theamericans | Episode discussion post: "The Great Patriotic War"

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jae posting in

theamericans

Aired:
25 April 2018 in the U.S. and Canada

This is a discussion post for episode 605 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 six, episode five.)

Original promo trailer

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From:

saraqael

So I rewatched the phone call scene (in fact I rewatched the entire episode) to pay attention to the camera angles and you're right. The camera circles around and draws closer to Philip as he's speaking, and it ends with a very cool shot (though out of focus) of an American flag waving in the background. That's pretty wild. The scene is telegraphing that Philip has chosen sides.

Speaking of the camera work, when I rewatched the episode, I noticed that the camerawork in the 'morning after' kitchen scene between Philip and Elizabeth is especially good at emphasizing what's happening between the two. I mentioned it in my Twitter. They're in the same frame together outside. When they enter the kitchen, they're still in the same frame, but the scene itself is divided: they're on one side, the empty house is on the other side. The camera starts to divide them to opposite sides of the frame when Elizabeth first proposes her plan. By the time Elizabeth describes Philip taking Kimmy to Bulgaria, he is almost entirely out of the scene except for the tip of his hand. It cuts to a reaction shot of him and she is almost entirely out of the frame. Then they come back into the same frame when Philip says, "There's got to be another way." Elizabeth starts talking and the camera starts dividing them again when she says, "It all comes down to this." Then they're back in frame together though neither looks at the other when she says, "All you'd have to do is go on a trip." They go back to separate frames when Philip objects and says, "She's just a kid." They stay in separate frames until Elizabeth says, "You're done." The very last shot in this scene is of Philip looking reproachfully at her. Elizabeth is just a dark blur.

That was really terrific staging, IMO. As I said on Twitter, you could watch this scene with the sound off and still know how troubled these two are by the way the camera divides them. There are only a couple of points in the discussion when they're actually together; otherwise they are pulling apart and just reacting to each other.

From:

sistermagpie

This is so cool!

From:

saraqael

I was very impressed when I went back and watched it again. It's almost like a dance with the camera work mirroring what the characters are saying and experiencing. When I watched the scene as it aired, I was far too engrossed in the story to notice this level of detail. I'm glad you mentioned the camera angles changing in the last scene with Philip because that's what spurred me to pay attention to the camera setups when I watched it again.

From:

jae

It's worth saying that the director for this ep was Tommy Schlamme, who is the same director sistermagpie and I saw in action when we went for our set visit. He's amaaaaazing.

-J

From:

saraqael

Oh wow! What a great coincidence.

From: (Anonymous)

Still so jelly you got to see it during filming :D

- QR who is not logged in presently

From:

jae

I'm currently travelling so I've only seen the episode once (and it was when I was verrrrry sleepy), so I haven't felt up to commenting on anything, but this is so interesting! Thank you for all this analysis. Our comm's membership is so smart.

-J