It's been good so far. I'm just glad that Nina's still in it, since they could have easily written her out of the show entirely.
The Americans
- Thread starter Musab
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OU Ariakas
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OU Ariakas
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It's almost as if they don't buy the narrative that TV viewers are raging morons who can't grasp subtlety.
Gask
Bronze Baron of the Realm
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Each season has its quota of filler that is usually centered around repetitive family drama which is unfortunate. The rest of the time the show is pretty entertaining and has some fairly exciting climactic moments like the end of last season. The tug of war over Paige this season has been exceedingly tiresome but everything apart from that has been excellent so far. It's a pity but I have absolutely no interest in their bland nonentity son or their naive activist daughter; they are just tools used to further manipulate the emotional states of the real characters and it comes off rather contrived and repetitive and I think that the story would flow better without them. But then they would have to find another way to pad out the writing I suppose.
Anyway overall it's a good show.
Anyway overall it's a good show.
Lanx
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too much paige, not enough nina, wtf!
simply, they fail at writing a basic american family.
why can't paige just be a regular teenage girl, instead of finding the freaking cult and activists?
spy stuff is still cool, but i'm getting bored of the whole dumb FBI thing.
simply, they fail at writing a basic american family.
why can't paige just be a regular teenage girl, instead of finding the freaking cult and activists?
spy stuff is still cool, but i'm getting bored of the whole dumb FBI thing.
spronk
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marathoned through all 3 seasons the last few weeks, good show. I think it edges right up to the line of "great" show but falls slightly short, with a few stellar episodes but a lot of plots that kind of drag out and way too many times Elizabeth and Phil escaping impossible situations.
Glad the old lady in the last episode said point blank to Elizabeth that evil people justify their actions by exactly the way she does, hope it sticks with her but probably not until she loses a child. Thats where I imagine this season or next ends, with paige or henry dying due to the parents actions and then either the couple turning against the russians or one of them turning and the other staying loyal.
whats interesting is that its hard to root for anyone in the show. Elizabeth and Phil are just evil motherfuckers, hands down. Stan the UnMan is a complete idiot and you wonder how he stayed alive for 3 years in a white power group. Its cool cuz it would be dumb to have a Jack Bauer type in the show, but it is a bit unsettling to not really have anyone to cheer for. I really, really, really hope they don't get abruptly ended because I really want to see what happens when the soviet union falls and how the realization that the people they have been working for are no different from the Americans hits the "patriots".
Granny was awesome in s1 (she was Marge in Justified) but glad to see the old guy in s3 sorta replace her, he's great.
by the way last weeks archer episodes was inspired by a story from phil (and phil was in the episode as the welshman)
How Matthew Rhys Ended Up As A Guest Star On This Week
Glad the old lady in the last episode said point blank to Elizabeth that evil people justify their actions by exactly the way she does, hope it sticks with her but probably not until she loses a child. Thats where I imagine this season or next ends, with paige or henry dying due to the parents actions and then either the couple turning against the russians or one of them turning and the other staying loyal.
whats interesting is that its hard to root for anyone in the show. Elizabeth and Phil are just evil motherfuckers, hands down. Stan the UnMan is a complete idiot and you wonder how he stayed alive for 3 years in a white power group. Its cool cuz it would be dumb to have a Jack Bauer type in the show, but it is a bit unsettling to not really have anyone to cheer for. I really, really, really hope they don't get abruptly ended because I really want to see what happens when the soviet union falls and how the realization that the people they have been working for are no different from the Americans hits the "patriots".
Granny was awesome in s1 (she was Marge in Justified) but glad to see the old guy in s3 sorta replace her, he's great.
by the way last weeks archer episodes was inspired by a story from phil (and phil was in the episode as the welshman)
How Matthew Rhys Ended Up As A Guest Star On This Week
I pretty much only find Phil likeable. I always get the feeling if he could he would just abscond but because Liz is so desperate to prove herself (mainly to herself) he can't leave his kids behind.
Last week I felt sorry for his fatwife but she's pretty much a cert for a Liz bullet to the head this season.
Last week I felt sorry for his fatwife but she's pretty much a cert for a Liz bullet to the head this season.
Lithose
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This. Phil seems like he's only pragmatically "evil"--he's doing it because it's the best bet for his family, because Liz is a patriotic psychopath. Phil would have already flipped and joined the winning side in the first season if not for Liz. In any case, Phil actually considering family ahead of country, and being conflicted? For sure makes it far easier to sympathize with. I can't sympathize with Elizabeth at all, I just don't understand how someone gets so brainwashed.
Lanx
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I can, just watch any documentary about those crazy north koreans and how they love kim joon il/un(whoever the fuck it is father/son) they'll go batshit crazy for their motherland.
Liz is a true patriot, she won't let shit like family get in the way of her motherland.
While Phil, i think is just doing this b/c he's just used to it, no different than waking up and making morning coffee.
But he's a happy motherfucker now, he broke through 15years of crazy and somehow it shows that liz kinda sorta loves him.
He's running a good business, seemingly is liked by neighbors and friends, and loves his two kids. He has fashioned the American dream, is living it/realizing it and wants to hold on to it. He seemingly only does the spy shit, b/c if he doesn't they will flip their shit and every he cares for will perish in some form or another.
I believe Liz would sell Paiges' soul if she uttered "for mother russia"
I think she'd probably put a bullet in all the kids and Phil if it came down to it.
Didn't they show in a flashback that her father was a deserter and disgraced their family? She massively over compensates for it.
Didn't they show in a flashback that her father was a deserter and disgraced their family? She massively over compensates for it.
BrutulTM
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I marathoned all 35 episodes of this show over the last few weeks and while I enjoyed it mostly all the way through, this last season has been phenomenal. Couldn't disagree more with the people calling the stuff with Paige "tiresome". I can only assume that you thought you were watching 24 or a James Bond movie or something. Paige is the lynchpin of the whole show and the ultimate test of the ethical dilemma that makes the show compelling.
The scene with the old lady in the most recent episode was awesome. Just fucking great writing. I really like Gabriel as well. He's really likable but also an evil motherfucker. The old lady was good but he is better.
As far as Elizabeth and Phil goes, to me Elizabeth is loyal to Russia, Phil is loyal to Elizabeth. Liz will do anything for the cause, Phil will do anything for Elizabeth. The problem arises when he cares for Paige just as much as he does for Elizabeth and he is being forced to choose between them which he severely resents the KGB for.
The scene with the old lady in the most recent episode was awesome. Just fucking great writing. I really like Gabriel as well. He's really likable but also an evil motherfucker. The old lady was good but he is better.
As far as Elizabeth and Phil goes, to me Elizabeth is loyal to Russia, Phil is loyal to Elizabeth. Liz will do anything for the cause, Phil will do anything for Elizabeth. The problem arises when he cares for Paige just as much as he does for Elizabeth and he is being forced to choose between them which he severely resents the KGB for.
Gask
Bronze Baron of the Realm
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Obviously they need the at home drama to reinforce the sleeper agent aspect of the story and to provide opportunities for the cast to question their commitment to this war. What I find tiresome is the writers need to repeatedly underscore the conflict over the daughter nearly every episode this season. We get it; something is going to blow up at some point due to the struggle over the girl... just give it a rest every now and then. If Paige were anything more than an emotional prop in the story then I might care more but that is neither here nor there at the moment.
Also taking bets on how long it would take anyone to notice if Henry suddenly disappeared from the show.
Lanx
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Old lady scene opens up lots of awesomeness since you're supposed to make parallels between Elizabeth and Betty(old lady, also old timey short for Elizabeth).
I think atm Phil is more loyal to his kids than liz, he'd knife that crazy Rusky to save Paige and whatever the fuck the sons name is, from "the center"
I think atm Phil is more loyal to his kids than liz, he'd knife that crazy Rusky to save Paige and whatever the fuck the sons name is, from "the center"
spronk
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yeah i like the kids unlike 99% of other drama tv shows with kids (once upon a time, walking dead, 24, sopranos, etc) the kids don't do incredibly stupid things to move the plot along. henry is more or less invisible, which a 12 year old boy should be. paige only has one flaw, her new found religion, which is completely understandable given her parents are godless commies (kids opposite of parents and all that).
she doesn't secretly discover her mom is a ruski, she doesn't go undercover with the CIA, she doesn't follow her parents around at night, or any other stupid bullshit. in fact the other illegal families boy becoming a james bond level of assassin and showing zero remorse or guilt was lame, but I guess they really wanted to move that plot forward.
she doesn't secretly discover her mom is a ruski, she doesn't go undercover with the CIA, she doesn't follow her parents around at night, or any other stupid bullshit. in fact the other illegal families boy becoming a james bond level of assassin and showing zero remorse or guilt was lame, but I guess they really wanted to move that plot forward.
spronk
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