Episode discussion post: "Jennings, Elizabeth"

[jae]

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

This is a discussion post for episode 609 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 nine.)

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Comments

Re: My review

[selenak]

Stan calling up from out of the blue was only going to get information if Tim had already had some change of heart so he was ready to tell if it came up.

Hm, true. Though the more I think about it, the safer-for-himself Tim's reply was. From his perspective: if E & P are now being busted by the FBI, he's established he didn't know anything. Yes, Paige & her parents could contradict him there, but they're not likely to, and for all the FBI knows, his contact with the Jenninges really did not extend beyond Paige having been an enthusiatic member of his church for a while. If, otoh, the Jenningses are not being busted, and/or this call is some kind of test, then him keeping their secret also keeps him safe. He did have a close call when he was in Africa, realising how mortal and vulnerable he is when he wandered in the wilderness. I think these days, he has a healthy self preservation instinct.

re: Elizabeth's look of uncertainty: I think because this is really a first for her. The one time she went directly against Center orders before was in a cause of personal vengeance. This is different, because "the good of the country/the cause/the people" and "what the Center tells me to do" can not be reconciled in her eyes, and that puts her into so new territory that she has no precedence to cling to.

re: wedding vows - I do think these are on her mind, not least because she took the rings with her when she left. And yes, Paige's words re: Philip might have connected in that regard, though not for the reasons Paige names. Mind you, I believe when Elizabeth at the end of the previous season told Philip he should quit (which was the first big thing she did post marriage re: Philip), she did think of him and what was good for him. However, what was also true was what she'd told Tuan (who in many ways mirrored Elizabeth's worse tendencies) in the same episode, that if you didn't have a partner you could not cope with the work. So Elizabeth might have started her solo time (well, solo plus Paige, but Paige NOT being a partner and instead at best an overprotected protege wasn't helping) with only good intentions re: Philip, but the reality of it and her increasingly shutting down emotionally in order to carry out her assignments ensured resentment built, which she couldn't admit to, even to herself, until he decided not to go through with the Kimmy kidnapping scheme, and then it was an ugly pustula bursting open.

Just like Philip's "think like a human being" phrase last week was a kind of mirror upholding re: who she had become in general, Paige's "no wonder Dad can't stand being in the same room with you" works as one re: "who have I become as a wife", though, again, not for the reason Paige gives.

Re: Dark Room

[sistermagpie]

re: Elizabeth's look of uncertainty: I think because this is really a first for her. The one time she went directly against Center orders before was in a cause of personal vengeance. This is different, because "the good of the country/the cause/the people" and "what the Center tells me to do" can not be reconciled in her eyes, and that puts her into so new territory that she has no precedence to cling to.

Totally agree. She's in the "Dark Room" the EST guy talked about, moving forward by instinctively reaching out her hands. And she grabbed her wedding rings--Philip ended that ep by asking her to marry him.

Just like Philip's "think like a human being" phrase last week was a kind of mirror upholding re: who she had become in general, Paige's "no wonder Dad can't stand being in the same room with you" works as one re: "who have I become as a wife", though, again, not for the reason Paige gives.

Right. It's not that Paige is right, but Paige is giving an accurate representation of what she--and Henry, although Elizabeth doesn't know it--are seeing. Though Henry doesn't interpret it in the spiteful way Paige is here, he and Paige both saw Philip try to not stay in the kitchen when he came in from his run and they both knew it was because of the tension between him and Elizabeth.