One of many, many signs that the
Emmys is becoming more and more current came when it finally honored FX's The Americans with six nominations,
including Best Drama, Best Actor for Matthew Rhys and Best Actress for Keri
Russell. The leads have subsequently been nominated for Golden Globes and the
series earned a Writers Guild Award as well.
The series has been one of the great dramas on TV for the last four seasons,
and as the fifth season begins, it shows no signs of either abating in quality
or becoming less relevant.
Last season was a bloody one for
the series; three regulars died, and another was forced to go back in the USSR
in order to avoid being snatched by the FBI. Considering the level of tension
throughout the season, paradoxically, Philip and Elizabeth are now more in
concert than they have been for almost any time in a series. They're working
together on their first mission, playing a married pilot and stewardess, trying
to get in deep with a Soviet expatriate whose every admonishment of their
homeland strikes a blow to them internally.
They are now forced to deal with a mission they may depend on whether or
not someone is poisoning the food the motherland imports, something that has
raised the ire of the often reluctant Philip/
But there is more trouble close to
home: Paige, who has been a source of danger ever since they revealed their
true identities to her, has since been falling apart. She is still reeling from
the sight of Elizabeth killing an
attacker in front of her, and in the season finale, began dating Matthew, the
son of next door neighbor, Stan Beamann (Noah Emmerich), the FBI agent, who is
trying to hunt them down, and who is beginning to pick up signs that something
is rotten next door. Both her parents are obviously concerned, but their
patience with their daughter is starting to wear thin.
Stan is trying to go through his
own level of exhaustion at his job. Still reeling from the firing and
subsequent death of Frank Gad, he is still trying to lead an operation with the
Soviet operative he has spent nearly two season cultivating a relationship
with. When Oleg returned to the USSR
last season, after divulging a secret involving biological warfare, he thought
that was the end of the business. Now, however, Stan's new boss (Peter
Jacobson) and the CIA are trying to squeeze
him still further. Stan violates protocol and begins an operation that might
end his career - if he doesn't realize who his neighbors are first.
The
Americans remains one of the most daring series on TV, even this late into
its run. In the premiere episode, they had a ten minute sequence entirely
without dialogue where the lead characters just dug up a body - a tour de force few shows would ever
attempt. As the series approaches its final episodes (the creators have
previously announced that this will be the penultimate season), the viewer is
constantly forced to consider shifting allegiances. Even now, one is never
entirely sure just where the Jennings '
seem to be psychologically - not even their handlers. Sylvia (Margo Martindale)
said "Nothing scares these two. Gabriel (Frank Langella) says:
"Everything scares these two. Who is right? Is it possible they both are?
With the hindsight of history, we know what might happen to the Soviet
operation, but what will happen to the Jennings ?
Even at this date, I'm still unsure, and that will keep watching to the very
end.
My score: 4.75 stars.
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