Posted in: Review, TV | Tagged: fx, FX The Americans, keri russell, Matthew Rhys, Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, The Americans, The Americans final season, The Americans season 6, The Americans season 6 episode 2

Let's Talk About FX's 'The Americans' Season 6, Episode 2

FX series The Americans returned last week for the premiere of their 6th and final season, and it delivered with grandeur that's made the series a highlight of television drama.

Seamlessly blending emotionally charged scenes with songs, reveals of newfound skills, and the ultimate protective mother move made s6e1 a highlight of the series, for me personally.

If you missed what happened last week, you can catch up here.

Season 6 episode 2 is titled "Tchaikovsky", and has some interesting implications after last week's reveal that Paige now perfectly understands Russian.  The official synopsis for this episode reads:

"Elizabeth targets an old source who could tip the balance of the upcoming summit as Philip deals with business at the travel agency; Stan learns an old friend is back in town."

Things that happened in The Americans s6e2:

• The episode opens with a quick "previously on The Americans"
• Elizabeth isn't even hiding the fact that she's smoking again
• Stan is back at work, in a department he wants to leave, and he's been called somewhere immediately
• The summit is happening, so most of the other agents in the department are gone, keeping an eye on the visiting Russians
• Philip is hard at work at the travel agency, but you can tell he's distracted
• Elizabeth has assumed one of her secret identities, and meets up with a previous contact in a library
• They talk about the summit, about Gorbachev, and the treaty discussion
• "Do you think Reagan is going soft?" Elizabeth asks
• Stan is meeting with a Russian, but not for the reasons he thinks. Illa is complaining about his homelife, not any news.
• Elizabeth is back in her nurses' persona, and her dying patient Erika is suffering, begging to be spared more pain. Erika is begging for it to end.
• This goes with my theory that Elizabeth is going to use her cyanide tablet to help Erika
• Back at Claudia's house, Elizabeth is told to keep the patient alive until after the summit, even though it's going against everything she's feeling
• Elizabeth tells Claudia that if anything happens to her, that Claudia needs to finish with Paige. That she'd be good, that she'd be strong.
• Philip and Elizabeth are talking about Paige's progress, that she's learning fast but made a mistake.
• Paige is back on her stakeout, tailing Elizabeth's meeting with an Army general.
• Elizabeth is requesting from him information, specifically a new lithium powered radiation sensor
• Stan goes to the airport to meet a contact
• Talking Heads "Slippery People" playing during the handover of intelligence via a sneaky bathroom sequence
• Elizabeth gets herself through security into the State Department, where she is supposed to meet a contact in their cafeteria, and hopes she doesn't run into Stan
• She makes it to her lunch date, but notices security searching for her other persona (she changed wigs to make it to her meeting)
• Her contact tells her that Reagan is starting to lose focus while in the office, forgetting things, that there's talk he's going 'senile'
• Paige asks Elizabeth if any of the people in their organization ever use sex to get information, and Elizabeth says no. It's the strangest birds and the bees discussion.
• Elizabeth changes her mind, and puts it in situational sense, "if the information is vital"
• Elizabeth goes to meet the General in the park, and he refuses to give her the sensor.
• "If you don't give it to us, my people will expose what you did before. If you give it to us, you can retire, and we'll never come to you again."
• Back at Erika's house, she gives Elizabeth an art lesson
• Elizabeth goes to make her second connection with the General, who points a gun at her and cocks it. She assures him it's not too late, goes down on her knees, and begs the man not to shoot her
• She tackles him, knocking him to the ground, and tries to wrestle the gun from him
• He manages to get the gun to his mouth, and pulls the trigger, blowing the back of his head off
• Paige comes running, and Elizabeth, covered in blood and brains, orders her back to the car.
• The episode ends.

Ooooh man that trailer for next week. What's Paige going to see then?!

Join us next week for The Americans s6e3 on Wednesday.

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