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What a Tragic, Sad State of Affairs. Review: The Americans – “Only You”

  • By

  • April 10, 2013

  • 7 mins to read

Season 1, Episode 10

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

Rating: ★★★★★

 

Last week’s murders of Vlad (Vitaly Benko) and FBI Agent Chris Amador (Max Hernández) deeply affect both Nina (Annet Mahendru) and the FBI. “Only You” takes a look at how they handle this double tragedy. At home, Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) must ensure the FBI never finds out who killed Amador. And Derek Luke returns as Gregory, whose crew was responsible for ditching Amador’s car.

Elizabeth and Gregory share some intimate recollections.

Like most law enforcement agencies, the FBI is hell bent and determined to find Amador’s killer. What starts out as a seemingly heartfelt eulogy by Agent Gaad (Richard Thomas) to Martha (Alison Wright) and the other agents quickly turns into a missive to pull out all the stops to locate the KGB agent who wielded the deadly knife. The minute Stan (Noah Emmerich) tells Gaad the ring Amador always wore is missing is the minute I realized the Jennings are in real trouble.

We spend a lot of time in The Americans comparing the Soviets to the Americans. In “Only You,” unlike the Americans, the Soviets seem unfazed by Vlad’s death. Perhaps it’s because he wasn’t very important to their cause but he was important to someone—Nina. Vlad was the only real friend she had. It must be difficult for Stan to listen to Nina pleading with him to find Vlad’s killer. Mahendru does an excellent job in this scene as Nina grieves for her friend, a friend who never wanted to be part of the KBG and was about to leave the Rezidentura for medical school. I wonder if learning this has any effect on Stan but I’ll say one thing—the man sure can lie with the best of them. Of course, everyone does that—lie to get what they need—both agents and spies alike.

I don’t know of anyone who plays inebriated quite as well as Emmerich. He portrays Stan as a quiet, brooding drunk when he barges in on Philip at his motel rather than the loud, raucous drunks we’re so used to seeing on screen. The relationship between these two men seems to grow stronger with every episode. Or perhaps I should say Stan’s relationship with Philip seems to grow stronger; I don’t think Philip gives a hoot about Stan other than what information he can glean from their conversations.

Elizabeth and Philip use the running sink water to cover their conversation about Amador’s missing ring.

Elizabeth is having a hard time handling Paige (Holly Taylor). But the way Elizabeth chastises her daughter isn’t going to help, especially when she knows Paige blames her for the separation. It would behoove Elizabeth to locate her maternal side if she wants Paige to forgive her. Although, Paige isn’t the only one Elizabeth reprimands; she’s also taking her frustrations out on Philip. I understand she’s angry with him but she needn’t be so pissy when he drops in unexpectedly to take the kids to school. I hope the Jennings find some way of repairing their marriage despite Claudia’s (Margo Martindale) previous warning to Elizabeth about not getting too close to Philip. I like the Jennings so much better when they’re a loving couple. They worked so hard to attain that, it would be a shame to see it go to waste.

As I knew would happen, Amador’s ring surfaces. How smart was he to leave it where it could be found? But while Elizabeth is contacting Gregory to apprise him of the ring’s existence, the FBI is already questioning a suspect who eventually leads them to Curtis (Curtis Lyons), a member of Gregory’s crew.

Gregory and Claudia discuss his future.

For me, the best part of “Only You” are the emotions that are so beautifully communicated not only by Nina and Stan, but between Elizabeth and Gregory as Elizabeth tries to persuade him to accept Claudia’s solution to keep him safe. With the state of Elizabeth’s marriage, and her intimate connection to Gregory, I can only imagine how difficult it is for her to turn down Gregory’s invitation. Despite the initial compassion Claudia tries to demonstrate, the coldness with which she informs Gregory that she’s set him up, calling his relocation to Russia his “final act of service,” in order to finesse his agreement not to move to Los Angeles is remarkable. I don’t think Claudia has an empathetic bone in her body. That woman is a cold, calculating machine who couldn’t care less what happens to any of her spies as long as Mother Russia is protected. To top that are the instructions Claudia gives Elizabeth and Philip. I’m glad the Jennings allow Gregory to deal with things his own way; that’s the least they can do given how much he’s contributed to the KGB.

Memorable lines:

Elizabeth, about Philip’s motel room: “Doesn’t look so bad.”

Philip: “Let me know when you want to switch.”

**

Agent Gaad: “We are not going to rest until they are behind bars, or even better, until we zip them up in a body bag.”

**

Additional thoughts:

Lyons has the most beautiful, mesmerizing eyes for a man I’ve ever seen.

**

I thought for sure Stan was going to haul off and punch Curtis when he tells him, “Should’ve let me catch you the first time. I’m upset now.” Letting the FBI take him away instead doesn’t seem realistic to me.

**

Love the juxtaposition of Sandra (Susan Misner) asking Stan to run away from their lives, and Gregory asking Elizabeth to do the same.

**

No words are necessary as the final scenes of “Only You” unfold. The haunting slow melody and lyrics of “To Love Somebody” say all that is necessary. I know The Americans is just a TV show but when the screen faded to black, I felt completely empty and sad. When a show can elicit such depth of emotion, you know you have a hit on your hands.

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).

All photos courtesy of Craig Blankenhorn / © 2013 FX Networks. All Rights Reserved.

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!
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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!