jae: (theamericansgecko)
Jae ([personal profile] jae) wrote in [community profile] theamericans2015-01-28 07:45 pm
Entry tags:

Episode discussion post: "EST Men"

Aired:
28 January 2015 in the U.S. and Canada

This is a discussion post for episode 301 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 three, episode one.)

Original promo trailer





Episode recaps (including some early-season generalities)

From Grantland
From Vox 1 and 2
From Vulture
From Hitfix
From the Washington Post
From TIME
From the New York Times
From Slate
From Hollywood Reporter
From Slant
From Salon
From the Washington Post
From the New Republic
From Yahoo 1 and 2
From the AV Club
From the Atlantic
From the Boston Globe
From Entertainment Weekly
From TV Guide
From Spoiler TV
From theworkprint.com
From IndieWire 1 and 2
From Slant
From Variety
From thedailynews.com
From Geeks of Doom
From Starpulse
From TV Equals
From Screenrant
From We Got This Covered
sistermagpie: Classic magpie (Default)

[personal profile] sistermagpie 2015-01-29 03:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Speaking of loyalties, the great thing about these characters with lies as their profession is that you can't tell whether Elizabeth means what she tells Gabriel (getting Paige ideologically ready) or what she tells Philip (just saying that to get the Centre of our back) or whether both aren't true (Elizabeth wouldn't want anyone else interferring with her daughter, but the idea that Paige will eventually be ready to hear the truth about her and accept it, even join, is still incredibly seductive to her).

My vote is that she was telling Gabriel the truth but that she's lying to herself about just how enthusiastic she is about this for personal reasons. I think she knows she's lying to Philip but thinks of herself as just softening the blow to him because his position is impossible. So, like, as usual she's hiding behind the Centre's orders just a little bit.

Past as comment on the present: the Afghanistan execution video, obviously. Methinks our writers have a "these were the demons we conjured up ourselves" message going on.

Of course, that's almost impossible to avoid with this situation!