Roush Review: ‘The Americans’ Continues to Excel
Review
The fifth season of this exceptional spy drama burned so slowly it often reminded me of those times when fans of The Sopranos would gripe if there wasn’t enough whacking. But like that groundbreaking series, The Americans excels in mining the psychological damage visited upon those playing the deadliest of games. For Soviet spies Elizabeth and Philip Jennings (Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, never better), the toll of living a lie has only intensified since they began questioning the morality and veracity of their mission. “We’ve been talking about whether it’s time for us to end our tour here,” Elizabeth tells their handler, Claudia (the chilling Margo Martindale), a monumental decision reminding us that next season will be The Americans’ last.
Their ambivalence is contagious. Daughter Paige (Holly Taylor), in on their secret, has lost her faith, tossing her crucifix necklace in the trash. Disillusioned neighbor Stan (Noah Emmerich) is questioning his FBI career, while Soviet counterpart Oleg (Costa Ronin) learns bitter truths about corruption in Russia.
Is there no safe haven for these troubled souls in either mother country? Next year will tell.
The Americans, Seaon Finale, Tuesday, May 30, 10/9c, FX
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I love this show! It is excellent and provides a wonderful "fiction based on historical fact" data point for so many REAL Americans who are not aware that there were (and possibly still are) literally hundreds of Russian cells active in the U.S. for a long period of time. However, this Series would be SO much better if it stuck to that story line. The whole daughter drama takes its toll on the viewer. Entirely too much bandwidth is devoted to little Paige and her flaky, dodgy, sketchy and inconsistent character who adds little, if anything, to this marvelous show. While it is counter-intuitive for me to criticize a young actor, Holly Taylor is not a great actor by any means but she may be excused by the fact that the writing for her part is lightweight at best and seems forced to "make a place for" a really unnecessary storyline which, as it turns out, is more non-comedic comedic (or, as in my case, bathroom or snack retrieval) relief for the heavy drama scenes. Give Paige a rest and move on with the spy story. NOBODY cares about Paige! NOBODY! But The Americans is an otherwise superior Series, indeed!
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C
I care about Paige.
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P
Ha! Awe, hell, I guess I do, too; but she just drags the spy story with all her drama bandwidth. Simply feel the storyline suffers from all the attention her character requires. Perhaps the Ruskies will kill her off next year and that will turn the "Americans" to the U.S.'s side. But, then again, where's the fun in that?!
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