Word to the center, the best show on TV is back!
Apparently this is the last season
If there was a show that deserved to get Showtimed, it's this one

Ep 1 started off kinda jumbled to me but the 2nd half made up for it
*SPOILERS*






















So they've "adopted" a Vietnamese kid and he's recruiting a Soviet classmate, who's dad is anti-soviet...aka in line with Philip's thinking. Actually Philip is not rabidly anti-soviet, more anti-center tactics.
I wish there was a little more backstory on the Viet kid. Maybe in future eps. Backstory as in, what's his deal, did the center just send him with the fake paperwork or was he really adopted (with the center taking care of the logistics).
This kid may be the cause of them getting in hot water again
he's too gung-ho as most kids are

Meanwhile Paige is joining the family business
Might be another blow up in the works
whats up with pastor tim?

the ending sequence...once again Elizabeth takes care of biz.

Think the show ends with them getting caught? I don't.

sounded like they wanted Paige to kind of make him aware or something? Not sure what that discussion was about.

(unless there's been news since the article below I read from variety last year while season 4 was still airing)

"A 13-episode fifth season will air in 2017. The sixth and last season will consist of 10 episodes and air in 2018. "

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/the-americans-renewed-last-two-seasons-fx-show-ends-1201782857/

>So they've "adopted" a Vietnamese kid and he's recruiting a
>Soviet classmate, who's dad is anti-soviet...aka in line with
>Philip's thinking. Actually Philip is not rabidly
>anti-soviet, more anti-center tactics.

I liked how Phillip came home legit like "Oh cool, The A-Team" and Viet kid was like "Fuck this american bullshit"

>Think the show ends with them getting caught? I don't.

I don't either. It doesn't really need to. We know they ultimately lose

Yeah loved that and how he was like I'm watching to fit in with these idiots

Uhm I disagree they gett8ng caught and one of them dying and I hope Stan does too

I have a feeling she's Phillip's doing.

I think it's more likely that she's either:

A) A Russian agent that Phillip was not aware of, but is now (which will piss him off a bit)

or

B) She's somehow part of an American operation that is investigating Stan on the grounds that he is suspected of having turned.

The way Philip was looking at her led me to believe he knows something's up

Once again, Stan's caping is going to get him in trouble.
Nina's dead, move on. He's caping for Oleg out of some commiserating loyalty shit, FOH.

I get it, Oleg is not the standard sinister KGB scumbag. But he's still KGB, and the least the CIA would do is try to recruit him.

Viet kid annoys me. I just can't ride for one dimensional characters
Paige is the center of everything. The Jennings live or die on her.
That's come tough shit for a teenager.

They've mentioned her too much to make her insignificant, and Phil did look at her funny

The whole "Stan sent me" is just CIA shit right? and not Stan tipping him off.

so he doesn't bolt and run (plus lets Oleg know they got leverage)
plus Stan giving a KGB officer a heads up is not a good look (you know, pre-Trump)

Shit was just too similar. Kept expecting the vents to open up and bees to come pouring out. I guess we got bugs of a different type instead. And a Keri Russell-ass visual.

Both episodes have been excellent, BTW.

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as depicted on the show I mean

last night's ep was wild crazy intense, the way they built up the tension and pressure...best writing on TV, no contest

Apparently Paige is a natural, while her brother gets the homeland little brother treatment.

and he has a whole routine to make sure the neighbors don't think he's neglected.

>while her brother gets the
>homeland little brother treatment.

Henry went from milk carton material to sullen teen who really needs his ass kicked...I was laughing
Paige fuck around and end up getting Pastor Tim stuffed into a suitcase
Is Stan really ready to throw his career away over someone who's never coming back? when caping goes wrong

.

Phil is questioning this shit more than ever, and now we know he's considered a potential problem. And if he finds out they sent his kid home...

I had a feeling they had it all wrong about the grain, and that the teacher meeting would not be what they expected. (i actually thought they were gonna tell then Henry was a math genius, and not just advanced)

I think they are right about Stan's girl tho

Oleg, those were some decent choices pops picked out Just roll with it.

it looks like we're at the beginning of when everything really changes.

Of course he's math genius now, probably got a PhD in it.

dude goes from missing poster to math genius in 2 eps
Meanwhile Paige is having a teenage girl moment
when dude asked her whats wrong I saw her using the finger technique

Once again Phil is shook (any normal human being would be, fuck that)
and Liz is ride or die

This won't end well for them

What's her face was right on the diagnosis, wrong on the patient
(it's Phil that's unstable, not his kid)

.

She's buying in.

Stan is gonna work Henry when he finally gets suspicious of the Jenningses.

Henry gonna snitch on his whole fam.

-30-
You know it's drama, but it sound real good.

Not directly, because I'm sure she doesn't know specifics, but she can get enough intel to point him in that direction. He'll use Henry to take him the rest of the way.

like legit trying to protect Stan (because she gotta be working him), and it's gonna blow up.

-30-
You know it's drama, but it sound real good.

seeing that the center is already side-eyeing Phil

what are they going to do, just let him live a blissfully unaware existence while Paige gets trained?

they've wanted her from day one, yes, but they have to take him into account

Especially as they left a cliffhanger a couple of seasons back with him walking into the garage. Thought they would open up the next season with him confronting his parents but the writers just ignore him unless they're talking about his math skills or relationship with Stan.

I've always thought he would take the news of his parents double life much better than Paige and be interested to know more. He seems way better built for it than Paige.

That's been one of my biggest gripes, but I guess I'm one of the only ones not feeling this season. It seems repetitive to me and there is nothing at stake. I think this show would have been a lot better with 4 or 5 seasons because now it feels like they're just milking it for as long as they can.

between last season's ending with a drip drip of clues from the scientist
and this season's budding relationship with Henry, starting to ask the right questions
He just has to remove or at least loosen the cape long enough to see the big bright picture right in front of him

There is a weight of what they been doing really grabbing a hold of the emotional center of the show, which is why I prefer this over season 4 so far
BUT u right about Henry

pictured him teaching tai chi to that blonde

I love how Phil's new chick is the anti-Martha. Or that he's the Martha in their relationship

Even Phil was like "it's ok to care"

Ok so now the wheel's set in motion for Stan's last hurrah
He's gonna come up big with his new source and some info could point at the Jennings (indirectly) but just enough for him to go "hmmm" and start looking at them closely
(Right now he's gonna dismiss Paige breaking up with dude as high school shit, but later on he's gonna be like "oh yeah...")

Anyone believe Gabriel's parting denial that Stan's new chick isn't from the center? I don't

She plays her role perfect, never once does she get all "tell me more, what do you mean, what's this about" when Stan vents about work

Paige is just building and building towards either snapping or quietly accepting her fate and it's riveting. Felt so bad for her in the last episode. Matthew's useless, Phillip has no idea what she's going through, Elizabeth can't seem to recognize how terrified her own daughter is and Pastor Tim just gave her a Chritianized version of the same "how noble to sacrifice for the greater good" speech Gabriel gave her.

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Her performance is really difficult because she has to play Paige's emotional life as being stifling and restrictive, yet she also still has to be genuine and show that she's experiencing and learning to process everything in a way that is fresh and shaky to her.

She's really carrying the center of the plot this season and in a less skilled actor's hand, the show could fall apart and seem like the CW version of this show. Hats off to her.

One of the aspects of this show that I really like is that the conceit of the show enlarges the same family and social dynamics that everyone has in a long-term relationship or as they grapple with their identities as an adult or while being young. Being spies actually brings the humanity of these characters into a brighter light because the stakes are so large.

Paige's crisis of identity and faith and belief in her parent's trustworthiness are intensified. It connects the audience to that same level of intensity teenagers experience at her age

Needless to say, this is one of my favorite shows.

when he dropped the "married" gem.
She had all but literally called him a pussy.

Stan's new assets is sweet but useless

it's always so cringy seeing her and Phil hanging out

really liked all the Oleg stuff in this episode

Martha's baked potato

"Oh shit it's jailbait!"

And yeah, that potato, fuck

.

Monsters created by nationalism and distortions of power

Stan ain't no different either

That epsiode left me shook

are the same person. Entirely different kinds of creepy dudes

I mean most likely not, look at Martha and her sad tater poppin up
but especially after the way this last ep ended
so much material there

Absolutely devastating.

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This one topped it

Season finale next week...damm

Type of kid to chop someone's arm off cuz it hurts on some
now it doesn't hurt anymore

Though Oleg was gonna get capped when he left the apt
Paige should just go ahead and change her name to Svetlana, she's ready!

I don't know why I loved the scene of her hitting the laundry bag so much

is this show top tier, appointment level quality? On the same level as The Wire and Breaking Bad? Curious because I've heard good reviews for the show, but the 80's reference points for the show make me very skittish.

"Sean sparks like John Starks, nah, Sean ball like John Wall" - Rest In Power Forever Sean Price.

it's top tier TV for sure. If we're talking best show ever, i wouldn't personally put it in the conversation, but it's def in the conversation of best show currently active.

>is this show top tier, appointment level quality? On the same
>level as The Wire and Breaking Bad? Curious because I've heard
>good reviews for the show, but the 80's reference points for
>the show make me very skittish.

It's not The Wire or Sopranos caliber (then again what is)
but the character development on The Americans is up with the greats
on the surface it's a spy show cold war kgb vs fbi shit
but it's really about marriage, family, and inner conflict
and right today it's one of the best shows on TV

but this as good as anything:

I have Atlanta and Fargo above it
It's as good, actually better than Better Call Saul, TO ME

It's better than Black Mirror

and all the above shows ('cept Black Mirror) are better than GOT to me, which is more of a highly enjoyable cultural phenomena at this point, but still great.

I've only watched season 1 of the Sopranos.

But yes, season 4 and 5 of the Americans have dragged at points, like about 6 episodes combined could've been cut and it would've been much stronger over all

So it's three to me

No huge cliffhanger unlike previous seasons

spoilers























So as usual, Liz is ride or die and Phil has to compromise his uneasy feelings
This could be the one decision that leads them down the rabbit hole to getting caught (which is what I believe will be the end of the series)
The look Stan gave his lady when she was giving him her "recruitment pitch" He has to know something's up with her now
Will Henry go rogue due to not being allowed to go to the boarding school (dime them out?)
No Oleg this ep, what's up with the investigation?

So next season is the last...damm

>The look Stan gave his lady when she was giving him her
>"recruitment pitch" He has to know something's up with her
>now

Definitely knows. He is an FBI agent she think hes an idiot? She thought he would just shrug it off as her being cute and encouraging him to make a difference?!

And she tipped her hand. The question is how does Stan deal with it. Given his history, I'm not sure he could bring this back to the bosses.

>>The look Stan gave his lady when she was giving him her
>>"recruitment pitch" He has to know something's up with her
>>now
>
>Definitely knows. He is an FBI agent she think hes an idiot?
>She thought he would just shrug it off as her being cute and
>encouraging him to make a difference?!

... is that Stan *is* kind of an idiot and has a massive blindspot, generally speaking, when it comes to his loneliness/love life. So the show leaves us to wonder what her angle is *and* whether Stan is starting to be suspicious.

THE AMBIGUITY IS UNBEARABLY EXCITING

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I didn't love last season's season finale either, but this one felt really incomplete. I don't feel like they really ended up accomplishing much, story-telling wise, this season. Spoilers below.
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No Oleg and nothing on either investigation was wack.

The whole Kansas sub=plot was completely dropped, which I wouldn't have minded if Character Actress Margo Martindale hadn't have explicitly told them to keep on with the mission. They never even showed the world's most boring female again after Phillip ran the "I'm married" game.

Mischa appeared, then disappeared just as quickly.

Stan's working the Russian chick never really went anywhere either. Unless the resolution was that she and her new boyfriend were telling the truth. And ha @ her boyfriend being Styr the Thenn from GoT.

>So as usual, Liz is ride or die and Phil has to compromise his
>uneasy feelings

I looked at Liz a little different. I get the sense that part of the reason she told Phillip that they need to stay is because she's getting attached to being an American. During the final Elton John montage they spent a lot of time showing Elizabeth lingering over all the material possessions that she's acquired while here. She's not ready to leave everything that they've built here, and is willing to go at it alone to help preserve it for as long as possible.

>The look Stan gave his lady when she was giving him her
>"recruitment pitch" He has to know something's up with her
>now

I think she's def. a spy, but not necessarily for the Russians. I think she might be with the CIA or some other US agency, who might be watching over him for any number of reasons (his affair with Nina, his contact with Oleg, his threats to his boss' boss). Or she could be with the Israelis or something.

>Will Henry go rogue due to not being allowed to go to the
>boarding school (dime them out?)

I think they're going to end up allowing him to go (keeps them attached to the U.S.), but it's another thing that I wished they showed some sort of resolution to.

Some things that got resolved:

Thuan and the Russian family. Actually a well-executed arc. Elizabeth's talk with the little shit was one of the finale's best sequences.

No more Pastor Tim. And Paige is growing: she's no longer scared to walk alone through where she was attacked, and his given up being a church girl. Phillip's conversation with her, apoligizing that she no longer gets to be a normal teenager, was a nice, small touch.

I don't see how they can go anywhere else with Martha. They're implying that she's going to adopt the kid and find salvation there.

Definitely not their best episode of what wasn't their best season, but there is some stuff to look forward to.

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>I didn't love last season's season finale either, but this
>one felt really incomplete. I don't feel like they really
>ended up accomplishing much, story-telling wise, this season.

I think they accomplished a great deal, but admittedly they left a lot of it unresolved, presumably in order to set up all the dominoes to fall permanently next season. With as much as they set up, we're in for a doozy.

>No Oleg and nothing on either investigation was wack.

Yeah, that was clearly all set-up, but we did learn a ton about Oleg and his family this season, and he's one of many possible lead characters that has been given plenty of reason to turn on his country.

>The whole Kansas sub=plot was completely dropped, which I
>wouldn't have minded if Character Actress Margo Martindale
>hadn't have explicitly told them to keep on with the mission.
>They never even showed the world's most boring female again
>after Phillip ran the "I'm married" game.

I thought they made clear that Phillip wasn't going to be able to get homegirl back in the loop again, so the mission was falling into Liz's hands. Re: that not coming back, I chalked that up to the same thing I chalked up the young daughter of CIA dude disappearing for a while to: as Liz said this episode, they're constantly running multiple missions each, so there's only so much streamlining the show can do.

>Mischa appeared, then disappeared just as quickly.

That one puzzles me a bit-- I still don't think that's gone for good, as it's such a huge bombshell for Phillip and he's teetering on the edge of not wanting anything to do with any of this ever again that I imagine it'll come into play next season. Really this season, it served mostly as a plot device to get rid of Gabriel, which I'm fine with overall-- although I'll miss his steady hand on the show.

>Stan's working the Russian chick never really went anywhere
>either. Unless the resolution was that she and her new
>boyfriend were telling the truth. And ha @ her boyfriend being
>Styr the Thenn from GoT.

Yeah, I don't mind that mission not being done either. Again, we see Stan teetering on the edge, and if this girl dies or if this mission ends poorly, then Stan could easily turn imo. Then again, maybe this girl will be the one to pass info about Oleg to Stan somehow. Or maybe he uses the girl to find out about Phillip and Liz. Or something.

The thing I like about the show *is* the uncertainty. They've proven for years now that they know how to play the long game, so with most of these unresolved plot lines, especially as the show heads into its final season, I trust them completely. So I have faith that will pay off.

>>So as usual, Liz is ride or die and Phil has to compromise
>his
>>uneasy feelings
>
>I looked at Liz a little different. I get the sense that part
>of the reason she told Phillip that they need to stay is
>because she's getting attached to being an American. During
>the final Elton John montage they spent a lot of time showing
>Elizabeth lingering over all the material possessions that
>she's acquired while here. She's not ready to leave everything
>that they've built here, and is willing to go at it alone to
>help preserve it for as long as possible.

110%. This was a HUGE revelation, as we've really never seen Liz consider that before. As big a bombshell as anything else we got this season. And, of course, the show revealed it silently. That montage was an absolute monster for character moments.

>>The look Stan gave his lady when she was giving him her
>>"recruitment pitch" He has to know something's up with her
>>now
>
>I think she's def. a spy, but not necessarily for the
>Russians. I think she might be with the CIA or some other US
>agency, who might be watching over him for any number of
>reasons (his affair with Nina, his contact with Oleg, his
>threats to his boss' boss). Or she could be with the Israelis
>or something.

Yeah, agreed here too. And I wouldn't be surprised either way it turns out: either Stan has his blindspot exploited, and he gets compromised, or he's too damn smart for that, which then leads to him realizing even more deeply what he communicated to Henry, that he can't trust anyone-- which could then absolutely put Phil and Liz on his radar.

Again, the fact that I have noooooooo idea how this show will end excites me to no end.

>>Will Henry go rogue due to not being allowed to go to the
>>boarding school (dime them out?)
>
>I think they're going to end up allowing him to go (keeps them
>attached to the U.S.), but it's another thing that I wished
>they showed some sort of resolution to.

I was excited that they didn't resolve that, because I thought it was going to be a simple get-him-off-the-show move. Instead, it was all set-up to (a) expose how smart he is, which could cause problems, (b) drive a wedge between him and Philip, now that Phil is all "families stick together" after the Pasha fiasco, and (c) could totally move Henry to get closer to Stan, which would also be really bad news for our heroes.

>I don't see how they can go anywhere else with Martha. They're
>implying that she's going to adopt the kid and find salvation
>there.

Yeah, I thought that was a ray of sunshine in a bleak end to a bleak season of a bleak show that promises to get bleaker, haha. Plus, she's crushing it on Broadway six nights a week, so I'm not sure how much free time she'll have in the next few months anyhow.

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>>No Oleg and nothing on either investigation was wack.
>
>Yeah, that was clearly all set-up, but we did learn a ton
>about Oleg and his family this season, and he's one of many
>possible lead characters that has been given plenty of reason
>to turn on his country.

I really enjoyed all things Oleg. I was convinced the investigation was steering towards the Russian mob, when it was really just Govt corruption at higher levels. The last conversation with Oleg and his dad was great

>>They never even showed the world's most boring female again
>>after Phillip ran the "I'm married" game.
>
>I thought they made clear that Phillip wasn't going to be able
>to get homegirl back in the loop again,

I must have missed this. The last thing i remember was Margo telling them it will be long term, and Phil sucking her back in with the "I'm married" drop.

> could totally move Henry to get closer to Stan, which would also be really bad news for our heroes.

this is where I'm at. Henry's gonna be pissed off, vent to Stan, and say the wrong thing, which is gonna put Stan on the Jennings' tail

Like it will all come crashing down behind some teenage emo shit

But I feel like during each season, there's a major over-arching story that they at least address that gets some closure. I guess the saga of Thuan and the Russian family could sort of be one, and Paige's struggles with her new role and her faith are another, but those both felt like sub-plots much of the time. I guess you could say this season was about Phillip continuing disillusionment with working as a spy and the family's decision to back to Russia, but that was quickly undone by a character that's maybe been seen/refered to twice this season.

>
>I think they accomplished a great deal, but admittedly they
>left a lot of it unresolved, presumably in order to set up all
>the dominoes to fall permanently next season. With as much as
>they set up, we're in for a doozy.

See, that's thing: I'm not sure what they're building too next season. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, but in most cases when a show is close to the end, they at least establish what the endgame is. I'm not expecting Hank Schrader on the toliet, but something would be nice.

>Yeah, that was clearly all set-up, but we did learn a ton
>about Oleg and his family this season, and he's one of many
>possible lead characters that has been given plenty of reason
>to turn on his country.

I loved everything with Oleg and his family this season. I just would have liked him to get some screen time during the finale after we've spent the entire season learning about his family's dynamics and how things operate in Russia.


>I thought they made clear that Phillip wasn't going to be able
>to get homegirl back in the loop again, so the mission was
>falling into Liz's hands. Re: that not coming back, I chalked
>that up to the same thing I chalked up the young daughter of
>CIA dude disappearing for a while to: as Liz said this
>episode, they're constantly running multiple missions each, so
>there's only so much streamlining the show can do.

I could have sworn Character Actress Margo Martindale said that they both needed to stay on them, and that was after the phone call. I guess I could be wrong. That phone call certainly suggested Phillip had a way back in. If she broke it off again off-camera then that's kinda weak story-telling. I'm guessing it just got dropped.

>Yeah, I don't mind that mission not being done either. Again,
>we see Stan teetering on the edge, and if this girl dies or if
>this mission ends poorly, then Stan could easily turn imo.
>Then again, maybe this girl will be the one to pass info about
>Oleg to Stan somehow. Or maybe he uses the girl to find out
>about Phillip and Liz. Or something.

Another case where I'm not expecting resolution, just a little more momentum.

>The thing I like about the show *is* the uncertainty. They've
>proven for years now that they know how to play the long game,
>so with most of these unresolved plot lines, especially as the
>show heads into its final season, I trust them completely. So
>I have faith that will pay off.

They've definitely earned considerable trust, I'll give you that.


>Yeah, agreed here too. And I wouldn't be surprised either way
>it turns out: either Stan has his blindspot exploited, and he
>gets compromised, or he's too damn smart for that, which then
>leads to him realizing even more deeply what he communicated
>to Henry, that he can't trust anyone-- which could then
>absolutely put Phil and Liz on his radar.

I can see this happening, but that sounds like it would take like 24 episodes for it to develop and play out. If indeed the final season is about Stan figuring out what Phillip and Elizabeth are up to, I'd hate if they condensed into three episodes.


>I was excited that they didn't resolve that, because I thought
>it was going to be a simple get-him-off-the-show move.
>Instead, it was all set-up to (a) expose how smart he is,
>which could cause problems, (b) drive a wedge between him and
>Philip, now that Phil is all "families stick together" after
>the Pasha fiasco, and (c) could totally move Henry to get
>closer to Stan, which would also be really bad news for our
>heroes.

Truthfully, I think it's that the creators haven't decided yet it they want Henry to be around or not. Like, they're possibly weighing if they want him to be gone and for that to provide an extra complication if the Jennings need to flee back to Russia, or maybe they should keep him around and have him be resentful.

>Yeah, I thought that was a ray of sunshine in a bleak end to a
>bleak season of a bleak show that promises to get bleaker,
>haha. Plus, she's crushing it on Broadway six nights a week,
>so I'm not sure how much free time she'll have in the next few
>months anyhow.

Of course you'd bring it back to theater.

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i really liked last season's though. it felt damn near like a series finale

>The whole Kansas sub=plot was completely dropped, which I
>wouldn't have minded if Character Actress Margo Martindale
>hadn't have explicitly told them to keep on with the mission.
>They never even showed the world's most boring female again
>after Phillip ran the "I'm married" game.

seems Kansas stuff is gonna be like jailbait girl (which finally paid off for them). It's a long term operation that will appear now and then.

>Mischa appeared, then disappeared just as quickly.

Mischa is Phil, right? you mean the brother? Yeah that was just weird.

> And ha @ her boyfriend being
>Styr the Thenn from GoT.

Wait, who?

>I looked at Liz a little different. I get the sense that part
>of the reason she told Phillip that they need to stay is
>because she's getting attached to being an American. During
>the final Elton John montage they spent a lot of time showing
>Elizabeth lingering over all the material possessions that
>she's acquired while here. She's not ready to leave everything
>that they've built here, and is willing to go at it alone to
>help preserve it for as long as possible.

Yeah, it's like it just hit her that she was leaving, so she was able to use her loyalty to the cause as her main reason for wanting stay. And that was both to Phillip and herself. I think the big misdirect for this series will be that Phil turns out more ride or die Russia than Liz.

>Thuan and the Russian family. Actually a well-executed arc.
>Elizabeth's talk with the little shit was one of the finale's
>best sequences.

"petty, bourgeois concerns" damn, homie.

>And Paige is growing: she's no longer
>scared to walk alone through where she was attacked, and his
>given up being a church girl. Phillip's conversation with her,
>apoligizing that she no longer gets to be a normal teenager,
>was a nice, small touch.

agreed

>I don't see how they can go anywhere else with Martha. They're
>implying that she's going to adopt the kid and find salvation
>there.

I was really happy for Martha. She got super fucked in all of this. This season was really focused on innocent victims being caught up in all of this. For a season light on action, a lot happened. I really dug it.

>i really liked last season's though. it felt damn near like a
>series finale

I felt like the episode a few episode before it REALLY felt like the series finale. That's why I was a little let down by the actual season finale.


>Mischa is Phil, right? you mean the brother? Yeah that was
>just weird.

You're right. Can't remember the kid's name. Lotta set-up in the early episodes for very little pay-off. Unless the point was to show how hard it was to defect.

>> And ha @ her boyfriend being
>>Styr the Thenn from GoT.
>
>Wait, who?

He lead the crew of cannibals from beyond the Wall. They joined up with Tormund and Ygritte's crew and attacked Castle Black from behind.


>Yeah, it's like it just hit her that she was leaving, so she
>was able to use her loyalty to the cause as her main reason
>for wanting stay. And that was both to Phillip and herself. I
>think the big misdirect for this series will be that Phil
>turns out more ride or die Russia than Liz.

Yep, after all this set-up that Phillip is sick of it all, I can see it being that when push comes to shove, he'll be down.


>"petty, bourgeois concerns" damn, homie.

That fucker was the worst.

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I keep reading about character development and how that's what this show is about. Ok, but how much have the characters developed this season. Philip still isn't about that life and Elizabeth is. Paige became disillusioned and Henry is a real character now. Boring.

To me this is a perfect example of an elite show that lost a lot of its luster by stretching out the seasons. Four to five seasons would have been plenty, but going into the sixth season it seems like they ran out of storylines so had to create meaningless ones. If the final season is flawless I'll change my tune, but this show isn't as enjoyable as it used to be.

Ok, but how much have the characters
>developed this season. Philip still isn't about that life and
>Elizabeth is. Paige became disillusioned and Henry is a real
>character now. Boring.

This isn't only a radical simplification, but to boil down Liz to "she's about that life," especially after the finale, feels like you missed a couple of episodes. I also wouldn't say Paige is disillusioned at all-- if anything, her confidence is skyrocketing and her respect for her parents is higher than ever.

>To me this is a perfect example of an elite show that lost a
>lot of its luster by stretching out the seasons. Four to five
>seasons would have been plenty, but going into the sixth
>season it seems like they ran out of storylines so had to
>create meaningless ones. If the final season is flawless I'll
>change my tune, but this show isn't as enjoyable as it used to
>be.

I think this show, in an era of real-world disillusionment and faulty morals, brilliantly displays the fact that there aren't any good guys and everything is a goddamn mess, and if you're one of the people trying to "fix" things, you are more likely to leave a mess in your wake and bring yourself down than you are to fix anything. Show feels more timely than ever, the storytelling, dialogue, and visuals feel more confident than ever, and I could watch this show for several more seasons. This season had multiple all-timer gutputch moments.

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