Series Complete- The Americans
We recently finished watching “The Americans”. Overall, it was an enjoyable show that kept us interested all the way from start to finish. It shows when a show prepares for its end in advance. The ending wasn’t the greatest thing ever but it was the best show ending possible.
One of the big appeals of the show was the period piece nature of it. It starts in 1981, which also happens to be when I started. The world was familiar though still foreign given I don’t actually have any memories of the early 80’s. But it was fun watching time progress over the course of the show, especially with the time jump to 1987. Cars went from boxy to curved. Computers started appearing.
Being in the 80’s also allowed for old school spycraft. Tapes, dead drops, radio codes, etc. All of that made for tense scenes and thrilling operations. They also made good use of 80’s music throughout the series which added to the feel of the show, especially during drama heavy scenes.
Going into the show I was unsure of what to expect thematically. With a show about Soviets pretending to be American’s during the 80’s it could go a lot of different ways, most of them bad. You can’t make your main characters out to be cartoonish villains. But nor can you make them good guys. It would be very easy to lean too far in one direction or the other ideologically; making the Soviet Union be the evil empire Reagan called it and America the bastion of all things good. Or be too sympathetic to the Soviets and try too hard to point out America’s flaws so that it looks evil by comparison.
Fortunately, they did a great job of keeping things feeling real. The FBI never felt incompetent and the KGB, usually, didn’t feel infallible. Given that the main characters were KGB agents, they did sometimes know things that were a little too convenient but nothing unreasonable.
The Soviets, especially the people, were never truly evil. And the Americans were never perfect. In fact, everyone on the show was a bit of everything. FBI agent Stan starts out as Captain America but then ends up murdering a guy in revenge because he gets caught up in the escalating tension. Phillip, a Soviet spy has killed a lot of people but that life is destroying him. Everyone got caught up in that escalating tension and did things they didn’t want to, or think they should, do. Which felt very real.
They showed the brutality of the Soviet Union but didn’t blame it on communism. They showed the flaws in America but didn’t blame it on democracy. Both sides had the same problems; corruption, fear and abuse of power. In the end, the Soviet Union collapsed because of corruption which is what is going to bring the US down eventually if it’s not curtailed.
The best scene in the show was the final confrontation between Stan and the Jennings. Mainly Stan and Phillip. Two friends, on opposite sides of a conflict they have both come to understand is pointless. They never expected to be friends but its real.
In the end, the show concludes its own story arc, that of the Jennings as spies in America. It’s a satisfying resolution of that arc, even if its not a satisfying resolution for the characters. Poor Henry, learning his parents are spies and he’s never going to see them again. Paige staying behind with no real hope of a future. Phillip returning to his home that he doesn’t think of as home anymore. Elizabeth betraying her loyalty. And Stan, left wondering if his wife is really a Soviet spy just after learning his best friend was one. That guy’s never going to trust again.
A worthwhile show to watch.
