Secrets Revealed. Review: The Americans – “The Oath”

Season 1, Episode 12

Air Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2013, 10 pm ET/PT on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

We’ve spent quite a bit of time examining the parallels between the Americans and the Soviets during the Cold War, and “The Oath” does a good job of continuing in that vein. It explores the similarities and differences between Martha (Alison Wright) and Clark/Philip’s (Matthew Rhys) friendship, and Stan’s (Noah Emmerich) relationship with Nina (Annet Mahendru), and shocks me with some of the outcomes. In addition, Tonye Patano returns as Viola, the Weinbergers’ housekeeper, leaving me to wonder why the Jennings didn’t follow the age old bad-guy mantra of never leaving a loose end behind. Then again, who really thinks Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip are ‘bad guys?’ Certainly not the fans of The Americans.

Viola confesses her sins.

I wondered how long it would take before Viola’s conscience caught up with her. She’s a deeply religious woman and listening to her Reverend’s (Michael Genet) speech about lies makes her relive the events that led to her placing a listening device in Casper Weinberger’s residence. Never, however, did I expect the Reverend’s speech to have such an effect on her that she decides to confess her wrongdoings to Stan and Agent Gaad. Tonye Patano plays Viola to perfection. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone convey guilt as well as she does. Viola’s confession has the added bonus of providing the FBI with the perfect way to ‘leak’ information to the Soviets. Plus, having Viola work with a sketch artist produces pictures that put the FBI one step closer to uncovering Elizabeth and Philip’s identities. So they say, but I don’t think those pictures look anything like the Jennings.

The realities of living separately are beginning to take a toll when Elizabeth picks up Paige (Holly Taylor) from Philip’s apartment. It’s evident Philip is the fun dad while Elizabeth is the disciplinarian. I wonder how many hours Rhys and Taylor practiced catching those grapes in their mouths. Elizabeth is clearly shocked by the amount of family pictures in Philip’s place, and I think Philip reads Elizabeth correctly when he asks whether she’s OK with their arrangement. And, later at home, when Elizabeth counsels Paige over first love angst, Paige asks a question that makes Elizabeth really think about what she and Philip are doing. Is there hope for the Jennings yet?

Agent Gaad is hopeful the sketches will lead to the identities of the Russian spies.

You never know whom you can trust in the spy business, which is why Elizabeth and Philip think they’re being set up. But exactly who is behind their meeting with a high-ranking colonel in Air Force Intelligence? Would Claudia (Margo Martindale) do something so heinous because of her dislike of Elizabeth? Or has the FBI figured out what’s going on with Sanford Prince (Tim Hopper), Elizabeth’s contact, and set the Jennings up for capture? There’s only one way to tell for sure so Philip maneuvers Martha into helping him.

Martha and Clark have taken their relationship to a whole new level.

Clark, Martha, and Stan all use sex to get what they want. But who’s using whom? Sex can quickly change to love when your heart gets involved. Clark thinks getting engaged will do the trick, which it obviously does—for the time being. But Martha isn’t stupid—at least not totally. Last week, we saw her introduce Clark to her parents, and now, flash, bang, boom, they’re getting married! Martha may play the innocent with those big brown eyes of hers, but who else thinks she knows exactly what she’s doing?

Memorable lines:

Elizabeth: “How much?”

Sanford : “Fifty grand.”

Elizabeth: “You playing at the big boy table now, Sanford?”

Sanford, about trusting the colonel: “He’s hit the wall. He’s completely disillusioned by the chicken hawks in the Reagan administration.”

Elizabeth: “You’re good at games; I’ll give you that.”

Claudia: “I enjoy the maze part; the eating without eating part. Pac dots are calorie free.”

Elizabeth: “The thing to understand is, we see what we need to see in people—things that aren’t really there.”

Paige: “Is that what happened to you and Dad?”

Additional thoughts:

I think there’s a lot of truth behind what Philip tells Martha about his first marriage. Do you think he’s talking about his fake marriage to Elizabeth? I do, and I feel sorry for him.

I cracked up when I saw Claudia all dressed up for the wedding as Clark’s mother!

What do you think is going through Elizabeth’s mind during the wedding ceremony?

Nina also uses sex to her advantage. I think Arkady (Lev Gorn) promoting her renews her sense of loyalty to Mother Russia; that, coupled with the profound loss caused by Vlad’s (Vitaly Benko) untimely death, fuels her desire to get to the bottom of who killed Vlad. With Stan so deeply enamored of Nina, it’s hard for him to keep his composure with such a beautiful woman undressing him while sitting, almost naked, in his lap. And when Nina asks outright, “Did you kill Vlad?” his response is less than convincing. But never did I expect Nina to do what she does when she gets back to the Rezidentura. You could have picked my mouth up off the floor! She’s taking quite a risk that obviously can have two very different outcomes. What do you think Arkady will do with the information Nina tells him?

Tune in to The Americans, Wednesdays, 10 pm ET/PT, only on FX.

LIKE The Americans on Facebook, and follow the show on Twitter. Visit the show’s official website for fun things to do, download wallpaper, and watch exclusive videos and more.

You may also want to follow some of the show’s actors on Twitter: Philip @MatthewRhys, Stan Beeman @NoahEmmerich, Nina @AnnetMahendru, and Chris Amador @maxitois4real (Max Hernandez).

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!