Episode discussion post: "Only You"

[jae]

Aired:
3 April 2013 in the U.S. and Canada
29 July 2013 in Australia
1 August 2013 in Ireland
3 August 2013 in the UK

This is a discussion post for episode #10 of The Americans, intended for viewers who are watching the show on the Australian/Irish/UK schedule. Please do dive in even if you've seen subsequent episodes, but take care to keep comments spoiler-free of anything that comes after season one, episode ten.

FX's original promo trailer:

"Next On: Only You" (Watch on YouTube)

FX's official three-minute recap:

"Snapshot: Week 10" (Watch on YouTube)

FX's official "Go Undercover" replay with commentary from the actors and producers:

"Go Undercover: Episode 10 Recap" (Watch on YouTube)

New reviews/recaps:
From The Guardian (UK)
From Unreality Primetime (UK)

Reviews/recaps from first airing:
From the AV Club
From Vulture
From Hitfix
From Think Progress
From the Huffington Post
From Collider
From Television Without Pity
From We Just Might Love TV More Than You
From jessenigma on dreamwidth
From jae on dreamwidth

Comments

[katiac]

And we can interpret the deception part of that as sad for Gregory, or we can just be relieved that he didn't have the full picture.

I felt both of these things. I was grateful that he had that comforting little deception to hold on to at the end for a lot of reasons, one of them being how hard the last few months of his life must've been after Elizabeth broke things off to be with Phil. I mean, on the one hand, he supported the cause and all, but it had to really suck for him to kind of be in the position Phil used to, where he's "used" in support of the cause to get them cars and provide surveillance, but without that personal connection he wants.

And I also feared how it would make me feel towards Elizabeth if she had two men pining for her and miserable, and didn't take steps to do the merciful thing and cut one of them loose. Like, I don't think she's trying to use them in a calculated, manipulative way, but she definitely knows how they feel about her and plays that card when she's out of other options. ("Please, Philip. I'm asking," or asking Gregory to keep an eye on Philip and their kids to keep them safe. Ouch.) It worked here, IMHO, because the time span was so quick that it was only a few months, but I wouldn't have wanted to see that dynamic drag on indefinitely, both because it would risk making Elizabeth too unlikeable and also I think it would weaken both Philip and Gregory if it went on long-term and they went along with it.