Five episodes into the third season of The Americans, and things are getting both very awkward and very intense for the Jennings. Last night’s episode continued to explore the mixed feelings that both Philip and Elizabeth have about their daughter Paige, getting involved with Christianity and what it might mean for her future as a Russian spy. Philip is driving her toward the church in the hopes of insulating her, sparing her from a dangerous future, while Elizabeth — who once believed that Paige’s groupthink would make her a better candidate to carry on the family business — is feeling pushed out.
There are also some intimacy problems between Philip and Elizabeth, beyond the fact that pulling out a broken tooth with a pair of pliers is as intimate as these two get. We also caught a horrifying glimpse into the secret room of Philip’s past, and what he had to go through while training to become a Russian spy, namely boning geriatrics and fat dudes. It was a terrifying montage. Even that, it seems, didn’t prepare him to seduce a girl his daughter’s age, especially one whose rebellions against her father reminds Philip of his daughter’s own rebellions. Kimmy smokes pot and seduces older men. Paige retreats into religion.
Meanwhile, it has to be strange when pillow talk with one’s wife amounts to asking her whether he should follow through on having sex with an underage girl. The timing, after all, couldn’t be worse because in his other life — as Clark — Philip’s fake wife is nagging him to adopt a foster child. Still, Philip didn’t have to make it “feel real” with Elizabeth in order to make love to her that night.
(Side note: Sometimes, I don’t know how they keep all their wigs straight. They must have a chart in their bathroom reminding them of which wig to wear with each person they’re dealing with that day).
But the water cooler moment from that episode, I think, was the way Elizabeth stone-cold murdered a Northrup employee. Did she do it because he was a bad guy? Did she do it because he’d done something to deserve it? Absolutely not. But Elizabeth — as she demonstrated when she casually broke the bones of a corpse and folded her into a suitcase — is emotionally detached when it comes to her job. She gives no f*cks. She killed this guy basically so her target could get a promotion, so that Elizabeth might some day get a scrap of information from her about the activities of that company, Northrup.
How did she kill him? The old kick-out-the-jack maneuver. He never saw it coming.
And what did she do afterwards? She casually walked away, and the next day, her “friend” got that promotion she wanted.
Elizabeth Jennings may be the coldest killer on TV right now.
