Episode discussion post: "START"

[jae]

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

This is a discussion post for episode 610 of The Americans (the season and series finale), 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.)

Original promo trailer

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Comments

Re: The emotional costs for the kids / The fall of the Soviet Union

[sistermagpie]

Throughout the whole show, I've cringed whenever I've thought about how Elizabeth especially would react to that, if she survived the show (I figured Philip would be fine--he'd roll with it). But given the very real changes in her character this season, I don't worry about that anymore. I think she's less naive now, and more willing to see things in shades of grey. She's already had some of those shocks, too, so watching the rest of that happen will really just be a continuation of the road she's already on. She'll be dismayed by what happens next, but not destroyed by it.

That's exactly what I was thinking. I never thought Elizabeth would be able to handle it but now I think she could. I also was sure she was going to have to live with Philip's death but after last episode I no longer thought that. She had her awakening.

Love that Elizabeth always followed orders because that's what patriots do, and she was the one who murdered a KGB officer to be patriotic.

Philip was always desperately trying to keep the family together and safe because that's what good dads do, and he was the one who let the kids (Henry, but that gave Paige her path) go to be a good dad.