While I don't think Paige is likely to go into drugs, this clearly is shown to be a poor idea.
Meanwhile - and this honestly may play a part in my very mild disappointment in this episode - Andrew Larrick comes back to avenge his compatriots' death. But the teaser at the beginning of the episode rings false when Larrick barely makes any ground. I expected him to meet the Jennings in this very episode. And while it's perfectly realistic that it would take him some time to track them down, nonetheless when you expect a showdown and it doesn't happen, it's hard not to let that affect your view of the episode. (Although I will note usually that's because it seems delayed in a contrived way, while the delay of Larrick seems realistic)
But Larrick doesn't exactly make NO ground. He discovers the secret telephone message location and shoots him down. The guy does manage to press the button to destroy the phone lines, but somehow Larrick still manages to figure out how to call Kate. This is one of those situations where my complete lack of knowledge of the technology helps the show. Do I think it'd be that easy just to figure out a way to call some person? Not really. But this is something that I can at least accept without it ruining anything.
While Larrick searches for the Jennings, the Jennings have a case of their own. (This really should have been my first clue that Larrick wasn't finding them this episode). They need to convert a Pakistani government official to their side, or deceive him into becoming a contact. The most susceptible, Yousaf, seems to have a weakness for women. Elizabeth seems like the natural choice, but Phillip doesn't seem all that interested in using her when he could use Annelise.
If you were wondering who Annelise was, you had good reason. She has appeared on the show before, but it hasn't been since "The Clock," the second episode of the first season. The show sure is giving its fans a lot of credit in remembering a character in only one season way back on the second episode. I thankfully had an inkling of who she was and figured it out quickly enough. I believe Annelise was a bit wild and unpredictable - so much so that I think I remember thinking she would be killed quickly, but she never appeared in another episode.
If you were wondering who Annelise was, you had good reason. She has appeared on the show before, but it hasn't been since "The Clock," the second episode of the first season. The show sure is giving its fans a lot of credit in remembering a character in only one season way back on the second episode. I thankfully had an inkling of who she was and figured it out quickly enough. I believe Annelise was a bit wild and unpredictable - so much so that I think I remember thinking she would be killed quickly, but she never appeared in another episode.
Anyway, Phillip uses her to get close to Yousaf. She does her job well enough, but she seems pretty hurt by her experience. I wonder if there will be consequences to using Annelise instead of Elizabeth. (Though Annelise's background seemed to factor in Phillip's reasoning not to use Elizabeth). They also killed his boss so that Yousaf would be the #1 and Annelise would have the inside track to information.
On the American side, Frank Gaad gets reinstated. His conversation with the Arkady produced positive results. They seem to have a tentative, cautious relationship that understands they need to do something that benefits both of them, so neither side will fire or get hurt. So basically their relationship is a perfect representation of the Cold War itself.
And Frank is just in time to help Stan discover who murdered the family. They make a little ground in this episode. They figure out they were likely secret agents with national security capable briefcases. They interview their son, who Stan realizes knows nothing about it, but the son likely recognizes the portraits of Elizabeth and Phillip. It appears that Elizabeth's decision not to tell Jared Connors about his parent's secret identity was a good one. (Stan also stops in with Nina to be an asshole and tell him how his wife left him and it hurt and boo hoo)
Nina meanwhile gets new hair - I think? Her hair is huge in this episode. Anyway, her and Oleg have a bonding moment where it turns out Oleg is an idealist and wants to help his country. When Nina learns this, she looks envious as she is clearly just trying to get out of this in the best situation possible. Not to say that she doesn't have feelings for Oleg, but she's also probably playing him a little. Nina reflects back on the simpler times when she wasn't simply doing anything to survive and instead was at a fun camp. It was sad, but makes sense that she would reminisce about it.
It was a good episode of The Americans. It isn't quite as good as past episodes, but that's inherent in an episode that is mostly set-up for what will happen later.
It was a good episode of The Americans. It isn't quite as good as past episodes, but that's inherent in an episode that is mostly set-up for what will happen later.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
The Americans: Martial Eagle
At its heart, The Americans is about two spies who are just doing their job. I would not classify them as anti-heroes. Let's face it: if these were Americans and not Russians, there wouldn't even be a discussion about them as anti-heroes. We've seen plenty of spy movies where the "good guys" kill a bunch of bad guys in the service of their job. That's essentially this show.
But the bodies have been mounting up. People have just gotten in the way of Phillip and Elizabeth. They are on a mission, they get discovered, and the unfortunate witness just had to die. If Phillip and Elizabeth were to continue being relatable and sympathetic, the amount of bodies would have to get to them at some point.
All of which is to say that this episode has been a long time coming. And it's been well plotted in its way to get there. Phillip had to kill a guy when he was trying to gather information in THE ARPANET. Phillip took that death harder than normal. Last episode, Phillip insisted that they let the truck driver live instead of killing another innocent life.
And then when Phillip and Elizabeth sneak into the compound that Andrew Larrick told them about, things don't go as planned. Things rarely go as planned. Phillip cuts a guy's throat and shoots two others. Elizabeth kills a guy herself. And the truck driver dies anyway. I'm not sure if its the three guys he has to kill, the truck driver dying a pointless death, or the combination thereof but Phillip is devastated.
What better time then for Paige to use her newfound faith to force her parents to go to Church? Holly Jennings is a really good child actor. She really just wants her parents to see what she sees. And when she looks over at Phillip, it's heartbreaking that he looks like he's in hell. The pastor talks about how God accepts everyone unconditionally. Phillip is in self-hating mode and isn't buying it.
Unfortunately, they also find out Paige donated $600. Now, to be fair, I think MY parents would be pissed at me for doing this. But Paige getting her parents to come to Youth Day has the exact opposite effect. Phillip and Elizabeth both seem to look at Christian faith as an immense threat. Phillip visits the pastor and it seems like he'll kill him (thankfully nothing happened). Elizabeth wakes Paige up in the middle of the night and forces her to clean.
Matthew Rhys is terrific in this episode. I think this episode will be his Emmy submission. He's emotionally distant, ignoring Henry, and pretty much directing all his anger towards Paige's new faith. I don't have the proper words to describe the powerful scene when Phillip tells Paige "YOU RESPECT JESUS, BUT NOT US." (That whole scene really is fantastic) It's really too bad Rhys has no shot at the Emmy.
I also liked how Phillip's inner conflict was made external. The deaths had gotten to him and he made it explicitly obvious by his coldness. On the flip side, Elizabeth's inner conflict was kept to herself. It's not so much that the deaths don't get to her, it's that Elizabeth is really fucking good at hiding it.
Meanwhile the show does not one, but two fake outs on the audience. At first, it seems like Elizabeth is going to an AA meeting for personal reasons. She has lunch/dinner with the AA speaker, using her personal struggles with Phillip as a way to connect. By all accounts, it seems like she got what she was looking for. And then it turns out she works for the government.
Then, since Phillip is in a fuck the world mood, he shows Martha the tape he had previously decided to hide. It seems like he is taking out his anger on poor Martha. But no, he's just using this piece of information to get Martha to do something she wouldn't have done, which is to acquire certain files. And then the bastard leaves her. (Did anybody else laugh at ""I've never been good at seduction or romance" from Clark - I laughed out loud)
Meanwhile, Stan for the first time this season, is doing good spy work. Seriously, has he done anything besides get duped this year? He's looking into the disappearance of Anton from earlier in the year. He discovers that all of the stealth plane creators last met in the same place at Alexandria, Virginia. That happened to be the same time as the Connors family getting killed way back in episode one of this season.
So Stan interviews all the scientists who were at that meeting, including Fred, the Connor's turned informant. I like John Carroll Lynch in this role a lot. Anyway, Fred does pretty good as he seems the most comfortable of all the interviewees. Emmett trained him well, indeed.
Also that interview was a nice mirror of Stan's betrayal to his country. He describes how if they make you silent, they are winning. That you never imagine betraying your country. That the KGB goes after your weakness. (Which was made evident when Elizabeth goes after the recovering alcoholic government worker) It's pretty clear he's talking about himself and it's nicely done. By the way, Nina is sorely missed in this episode.
While Stan finally gets off his ass, Sandra does the same. She knows Stan has been having an affair and has made an emotional connection with another man. It's REALLY hard to feel bad for Stan because he's been cheating on Sandra this whole time. He looks devastated, but seriously Stan go fuck yourself. Sandra rightfully points out that Stan, a CIA agent, did not notice she was having an affair of sorts.
This episode had a lot of season one callbacks. So Stan killed a KGB agent in retaliation for his partner's murder (even though Phillip actually killed him). Agent Gaad is getting in trouble for that. So he goes to the Arkady and threatens him if the KGB keeps worrying about that. He says he will reveal Richard Patterson's testimony about the agents who tortured him - the agents were Phillip and Elizabeth - if the KGB doesn't just drop this. Arkady plays it cool as a cucumber, but they have to back off because Phillip and Elizabeth aren't getting caught this early.
In terms of 80s references, I think that the compound they visited was a training ground for contras, which explains all the references to Nicaragua this season. If you don't know, contras were a rebel group opposed to Nicaraguan government that was financially and militarily supported by the United States. They got banned by the US Congress, but the Reagan administration continued it secretly. Also, Dr. Ruth was giving Sandra sex advice, which may I add was hilarious. I don't know if it's her voice or Stan's expression, but I could not take that tape seriously.
Overall, this was yet another great episode. It looks like Larrick will be seeking revenge for the murders (as he finds out about the deaths, but not the details - he can fill in the blanks though). And another week we wait.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
The Americans: New Car
The Americans is firing on all cylinders. Holy crap this was another great episode, even as it seems each of the characters are getting increasingly screwed in different ways. There wasn't much positive happening on the KGB front as the lone positive of the night came at the cost of Lucia and Andrew Larrick's freedom.
Let's talk about that scene when Elizabeth is forced to watch her protege get strangled by a man she hates for the good of the country. I really hate watching strangling scenes as it's not exactly pleasant to watch a character slowly lose their life. And it lasts forever. Especially if the person is someone you want to live. This scene certainly didn't help my feelings on strangling scenes. Each second that passed was more painful than before.
I said in last episode's recap that I thought Lucia would either die this season or become a regular next season, but I think I was being purposefully blind to her fate. She was going to die as soon as she said she planned to kill Larrick and ignored the orders. But the show decided to kill her in the worst way imaginable. She's getting slowly strangled by her nemesis while her comrade simply lets her die. It's ironic that this action is for the good of the country since it appears to only benefit Larrick.
And I guess it's saying something when that wasn't the worst news for the Jennings. No - apparently plans they stole were fake and were responsible for the death of 160 people. Oleg later helpfully tells us that the people back home rushed it through development and are more responsible. But Phillip and Elizabeth don't know this. Can you even imagine the weight of having 160 people's death on your mind? (The answer is of course no.)
That bit of news made Phillip ashamed at his taste for American consumerism. He bought a Camaro, which seemed harmless enough. He takes a look at it, wipes off a smudge on the car, and admires his car. He comes back with the news of the submarine crash and looks at the car with shame. He fell for American consumerism and he bought into their trap. He probably felt like he had betrayed his country.
I'm betting Phillip wishes he took back his argument for materialism to Elizabeth as well. Elizabeth is extremely reluctant to admit that this life may have some perks and outright refuses to say that it is better. Phillip seems to disagree, but his feelings have probably changed since the news of the crash. That coupled with Reagan's plea to devote more sources to defense looks to have reinforced their feelings of patriotism for Mother Russia.
Back home at Mother Russia, they show Anton - the scientist who was unfortunately separated from his family for more important measures. He looks despondent and a helpful man encourages him that his situation could be worse. That he knows what he's going through. It seems to work as he looks at the ARPANET with intrigue. It seems like his role will become important later.
On the American side, it seems Stan is resorting to empty threats. His declaration to Oleg was downright pathetic. And Nina is perfectly playing into Stan's clear want to rescue a woman. Nina is not a woman to be rescued. But she knows that is what Stan likes to think of himself as. I'm struggling to find different ways to write about how much Stan is getting played. (And did he possibly get through to that high-ranking official - probably more important next week)
Meanwhile I think Stan was looking at the lie detector test at home. It was either that or the files he gave to Oleg. I couldn't tell. And he's still ignoring his wife, who seriously has gotten nothing to do. I have no idea why they gave her a season credits, because she has done almost nothing this entire season except be ignored by Stan.
In other domestic news, Martha says she wants to stop secretly recording for her friends. So Phillip decides to distort an already mean tape and play it to her, but thank god he didn't. Poor Alison Wright, the actress who plays Martha. Martha's too loving and dedicated a wife at this point to need to hate her colleagues. I mean that tape was just brutal.
Lastly, Henry gets caught playing video games in his friend's house. This storyline becomes clearer when Henry goes on a long tirade about how he's a good person. It's pretty heartbreaking actually. Yes, Henry is a good person. But the real purpose of that speech was: Are Phillip and Elizabeth?
(Note: I forgot to mention that Phillip and Elizabeth spared that poor truck diver's life. It's a nice touch to help us sympathize with them. Phillip is just tired of killing innocent people.)
(Note: I forgot to mention that Phillip and Elizabeth spared that poor truck diver's life. It's a nice touch to help us sympathize with them. Phillip is just tired of killing innocent people.)
Sunday, April 13, 2014
The Americans: ARPANET
Well damn Stan. His plight is starting to parallel Martha's plight in assured destruction. The only difference is that Stan should know better. Not only is Nina working as a double agent on Stan, he is providing information to the Soviets to protect her. And now she's "cheating" on him. I will look forward to the day that he finds out. It will be glorious.
You're probably wondering why I say it will be glorious. While Noah Emmerich is doing fine work crafting Stan, he's a character who has lost me. I'm not saying he doesn't have value as a character in this story, he's just no longer in the list of characters I care to succeed. The facts are that he took advantage of Nina, cheated on his wife, and thinks he can control Nina. He has been in espionage most of his life and should know better. Whatever comes to him, I feel safe in saying he had it coming. My only worry is that when he finds out, Nina will suffer.
I really loved the polygraph story. I'm not sure of how polygraphs work or how to beat them, but I know they are unreliable enough to where I can buy that she can beat one. I will store that clenched asshole tidbit if I ever need to beat one in my life. There's one question I have about that polygraph that seemed intentional. Nina says that she knew Stan killed the agent, which Stan didn't know, and then she said that she had never deceived Stan, but she did deceive him in that exact moment. Stan seemed to realize it with his reaction so if there's any hope for him, he will know the polygraph is useless. But knowing Stan, he'll just stay in lalala land on this one.
And the other big reveal is that Nina is now sleeping with Oleg. I don't really know how I feel about this, because I don't know if I like Oleg. And, um, Nina's declaration that he could do anything to her was not something that would make me like him. Knowing Nina, she said that because she's playing him in a way too though. Oleg at least acknowledges that he knows she's lying when she says she doesn't care about Stan.
For the other "good" guys, Phillip and Elizabeth are evidently now dealing with a wild card in Lucia. She planned to kill Andrew Larrick without their knowledge, which obviously concerns Elizabeth. This story could go one of two ways. One, it leads to her demise because they cannot deal with a wild card at the moment. It's the direction Elizabeth seems to be heading towards. The other is that they show her development as a way for us to see how Elizabeth developed. I hope for the latter, but the former is probably the direction they go, unless Lucia is to become a season three mainstay. (The way I see it is either she dies this season, or she gains main credits sequence next season ala Nina)
The Larrick information from last week proves pointless - he's not going anyway. He's going to Nicaragua. I still don't honestly understand the Nicaraguan stuff and I'm not really that concerned about it to be honest.
But we got a really cool Ocean's Eleven type break-in. I really liked the scene where Rosenbloom attempts to explain ARPANET, which is essentially the internet as he describes it. It reminded me of the scene in Ocean's Eleven where they explain the casinos and do some slick camera work to show what they are talking about. In fact, Oleg's explanation of the polygraph as a wasp was also really fascinating. That's some pretty stellar writing right there making exposition scenes that good.
Phillip gets help from an alcoholic journalist, Charles Duluth. I have a confession. I have no memory of this guy at all, but he was apparently in two season one episodes. I really liked him, which really confused me because presumably he hasn't changed. He says he is committed to doing this in the future, but the look on Phillip's face tells me he is uncomfortable working with him again. (Also the idiot wrote it on his hands and then rubbed his hands together while sweating, something I caught immediately so props to the show for foreshadowing that)
As a side note, the scene where Phillip plants the device to copy the machine is thrilling. Once that guy walked in, it was clear he was going to die. The way they did that was cold though. Phillip appears out of nowhere, cut to him rolling a trash can now with a lid. Damn Phillip. Kind of weird that Duluth had no issues with Phillip killing a guy though. Maybe that's just me, I would have probably freaked the fuck out.
And lastly they give Henry a tiny plot. He sees his neighbors leaving and at first I thought it was a sign that he was missing something in his family. But no the little guy just wants to play on his friend's awesome gaming console. Phillip seems pretty hard-lined on not getting him a video game. This isn't a big deal, but it does lend to the real family dynamics. Paige gets the week off for whatever reason.
Overall, another pretty great episode of The Americans.
You're probably wondering why I say it will be glorious. While Noah Emmerich is doing fine work crafting Stan, he's a character who has lost me. I'm not saying he doesn't have value as a character in this story, he's just no longer in the list of characters I care to succeed. The facts are that he took advantage of Nina, cheated on his wife, and thinks he can control Nina. He has been in espionage most of his life and should know better. Whatever comes to him, I feel safe in saying he had it coming. My only worry is that when he finds out, Nina will suffer.
I really loved the polygraph story. I'm not sure of how polygraphs work or how to beat them, but I know they are unreliable enough to where I can buy that she can beat one. I will store that clenched asshole tidbit if I ever need to beat one in my life. There's one question I have about that polygraph that seemed intentional. Nina says that she knew Stan killed the agent, which Stan didn't know, and then she said that she had never deceived Stan, but she did deceive him in that exact moment. Stan seemed to realize it with his reaction so if there's any hope for him, he will know the polygraph is useless. But knowing Stan, he'll just stay in lalala land on this one.
And the other big reveal is that Nina is now sleeping with Oleg. I don't really know how I feel about this, because I don't know if I like Oleg. And, um, Nina's declaration that he could do anything to her was not something that would make me like him. Knowing Nina, she said that because she's playing him in a way too though. Oleg at least acknowledges that he knows she's lying when she says she doesn't care about Stan.
For the other "good" guys, Phillip and Elizabeth are evidently now dealing with a wild card in Lucia. She planned to kill Andrew Larrick without their knowledge, which obviously concerns Elizabeth. This story could go one of two ways. One, it leads to her demise because they cannot deal with a wild card at the moment. It's the direction Elizabeth seems to be heading towards. The other is that they show her development as a way for us to see how Elizabeth developed. I hope for the latter, but the former is probably the direction they go, unless Lucia is to become a season three mainstay. (The way I see it is either she dies this season, or she gains main credits sequence next season ala Nina)
The Larrick information from last week proves pointless - he's not going anyway. He's going to Nicaragua. I still don't honestly understand the Nicaraguan stuff and I'm not really that concerned about it to be honest.
But we got a really cool Ocean's Eleven type break-in. I really liked the scene where Rosenbloom attempts to explain ARPANET, which is essentially the internet as he describes it. It reminded me of the scene in Ocean's Eleven where they explain the casinos and do some slick camera work to show what they are talking about. In fact, Oleg's explanation of the polygraph as a wasp was also really fascinating. That's some pretty stellar writing right there making exposition scenes that good.
Phillip gets help from an alcoholic journalist, Charles Duluth. I have a confession. I have no memory of this guy at all, but he was apparently in two season one episodes. I really liked him, which really confused me because presumably he hasn't changed. He says he is committed to doing this in the future, but the look on Phillip's face tells me he is uncomfortable working with him again. (Also the idiot wrote it on his hands and then rubbed his hands together while sweating, something I caught immediately so props to the show for foreshadowing that)
As a side note, the scene where Phillip plants the device to copy the machine is thrilling. Once that guy walked in, it was clear he was going to die. The way they did that was cold though. Phillip appears out of nowhere, cut to him rolling a trash can now with a lid. Damn Phillip. Kind of weird that Duluth had no issues with Phillip killing a guy though. Maybe that's just me, I would have probably freaked the fuck out.
And lastly they give Henry a tiny plot. He sees his neighbors leaving and at first I thought it was a sign that he was missing something in his family. But no the little guy just wants to play on his friend's awesome gaming console. Phillip seems pretty hard-lined on not getting him a video game. This isn't a big deal, but it does lend to the real family dynamics. Paige gets the week off for whatever reason.
Overall, another pretty great episode of The Americans.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
The Americans: Behind the Red Door
Well, that was a freaking great episode. It might be the best one yet. I'm truly sorry I had to wait two weeks to finally see it, but alas this is what happens when you decide to get the free trial for Amazon Prime and need to watch as much as possible in that month. I've gotten behind in Justified, Hannibal, and The Americans. Much as I liked Veronica Mars, I'm going to have to say it would probably have been better to wait until summer for it.
First things first, this show sure is spending a lot of time focusing on the murder of three people who we met for one episode. I think this may have been a bit more effective if we met the couple in the first season. However, the murder of a family is a powerful thing and it mirrors the Jennings family so it still works. But that thought occurred to me when I had to go look up the name of the family since I had no idea (By the way, it's the Connors family)
The big reveal of the episode is that Claudia may been inadvertently responsible for their murder. This ties everything we've seen Claudia do this season make a lot more sense. Her weird insistence on needing to know if Andrew Larrick did it, her softer side, and her inexplicably going behind the center's back. (She was pretty staunchly by the book in the first season)
Now, I still think Andrew Larrick did it. I don't really buy that Claudia would reveal her identity to a significant other who could betray her. She's smarter than that. (Although there's a decent possibility he accidentally told someone else, but that would be an enormous coincidence) Plus, Larrick at the end said he suspected that Phillip and Elizabeth weren't CIA so he clearly could have been covering for himself in the case that they weren't.
I will have to praise Margo Martindale's work this episode and her entire duration of this show. I fear this will be the last we see of her. I'm sure the writers could find a way to write her back into the show, but she kind of has a steady paycheck on The Millers. She's only available for a limited time and they already kind of wrote her out of the show in a plausible way so it could go either way - as Oleg says "50/50."
Speaking of Oleg, it turns out that his sudden blackmailing of Stan was... planned by the Arkady Ivanovich. This caught me off guard, although it probably shouldn't have. We don't really know anything about Oleg except that he's ambitious, but admittedly it probably isn't a smart play to blackmail a known informant without support from the higher ups.
Now the question is: Does Nina know? What is the purpose of this play? To test Nina's loyalty? Or to test Stan's commitment to Nina? Or, really both? There's a lot of ways this could go. (Of course, since I'm two episodes behind, this has already been revealed.)
Stan however completely buys it. The phrase "Oh Martha" could be replaced by "Oh, Stan." Well, at least I know he bought it and then he went to see Frank Gaad, his former boss. Gaad tells him, "Maybe you're in over your head?" I think that scene was placed there for a reason. Stan might suspect Nina is in on it and testing her. Man, the double agent thing is getting kind of crazy for every action Nina or Stan does at this point. I have no idea what either side truly believes.
But Nina DOES tell Stan they are done... which doesn't strike me as an action she would take if she were in on it. Unless of course they want her to end it. Or she knew that Stan would expect her to react like this and needed him to buy it. Man, I am probably overthinking this, but I feel like literally anything could be the true answer. And yes I know not literally anything could be the answer, I'm just saying that's what it feels like.
In things that are much less ambiguous, Phillip and Elizabeth have playful flirting... until it isn't. Whew that was not at all where I was expecting that story to go. So most shows, upon having a wife find out that her husband is an animal in bed by another woman, would probably make Elizabeth jealous. And I'm talking most shows in a theoretical world where the husband and wife are also spies. I think you get my point. This show takes in a different direction, having Elizabeth be... turned on. Well, ok. I only hope my future wife would be so understanding. /Snorts.
And then she tries to get him to become Clark. Which... leads to one of the most unsexy sex scenes I have ever seen. Whew, that was brutal. Phillip knew what he does with Martha - assuming that's what he does with her, I honestly don't know - wouldn't work on Elizabeth, because of her previous rape. (If you can remember that information from way back in the pilot) And then Elizabeth cries and Phillip cries, and it was just one of the most horrific things you can imagine.
Also an unsexy sex scene? The sex scene between Lucia and Carl. That just made me uncomfortable. I really like Lucia and think finding out a young agent learning the ropes from Elizabeth is an extremely fascinating thing to watch. Hope this continues! Also, that was a brutal scene to watch when Lucia murders Carl. Man, I know I keep saying brutal to describe scenes, but... it's apparently this show's specialty.
And lastly, Paige quits the volleyball team because she likes the religious group she joined. She says she's not a liar, which probably indicates she doesn't want to be like her parents, who she's pretty sure are liars. Yeah that storyline is leading to nowhere good for anybody.
Whew I feel exhausted after watching that. Emotionally. I'm going to watch last night's episode on Monday and also post the review/recap then. I really want to continue this feature, but it's a little difficult when I'm so behind. But I should be caught up by next week's episode and I will hopefully be back on track.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
The Americans: The Deal
This is a pretty damn brutal episode for our main characters. Phillip has to heartbreakingly send Anton away from his family. Elizabeth Jennings has to listen to Martha praise Phillip's love-making ability. (At least I hope this is brutal for her otherwise she's weird) Stan gets blackmailed for his unrequited love for Nina. It's not easy to be a spy in Cold War America.
The fallout from last week's episode - Anton gets away with an anonymous female Mossad agent - leaves Phillip in an unsafe safe house if that makes sense. He's pretty close to the scene of the crime and the cops have already seen his face. Unfortunately for Anton, the Mossad hold their own in greater importance than the man they are protecting so a trade is set up.
During most of the episode, Phillip is forced to deal with Eti, the Mossad agent they managed to capture. First of all, something I found enlightening, is that Phillip misses Russia. I don't think they've explicitly made that known before, but it makes sense since Elizabeth got to spend an extended amount of time there and he did not. I'm not sure why I found this as interesting as I did, but Phillip always struck me more as the "American" who would be perfectly content staying in America. (Also, umm, a thing that I would never have thought of is that wiping another man's ass is a distinct possibility in that business, but it makes sense)
After he trades for Anton, he has what probably seems like an impossibly long drive of Anton spilling his guts, saying anything to escape. He wants to be with his family and stay the hell away from Russia, even if it means betraying the country he has come to love. Or he's just got a really great acting ability that sometimes might come with the threat of death. Either way, it hit close to home for Phillip I can imagine, because while he's pining over his hometown, he's taking away Anton's AND his family.
Meanwhile, Martha... oh Martha. She hadn't quite gotten played enough by Phillip apparently, because Elizabeth gets in on the fun. "Jennifer" helps convince Martha not to report that she's married to "Clark." So they dodge a bullet on this one, but I'm assuming the bottom will drop out any minute for "Clark."
Elizabeth continues her masterful ploy of Brad Mullin. He gives her the files of the suspected killer of their fellow KGB agents. She of course leads him to believe this will be the last time they see each other. So cool, manipulate a dude, get what you need, and make it to where he understands he just did something for someone he'll never see again. Just another day.
Stan Beeman tries to capture Anton and brings in Frank Gaad to help him. At least I think, I didn't really quite understand what was going on with Gaad claiming there were super secret files, but I guess Anton was really important? Anyway, Stan thinks he has a lead and is just following Oleg.
Oleg's intentions and character motivations are pretty unclear at this point. He clearly wants more respect and position among the KGB because he constantly challenges Arkady Ivanovich. He's probably interested in Nina. And if the end of this episode is any indication, he really wants to get money - or power. Either way, his blackmailing of Stan makes a certain amount of sense with what we know about Oleg, but we don't really know much about him. I hope that this storyline reveals more about his true intentions. He seems to just want to get out of the Cold War in the best position possible, whether that be a high level KGB officer or as a rich converted American.
I'm also really excited to see what this story does for Stan. Noah Emmerich is fantastic and he hasn't been given much to do except play the fool so I think this will take his character in an interesting direction. He's now getting played twice, one knowingly and one unknowingly.
This is another great episode of The Americans, which seems to be on a bit of a roll lately.
The fallout from last week's episode - Anton gets away with an anonymous female Mossad agent - leaves Phillip in an unsafe safe house if that makes sense. He's pretty close to the scene of the crime and the cops have already seen his face. Unfortunately for Anton, the Mossad hold their own in greater importance than the man they are protecting so a trade is set up.
During most of the episode, Phillip is forced to deal with Eti, the Mossad agent they managed to capture. First of all, something I found enlightening, is that Phillip misses Russia. I don't think they've explicitly made that known before, but it makes sense since Elizabeth got to spend an extended amount of time there and he did not. I'm not sure why I found this as interesting as I did, but Phillip always struck me more as the "American" who would be perfectly content staying in America. (Also, umm, a thing that I would never have thought of is that wiping another man's ass is a distinct possibility in that business, but it makes sense)
After he trades for Anton, he has what probably seems like an impossibly long drive of Anton spilling his guts, saying anything to escape. He wants to be with his family and stay the hell away from Russia, even if it means betraying the country he has come to love. Or he's just got a really great acting ability that sometimes might come with the threat of death. Either way, it hit close to home for Phillip I can imagine, because while he's pining over his hometown, he's taking away Anton's AND his family.
Meanwhile, Martha... oh Martha. She hadn't quite gotten played enough by Phillip apparently, because Elizabeth gets in on the fun. "Jennifer" helps convince Martha not to report that she's married to "Clark." So they dodge a bullet on this one, but I'm assuming the bottom will drop out any minute for "Clark."
Elizabeth continues her masterful ploy of Brad Mullin. He gives her the files of the suspected killer of their fellow KGB agents. She of course leads him to believe this will be the last time they see each other. So cool, manipulate a dude, get what you need, and make it to where he understands he just did something for someone he'll never see again. Just another day.
Stan Beeman tries to capture Anton and brings in Frank Gaad to help him. At least I think, I didn't really quite understand what was going on with Gaad claiming there were super secret files, but I guess Anton was really important? Anyway, Stan thinks he has a lead and is just following Oleg.
Oleg's intentions and character motivations are pretty unclear at this point. He clearly wants more respect and position among the KGB because he constantly challenges Arkady Ivanovich. He's probably interested in Nina. And if the end of this episode is any indication, he really wants to get money - or power. Either way, his blackmailing of Stan makes a certain amount of sense with what we know about Oleg, but we don't really know much about him. I hope that this storyline reveals more about his true intentions. He seems to just want to get out of the Cold War in the best position possible, whether that be a high level KGB officer or as a rich converted American.
I'm also really excited to see what this story does for Stan. Noah Emmerich is fantastic and he hasn't been given much to do except play the fool so I think this will take his character in an interesting direction. He's now getting played twice, one knowingly and one unknowingly.
This is another great episode of The Americans, which seems to be on a bit of a roll lately.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
The Americans: Cardinal
Spoilers to follow
The Americans returns this week with an episode that I found was as equally strong if not better than last week's. Granted, last week's held a stronger punch - that tends to happen when a family get killed point-blank and a son is left to witness the details. But this focused on characters we actually know and care about.
Since the second season of The Americans will have a tighter focus on the Jennings' relationship to their two children, I feel a theme developing. In both episodes, the Jennings are forced to do something with their kids they aren't comfortable doing. In the first, Phillip brings Henry to a secret switch of information from John Carroll Lynch. In this episode, Elizabeth wants so badly to have a family night only for her country responsibilities to get in the way.
The Jennings are on high alert after the cold-blooded murder of their two friends. Elizabeth is jolted into reality in that she's facing potential consequences of their life's work for the first time. Sure, she could die, but that's kind of understood when entering life as a secret spy. But the implication that their kids will be hurt? That's something they should have seriously considered and for the first time are forced to deal with.
And it shows on Elizabeth throughout this episode. In the first season, it kind of seemed like Phillip was more of the family man and Elizabeth was the colder character. While that certainly may be the case, she is freaking the fuck out over her family right now. Phillip seems more in control, although Matthew Rhys is playing him nicely as a man who isn't really in control, but projects it on the surface. Elizabeth is pretty openly losing her shit.
She sees construction workers - it's pretty obvious they are actually construction workers early on. But one of them gives her a glance while she's in her house and she thinks they are spying on them. I mean wouldn't you think that? So she's constantly looking out the window throughout the episode. Also, Henry's right: Paige is crazy. Who would want to play Life instead of see Raiders of the Lost Ark? (Note: The timeline seems a bit off unless movies were in theaters for like a year back then. Raiders of the Lost Ark came out in the summer of 1981, while later on we find out it's the summer of 1982. But hey it's not that big of a deal and I'm sure some theater may have carried it.)
Meanwhile, Phillip needs to go see if John Carroll Lynch - I'm not sure what the character's name is as the Episode 1 credits on IMDB don't give him a name - to see if he's the one who ratted them out. We get some new cool wig work this episode again. I'm all for a new wig/persona for every episode. The costume people earn their money.
Anyway, a surprising amount of tension hangs over the scene when Phillip gets electrocuted even though there's no way he's getting caught or killed. Still, that whole scene I half expected him to maneuver his way out (which I guess he did technically). We find out Lynch really cared about that couple and that he has no idea they were killed. Well, he may have an inkling, but refuses to accept it at the very least.
Tension remained over that scene for me personally as I was genuinely expecting him to kill Lynch for... some reason. Like even when it was clear Lynch was a "good guy," I thought the source's integrity had been destroyed and he needed to be removed. Anyway, an important movement seems to be happening as Lynch tells Phillip they need to get moving NOW because some important development is happening.
Speaking of double agents, Nina plays Stan like a fiddle in the episode. It's kind of sad really. For some reason, Stan is resonating with me less as a protagonist this season and it's way easier for me to root for the Russians. I feel dirty typing that, but damn it, it's the truth. His whole approach to Nina is slightly disturbing and it doesn't help that Nina is sympathetic and essentially forced to do this.
Nina gains Stan's trust by telling her about the walk-in (Name: Bruce Dameran). I'm not sure of the significance of the walk-in, except the last walk-in to the KGB office was really important. But the walk-in doesn't seem that important because they allowed Nina to tell Stan about him. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what happened. That scene where Nina describes what she did with Stan was just... cold. It forced the audience to see the situation for what it was and it wasn't pretty.
Also, in the news of potential problems later on, Nina has drawn the attention of Oleg Igorevich. I'm not sure what kind of problems he'll be, but he's either a potential love interest for her, someone who will be drawn in by American ways, or he could fuck something up. Either way, he's way too prominent for something not to happen with him in the future.
And lastly, Phillip as Clark makes some new ground on Martha, convincing her to not only not leave counter intelligence, but encouraging her to put herself in a position to get promoted. That was well done on something that could have been a total disaster for him. Also, Martha wants to get a gun. Well, that sounds like Chekhov's gun to me. Think she'll be aiming it at Clark sometime in the future? I sure do.
Oh yeah, and Paige is still trying to find things out. She gets stopped in the process and frankly it looked like Phillip caught on that she was doing something wrong. But they already kind of are aware that she's snooping of them so that was probably not a huge deal. Anyway, Paige I encourage you to stop so that your life won't get ruined.
Oddly enough, I found myself liking this episode more than the previous one. I think it's because I had my wits about me and was aware of everything happening. Last week, it took me a bit to figure out what was going on since I hadn't seen an episode of The Americans in months. Either way, it seems like The Americans is better than ever.
The Americans returns this week with an episode that I found was as equally strong if not better than last week's. Granted, last week's held a stronger punch - that tends to happen when a family get killed point-blank and a son is left to witness the details. But this focused on characters we actually know and care about.
Since the second season of The Americans will have a tighter focus on the Jennings' relationship to their two children, I feel a theme developing. In both episodes, the Jennings are forced to do something with their kids they aren't comfortable doing. In the first, Phillip brings Henry to a secret switch of information from John Carroll Lynch. In this episode, Elizabeth wants so badly to have a family night only for her country responsibilities to get in the way.
The Jennings are on high alert after the cold-blooded murder of their two friends. Elizabeth is jolted into reality in that she's facing potential consequences of their life's work for the first time. Sure, she could die, but that's kind of understood when entering life as a secret spy. But the implication that their kids will be hurt? That's something they should have seriously considered and for the first time are forced to deal with.
And it shows on Elizabeth throughout this episode. In the first season, it kind of seemed like Phillip was more of the family man and Elizabeth was the colder character. While that certainly may be the case, she is freaking the fuck out over her family right now. Phillip seems more in control, although Matthew Rhys is playing him nicely as a man who isn't really in control, but projects it on the surface. Elizabeth is pretty openly losing her shit.
She sees construction workers - it's pretty obvious they are actually construction workers early on. But one of them gives her a glance while she's in her house and she thinks they are spying on them. I mean wouldn't you think that? So she's constantly looking out the window throughout the episode. Also, Henry's right: Paige is crazy. Who would want to play Life instead of see Raiders of the Lost Ark? (Note: The timeline seems a bit off unless movies were in theaters for like a year back then. Raiders of the Lost Ark came out in the summer of 1981, while later on we find out it's the summer of 1982. But hey it's not that big of a deal and I'm sure some theater may have carried it.)
Meanwhile, Phillip needs to go see if John Carroll Lynch - I'm not sure what the character's name is as the Episode 1 credits on IMDB don't give him a name - to see if he's the one who ratted them out. We get some new cool wig work this episode again. I'm all for a new wig/persona for every episode. The costume people earn their money.
Anyway, a surprising amount of tension hangs over the scene when Phillip gets electrocuted even though there's no way he's getting caught or killed. Still, that whole scene I half expected him to maneuver his way out (which I guess he did technically). We find out Lynch really cared about that couple and that he has no idea they were killed. Well, he may have an inkling, but refuses to accept it at the very least.
Tension remained over that scene for me personally as I was genuinely expecting him to kill Lynch for... some reason. Like even when it was clear Lynch was a "good guy," I thought the source's integrity had been destroyed and he needed to be removed. Anyway, an important movement seems to be happening as Lynch tells Phillip they need to get moving NOW because some important development is happening.
Speaking of double agents, Nina plays Stan like a fiddle in the episode. It's kind of sad really. For some reason, Stan is resonating with me less as a protagonist this season and it's way easier for me to root for the Russians. I feel dirty typing that, but damn it, it's the truth. His whole approach to Nina is slightly disturbing and it doesn't help that Nina is sympathetic and essentially forced to do this.
Nina gains Stan's trust by telling her about the walk-in (Name: Bruce Dameran). I'm not sure of the significance of the walk-in, except the last walk-in to the KGB office was really important. But the walk-in doesn't seem that important because they allowed Nina to tell Stan about him. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what happened. That scene where Nina describes what she did with Stan was just... cold. It forced the audience to see the situation for what it was and it wasn't pretty.
Also, in the news of potential problems later on, Nina has drawn the attention of Oleg Igorevich. I'm not sure what kind of problems he'll be, but he's either a potential love interest for her, someone who will be drawn in by American ways, or he could fuck something up. Either way, he's way too prominent for something not to happen with him in the future.
And lastly, Phillip as Clark makes some new ground on Martha, convincing her to not only not leave counter intelligence, but encouraging her to put herself in a position to get promoted. That was well done on something that could have been a total disaster for him. Also, Martha wants to get a gun. Well, that sounds like Chekhov's gun to me. Think she'll be aiming it at Clark sometime in the future? I sure do.
Oh yeah, and Paige is still trying to find things out. She gets stopped in the process and frankly it looked like Phillip caught on that she was doing something wrong. But they already kind of are aware that she's snooping of them so that was probably not a huge deal. Anyway, Paige I encourage you to stop so that your life won't get ruined.
Oddly enough, I found myself liking this episode more than the previous one. I think it's because I had my wits about me and was aware of everything happening. Last week, it took me a bit to figure out what was going on since I hadn't seen an episode of The Americans in months. Either way, it seems like The Americans is better than ever.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
The Americans: Comrades
The Americans is back! I'm going to write episode reviews for this season of The Americans. I strongly suspect this is the next great television drama. I don't know if it'll be of the level of Breaking Bad and The Sopranos, but it has that potential. And so far so good if the first episode is any indication. (Obviously spoilers to follow)
To start this season, it appears Elizabeth has been in Russia recovering for some, undetermined amount of time. Phillip has been left to take control of the household and complete missions. I'm not sure how much time passed, but I'm a little confused as to how he could both pretend to be married and raise his kids so it couldn't have been THAT long.
Nonetheless, it looks like less time will be spent on the marriage of the Jennings. It seems like this season will focus more on their relationship with their kids. So the pretty well-acted kids get more of a featured spotlight I presume in this season. I'm intrigued and have seen enough good acting from the two to not worry.
To start the episode, Phillip poses as a Texas, country-loving American to two Middle Eastern men with similar interests in America. It seems these two men hate the KGB and are working with Americans to help take them down. But unfortunately, this trusting, kind man is Phillip so they get killed.
I strongly suspect Phillip was supposed to kill one of them, and leave the other to send a message. But the man takes off his identity and he's forced to kill both. And he's forced to kill an innocent bystander unfortunately. I wish they would have taken more time to let his actions stew inside of him. I understand these are agents, but I doubt they are forced to kill completely innocent people that often. And also, we are supposed to sympathize with them! So if they feel guilty of killing an innocent guy, it's cool with me.
To help propel this season's main storyline, we are introduced to another undercover KGB couple with kids. I never caught their names (I didn't try to be honest), but they weren't necessarily important to know, just the idea of them. They are basically a reflection of the Jennings in every way.
The creation of this KGB couple is brilliant writing in more ways than one. For one, they show the price of being an undercover agent with a family. The stark reality of what could possibly happen to not only them, but their kids. They are putting their kids' lives in danger. The promising daughter gets killed along with her parents. And their son walks into that image of his three dead family members. That scene was as painful to watch. I know I'll be thinking about that for a few days. I'm guessing Phillip saw him and desperately wanted to tell him to not go in there and he sprinted the fuck out of there so he didn't have to hear him scream. I don't blame him. That scream was pretty effective.
It's also brilliant because it separates the two right when it seems things are going smoothly. They don't know if the FBI is involved or if they are discovered. We know they aren't because this is the first episode of this season and we haven't seen anything said on the FBI front. But they don't. So Phillip has to back to Martha and get the information. I'm still wondering how the hell he's going to juggle two lives at once.
Paige is still searching for information on her parents meanwhile. This episode she can't find anything but apparently finds her parents 69'ing. Oh my, between the image of walking into my dead family and this, this is not a good episode for Gabe. A kid walks into a room with her parents having sex and guess what? It's not even close to the most scarring moment for a teenager on this show. Oh and also this clues the Jennings into the fact that Paige might be looking at the two closely.
On the FBI agent side of things, Stan Beeman is stuck between Nina and Sandra. The latter two are season regulars so this is not a resolution he's likely to solve. Sandra seems open to getting back together since she invited him to the movies. She was crying at the movie they watched unlike Nina. Stan looks disappointed though since he wanted to make Nina cry. He seems to want Nina more than he wants his wife. Maybe Stan is suspicious that Nina won't cry? The double agent thing will add layers to each scene the two of them are together. (Also Nina strategically wants Stan to say "I love you" first. The person who says it first would seem to be more vulnerable at that moment so it makes sense that it was she seeks)
I think I caught everything. I'm afraid I missed something so feel free to comment or tweet at me something I might have missed or misinterpreted. I'm excited The Americans is back and as good as ever! I'll enjoy following this season with you all.
Friday, May 10, 2013
The Americans' Season Review
The Americans closed up its first season last week, and I have not a doubt in my mind that it was easily the best show that premiered this spring TV season. Not that there was really much of a contest anyway. The closest competitor is House of Cards, which while entertaining, suffered from mediocre writing. (Here's the review; I'll post my thoughts on the other spring shows below)
I have chosen to make this spoiler-free, because I really want people to watch this show. I want a person who has never seen this show to read the review and choose to watch it. I can't do that with spoilers.
Given that information, I really debated whether or not to even write this post, because I posted most of what I would say in my pilot review. (By the way, you should read that post too!) Ultimately, I decided to just combine this review with thoughts on other spring shows (To clarify, shows that premiered this spring.)
The premise of this show is that a Soviet couple has implemented themselves into America as spies in a long-form mission to win the Cold War. Their marriage doesn't really start being a marriage until the first episode. The rest of the season explores them trying to make it work. The other players are an FBI agent, a KGB operative forced to work for the FBI when she gets caught smuggling, and the couple's boss who tells them the orders. (My pilot post provides more background info, but you probably already know the gist of the show)
Think of a reason why you watch television. It can be any reason at all. Got it in your mind? Well, this show should supply that. It has action, sex, spy missions, the complexities of trust in a marriage, a look into a past decade, and the tensions of the Cold War.
If you literally watch TV for none of those reasons, I have no idea why you watch TV. As far as I know, they are true to the time period of the 1980s. I wasn't alive, but based on the critics who I follow, it achieves Mad Men levels of accuracy. It gives a good sense of how people acted in the Cold War. For someone like myself, this is a very cool drop into history.
Each episode has a mission for the couple to follow. They are pretty fair in giving kick-ass stuff for the husband, Phillip Jennings, and the wife, Elizabeth Jennings. Marriage is already hard and difficult. But in a business where the husband and wife's job description includes being unfaithful when necessary, it complicates things to the extreme. While Phillip and Elizabeth get closer, there's a contrast with the FBI agent and his wife who are growing farther apart.
This show hits right in my wheelhouse as I like to study history and I absolutely love spy missions. Also, there's no episodes where nothing happens. There's at least one action scene in every episode and I believe there's a sex scene in almost every one. To use one example, Game of Thrones usually needs a few episodes where nothing happens in order to get to the good stuff, but The Americans always has things happening, no matter how relevant to the long-term.
What really brings the show and makes it great is the phenomenal acting. I have never seen Matthew Rhys in anything before this, but he's a fantastic actor. Keri Russell is similarly great in this role. I cannot emphasize enough how important great acting is in a show where actors have to play different characters within the show. They kill every scene they are in.
Noah Emmerich, who plays Stan Beeman the FBI agent, is also amazing in this. He was incredible in two episodes of The Walking Dead he was in, and he does not disappoint here either. The KGB double agent is played by Annet Mahendru who is gorgeous and holds her own in acting as well. The child actors are actually good at acting, so no need to worry about them holding down the show.
The pilot is a great episode of television, but it's not even the best episode in the season (that would go to the finale!). So watch the pilot, enjoy it, and carry with you the knowledge that it gets better or more fulfilling.
Other Shows that Debuted in Spring
1. The Following - Congratulations to Kevin Bacon and Kevin Williamson for creating a ratings hit, but this show sucks. Bacon is great in his role, but James Purefoy is unconvincing as a charming criminal mastermind. Not totally his fault, the dialogue in this show is subpar. Edgar Allen Poe is used to defend his serial killer antics, which is ridiculous and certainly starts the show on a bad path. What got me to stop watching was when it was clear that anybody not named Kevin Bacon could be a follower, which is dumb. Like I said, it doesn't help that I don't get why everyone wants to follow Purefoy. The script and Purefoy don't do a good enough job. Given that apparently even FBI agents might follow his word, that's kind of important.
2. House of Cards - I have a season review of it, but to summarize that review: Everything's great but the plot, which has a few too many implausibilities and inconsistencies for my liking. Problems not bad enough for me not to tune in for the second season.
3. Carrie Diares - I'll admit I only watched one episode, but that episode was surprisingly good. It's way too girly for my liking and I think they over-exaggerate 80s fashion. But AnnaSophia Robb is so engaging and great that I want to watch more of this just for her.
4. Bates' Motel - I've also only seen one episode, but that episode was also pretty good. I don't have much else to add, that my review doesn't already cover.
5. Hemlock Grove - Yeah, I was hoping Netflix would have a string of shows that were great, but this show breaks that run already. Just atrocious acting holds back any potential I had for the show. Unlike the previous two that I hope to watch some time, I gave up on this show and do not plan on continuing.
Playlist
1. "Portrait of Red" - Virginmarys
2. "Lost that Easy" - Cold War Kids
3. "I Will Wait" - Mumford & Sons
4. "When Worlds Collide" - Ces Cru
5. "Smooth" - Santana ft. Rob Thomas
I have chosen to make this spoiler-free, because I really want people to watch this show. I want a person who has never seen this show to read the review and choose to watch it. I can't do that with spoilers.
Given that information, I really debated whether or not to even write this post, because I posted most of what I would say in my pilot review. (By the way, you should read that post too!) Ultimately, I decided to just combine this review with thoughts on other spring shows (To clarify, shows that premiered this spring.)
The premise of this show is that a Soviet couple has implemented themselves into America as spies in a long-form mission to win the Cold War. Their marriage doesn't really start being a marriage until the first episode. The rest of the season explores them trying to make it work. The other players are an FBI agent, a KGB operative forced to work for the FBI when she gets caught smuggling, and the couple's boss who tells them the orders. (My pilot post provides more background info, but you probably already know the gist of the show)
Think of a reason why you watch television. It can be any reason at all. Got it in your mind? Well, this show should supply that. It has action, sex, spy missions, the complexities of trust in a marriage, a look into a past decade, and the tensions of the Cold War.
If you literally watch TV for none of those reasons, I have no idea why you watch TV. As far as I know, they are true to the time period of the 1980s. I wasn't alive, but based on the critics who I follow, it achieves Mad Men levels of accuracy. It gives a good sense of how people acted in the Cold War. For someone like myself, this is a very cool drop into history.
Each episode has a mission for the couple to follow. They are pretty fair in giving kick-ass stuff for the husband, Phillip Jennings, and the wife, Elizabeth Jennings. Marriage is already hard and difficult. But in a business where the husband and wife's job description includes being unfaithful when necessary, it complicates things to the extreme. While Phillip and Elizabeth get closer, there's a contrast with the FBI agent and his wife who are growing farther apart.
This show hits right in my wheelhouse as I like to study history and I absolutely love spy missions. Also, there's no episodes where nothing happens. There's at least one action scene in every episode and I believe there's a sex scene in almost every one. To use one example, Game of Thrones usually needs a few episodes where nothing happens in order to get to the good stuff, but The Americans always has things happening, no matter how relevant to the long-term.
What really brings the show and makes it great is the phenomenal acting. I have never seen Matthew Rhys in anything before this, but he's a fantastic actor. Keri Russell is similarly great in this role. I cannot emphasize enough how important great acting is in a show where actors have to play different characters within the show. They kill every scene they are in.
Noah Emmerich, who plays Stan Beeman the FBI agent, is also amazing in this. He was incredible in two episodes of The Walking Dead he was in, and he does not disappoint here either. The KGB double agent is played by Annet Mahendru who is gorgeous and holds her own in acting as well. The child actors are actually good at acting, so no need to worry about them holding down the show.
The pilot is a great episode of television, but it's not even the best episode in the season (that would go to the finale!). So watch the pilot, enjoy it, and carry with you the knowledge that it gets better or more fulfilling.
Other Shows that Debuted in Spring
1. The Following - Congratulations to Kevin Bacon and Kevin Williamson for creating a ratings hit, but this show sucks. Bacon is great in his role, but James Purefoy is unconvincing as a charming criminal mastermind. Not totally his fault, the dialogue in this show is subpar. Edgar Allen Poe is used to defend his serial killer antics, which is ridiculous and certainly starts the show on a bad path. What got me to stop watching was when it was clear that anybody not named Kevin Bacon could be a follower, which is dumb. Like I said, it doesn't help that I don't get why everyone wants to follow Purefoy. The script and Purefoy don't do a good enough job. Given that apparently even FBI agents might follow his word, that's kind of important.
2. House of Cards - I have a season review of it, but to summarize that review: Everything's great but the plot, which has a few too many implausibilities and inconsistencies for my liking. Problems not bad enough for me not to tune in for the second season.
3. Carrie Diares - I'll admit I only watched one episode, but that episode was surprisingly good. It's way too girly for my liking and I think they over-exaggerate 80s fashion. But AnnaSophia Robb is so engaging and great that I want to watch more of this just for her.
4. Bates' Motel - I've also only seen one episode, but that episode was also pretty good. I don't have much else to add, that my review doesn't already cover.
5. Hemlock Grove - Yeah, I was hoping Netflix would have a string of shows that were great, but this show breaks that run already. Just atrocious acting holds back any potential I had for the show. Unlike the previous two that I hope to watch some time, I gave up on this show and do not plan on continuing.
Playlist
1. "Portrait of Red" - Virginmarys
2. "Lost that Easy" - Cold War Kids
3. "I Will Wait" - Mumford & Sons
4. "When Worlds Collide" - Ces Cru
5. "Smooth" - Santana ft. Rob Thomas
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Thoughts on The Americans Pilot
The hour and a half pilot episode of The Americans, the new FX drama, was suspenseful, gripping, and exciting. That is how you make a pilot episode. After watching it, I can now empathize with two Soviet KGB spies integrating themselves into America.
The show is set in 1980 with Ronald Reagan as the new president of the United States. The Soviets are terrified of Reagan and think he's a mad man. The presence of a potential war seems very real despite knowing that the war always remains cold.
The show is set in 1980 with Ronald Reagan as the new president of the United States. The Soviets are terrified of Reagan and think he's a mad man. The presence of a potential war seems very real despite knowing that the war always remains cold.
Keri Russell stars as "Elizabeth Jennings" (not her birth name, but her American one), alongside her "husband" "Phillip Jennings"(played by Matthew Rhys). The quotes indicate the ambiguity of their life. They act like husband and wife to the outside world and to their two kids, but when they are alone, it's less clear.
Elizabeth has sex with an American agent to obtain information in the first scene so a monogamous marriage it is not. But when Phillip plays the tape of her escapade, it's obvious he is deeply affected by it. He seems to love her and wants a normal, American life.
Elizabeth is much more cold, and clearly dedicated to the KGB. It's not as obvious that she cares for Phillip much more than any two agents care for each other. There's a reason for this as a flashback will show. There are three flashback scenes and all are effective in getting the point across.
The couple has been in America since 1965, had children, and have done their best to sound and look as American as possible. They never even speak a word of Russian once they enter America (very convenient for television purposes, but it's not exactly an irrelevant reason for doing so).
The children have no idea and it's clear the couple care about them. I won't reveal a spoiler, but the show does a very effective job of making it very clear that Phillip cares about his two children. It's a very satisfying scene.
To create an immediate and likely future conflict, a new neighbor (played by the great Noah Emmerich) moves in who happens to work for the FBI. He was undercover for the past three years so he knows what that is like. He is seemingly there to provide intel on what an undercover Soviet would do. So he knows what being undercover is like so he would be attuned to any slight misstep that the Jennings would have. (Let me make it clear that he moved in as a pure coincidence, not because the Americans are onto them)
Overall, that was just great television. It's obvious the main characters are not bad people, they just care about their country. That's pretty important in establishing these two people as likable characters and not people that we would despise.
On another note, after just two episodes, I am finished with The Following. It appears it will be on for a while since the ratings are good and evidently the majority of the American public enjoy it. Not me. I cannot do a show where federal agents might possibly be on Joe Carroll's side with no reasoning as to how or why. Sorry, it's dumb. If the show was at all convincing about Carroll's ability to brainwash people, I could forgive everything else. But it's not. He's no more interesting than your regular professor.
So The Following is out and The Americans is in for awhile longer.
Next post: Classic Comedy shows that I am watching or will watch... or have watched.
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