The Americans - Season finale “March 8, 1983” (Recap & Review)
(SPOILERS BELOW!!!)
The season finale, “March 8, 1983”, is titled after the day that President Ronald Reagan gave his speech that discussed relations between America and the Soviet Union. This is the speech in which he referred to the Soviet Union as “The Evil Empire”. (If you get a chance, you should watch the speech. It's quite interesting as it doesn't all focus on this topic.) It turns out that March 8 was a big day for the president’s speech and for the Jennings family.
The episode starts with the family in the airport. Henry wishes he could go on the trip, but Paige assures him that she's sure he will have his chance in the future. Philip meets with Yousef to discuss how the meetings were canceled and how what Philip did kept weapons out of enemy hands. He asked him if it was worth it. Philip says that he doesn't think of it like that and that a lot of young men won't be blown out of the sky with those weapons. Philip reveals his true feelings for once when he says, “Yousef, I feel like s**t all the time.” The Russian headquarter members meet where it's revealed that all movement and assassinations need to be cleared by the office. It's clear someone has done something without asking. Meanwhile Stan and his wife, Sandra, are dividing up their belongings. He doesn't want to do this, but is very giving. The only thing she doesn't want is the photo album of their wedding.
Then we are in West Berlin where Elizabeth and Paige are walking at night. They are discussing seeing Elizabeth's mother, but they have to wait for a planned visit. Paige doesn't know what to expect. Elizabeth tells her that she is not like any grandmother that she knows and that she is tough. Elizabeth becomes nervous that someone is following them so they cross the road. It's clear that Paige is uncomfortable and does not want this lifestyle. Back in America, Philip is visiting Gabriel who is very upset that Elizabeth and Paige have gone without the approval from the office. Philip assures him that no one blinked at the passport. Gabriel is not happy they went outside the chain of command. “You can't see ten feet in front of you. … You think I'm the enemy.” He says that Philip is not seeing clearly and that something is wrong with him. We know that Philip has been struggling with this lifestyle for a while and that only becomes more apparent in this episode.
Stan meets with Oleg so they can discuss Nina and the Russian spy. Oleg tells him about the new guidance from the Russian office. Stan wonders what Nina would think of them working together to help her. He thinks she would like to put a bullet in his head. Anton Baklanov, the kidnapped scientist, is working hard. He's pacing across the room and placing his head in his hands. Nina soon joins him and tells him that he needs to get some rest. He tells her that all he has left is his brain. He's doing all of this because he hopes that if he lives he might be able to see his family again. Nina's emotions and actions are a bit unclear. I know that she is working with him and doing everything to survive. It's unclear how she really feels at this point. Meanwhile Stan meets with Agent Frank Gaad, the FBI supervisor, to disclose his secret meetings with Oleg and the recorded confession he got from him. He recorded Oleg confessing that Zinaida is a secret spy working for the KGB. Stan believes this will be enough to get them to exchange her for Nina. Frank is surprised and asks Stan if he was involved with placing the bug in his office. He asks Stan why would he be stupid enough to trust him again.
Meanwhile Philip is back at another motivational meeting. Philip sees Sandra and they talk afterward but he asks her to not tell anyone he was there. He wasn't expecting to get anything from the meetings but he did get something out of it. Back in West Berlin, Elizabeth and Paige wake up to knocks on the hotel room door. A nurse wheels Elizabeth's mother into the room. This is an emotional meeting for the family. We definitely do not meet the tough woman that Elizabeth was describing to Paige. Her mother tells her that she missed her every day and that she had to let her go because everything was at stake. Elizabeth, on her knees in front of her mother, shows real emotion and allows her mother to cradle her. Paige stands back until they call her forward.
The FBI move in on Zinaida and she immediately knows she has been outed as a secret spy. The tension is palpable as they ask her to come with them. Her usual flighty attitude is replaced by a knowing, stern look. Elizabeth, watching from her window, sees her mother put back into the car. This is probably the last time she will ever see her. She looks like a young girl who wishes she could run to her mother's side. Notably Paige is absent from her side. Elizabeth finds her sitting in the bathroom with her head in her hands. She tells her that she is praying for her mother. Elizabeth sits on the floor beside her, which almost made me think she would join her in the prayer. Frank asks Stan to take a seat. He tells him that he had a conversation with the director and that they are going to open an investigation on him and that he suggested that he be dismissed immediately. Furthermore, they will exchange Zinaida except it will be for another officer. Stan is disappointed and it left me wondering what will Stan do now.
Paige wakes her mother because she is having trouble understanding all that has happened. She says, “I don't get how she could let you leave like that...basically said goodbye forever...would you let me do that?” So we are met with the ultimate question that this season has been leading toward. How far is Elizabeth willing to go with her children? She has definitely been grooming Paige this season, but what are her true motivations for doing this? Is it because she wants this life for her daughter or is it because she's afraid that someone else might do it, specifically in the way that it was done to her? Elizabeth tells her “you would never have to do anything like that.” The looks on both their faces make me wonder if either actually believes this statement. We're back with a disguised Philip who is waiting for someone to come home. He appears bored or unsure as he picks up a toy to examine. The guy comes home and Philip takes him down. Then he begins searching his room before he turns on the computer. Philip types, “I'm sorry. I had no choice.” As we read this we get quite the shock as we see the man hanging from the ceiling. Philip is also looking at the man. He swallows deeply and seems somewhat unnerved, but he leaves anyway.
Stan is waiting at his desk fully expecting to be dismissed. The director calls him into another room. He brings up when Stan complained about the red tape that was preventing him from doing his job earlier in the year. He says Frank isn't happy about it, but it was two times that he has been able to get close to people from the Russian office. He tells him that this is how all government works and that there will always be red tape. However, he is not going to investigate him and that he should come to him directly if he runs into any more trouble with the bureaucrats. Stan is relieved, but disappointed that he still can't get Nina released. However, the director tells him that he will find another way. After talking with him, the director wants to talk to Frank. It's kind of a comedic moment because the viewer knows the conversation that will probably happen in the room.
Philip is back at another meeting. The man telling his story is sharing how he can trust his gut in a way that he never could before and it's nice to be in a room where people are not judging him. I feel like Philip connects with this and it's one of the reasons he likes these meetings. Although he is not sharing his story, he is finding some connections with other situations. The speaker says, “The feelings in your gut are just as important, more important than all the s**t in your head.” This resonates with Philip as well. He has been questioning his actions and how they usually go against his gut feeling. This was recently seen with the man he killed and staged as a suicide. Sandra is at this meeting as well. They talk once it's over. Sandra says she wants to learn how to be open, to know herself, and to let others know the real her. Philip says that Elizabeth knows the real him. This is true in the sense that she is the only one who knows his real background and his real actions. However, I don't think she knows the complete him. She hasn't been responsive to his feelings about Paige and doesn't seem to know (or maybe care) about his reservations.
Anton Baklanov is writing secret notes in his room when Nina comes to visit him. She seems to know that he was writing, but he says he can't tell her about it. They agree that they know why they brought her there. She says she doesn't think she can continue doing this, buying her life back. This shows how uncomfortable she is with this situation, but she does seem somewhat cunning in her demeanor in this scene. Is she really bonding with him or is she trying to get him to connect with her? Elizabeth and Paige arrive back in the U.S. and both agree that it feels weird being back after their trip. Paige tells her mother that she doesn't know if she can do this anymore. She doesn't know if she can lie to everyone. Elizabeth tells her that everybody lies and that they will be able to get through it. Philip arrives back at home and discovers that Henry is playing games at Stan's house. Philip listens to a radio message about the possibility of them removing troops. He just stares at the ceiling until he hears someone below. Elizabeth and Paige are home. Paige says she is tired and wants to go to sleep. Elizabeth and Philip talk about the trip. She tells him that she is glad they went. Paige is crying in her bedroom as they discuss Martha and the mission. Elizabeth goads him and says that he isn't seeing things clearly. (There's that accusation again.)
Paige continues to cry, turns and sees the phone, and ultimately gets it and lowers herself to the floor. Philip tells her about the man he killed. He said he saw “kid stuff, games, stuff that Henry plays with” and it made it hard for him. We cut to Paige asking to speak with Pastor Tim. She tells him that she is having a hard time and that she doesn't know what to do. (The suspense and question of how much she will reveal is palpable here.) Philip, like his daughter who is confessing her hard time, is starting to do the same with Elizabeth. However, she is pulled away from him by President Reagan's speech on the television. We get a flash of all the characters. Elizabeth is distracted by what the announcers call Reagan's “sharpest language of his presidency”, Philip is stunned by this and by his feelings, Henry is playing games with Stan unaware of the turmoil in his home, and Paige says, “they're not Americans...You can't tell anyone. They're Russians.” Wow! One, what does this mean for the family? Two, what does this mean for Pastor Tim? Can this secret be out? We're at a pinnacle of the show. What will come next? We have Paige who desperately wants to escape, Henry who is estranged from his family in many ways, Philip who is lost and not sure how to find his way, and Elizabeth who is concerned about her country and her family with no way to see reason with either. It's the most, least-action-packed, action packed ending.
I have to admit that I am conflicted by this show. As I've said above the actors and parts of the storyline are quite dynamic and interesting. That's what initially interested me in the show and what brings me back. However, there's part of the show that discourages me at times. Scenes where they pointlessly (except for the point of not getting caught) kill innocent people remind me too much of what actually happens in the world. As a viewer and fan of the cast, I want to support them or be on their side, but ultimately I'm not because I can't accept their methods. I know this is loosely based on history and still has remnants of what happens in modern day. It's hard to read a story of someone being tortured and killed in real life in a similar story and then to watch the show later that day. I do think they show some reluctance in their decisions occasionally and I know they have been trained to do this job and believe it's the right thing to do. I have hopes that they will eventually see the error in their ways and move on from this lifestyle. And hey, it would be just as interesting to see them trying to survive and hiding from the Soviet Union if they decided to abandon the mission. Nevertheless, I'll be along for the ride. Season four has already been announced and will start in 2016.
Review by: LBurden
No comments: