Episode discussion post: "The Deal"

[jae]

Aired:
26 March 2014 in the U.S. and Canada
30 March 2014 in Israel
12 April 2014 in the UK

This is a discussion post for episode 205 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 two, episode five.)

Original promo trailers

"Next On: The Deal" (Watch on YouTube)

"The Americans: Exclusive Scene from Episode 5" (Watch on YouTube)

Episode recaps

From Grantland
From The New York Times
From Time
From Vulture
From The Washington Post
From Rolling Stone
From The AV Club
From Hitfix
From the Huffington Post
From Collider
From Sound on Sight
From IGN
From Television Without Pity
From TV Ate My Wardrobe
From Geekbinge
From showratings.tv
From screenrant.com
From GAMbIT Magazine
From Crave Online
From spoilertv.com
From tv.com
From Unreality Primetime
From Newsmanone

Comments

Re: "I like the cold"/"I remember"

[jae]

Now, THIS I can go along with completely. Very insightful and a wonderful elaboration on where I'd taken those elements in my head!

they're neither of them in love with the Philip and Elizabeth that their neighbors know. They're in love with the person they know, who is a spy.

I think this is exactly right. I think they each think of the other as Philip Jennings/Elizabeth Jennings--which explains why they use those names even in private. But as you point out, it's not the same Philip/Elizabeth that everyone else in their American lives knows, it's one that's informed by knowledge of the hard and sometimes even cruel things each of them has done, the training they've each gone through, the ways in which they each think like a spy...and also by their respective pasts, and their mutual knowledge of not just one shared culture but two of them. That's not the same thing as a marriage between Misha and Nadya, but it's not quite a marriage between "Philip Jennings" and "Elizabeth Jennings", either. It's sort of a sum of both of those parts.

Or (my preference) it could also be like Elizabeth’s confession to Brad that she’s trying to learn how to feel again, but she fears she’s too old. It’s a tentative step rather than just the “real” answer about who Philip is and what he remembers. Does that make sense?

It totally makes sense--and in fact, it's in line with what I was already thinking about that bit, it just takes it another step further. I do think it's a real memory, but the fact of him bringing that memory into his current life and his relationship with his wife is hugely significant and a step toward bringing that past part of himself into who he is currently.

It’s not just that Philip isn’t American because he’s Russian, it’s that any time you say anything too definitive about what Philip is you’re likely wrong.

This is exactly right. It's not that there's NOT a core self there, but he's been too many other people since he left Misha behind, seen and experienced and learned too much to ever be him again. He contains multitudes, and all of the multitudes are equally accurate.

-J