Paige standing on the platform as the train pulled out was a great “Holy Shit!” moment. Wonderful closing episode: A satisfying conclusion w/o tying everything up in a neat bow.
This. Except I would go out more than three years. The kind of finale I’ll be thinking about for some time. One of the 10 best tv dramas of this generation IMO. My personal favorite for lots of reasons and the saddest I’ve been to see a show end since Fringe.
Mad Men, The Wire, and The Sopranos are in a three way tie for my favorite shows of all time, so I was just going back to when Mad Men ended. The Americans almost certainly makes my top 10 as well, though I don’t keep a list in mind.
An exceptional finale, though I’m a little unsatisfied with Paige and I thought if they’re going to throw her ending out there like that, they should at least close her off a little better. I thought, given her protests that having her meet up with henry would have made sense, but showing up in their contacts apartment (whose name i dont know)? And the vodka being there makes no sense.
The more i think of it, even with them - can they return to the soviet union? They turned against the KGB who would be free to concoct whatever story they wanted(or they could just stick with the ‘you murdered our operative’ angle) - surely retribution isn’t long delayed.
Problem is, the record labels set the prices for perpetual licenses so ridiculously high no one wants to pay for them. So it’s almost guaranteed that the episode will be ruined by that at some point, with both the Dire Straits and the U2 songs excised.
I was certain Scorpions WInds of Change would make an appearance somewhere…just that haunting whistle…guess it was just out of period…1990, thought it was late 80s…
Brilliant series. The finale was very unexpectedly positive, I have to say. Poor Oleg though. He ended up paying for all of it, by himself. Separation of kids from Misha and Nadhezda will last two years, then the curtain gets torn and they might be able to fly out.
One issue I had, once the fbi/cops new it was the Jennings, searched their house, etc, they should have had lots of high quality photos of them - I mean Stan was their neighbor for decade ffs - so it was weird when the train cops only had some low quality sketches to compare.
Overall 10/10 show though, best spy series/movie ever.
To your first point:
Paige obviously can’t just show up at Henry’s without jeopardizing both of their safety. Henry is safe right now, but only because of his complete ignorance. He may still be dragged in for interrogations until they can confirm he really doesn’t know anything, and even if he’s not in custody of some kind, they’re going to be watching him like a hawk for any kind of communication. Paige might have a shot at claiming ignorance too if she really trusts Stan as much as her father does. As far as I could remember, Stan is the only one that knows she wasn’t in the dark, and I think he probably wouldn’t go after her, but I doubt she’s as certain. And even if she believes he’d keep quiet about what he knows, she has to realize she’d be subjected to a whole host of interrogations as well if she turns up.
I think Henry is the number one reason Paige stayed behind, and I’m sure she’ll contact him eventually, but she’s smart enough not to go directly to him in the middle of all this, she knows what a risk that would be.
The safe house where they met with Claudia makes sense. Why wouldn’t the vodka still be in the fridge? Whatever Paige is going to do, she’s probably going to need a moment to think about it. Setting aside any effort to reach Henry, even if she wants to try to play innocent and return to her “normal” life, she’s going to need a moment to think this through, so a safe house seems like as good a place as any to catch her breath and have a drink. Showing up back at her apartment or her parents’ house, even with a story ready about where she was the night before, is going to throw her into a whirlwind of suspicion and accusations.
To your second:
We don’t know what the future holds for Philip and Elizabeth. I was holding my breath for the entire drive with Arkady Ivanovich, expecting all three of them to be gunned down any minute. They’re not dumb, they know how dangerous it is, but it’s less dangerous than staying in America. Well, maybe dangerous is the wrong word, the consequences if things go wrong are potentially worse in Russia, but the likehood of getting caught is probably higher in the US. Plus they’re still motivated to get the info back to the right people about the KGB plot against Gorbachev, knowing the plan to get word back through Oleg failed.
I think Philip and Elizabeth know it’s dangerous, but it makes sense to me that they’d go back. They love their country.
It’s 1987.
Sorry for the photo of my iPad, I don’t think there’s any way to screenshot an iTunes video anymore, but they’re looking at what I assume is a fax with a photo on the left, as well as sketches covering a range of disguises. I don’t know of a way they could’ve widely distributed a better quality photo as far out as Canadian train stations only hours after this has broken.
Hmm, true I suppose.
From the reddit:
Paige End of Series Spoilers, from a reddit post on /theAmericans
I got to thinking about Paige’s arc as a spy in training under her parents, and I had a thought about the moment on the train platform. Earlier in the episode when discussing whether or not to call Henry to say final goodbyes, Elizabeth makes it a point to emphasize to Paige that she can’t act like anything is wrong when she talks to her brother. But when the time comes and they’re at the payphone, she can’t do it. She doesn’t have control of her emotions in the moment and doesn’t want to upset Henry.
Fast-forward to them on the train. She walks up the aisle, past her two fugitive parents, without so much as a nod or a wink. Her expression is completely blank and emotionless. Paige has the same look on her face when Elizabeth looks out the window and sees her standing there, saying goodbye in silence through the window.
In that moment, Elizabeth is watching her daughter graduate into adulthood. Paige has conquered her emotions, she has asserted her independence as an individual, she has made an very complicated and painful decision to do what is right for herself. You could interpret it as a reversal of that universal rite of adulthood when children leave the nest to fly on their own and start their own life apart from their parents. But in this story, instead of watching Paige leaving the nest to start her new adult life from the driveway of their home, it’s the parents who are leaving the child behind for a new life.
Like most everyone, I was pretty devastated as that scene played out. But looking at it again through this lens, I see Paige as a confident, strong, grown-up woman making the toughest choice of her entire life. I don’t feel as sad for her anymore. Instead, I feel more proud and hopeful for her as a character.
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheAmericans/comments/8nia8f/paiges_decision_as_passing_a_test/
Well I think part of what makes this such a great finale is that there’s room for interpretation on a lot of the motivations. I don’t quite buy into this version of it though.
I don’t think Paige has necessarily conquered her emotions so much as she has different emotions and the context is different. Her relationship with her parents has been strained this year, and while I believe she does still love them, it’s easy enough to imagine a different kind of emotional reaction to leaving them than leaving Henry.
I think it’s a little heavy handed to suggest this moment as a specific transition to adulthood, I think that’s a process she’s been going through over the past several years.
But sure, a lot of what they’re saying still applies and resonates in ways I agree with. Thanks for sharing that.
It reminded me of a part of this piece, emphasis mine:
Summary
Joel Fields (co-showrunner): When we got to set and they were about to film, we started talking to Chris Long (executive producer, “START” director) about the fact that the exact moment [when Stan changes his mind] doesn’t exist, and that the audience needs a moment to realize what’s happening. There isn’t a moment that goes click in Stan’s brain, in our minds.
Noah Emmerich (Stan Beeman): I do think the resonance of Henry is definitely explosive for Stan. He’s really close to him, he really is connected to him, and he’s a completely innocent bystander child. That has a big impact on Stan, for sure. It’d be hard to identify a singular turning point, but that has a real impact.
I’m inclined to imagine the same thing about Paige, that you probably can’t pinpoint an exact moment that she decided to leave.
I guess I thought that the safehouse had been cleaned up and neutralized, so i assumed nothing incriminating would be let behind. True, there’s nothing incriminating in a bottle of vodka, but (particularly at that time) good vodka would be pretty rare and possibly suggestive. I dunno.
But, i think it’s more dangerous for her to return to the safehouse without her disguise than to show up at henrys school. If she’s playing innocent, she goes home, or she goes to see henry. If she’s not, she goes underground. Going undisguised to the safehouse is…reckless? Stupid? Maybe she goes there because that’s the only place left to her…but still, wouldn’t it be better to go disguised? Or maybe she went to see claudia? But if that’s the case, wouldn’t her entrance be more tentative? My interpretation of it was she walked in expecting to find no one there. So I’m not sure what to make of that.
The Stan thing was unexpected. I got… feelings from that. Then he puts the blanket on Renee anyway. Oleg, he was doomed once he was caught.
Wait. Where the hell was the “going to hell” moment?
I agree in general, but I will mention if you re-watch West Wing’s Two Cathedrals episode on Netflix, you’ll find Brothers in Arms is still there and it’s been 17 years… so that’s something, at least.
COME ON!!! the whole Renee thing is trolling!
Laurie Holden (Renee): Renee serves a very specific function in the narrative. Her purpose has been to stir up intrigue. Whether or not she’s a spy, that’s for the audience to decide. I know, but I will never tell. I was told at the very beginning. Whether or not that changed, or went to a different incarnation, that’s a whole other story. But [Joe and Joel] are very smart writers. She was there for a reason. When the audience goes back and rewatches these episodes, they will be able to find clues which will better inform them as to who she really was.
I’m not inclined to read too much significance into the lack of a disguise when she goes to the safe house. She appears to be wearing the same outfit she was wearing on the train, but a different coat, and she got off the train with no luggage, so who knows exactly what she did between the train and the safe house. You could argue she’s in less danger where they’re not actively looking for her than at places like on trains and in airports, but ultimately I’m just not convinced the lack of a disguise signifies anything specific.
I think it’s intentionally open to interpretation about what Paige is going to do with her life now. I think the only sure bet is that she does plan to get to Henry, but again, I think that’s an eventual plan, not an immediate one, because she realizes the danger.
I think broadly, her options for how she lives her own life are to try to get back into the spy game, to try to uproot and live a new but normal life somewhere, or to try to retain her existing life and play innocent.
Of those, trying to keep her old life seems like the most immediately dangerous, because there’s so much that could go wrong, and she’s had enough training to know that. First and foremost she has to trust Stan entirely. And she might, but that’s not insignificant. Then she has to trust that even if he never says a word, she’s walking into the lions den by just turning up as if she doesn’t know what’s going on or why the FBI is looking for her family. What’s the benefit of inviting that risk? She could screw something up under interrogation, or there could be evidence found as the Feds dismantle every aspect of Phil and Elizabeth’s lives looking for more info. Those are huge risks that I don’t think she would take just for the convenience of having her old life back. She would only do that if she thought it was the only way to see Henry again, but the way I see it, it will be much easier to just disappear, start a new life, and then reach out to Henry covertly once things have died down. Still a risk, but he’s not going anywhere (he really is innocent), and she’s got the time.
I think the way she walks into the safe house, there’s a little bit of hesitation which is again ambiguous, you could believe she just doesn’t know what to do exactly now that she’s here, or you could read it as maybe she thought there was a chance she could reach Claudia. So I think there’s room for the interpretation that she wants back in on the spy game, but I don’t think it’s the most likely either.
I think she’s going back there because she wants to stay off the radar, and that’s a good place to stop for a moment, have a drink, and make a plan. She’s going to disappear, and when it’s safer, contact Henry, and go from there.
I can’t explain why she took off the disguise, it does seem better to have it than to not have it, but all told, I think the risks of trying to walk back into her own life are the highest by a considerable margin.
Yeah, that just seems like she’s having some fun with the attention.
I missed what we’re talking about here. What go to hell moment are you asking about?
Ok so through this season the showrunners said they were “probably going to go to hell” for one scene. The subreddit kept wondering which scene it was. I guess there was a bit of exaggeration because I am not sure which one it was supposed to be. Is it leaving Henry? Is it telling Stan his new wife MAY be a Ruskie too? is it Paige being annoying and doing Paige things? Is it chopping a dead person up so they can’t identify it?