TV: The Americans Final Season

[Cole Caulifield]

Rhys was so brilliant here. His long speech in the middle was so well done. When he said "Stan, I have to abandon my son."..that whole part was my favorite part of the whole series.

Honestly the level this show maintained through 6 years is really high. It was very even keel and never really had super dull or filler episodes. I loved the ending, and indeed this garage scene was really perfect. They didn't tell him the whole truth (lied about Genadi and killing people), they opened up just enough for him to let them pass, like when Paige corrects her mom about her knowing when she was going out with Stan's son.

I always wondered what would happen when Stan would find out, because he had to, I mean.. he was a FBI agent and the guys he was looking for were right under his nose for years, if he hadn't found out... it would have turned the character into a joke. And I always wondered how the "americans" could possibly get out of that without it being a blood bath or ending in them being in cuffs. It was truly perfect the way it was handled. It couldn't have went down any better. And throughout the entire show... this was THE moment we had all been waiting for, I was glad it wasn't a disappointment.

Truly a great show.

 

[Cole Caulifield]

I think this was beautifully handled by the writers and Holden to keep this so open ended that people will see what they want and draw their own conclusions.

Even though the previous is a spoiler, I'll use a tag for my next thought on the finale.

Spoiler

Oof, that gut punch with Paige on the platform as With or Without You peaks...

I don't disagree. I say I wish we had gotten the answer... but truly you are right. I am totally ok with not knowing as well.

 

[Cole Caulifield]

Also....what's up with Paige? Stan KNOWS, she can't just go back to school, can she? Would Stan play dumb about that, too?

They had multiple caches with fake IDs. She can get a job, and simply start anew, alone and build a life in America under a new fake ID. We don't know what happens with her, but I choose to assume that's what would happen. And many years down the road, perhaps she would get in touch with her brother, or eventually possibly even go meet her parents in Russia.

 

[NyQuil]

And many years down the road, perhaps she would get in touch with her brother, or eventually possibly even go meet her parents in Russia.

I think what's actually kind of interesting is that the viewer knows that the Cold War will be ending and that things will ease up in less than 5 years, but the characters do not know this.

 

[glovesave_35]

I just finished with the series finale last night and wanted to let it sink in. The more I think about it, the better I think this whole final season was. I am always a bit leery of long time jumps like we saw between seasons 5 and 6. In this case all it really did was serve to advance the age of the younger characters and create a backdrop of Philip being "out" for a good period of time.

Without delving into details, I will just agree with everyone who mentioned the garage scene. Just perfectly executed on all sides. The writers perfectly developed the plot lines to lead all of the central characters to their eventual destinations. Noah Emmerich and his little facial ticks was just great throughout the show. The performance, start to finish, of Matthew Rhys especially was outstanding. His slight different accents he used when in different character was perfectly done.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Fantastic show. One of the very best of the last decade. I always have a ton of trouble trying to sell it to folks who haven't watched it though. I pride myself on getting friends to watch shows that I love that they missed, but I just have never been able to get anyone to bite on this one. Not enough action for some. Too heavy/sad for others. Oddly, Mad Men is the comparable I most point to since it really is deeply invested in its main characters and their emotional story rather than any real plot ... still no takers.

 

[glovesave_35]

Fantastic show. One of the very best of the last decade. I always have a ton of trouble trying to sell it to folks who haven't watched it though. I pride myself on getting friends to watch shows that I love that they missed, but I just have never been able to get anyone to bite on this one. Not enough action for some. Too heavy/sad for others. Oddly, Mad Men is the comparable I most point to since it really is deeply invested in its main characters and their emotional story rather than any real plot ... still no takers.

I'm in the same boat. I never try to sell shows too much because it creates unreal expectations. I don't know why the basic synopsis isn't a quick sell to more people. I heard about it from the sports station in Dallas I always listen to.

 

[Cole Caulifield]

I think what's actually kind of interesting is that the viewer knows that the Cold War will be ending and that things will ease up in less than 5 years, but the characters do not know this.

Indeed, I was thinking of that when I wrote this. Eventually the heat on Paige will die down a little. And Henry was never guilty of anything.

 

[Preds Partisan]

For the series finale "Start" as they deserved.





Keri Russell should have won in her category. This season was more about Elizabeth than Philip and I thought Keri was the better actor. This will have to do.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

Great show. My Top 5 shows in recent years are this, Better Call Saul, Fargo, House of Cards, and Mr Robot.

 

[Cole Caulifield]

My top 5 : Breaking Bad, The shield, The Americans, Game of Thrones and Supernatural.

 

[Danko]

Just binged watched this show over a month from start to end. Great Show, Matthew Rhys in the Garage talking with Stan...wow. I was rooting for Stan throughout the series, such a good guy and seemed like he got a raw deal most of the time. Stan and Philips bromance was awesome.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

I just watched the garage scene again, thanks for the call back post. I need to watch it again in one sitting. I always watched it a week at a time.

 

[glovesave_35]

Yeah that garage scene is just great. I look forward to rewatching this series in a few years.

 

[sdf]

when the americans portrayad russians in some of their another ridiculous bullshit

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

when the americans portrayad russians in some of their another ridiculous bull****

Me attempting to read this post

 

[Dubi Doo]

Amazing show. I'll agree it's probably top-5 for me. Oleg, Stan, and Phillip were my favorite characters. They all had a decency about them even though they did indecent things.

I thought it was cool that Elizabeth was the one more in control of her emotions rather than Phillip. It goes against the stereotypes.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

Agreed. This show, Better Call Saul, and Fargo are all top 5 for me.

 

[kook10]

Going super necro on this thread...

I just binged this over the last couple of months. Overall I think it was a very very good show. Just shy of top tier. A minus? I know there were a lot of big fans out, but it doesn't really get much attention any more.

Matthew Rhys in particular was fantastic. There was some slow bits and fantastically unbelievable plot lines, but overall it was very enjoyable. For all I know what I thought was unbelievable actually happened somewhere, but on TV some stuff made me scoff. It also didn't have any real element of humor at all so the dryness of it all, along with the subtitled portions, made it difficult to focus at points. We had to rewind many times to figure out what was up. Of course that is also due to "multitasking" with a phone in my hand.

I wouldn'y top 5 though. Maybe top 10 or 15? Keri Russell was a little too one note for me. She had that one face:

I wish Stan Beeman was written better too. I think the endgame evolved too quickly.

that said I recommend it

 

[Primary Assist]

After watching a few episodes of the Diplomat I'm inclined to give this a shot. I've heard really good things, and Keri Russell really knows how to command a scene (all while being easier on the eyes than a mason jar full of Rohtos)

 

[Jumptheshark]

I ended up binge watching this after it ended...surprised it was so good. And I admit it was a little strange seeing Russell shed her good girl image