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
wendelah1: Elizabeth Jennings plus text "Come home" (Elizabeth Jennings)

Re: Brownies!

[personal profile] wendelah1 2015-02-02 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
Loved the nod to the pilot with the brownies and I think using the same knife and pan as well, except with Philip holding the knife this time! Hilarious!

I thought it was funny, too. Ditto about the brownies.

I also liked Gabriel, but I feel like I want to see him expanded on more. Something about the way he easily melded into P/E's comfortable relationship where they are cozy with each other made it hard to adjust to the idea that he hasn't seen them since pre-pilot when Elizabeth was so cold towards Philip. Not that I didn't love the dynamic. Just came across as a little jossed.

Jossed because of their closeness now whereas before they were just working together? Interesting observation. Even if Philip and Elizabeth act differently toward one another than Gabriel expected, he's also a spy and he's working for the Center. He'd surely be practiced at hiding any surprise he might have about that change.

Loved the story arc with Elizabeth's mother and am curious to see if we'll get more of that.

There must a reason her illness was introduced as a plot point, so I think we will.
theplatonicnonyeah: (Default)

possible spoilers about E's mother's storyline

[personal profile] theplatonicnonyeah 2015-02-02 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Ok, I just remembered something I read in an interview with Joel Fields (probably?). It might be considered spoilery.
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But didn't he mention they might be filming something in Europe/Russia for this season? Or am I completely making that up? Maybe it was just something that they *hoped* to be doing? I mean, considering they're filming in NYC, but pretending it's Washington, they might as well film somewhere in the US and pretend it's the USSR.
sistermagpie: Classic magpie (Default)

Re: possible spoilers about E's mother's storyline

[personal profile] sistermagpie 2015-02-02 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Spoilery answer to that...






Scrolling down





Nina's in Russia and we know we're getting her story there. And they have those sets built in the US.
theplatonicnonyeah: (Default)

just general spoilerish speculation

[personal profile] theplatonicnonyeah 2015-02-02 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, yes!
So this is a possibility. Even if I don't know how they would fit that into the story. It would just be a very, very risky and highly unlikely scenario.

It's just that they never introduce things of this possible magnitude without using it later on. There are no red herrings on this show.
sistermagpie: Classic magpie (Default)

Re: just general spoilerish speculation

[personal profile] sistermagpie 2015-02-02 09:52 pm (UTC)(link)
I suspect what we'll be getting is a lot of flashbacks to her mother when she was growing up. So it will definitely be a storyline, but not necessarily one where she's dealing with her mother now.

Keri Russell even said something once about how this is someone who hasn't seen her mother since she was 17, so her mother looms large in her imagination. She's always going to relate to her as an adolescent.
theplatonicnonyeah: (Default)

mea culpa

[personal profile] theplatonicnonyeah 2015-02-05 09:21 am (UTC)(link)
Oops! My bad. I will be more careful in the future. Thanks for the reminder. :-)