Third (and final! I promise!) linkspam this week

[jae]

The official reviews of season two are starting to roll in from various U.S. publications: from the San Francisco Chronicle, from the Tampa Bay Times, from Indiewire, from the Los Angeles Daily News, from the San Jose Mercury-News, from Slant Magazine, and finally, from the Huffington Post (this one is really a negative review of season two of House of Cards, but there's a positive comparison with The Americans in the final bit).

The full Wall Street Journal Live at Bryant Park "How The Americans Recreates the Cold War" panel has been posted (30-min video).

An interview with Keri Russell (Elizabeth) from the LA Daily News (with some season two spoilers).

And an interview with Matthew Rhys (Philip) from the New York Daily News (also with some season two spoilers).

And an interview with Noah Emmerich (Stan) from Paste Magazine (also with some season two spoilers).

And an interview with Peg Schierholz and Lori Hicks from the Hair and Makeup Department, from the Washington Post.

A couple of things from Twitter: according to script supervisor Molly Nussbaum, The Americans made the very top of this coming week's "must list" in Entertainment Weekly. And it looks like actor Gillian Alexy is going to be back playing Anneliese toward the end of the season!

And the comm's own quantumreality with the third part of the essay on symmetries in The Americans.

The Americans is going to be the subject of canada.com's TV Chat critics' panel on Monday at 2pm eastern time.

The TV Ate My Wardrobe blog sent someone to cover the season one DVD/Blu-Ray launch event.

The Staten Island Advance on the use of a local location as a backdrop to an episode of The Americans.

And finally, here's a little clip of Keri Russell on Late Night With David Letterman (on channelling her inner Elizabeth when her apartment was broken into).

Comments

[quantumreality]

I am hopping with glee now :D

I'm trying to avoid S2 spoilers generally, but I HAD to see who that casting spoiler was, and I was like HA WHOA because hot blond lady who treats spying like a game kinda disappeared suddenly in the first season - so it's nice to see that plot thread being taken back up in S2.

[jae]

I FEEL EXACTLY THE SAME WAY. I was quite annoyed that they made it look like Philip had put so much work into cultivating their relationship to the point where he had frequent conversations with Elizabeth about her--and then bam, nothing else for the rest of the season. Continuity love!!!

-J

[quantumreality]

And it can only get more complicated! Because now there's Elizabeth, Martha AND Anneliese. How Phillip intends to juggle all of them - I have no idea.

[jae]

Well, Anneliese doesn't enter the picture until the end of the season, so I don't think it'll be like that. And presumably he's been juggling them all along? Though I suppose we'll see.

-J

[katiac]

Like, with Annelise, the impression I got was that it was only a periodic thing, not something that would require the same extent of juggling as a source like Martha. The trouble with Martha is that she's a fake-girlfriend and then fake-wife, and SHE doesn't think there's anything unusual about "Clark." So the "I'm busy at work" might be a good excuse for "Clark" to only see her once or twice a week, but he still has to be available occasionally, call her, etc.

With Annelise, it's a pure affair and Annelise is married to someone else. Philip's cover is that he's a spy for Sweden, so one would assume (or perhaps Annelise would) that he's in and out of town, etc. So probably he could get away with only seeing her a few times a year.

[quantumreality]

That said she seems to be the most risky as an asset because she treats spying like a huge game and seems to be somewhat emotionally needy. She seems like the kind of person who might get cheesed off at Phillip having to be absent for a meeting and in doing so, decide in a fit of spite to blow the lid off his cover, without thinking about the fact that she would then also be under the microscope.

[sistermagpie]

Philip himself considers her a loose canon. Or in his words, iirc, "half off her rocker."

[sistermagpie]

Man, these articles just get me so thrilled all over again about the show. Things like that Slate article are practically reminders of how they kind of made it just for me. Love the little things dropped in here and there, like MR saying how Philip and Elizabeth are essentially victims of making life choices too soon - not because they were necessarily the wrong choices for them, but because there's just no way you know whether you can do this when you're a teenager. Leading to that big conflict between them. That they both want to do this, but deal differently with the fact that it's so unsustainable. It's the conflict of the D-words: Death vs. Defection. Elizabeth can't choose defection, and if she won't Philip's going to have to choose Death as well.

Also the stuff about how the show mines how much tension comes from just passing information with no need for gunplay, sex or fighting. That was always something that sometimes struck me in listening to people talk about the show last season, the kinds of people who had Really Bad Ideas for what should happen, which usually involved bigger and bigger craziness with tons of surprise reveals rather than what the show seems to do instead, which is zero in on the true danger of every tiny second of their lives. And also that they're not afraid to look at things from different angles--they don't have to follow up on Stan almost catching them. The trail can go cold and they can go through a period where they're not dealing with the same stresses.

One other thing in that Slate article is I had to laugh at them describing a scene where most of the action was people hurling monologues at Philip while he can't say anything because LOL! Philip does that all the time anyway. Which almost makes it better because you know he's listening.

[jae]

Leading to that big conflict between them. That they both want to do this, but deal differently with the fact that it's so unsustainable.

Yeah, this is exactly how I see it. It's one of the most compelling remaining points of conflict between them, too.

And also that they're not afraid to look at things from different angles--they don't have to follow up on Stan almost catching them. The trail can go cold and they can go through a period where they're not dealing with the same stresses.

If they'd done things differently, it would have been a show that had the plot and characters of The Americans but the structure/writing style of The Blacklist. And I would have watched that show, too, but it wouldn't have been anywhere near as good.

-J

[sistermagpie]

I've never watched The Blacklist--what's the structure/plot like there?

[jae]

It's a procedural that tries to recreate the very same life-and-death actiony stakes every week, basically. It doesn't play the long game well.

-J

[katiac]

Ooo... I loved the Slant article. Sounds like they have some great internal conflicts in store for season two.

I also appreciate that it isn't about the big huge plots, but about the smaller moments. Like people kept saying Sandra should be a Russian sleeper or they should kill off Henry, or this and that... but really they've found a great little niche in sucking every drop of conflict out of the smallest (and most universal!) emotional moments. And that's what really resonates so much more strongly than "what will blow up this week?"

[georgley]

I love that the show explores the smaller moments and issues. There is so much to be mined from that and by the sounds of it, they are going to be exploring some interesting things in season 2. I am particularly interested in seeing the jealousy as P/E deal with the honey traps.

[sistermagpie]

Yes, one of the many problems with those big stories is it makes the whole situation less tied to reality. If you were actually in the Jennings's situation you would be genuinely terrified of getting caught. One of your children getting hurt would almost be beyond what you could worry about and if it happened you really wouldn't be able to go on for a long while. It's great the way the show makes the stakes so high--and part of that, of course, is that not everybody can be a sleeper agent or a spy. The Sandra-as-sleeper was one of the worst in this regard. It was a classic twist for the sake of a twist that really undermines the rest of the show.

[soupytwist]

EEEE ANNELISE!

And omg, I feel like I'm watching this little show grow up, or something. So exciting!

[georgley]

There is so much positive buzz around this season! So looking forward to seeing how it progresses!

Too much

[cerveny]

I am starting to think that there is too much of positive buzz. Maybe that it is the way it works but I would be lot happier with more lukewarm response. This looks like hype.

Re: Too much

[jae]

Hmm...to me, 'hype' is necessarily something deliberate and orchestrated, not something that happens naturally. And for hype to come from so many different independent sources, there would have to be a major conspiracy going on between a whole bunch of very opinionated competing journalists from vastly different publications. :) To me it looks like lots of critics just happen to like it (some more than others, but no one's disliked season two yet).

I guess I think lots of positive attention can actually only be a good thing for a show like this one, which has a small enough viewership that it didn't have an easy time with renewal for the second season. I for one would love for it to have an easier time of it this time around. Positive press doesn't always translate to a huge ratings boost, but it can't hurt!

-J

Re: Too much

[sistermagpie]

Yeah, I can't see why all or even most of these guys would have any reason to pretend they like the new season so much, particularly if they didn't like it as much last year. It seems like the show's just doing what it does best in the beginning of season 2. At least one review wasn't 100% positive either, the one that said that some of the other elements don't come up to the level of the central P/E relationship.

Re: Too much

[cerveny]

I never thought about "hype" as something intentionally created. More in the lines as everybody is going with the flow because nobody wants to look odd. But that is not important.

My fear is originating in experience that what is critically acclaimed does not usually work for me. That is all. And as it takes not very much for me to stop watching some TV show I just do not want it happening to The Americans as I quite like it.

But if general population of press critics like it I have no problem with it. I just hope that people would not think of it as bigger than life and be then disappointed what the show cannot reach this unreachable quality. It would be sad to see it gone just because of it.

So this is the point for me, do not overdo it. But I do not know maybe expectations have nothing to do with renewal.

Re: Too much

[jae]

Okay, I see where you're coming from. I actually am pretty sure expectations have nothing at all to do with the chance of renewal (it's about viewer numbers only), so you can breathe easy on that. The worst thing that could happen if there's a mismatch between what the critics like and what the viewers like in this case is that the viewers will watch it, be disappointed, and stop watching. To my mind, though, even that's still better than if they never watched it at all, so I have a hard time seeing any positive critical reception as a bad thing. :)

If you're worried about getting your own hopes up too high, though, maybe the solution is to just not read the reviews? Do you think that would help? (I'm not worried about that in my case because I read enough TV and film criticism to be familiar with which critics I feel I can trust the opinions of and which ones I can disregard.)

-J

Re: Too much

[katiac]

I mean, I can't help but be excited that so many people have seen the first episodes and are excited too. If we were getting basically mixed reviews, or only a few voices singing the praises of the show, I would be more worried... but to me it seems like the show is doing a GREAT job of getting their name out there this time around, is getting the word out that they're telling a good story, and it's starting to pay off.

Re: Too much

[cerveny]

Well, I mostly do not read reviews so there is that. Usually short bottom lines is enough.

Yeah, I know that expectations does not matter for renewal, but if people would be disappointed then they could just stop watching and that could means cancellation.

But there is one another small tidbit from reviews: In many of them authors took stance of us versus them, or America vs. Jennings. And they are content. So I am little worried if they did not push the political lever little too much. Because many of the negative reactions for first season were about not fitting American perspective enough. Maybe they just get used to it. But as first season was not completely fair to both sides (defecation. rape etc) I hope they did not deepen it.

Well, lets hope they just started to like the characters and do not think much about political background. (As there is no need, everybody knows how it ends. The creators are in very favorable position because they can afford to adventurous in that regard where creators for example of Homeland cannot, because the conflict is not over yet in minds of viewers).

Re: Too much

[katiac]

I think the show always kind of walks a fine line with the American versus Russian perspective. They do the same with Philip and Elizabeth with trying to keep the story true to spying and the conflict of having to do or doing horrible things while still being human, and not making the characters hated because they're unforgivable. But the good thing is, I think they're highly aware of the fact that they walk that line, and are trying very hard to do so in a careful way.

Re: Too much

[jae]

Yeah, that's definitely how I feel about it, too. I have a real thing for television and film criticism, so when I see these people I respect (not all of them, but many of them) saying such good things about this show I love, it makes me really happy. I can totally see how you might feel differently if your views don't tend to align with what the critics tend to like.

-J

[sistermagpie]

I was just reading The New Yorker's negative review of True Detective by Emily Nussbaum and it ends with this line:

"Bring me some unpretentious pulp like Cinemax's "Banshee" or an intelligent thriller, like FX's "The Americans," which is beginning its second season later this month, and actually does have fresh things to say about sex, sin and the existential slipperiness of human identity. Or to quote Nietzsche: "Is life not a hundred times too short for us--to bore ourselves?"

[jae]

I was just reading that, myself, and I chortled at that line! Surprise positive The Americans reference = automatic fist-pump!!! ;)

-J

[georgley]

A review from Slate. Love the sound of the Elizabeth and Martha stuff!

[sistermagpie]

Hee! That one was great. I guess I can maybe see where Elizabeth's "intrigue" about Philip's sex life is going to come from if Martha just can't stop singing about his skillz, even to his sister.

Oh, Martha.

AV Club also has a review up.

[georgley]

I can't even imagine how awkward that conversation will be but I am so looking forward to it!

I read the AV Club review this morning as well. I'm so excited!!

[sistermagpie]

I can't stop imagining how it would go. Because it's not like "Jennifer" seems like the kind of gal who'd be open to this. Is Martha just too happy to keep it in--she might be, since she can't talk to anyone else. Or does Elizabeth subtly prod her about some things because she's curious.

I just really love that the show's actually explicitly bringing it up, even. Because with a woman you know guys would be thrilled just that she's willing to do things, much less would take the initiative herself. But the idea that there's this nebbishy Clark guy who's secretly a superhero in bed is just hilarious.

I would love it if it got Philip and Elizabeth to even refer to their training in this area.

[georgley]

I can't even imagine! I would kind of love a really awkward scene where Philip has to ask Elizabeth to pretend to be Jennifer again.

I would love it if they discussed their training in that area. I'm so intrigued by how the show will deal with the honey traps this season.

[georgley]

Looks like we'll have to wait until episode 5 for this scene. They just released the episode description.

Episode 2.05 - The Deal
(Airs March 26, 10:00 pm e/p)

Philip and Elizabeth are finally assigned a new handler as Philip works to clean up the mess of the last operation and Elizabeth, in disguise as Clark's sister Jennifer, does her best to smooth things over with Martha. As Stan searches for a missing scientist, Oleg and Arkady continue to argue over how best to handle the situation on their side, leaving Nina once again caught between the FBI and KGB.

Written by Angelina Burnett; directed by Dan Attias.

[sistermagpie]

Ooh--that's interesting. I was picturing Philip having to ask Jennifer over for dinner with the two of them, but it's even sketchier if Jennifer has to basically go in as Clark's sister to help Martha "understand" him. And that would certainly give Martha reason to talk about their sex life. Which hopefully leads Elizabeth to ambush him with "So...what's this business Martha calls the Pearl Harbor?"

Also, poor Nina. They're giving her reason to feel torn.

[georgley]

I'm also super intrigued by the new handler!

[katiac]

I know! I'm so excited to read this episode description! And how awful for poor Elizabeth to have to sit there and pretend not to care if Martha goes into details about the sex--sort of a mirror on Philip forced to sit there while Gregory cruelly rubbed it in his face, though not intentional on Martha's part. That's so great that "Jennifer" is coming back!

[katiac]

AHH!!! I could not be more excited to read this! I love that "Jennifer" is having to get involved too. Has the potential for such great drama between P/E.

Wondering what the "mess of the last operation" is. Sounds like they have some great stuff planned from the spy end. That was the one they had to do without the support of the Centre, right?

TWO MORE DAYS!!!

[quantumreality]

Hmm! Interesting. It sounds like the writers aren't planning on a smooth double-agenthood for Nina, either. I wonder how she'll handle things this season, with her job as assistant head of Directorate S + feeding Stan true and/or false info.

[katiac]

God, that's just so AWFUL for Elizabeth to have to go through, and yet so perfect in that it brings it up in a way they just can't avoid confronting honestly. And also, it's kind of her turn to have to deal with the painful issues she doesn't really have any power to change--Philip got stuck in that role a lot last season, forced to accept her past affair, forced to accept that she reported on him, and sides of her that were difficult to take. I think it's really great that Elizabeth can be finally put in this position of having to buck up and deal with realities that are painful while not being tempted to cut and run.

[sistermagpie]

What's also cool about it for me is that first she's going to be conflicted because she knows this is his job. It's not like the Gregory revelations. Yet she's going to still feel jealous having to hear it. Plus it opens up the uncomfortable area of sort of. ..non - appreciation of Phillip. I don't mean she's a villain or anything but she very rarely has somebody pointing out some of the great things she's got in this guy she doesn't really acknowledge. And I understand why she hasn't but this is a great way to unpack some of that. It's good for her because she can start opening up and asking for these things. But it's also good for him to sort of say that well, he's never really gotten creative because he was afraid of rejection for good reason. It's just the type of thing she wouldn't think about from his pov. But I feel like it gets into some important areas of self - worth and so on. Because I feel like she's established her perspective on her own honey traps while the attitude towards his has been kind of implied over tome, also by her.

It's really another fascinating way the show plays with (without simply flipping) the gender roles.

[katiac]

Right, no, I agree. It's not an exact mirror. Philip definitely has the excuse it's for work and it's not like he's ever lied to her about it. But it does hold that similarity that both are kind of in a position where they feel really crappy about what they're hearing, where they can't really say anything back, and where the other person has a reason for it that kind of invalidates any ability they have to jump on their case about it (with Philip--it's our job, with Elizabeth--our marriage is just for cover.) So it's not exactly the same, but it has enough of the same potential to touch on some of the same buttons, but from Elizabeth's side of things, and that sounds great to me.

It's good for her because she can start opening up and asking for these things. But it's also good for him to sort of say that well, he's never really gotten creative because he was afraid of rejection for good reason. It's just the type of thing she wouldn't think about from his pov. But I feel like it gets into some important areas of self - worth and so on. Because I feel like she's established her perspective on her own honey traps while the attitude towards his has been kind of implied over tome, also by her.

I LOVE that it could potentially cause Elizabeth to start recognizing all the great things in what she has in a way that she hasn't before because you're right... she seems to take things for granted until they're shoved in her face in a way she can't avoid. She didn't take the step to make things "real" until she was jealous of Irina. It wasn't until Sandra said she envied her and Philip that it occurred to her they might have something to envy. It was thinking back on Zhukov saying how great she and Philip were matched that made her find new awareness of the fact it was true. This could be another great point along the same theme.

And I would love to see that start to encourage more openness in their sex life. Like in my head canon, pre-pilot it was always like, missionary position and no affection from Elizabeth's end whatsoever. I imagine during the good points in season one, they probably ventured a little beyond that into some basic things that weren't too risky, but with sex being such a weighted topic and the relationship being hot/cold all the time, I don't see where they would've had the bravery, comfort level or time for it to get open or adventurous. That could be a great step to watch them take together.

Although, good grief, now that I'm imagining it, what on EARTH would Martha say to "Jennifer" that one would say to their sister-in-law?? I mean, even if she has no idea it's her fake-husband's real wife, does one really go out there and describe the nitty-gritty when you know you're talking about someone's brother?

[sistermagpie]

There really are some interesting parallels there. With Philip he thought he was just dealing with a guy he'd worked with for a long time, and then Gregory throws this affair at him to at least in part to hurt him. In Elizabeth's case she knows what she's going into, ostensibly, but it might be very different listening to it. She's probably had her own pov on Philip's honeytraps for years, and now sitting here listening to this woman talk about ways he's been good to her. She's talking about this guy that she loves and feels has been so good to her, and Elizabeth's got to be surprised at how that feelings. I mean, even though she knows that it's not real, I'll bet it's very uncomfortable listening to these stories of intimacy, which is closer to her and Gregory than she'd probably imagined. I mean, again, she knows it's not real and in so many ways it's nothing like Gregory, but she is being confronted with somebody who's suddenly a real person with a real relationship with Philip, and I think that's partly why she'd focus on things like that he's doing something sexually with her that he's not with Elizabeth.

It's possible that Martha isn't even that explicit, exactly. She may just say something about how he's better than other people, that he's shown her things about her body or whatever, that she feels like she can ask him for things or whatever, or that he's just made her feel ways she's never feel. That could lead to Elizabeth asking him, vaguely to start, what exactly he's doing with this woman. He'd probably just shrug it off at first--whatever she likes. But that would open up the subject for Elizabeth to ask what she likes and maybe realize that for all the time they've been together, Philip maybe knows Martha physically better than he knows Elizabeth--and then more disturbing, maybe that means Martha knows her body more than Elizabeth does in that way because there are ways that Martha's approached her relationship with Philip that Elizabeth never thought about and it actually got her something valuable that Elizabeth isn't sure she is.

So it's kind of flipped in a way--with Gregory Philip had to face that he was offering this to Elizabeth, but she couldn't accept it from him. She wanted it from Gregory. With Martha it might be more that Elizabeth realizes that she never asked for it, but he was offering it.

[jae]

Ohhhh, I love Willa Paskin so much. That is an awesome review.

Thanks to you (and everyone else!) for helping make sure I don't miss anything crucial!

-J

[georgley]

Hopefully I'm not bugging you with all the links!

[jae]

Not at all! I've been busy today, so I haven't been able to keep as close an eye on. Thanks for your help keeping our linkspams complete. :)

-J

[katiac]

AAHHH!!!! Two more days!!!!!

Every time something bad happened at work today, I just thought of Wednesday!

[jae]

Yes! The flipside to this, though, is that the fact that I kept thinking of Wednesday is actually responsible for me now having to keep working well into the evening. My mind keeps wandering!

I'm such a waste this week. (A happy, happy waste. *g*)

-J

[katiac]

I know! I remember back when it was like June or July and you and I were first talking about the show and it seemed FOREVER away! Like hundreds of days away. And now it's only TWO DAYS!!!!

(Okay, must now rip computer from hands and go write.)

AHHH!!!