Episode discussion post: "The Day After"

[jae]

Aired:
11 May 2016 in the U.S. and Canada

This is a discussion post for episode 409 of The Americans, intended for viewers who are watching the show on the U.S./Canadian schedule. (Feel free to dive in to the discussion even if you're coming in late--and you should also feel free to start a new thread if it seems too daunting to read through what's already been posted first. If you're reading this at a point where you've already seen subsequent episodes, though, please take care to keep comments spoiler-free of anything that comes after season four, episode nine.)

Original promo trailer

"The Americans 4x09 Promo "The Day After" (HD)" (Watch on YouTube)

Overnight reviews

From Vulture
From the AV Club
From Hitfix
From Slant
From the New York Times
From the Washington Post
From the Wall Street Journal
From Entertainment Weekly
From Inverse
From Geeks of Doom
From People's World
From Mstars News
From the Young Folks
From Celebrity Dirty Laundry
From TV Fanatic
From tv.com

Comments

Re: Oleg's position

[selenak]

It was such a smart move on the show's part to give us the Rezidentura characters, instead of relying solely on our Illegals to represent the Russians. It adds layers, and different viewpoints that are neither identical with our main characters nor with Stan & Co. Not to mention that it ensures the Soviet Union doesn't come across as a monolithic block in which everyone thinks the same.

re: Oleg, I wonder whether he'll also be the first to hear about Gorbachev as an up and coming man? It would fit, and would be a good counterpoint to Arkady having been the first to mention Andropov.