Episode discussion post: "Rififi"

[jae]

Aired:
2 May 2018 in the U.S. and Canada

This is a discussion post for episode 606 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 six.)

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Comments

Re: Henry and Walden

[sistermagpie]

I didn't see Elizabeth's statements as in any way her implying that she was going to die heroically. She doesn't want to die. She's merely resigned to dying if that's what it takes.

That's dying heroically.

I don't think she was trying to manipulate him into coming to her either. I just also don't think she's sweetly trying to shield him from the work since this isn't the part of the work has an issue with anyway.

She's trying to uphold her end of the deal they made when he quit.

She didn't care about upholding her end of the deal with she asked him to kidnap Kimmy or lashed out at him for not doing it or insulted him for being a useless slacker before she left. She made it clear she holds him in contempt for not giving enough of a shit to be doing this work. She broke her side of the deal already. It seems perfectly in character for Elizabeth to me, both in general as part of a pattern and according to everything she's doing in this episode, that she didn't want to ask for help for herself, not because she's shielding him.