Episode discussion post: "Baggage"

[jae]

Aired:
4 February 2015 in the U.S. and Canada

This is a discussion post for episode 302 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 two.)

Original promo trailer

"The Americans 3x02 Promo "Baggage" / This Season on The Americans" (Watch on YouTube)

Episode recaps

From Hitfix
From The AV Club
From The Atlantic
From the LA Times
From Slant Magazine
From IGN
From TV.com
From Sound on Sight
From Geeks of Doom
From TVEquals
From examiner.com
From TV Ate My Wardrobe
From the International Business Times
From Uproxx
From MovieNewsGuide
From MStarz
From Starpulse
From Romance at Random
From SpoilerTV

Comments

Some thoughts

[alisonx]

- It was good to see Nina again. The prison sequence reminded me a lot of Scandal's "Run" episode. It's interesting we are so prone to guess that a cellmate = plant. I don't really think the Belgian lady is, only because it's not really the type of fake-out trope this show does. Also, the cellmate plant-for-information thing is just in tv shows right? Surely it doesn't happen in real life.

- Stan and Sandra were heartbreaking. I think that was the best acting Noah has done on the show. I appreciated all of it. It's really nice the show subtly weaved it into the S1 discussion of Sandra asking Stan to confide in her and talk to her about what he was going through. Also great that the show has been able to rely on that subtle recognition from its audience. I kinda hope they don't get back together on the show. I can't tell which way it's going to go yet but those scenes were just so good.

- That suitcase scene was disgusting but very bad-ass and memorable. I can handle it when I'm watching it but thinking about it afterwards (aka now) is making me squirm.

- I feel like most of the time, a lot of the geopolitical discussion goes over my head. I really know not a lot about the Afghan war. The press conference scene where she talks about the Soviet Union controlling the fate of another country pretty obvious but there is tons of subtle stuff I know I miss which is a shame. It doesn't impact my enjoyment of the show but the thought does pop up every episode. One day I will get educated and rewatch this show and hopefully add a few extra layers of understanding.

- Gabriel is great. Such a good fit for the show.

- I liked Jae's comment about how poignant it is that illegals left and never returned. It's so sad to think of someone, especially a young person, leaving their homeland that they love so much knowing that they'll never see it again. I like that Philip offers a glimmer of hope trying to comfort E but her face is pure "what on earth are you talking about?!"

- After that final scene I just wanted more. Can we have 2hr episodes every week lol .

- The dramatic pause/silence at the end was good and so juxtaposing of Elizabeth's starting comment that they had to talk about it because this issue wasn't something that was going to go away. I'm not too sure either what Elizabeth's story was conveying. The way I took it was that Elizabeth remembering that her mother without hesitation told Elizabeth to go serve her country resonates because she would do the exact same should Paige be willing to serve the USSR.

- I really love the bathroom scene when P responds "for my daughter, yes" to E's question of whether he wants a guarantee that life will be easy. Elizabeth's own mother wanted her daughter's life to mean something, maybe even make up for the mistakes of E's father who shirked his responsibility to his country and family. E wants Paige to feel the same sense of purpose and meaning she does and Philip wants to save her from the struggles he knows to well and for her to have freedom and control over her own choices. Everything is just so damn good already this season.

Cellmate

[lovingboth]

I'm sure it does happen, but they already have more than enough on Nina to have her executed.

Re: Cellmate

[treonb]

It's common practice here. So common that I wonder why it continues to work and why anybody in their right mind would confess to a complete stranger who 'just happens' to be put in their cell.

Re: Cellmate

[lovingboth]

There are 'he confessed to me when we were in prison together' cases, but the suggestion tends to be that they made it up in order to get something from the authorities, not that they were put in there deliberately to get something.

Re: Cellmate

[alley_skywalker]

Butting in, sorry, but OMG it DEFINITELY happens. Enough so that legal rules around police use of cellmate informants are discussed in a basic Criminal Procedures class in law school.

Re: Cellmate

[quantumreality]

There's actually a pretty thriving "snitch culture" in some prisons. For example in the case of David Brown, one of the guys who cozied up to him in prison was a well-known snitch who tipped off the guards about a couple of things he said (people like Brown tend to have narcissistic personalities, and as such they tend to not think that what happens to others could happen to them).

So yeah, it can be pretty common to put a newbie in with the "snitch" and see if anything comes up.

Is Evi a plant?

[jae]

I don't really think the Belgian lady is, only because it's not really the type of fake-out trope this show does.

I also think it's important that Nina clearly thinks she's a plant, or thinks she could be a plant, at least, and figures it's easier just not to have anything to do with her.

-J