Darren

As others have hinted at, it's less about the collapse of a particular geographic alignment that's the issue, as it is the collapse of Communism. That's what Elizabeth has fought and killed for. She believes it (Communism) is a way of life that will free the world. She isn't generally being nationalistic in her behavior. She legitimately believes all human beings are best served - most justly and equitably served - by Communism. It's the collapse of THAT socio-political ideal that's her coming rude awakening.

Yup. I just enjoyed reading new article on the subject.

I actually do think the show will somehow end with the collapse of the Soviet Union - even if it's only a final flash forward, when we get to see the reactions of Philip and Elizabeth. That potential scene is too juicy to pass up. Especially Elizabeth's reaction. I want, no... better put, I NEED to see that.

Wow! Think Paige is in a pickle? Read this article about the real-life situation on which the Americans is based. Two brothers, raised to believe they were Canadians, later becoming naturalized American citizens, end up with a rude awakening regarding their parents and the family's true identity: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/07/discovered-our-parents-were-russian-spies-tim-alex-foley

Elizabeth is clever in some ways, sure. Absolutely brilliant in others. But emotionally and relationally, especially as it pertains to her own personal life, she's stunted and suffers from tunnel vision. She misses stuff when it comes to people's motivations all the time. That's partly what makes her so fascinating. She's a fish out of water in "self-actualized" 1980s America, unlike Philip. That's something the show gets really right about Elizabeth's character. You can teach an agent to be fluent in English even though they grew up speaking Russian. You can work them till their accent matches the natives. You can teach them to use whatever means necessary to manipulate people. And you can certainly teach them facts about a foreign society and its system of governance. What you can't do is erase the subconscious structure that arises from decades of imprinting in a collectivist culture - where individualism is beaten out of you from Day 1. Especially in Elizabeth's case, where she had a mother who was so single-minded and do-your-duty-and-shut-up-about-it-already about almost everything.

Re: Elizabeth going off on Paige right after Paige pulled the "I can't control how I feel" card, I think what's happening there is all about Elizabeth recognizing that Paige (in E's view) still has a woefully inadequate view of reality. Elizabeth is an idealist. But she believes in almost any imaginable means to a desired end. And she believes the rest of the world works the same way. And in that worldview, Paige's "feelings" card just sounds (to E) like a babe walking into a den of lions complaining about a mood. In that moment, with the "feelings" objection Paige offered, E acted totally motherly. She mothered Paige in the only way that made sense to her. She was protecting herself, yes, and protecting the family, yes - but also protecting Paige. In that moment, beyond the immediate and omnipresent danger, she saw in Paige a woefully unprepared burgeoning young adult.

Loved tonight's episode. Loved P/E's fight over EST and "lost agents". Loved the misunderstandings, too. They love each other, but they have some serious wire-crossing going on. Also, been meaning to say for a while now that I think one thing people often forget about with a character like Elizabeth is that she was raised in a collectivist culture. Soviet citizens did not value "rugged individualism" and "personal rights" and "self-actualization" the way Americans did (and do). Remember her collectivist - the-whole-matters-more-than-any-individual-part - is key. Thinking back to the Cold War, this really was a clash of civilizations; two different perspectives on what it meant to be a human being and part of a human society. Elizabeth really could (based on her history) justify killing innocents "for the sake of the greater good" and really believe it. She was raised to think this was right. That's why I think the sociopath labelling is off. She is a loyal Soviet, through and through - and it shapes her entire worldview.

I'm honestly surprised that anyone actually believed Philip had romantic feelings for Martha. There's a reason why he said "Are you crazy!?" in reply to Elizabeth's question. Because he was never romantically interested in Martha. I'll go one step further and say that I actually remember thinking, of Matthew Rhys' acting when he was with Martha, "Come on, man, you're supposed to be convincing this woman you actually have feelings for her" because, honestly, I just thought the sell-job on Martha looked so disingenuous. Only a truly desperate, non-intuitive person would have fallen for that sell-job of romantic interest. His pacing, facial expressions, body language - everything - was so different than his interactions with Elizabeth. That's a fine line for an actor. Because, on the one hand, as an agent he's supposed to act like the love is real. But as a character, posing as another character, you also want to leave the audience with a sense that there's a difference. A tricky balance for sure. But there were times where I thought Rhys just played that a little too obviously. In fact, that's been my only complaint of pretty much any of the acting of the main players - which is so consistently excellent. Also, please remember, the whole setup on the show was to provide us the dramatic moment where Philip assures Elizabeth of how much he loves her. It was never meant - I would contend - to help clarify for the audience where his romantic feelings lay. It was merely a scene demonstrating a bonding moment in their marriage. That was the plot device there. Full stop. And re: Elizabeth - again - I'm flabbergasted that anyone would think her feelings for Philip aren't genuine. Of COURSE she loves him. Everything in her facial expressions, body language, and - for Elizabeth - inconsistent actions as an agent of the KGB - suggest that she loves him - DEEPLY. Is it creating some inconsistency in her? Absolutely. Is she unsure of who she is sometimes now, as a result? Absolutely! But ever since the beginning of the show, when she broke off with Gregory and famously said to Philip, of the connection between the two of them: "I feel like it's happening now" - it's been all about their relationship. It's been all about their genuine, deep (and often complicated) love for each other in the midst of their crazy lives. The show-runners themselves have said that the show, really - at the end of the day - is a story about a marriage. Everything else serves that main plot point.

But how can they win when we already know how this goes: the Soviet Union collapses like an immense house of cards. I think they're going to have to settle for something far less than victory. And, because the show does try to keep it real (for the most part) I don't see them retiring to a beach in Cuba. They may do that now, but they certainly didn't back in the day. Ames was spending like it grew on trees - and no one suspected a thing till a whole lot of agents started getting compromised. I mean, in hindsight it was SO OBVIOUS.

I totally agree. There's something else going on with her that we're not privy to yet.

To clarify, it's not that I want Philzabeth to "get away with it". But what I most look forward to is seeing their own internal processing when they realize what they've done - what "means" they've justified in support of their "ends". But I wanted the same thing for Stan when he cheated on Sandra, or when he killed a soon-to-be med student in revenge for his, unrelated, partner's death. It's the humanness of each character that is intriguing, rather than which "side" they're on.

Agreed. I am actually more astounded by real life stories of double agents that went undetected when obvious clues existed everywhere you looked - like swelling bank accounts and massive house purchases. It's like agencies were blind to the possibility of high penetration for a long time. Like, seriously, I wouldn't believe these stories if it weren't the case that they're actually real. Human beings can be and regularly are - completely inept. And large groups of people - i.e. agencies, even more so.

I remember the Cold War, too. And I was in Berlin as a teenage tourist soon after the Wall fell. Amazing moment for humanity.

One nitpick I have: I've been expecting that the one time when Martha would REALLY LOSE IT is when she realizes Clark's love isn't real. That's the one thing that's led her to betray everything and everyone else in her life. The moment she realized that she should have hit the roof. I was actually looking forward to (and simultaneously cringing about) that scene - and in the end it was kind of anti-climatic in an episode that was otherwise, truly amazing. Maybe she's going to hit the roof next time out. Maybe it is shock right now that's keeping her somewhat subdued. We shall see.

What about seeing them as people, though? Do you find it impossible to have any empathy for anyone who's at one time been considered an "enemy"? After all, the Cold War relations began to change, at least partially, when Gorbachov and Reagan grew to see each other as human beings with many common goals.

But Philip did tell Martha the truth about her going to Russia, and - most importantly - about him not going with her - ever, not even for visits. To me that was his EST training coming through. As an agent, he probably shouldn't have told her everything he did. But as a human being, he needed to. I get that this is fairly small beans compared to all the other deception. But it's a beginning. Also, Martha was getting really emotional in the park, and other than tazing her - which wasn't a thing in the 80s, right?! - Elizabeth had to do something to snap Martha out of it. Kind of cold? Yes. But completely in character for Elizabeth. And at least she didn't shoot Martha and claim she tried to run, right? Right?

Yes, I know about that aspect. I'm saying I think there's something else going on with her, beyond that. For instance, as someone else pointed out, why didn't she let the Centre know that the plane would be delivering Martha as well? She paused. The telex guy asked her if there was anything else, then she said "send it" - without saying anything about it. Something strange happening there.

So much gravity in these last two episodes! Seeing Gaad, the man, watching his life and career spinning out, like a miniature version of Martha's drama. I love how the writers have portrayed the rippling effects of human drama - like a pebble dropped in a pond. One's actions change not only one's life, but others as well. It's definitely still not clear if Martha is actually going to Russia or not. Also, the woman at the Rezidentura has some mysterious stuff going on, too. What is she up to exactly? I think there's more than just confidential files that Oleg can't be privy to going on there.

It is for me. Or, if there is more there to him, it's not that he's a double-agent. And, from my perspective, the most interesting - and ultimately effective - double-agents are the ones you never see coming. Not the ones that it occurs to you could very well be because they already appear conflicted.

While the idea of William as a double-agent is an interesting one, the thing is, if he had been "turned", I think he'd be far less obvious about his distaste for his work and for the Centre's leadership. So, I conclude that he is basically who he appears to be.

I know who you mean. But I think he's Greek or something. Not Russian, and probably not Eastern-bloc - for the very reasons you suggest.

Actually, I didn't think they had amazing chemistry. I thought that whole situation felt contrived. They were both committed people. But that's as far as the connection went in my eyes. I didn't buy that relationship at all.

That may have just been creative editing for the preview, though. I'm not convinced it was the FBI she was calling. They may have just spliced together those scenes to make us draw that conclusion - falsely, of course. Oh, this show. So falsey!!! As an aside, I don't think Philip (aka Clark) is romantically interested in Martha. I think he has an affection for her, but not "that kind" of affection. I think he just really feels responsible for her well-being. He's been "running" her for 3 years now. That's a heavy burden. Of course, he should clarify this with Elizabeth. He's being typically male there in assuming that Elizabeth should "just know" that his feelings for her are on a completely different level. That's honestly probably my favorite part of this great show - the realistic way they play out male/female communication and relationships. Miscommunications every where you look - much like in real life!

By the way, I loved the complicated expression on Gabriel's face when Martha told him "I know who you are - you're KGB". He normally plays everything so laid-back, but in the moment there was a combination of quiet rage (probably towards Philip) and a deep understanding of the growing and imminent threat that Martha has become. Hats off to Frank's acting and also to the character of Gabriel. Great stuff!

The slow build-up over several seasons is really paying off now - in terms of dramatic effect. It was so intense when Philip finally said it - "the KGB". The fact that he didn't tell Martha the full truth about he and Liz, or that he and Martha won't be able to be together, tells me Philip is still keeping his options open. There is deceit, even in the truth-telling. I think the Centre legitimately wants to extricate Martha. But I don't think they'll be able to. This is going to end before they get the chance. And if Martha still had her gun - it just may be via suicide. I think once Martha realizes that everything she's traded away was for a relationship that wasn't ultimately real, and that has no future, she will HIT THE WALL. And who KNOWS what she'll do then!