Episode discussion post: "EST Men"

[jae]

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

"The Americans Season 3 First Promo (HD) NEW FOOTAGE" (Watch on YouTube)

"The Americans Season 3 Full Promo (HD) NEW FOOTAGE" (Watch on YouTube)

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

Comments

Re: Exit strategy

[jae]

That's exactly the sort of work illegals did (do), though. They work the same people for years, usually alone. Nobody's pulling those strings from above, either, so there's nobody to "send" them--they just go, of their own accord.

-J

Re: Exit strategy

[lovingboth]

Yes, we've seen them with lots of sources on their own. But when they've been dealing with someone like this, especially when they know that they're enemies of the state, it's often together or with other backup.

She doesn't think Elizabeth is another US agency, does she?

Re: Exit strategy

[quantumreality]

I think she might've had some vague idea Elizabeth was from another country's agency. France's DGSE was famous for being very French in the way it tended to do its own thing sometimes.

Re: Exit strategy

[treonb]

Yes, but the way she says 'screw the CIA', and then regrets it all - she knows she's handed the information to a KGB agent, and the FBI knows it too.

Charlotte and "Screw the CIA"

[jae]

Yeah, the FBI is clearly aware exactly what this spy was (probably more than Charlotte herself), given how they pulled out all the stops.

I wonder what happened to her?

-J