The Americans - "Stinger" Review. The Truth Will Out.

Season 3, Episode 10

Air Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2015, 10 pm ET/PT on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

“What? Are you in the witness protection program? Did you guys kill somebody? Are you drug dealers like your friend Gregory? Am I adopted? Are we aliens? What!?” – Paige

Paige has plenty of questions for her parents.

While we learn bits and pieces about Nina’s (Annet Mahendru) assignment in the Russian prison, and what Zinaida (guest star Svetlana Efremova) is up to, this week’s installment of The Americans centers mainly on Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth’s (Keri Russell) daughter, Paige (Holly Taylor). “Stingers” also delves into Stan’s (Noah Emmerich) mind as he prepares for his divorce, while Philip and Elizabeth put a plan into motion for the CIA’s Mujahideen visitors.

Kimberly (guest star Julia Garner) is back but thankfully, not as a continuance of her story line with Philip. Instead, Garner’s character is used as a means to an end. What Philip and Elizabeth hear on the tape he recovers gives them pause, and sets up the beginning of their plan for the Mujahideen, or jihadist as they’re better known. With the movement’s more recent leaders in real life, such as Osama Bin Laden, they are the Muslim Afghan warlords involved in the Soviet war in Afghanistan.

Another character used as a means to an end is Pastor Tim (guest star Kelly AuCoin). Although he visits Philip at the travel agency for help with the church’s mission trip to Kenya, it’s more under the guise of schooling Philip on how to treat Paige. I truly dislike Pastor Tim and that’s due to AuCoin’s terrific portrayal of a pastor who constantly sticks his nose in where it doesn’t belong.

Elizabeth and Philip are shocked by Paige’s questions

It’s been building all season long and finally, at the Pastor’s urging, Paige learns the truth in “Stingers” about who her parents are. While Philip and Elizabeth are as gentle as possible when telling her where they were born and what they do, it comes as quite a shock. How could it not? I’ll be honest—I was expecting anger, tears, even a bit of rage. But we get nothing other than a look of disappointment and controlled silence. I understand Paige is different from most girls her age and needs to process what she just learned, but I am disappointed with the way director Larysa Kondracki has this scene play out. After all, Paige is a teenager who not only just learned her whole life is a lie but she can’t even tell anyone about it.

Humorous Moment

Before Paige learns the truth, she drops in at her parents’ travel agency and when they give her something to do to keep her busy until they’re ready to leave, she quips, “You trying to turn me into a travel agent?” Oh Paige, if you only knew.

This Week’s Bits of Nostalgia

The movie Zinaida and Stan see is Tootsie, which earned Dustin Hoffman an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win.
When Henry plays with a Tandy Championship Football LED electronic handheld game manufactured in Hong Kong in 1981, Stan tells him about a better game, the Strat-O-Matic. This is a bit of a goof because Strat-O-Matic was created in the 60s and was better known for its baseball game.
Stan gives Tron, a 1982 movie starring Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner to Henry.

Other Observations

Zinaida sure does eat a lot. There is a lot of great product placement in “Stingers” with everything she consumes while at the movies with Stan. Because of that, Zinaida uses the ladies room but it’s to remove something from beneath the bathroom sink. I haven’t a clue what it is or what its significance is but I sure do want to know!

We only see a glimpse of Nina as she attempts to get closer to the scientist Baklanov (guest star Michael Aronov). It appears he relates to her a bit more after learning she too used to live in America. I hope this story line resolves itself before the end of the season as I truly would like Mahendru to have a bigger role in the series going forward.

Stan is having trouble facing the realities of divorce, and writers Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg use the Jennings’ young son Henry (Keidrich Sellati) as an outlet for Stan. Not only does Stan explain to Henry what’s going on when he drops in while Stan is packing boxes, the two connect over their shared love for sports games. These scenes provide a nice amount of work for young Sellati, who isn’t seen very often in The Americans.

Overall

Philip and Elizabeth do a good job of handling Paige’s questions.FXul

“Stingers” is quite a game changing episode. Now that Paige knows the truth, what will she do with it? When Stan drops in for dinner at the Jennings, you can see the wheels turning in her head. Will Paige turn her parents in to Stan? And what the hell is up with Zinaida? I thought we learned who she is in last week’s episode, “Do Mail Robots Dream of Electronic Sheep?” but perhaps we need to reassess. And what about the message Tatiana (guest star Vera Cherny) hands Arkady (Lev Gorn) from “WILLOW?” Who is she; better yet, who is threatening her and why? More importantly, why does Stan hesitate when Agent Taffet (guest star Jefferson Mays) asks him if he knows who planted the bug? Does he truly suspect Martha (Alison Wright)? As an aside, kudos to the costume department for Elizabeth’s clothing in the hotel scene. I absolutely loved that coat! And speaking of the hotel, don’t you love the scenes between Elizabeth and the hotel manager Neal (guest star Bill Heck)?

What did you think of “Stingers?” Leave me a comment below or tweet me @SeasideTV. I’d love to discuss it with you!

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Follow these cast members on Twitter: Philip @MatthewRhys, Stan Beeman @NoahEmmerich, Oleg Burov @CostaRonin, Martha @Alison_Wright, Paige @HollyTaylor97, and Nina @AnnetMahendru, as well as the group “The Americans Fans” @https://twitter.com/TheAmericansFan.

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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!