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[VenomousCoffee]

I'm not reading much until I see the episode, but I need to ask:

Are there graphic images involving wrist cutting in this episode? If so, is there a decent bit to skip forward to miss it? Knowing the previous episode I just want to be. Images like this in particular are difficult for me and I would like to skip if possible.

I'm going to politely disagree and suggest that if you're saying what it seems like, when everyone rushes into the that defector family's house, you should skip ahead maybe 5 to 7 minutes.

 

[Cornballer]

Two podcasts that discuss this season of The Americans. Sepinwall/Grubb list some complaints and also praise certain parts of S5. They also bring up a few different questions that they guess about for next season (e.g. Is Renee a spy, will Henry actually end up at prep school next season, etc...) On The Watch, Andy Greenwald and Rob Harvilla talk about S5 and how they love the show but HATE this season. It's a 10-15 minute evisceration of this season and a full list of the problems they found therein.

- Sepinwall/Grubb TV Avalanche Podcast: Episode 18: ‘The Leftovers’ Finale, ‘Orange Is The New Black’ & More (21:30 mark)
- The Watch: 'American Gods,' 'Twin Peaks,' 'The Americans,' and Other Shows You Should Be Watching (Ep. 157) (24:00 mark)

 

[Grizzlyjin]

Two podcasts that discuss this season of The Americans. Sepinwall/Grubb list some complaints and also praise certain parts of S5. They also bring up a few different questions that they guess about for next season (e.g. Is Renee a spy, will Henry actually end up at prep school next season, etc...) On The Watch, Andy Greenwald and Rob Harvilla talk about S5 and how they love the show but HATE this season. It's a 10-15 minute evisceration of this season and a full list of the problems they found therein.

- Sepinwall/Grubb TV Avalanche Podcast: Episode 18: ‘The Leftovers’ Finale, ‘Orange Is The New Black’ & More (21:30 mark)
- The Watch: 'American Gods,' 'Twin Peaks,' 'The Americans,' and Other Shows You Should Be Watching (Ep. 157) (24:00 mark)

I smell major backlash coming for the final season because of something they mentioned on The Watch, anti-storytelling. We've all expected Stan to be the one to bring Philip and Elizabeth down, because of course it'll be the FBI agent next door. But I'm betting money it's something extremely small and trivial, like how Philip pinged that CIA agent's radar outside of the Morozov's house. Stan is definitely going to get caught in the fallout of being closely associated with them, but I'm not so sure he's going to have a "Eureka!" moment ala Breaking Bad. And THAT is going to piss people off.

As for what they mention about the pacing, I'd bet on the two season renewal being the culprit. Curious to see what the response is after they speak with the showrunners.

 

[Cornballer]

- Tim Goodman for THR: The One-Two Emotional Gut Punch of 'The Americans' and 'The Leftovers'

In The Americans, the entire fifth season was either about butting heads with a boulder that can't be moved (Oleg and the rigged Russian system; Martha and a life she didn't ask for) or worrying about the boulder rolling right toward you (Elizabeth and Philip coming to terms with Paige and the spy life). Of course,The Americans also delves into a different kind of loss; as Russian spies recruited very early in their lives, Elizabeth and Philip really didn't have a childhood and they have to confront how they've essentially taken away Paige's "normal" life and how snatching up Henry — who, unlike Paige, doesn't know his parents are Russian spies — and taking him back to Russia will crush the bright future he can finally see and has strived for in school.

The heaviness of the scenario that the Jennings face only achieves its greatest impact if viewers have children. There's been so much written about how loss (and also the fear of losing someone) is greatest when you love something more than yourself. And by degrees, that something could be a beloved pet, a parent or even a spouse, but your own child is a step further still and it's something that The Americans is masterful at toying with.

The gradations of loss in The Americans run from losing a lifestyle (the comforts of America) to losing innocence to losing the closeness of a child (Henry potentially going off to boarding school and how that stirs up so much of Philip's memories, or lack thereof, of his own father) to losing your family if your spy life is discovered to the ultimate loss, death.

All of that is heavy on the minds of Elizabeth and Philip in season five, and their dealing with the potential fate in front of them might have seemed ponderous to some but was no doubt heartbreaking to others. Sure, it could have been tighter in spots, but it's not like this series has ever been built on thrill-seeking speed. Bridge years to final seasons are difficult because they are more setup than resolution. And, in fairness, we needed to see Elizabeth and Philip on a number of taxing assignments (it's long, drawn-out and boring for them, too, and it takes away from family, which is mostly the point). They need to be overburdened in the spy game and they need to face crushing doubts as parents — introspective wallowing was crucial to feeling the weight.

Like Mad Men before it, The Americans is ostensibly about something (advertising in the former, spying in the latter) that enabled viewers to opt in on those storylines while allowing the creators to hide what they were really trying to explore underneath (an existential crisis in Mad Men, marriage and family in The Americans). In both series, some fans wanted more of the bait and less of the switch.

More via the link.

 

[Golden_Pigeon]

I really liked the show, but i just finished the fifth season and it feel underwhelming.
I mean, there is very good parts, it's way more calm and it's all about doubts but it feel sometime as if they didn't know if it's going to be the last season or not. I mean, all the characters are passing through the same process of doubting and wanting to quit.

It's like the season is building something to finally trash it up into nothing.
Like the son storyline.

However, i still love the show (mainly because of the period and the moral dilemma) and will watch the final season. It's crazy how the pace of show changed from the fourth season to the fifth. There were almost zero tension in this season.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Two episodes left but man this season is draaaaaaagggggiiiiiinnnnnnggggg its ass to the finish line. Booooooooorrrrrriiiiiinnnnnggggg.

Gonna stick it out but ugh. Hopefully the last season picks up.

And damn I'm sick of the Oleg story line. Not only is there nothing happening, but I gotta read about nothing happening lol.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Margo Martindale didn't get nominated this year! (Alison Wright did!)