Episode discussion post: "EST Men"
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theamericansAired:
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
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
Re: Throwing Baby!Paige into the pool
Date: 2015-02-01 07:10 pm (UTC)Another thing that struck me is the look on E's face as she threw Paige in the pool. I am still on the fence about it. I like to call E the "socially awkward" mother. She sometimes has trouble emotionally expressing and bonding with Paige, which makes her come off as cold and unfeeling. I think cold and feelingless looks different from angry/evil. To me, the look on E's face, in the very moment that she threw Paige, did not communicate cold and feelingless. Rather, E looked angry, almost as if she wanted to PUNISH Paige by throwing her into the pool. When I saw E dump Paige into the pool, I immediately had flashbacks to S1 when Paige acted snippy with E and E said something like, 'Stand up. Stand up, young lady' and voiced an angry diatribe before P entered the kitchen and saved the day.
I know I'm nit-picking but I'm trying to rationalize the angry look on E's face.
At first, I thought E looked angry because it is hard to grab & hold onto little kids while they are squirming around like little Paige. But if E can take out 2 FBI guys with guns, then little Paige should not have been too much of a hassle ;-P
KR explained in an interview that E threw Paige into the water, because that was typical of Soviet moms and she didn't know any other way to teach Paige. Based on KR's premise, I didn't expect E to look like she wanted to punish Paige out of anger. At the same time, I didn't expect E to look warm and fuzzy either. I just expected E to look nonchalant--kind of like, "Oh, no big deal--I'm just dipping Paige's toes into the water."
On the other hand, who knows--were Soviet teachers angry when they taught? I suppose Soviet pedagogy was based on concept of punishment. We pick up on traits from our teachers and subconsciously adopt them when we teach others, so maybe E picked up anger when she was taught to swim?
Ok, I'm rambling...but I don't know...there's something about that scene that just seemed off. It was like that scene showcased "big, bad, evil Russian" dumping innocent child into the pool, but I don't see E in such stereotypical terms.
Re: Throwing Baby!Paige into the pool
Date: 2015-02-01 07:18 pm (UTC)Re: Throwing Baby!Paige into the pool
Date: 2015-02-01 07:32 pm (UTC)I wonder if Elizabeth ever fantasizes about what Paige would have been like if raised in the USSR, and thinks she'll become that if informed about her background. Though that also makes me wonder if she thinks Philip would have been a different parent if he was back home.