"Comrades" is the
second season premiere of the American television drama series ''
The Americans
''The Americans'' is an American historical drama, period spy fiction, spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg that aired on the FX (TV channel), FX television network for six seasons from January 30, 2013, to May 30, 2018. Weisberg ...
'', and the 14th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on February 26, 2014 in the United States on
FX.
Plot
KGB agent
Elizabeth Jennings (
Keri Russell
Keri Lynn Russell (born March 23, 1976) is an American actress. She portrayed the titular character on the drama series ''Felicity (TV series), Felicity'' (1998–2002), which won her a Golden Globe Award, and Elizabeth Jennings (The Americans), ...
) leaves a remote safe house to return home after recovering from
her gunshot wound. As she drives down a forested road, she almost hits a doe and two fawns with her car. Meanwhile, her husband
Philip Jennings (
Matthew Rhys
Matthew Rhys Evans ( ; born 8 November 1974) is a Welsh actor.
He is known for playing Kevin Walker in '' Brothers & Sisters'' (2006–2011) and Philip Jennings in ''The Americans'' (2013–2018), for which he received two Golden Globe Awar ...
), posing as an American agent, is arranging a weapons deal with two Afghans (an elder and a young interpreter) in a Middle Eastern restaurant. The interpreter presents Phillip with a knife, which he claims was used to kill his first Soviet soldier. Phillip accepts the knife and then shoots both Afghans, killing the elder and wounding the interpreter. He leaves the wounded interpreter a message: no one, not even Allah, can protect them as the KGB are everywhere. As Phillip attempts to leave, the interpreter attacks him. Phillip kills the interpreter and then the busboy before escaping from the restaurant.
The next morning, the Jennings throw a birthday party for their son Henry (
Keidrich Sellati). During the party, Phillip gives his neighbor, FBI agent
Stan Beeman
Stan Beeman is a fictional character in the American television drama series ''The Americans'' on FX, and the supporting male character. He was created by series creator Joe Weisberg and is portrayed by Noah Emmerich. Stan is an FBI agent and a n ...
, a refund for the trip he had arranged as a reconciliation attempt with his wife. Stan remarks that it is good to see that Phillip and Elizabeth are now back together; Phillip advises Stan to give his own marital relationship time. Philip and Elizabeth prepare to leave on a date, which disappoint Henry as it's his birthday. He relents when his sister Paige (
Holly Taylor
Holly Taylor is a Canadian and American actress and dancer. She began her career in the Broadway production of ''Billy Elliot'' at the age of eleven as Sharon Percy (Ballet Girl) and continued in the role for almost two years. She played the ro ...
) expresses acceptance of their parents' need for some time alone together.
The date, however, is a cover for a mission assisting another Soviet spy couple, Emmett and Leanne Connors. Posing as Air Force security, Phillip and Emmett burst into a hotel room where Elizabeth and Leanne are having sex with Roy, a
Lockheed employee who is involved in a
Skunk Works
Skunk Works is an official pseudonym for Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP), formerly called Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. It is responsible for a number of aircraft designs, beginning with the Lockheed P-38 Lightn ...
project. Philip and Emmett confront Roy with the suspicious circumstances of his current sexual encounter. They then offer to "protect" Roy provided he reveal his security protocols in life and at Lockheed, report future phone logs and contacts, and use the various codes they provide for his office work. Later at a construction site, Elizabeth and Leanne discuss their current lives. They are joined by Phillip and Emmett, who reveal the date-mission to be a success. The two couples reminisce about their children's youth and how quickly they grow up. They decide to go to the amusement park the next day to see each other and their kids.
Paige grows increasingly suspicious of her parents' activities. Later that night, she opens their bedroom door, only to find them having
mutual oral sex. After an awkward breakfast the next morning, Philip wonders if it is the first time Paige has ever checked on the couple.
At the FBI counterintelligence office, Agent Frank Gaad (
Richard Thomas) orders Stan to stop being so fixated on the
Illegals couple that escaped. Gaad asks Stan to trust his source, Nina (
Annet Mahendru
Anita Devi "Annet" Mahendru (born November 5, 1985) is an American actress. She is known for playing Nina Sergeevna Krilova on the FX period drama series ''The Americans'' (2013–2016), for which she garnered a nomination for the Critics' Ch ...
), who had claimed that the woman had died of her injuries and the man had been exfiltrated. Sanford storms into headquarters to demand his $500,000. Stan tells him he will not get his money because none of his information could be verified. Colonel Rennhull has been cleared, but Stan remains suspicious.
With the help of another FBI agent, Stan takes a bootlegged copy of ''
The French Lieutenant's Woman
''The French Lieutenant's Woman'' is a 1969 postmodern historical fiction novel by John Fowles. The plot explores the fraught relationship of gentleman and amateur naturalist Charles Smithson and Sarah Woodruff, the former governess and inde ...
'' for a date night with Nina. Nina is displeased with the film. She tells him of a new arrival at the Rezidentura, Oleg Igorevich Burov, who is responsible for spying on science and technology. The next day, Sanford goes to Colonel Rennhull's house and is supposedly killed by the Colonel in self-defense. At the crime scene, Stan observes the two bullet holes in Sanford's head and remarks to Gaad, "You'd think one in the head would have been enough."
At the amusement park, Emmett covertly contacts Philip and asks him to do a
brush pass
The Clandestine HUMINT page adheres to the functions within the discipline, including espionage and active counterintelligence.
The page deals with Clandestine HUMINT operational techniques, also known as "tradecraft". It applies to clandestine o ...
with an unnamed agent (
John Carroll Lynch
John Carroll Lynch (born August 1, 1963) is an American character actor and film director. He first gained notice for his role as Norm Gunderson in '' Fargo'' (1996). He is also known for his television work on the ABC sitcom ''The Drew Carey Show ...
), explaining that he cannot do it himself because he might be recognized by the surveillance team following the man. He instructs Philip to use Henry as a prop that will be recognized by the agent, and will avoid alerting the surveillance team. Leanne and their children will then block for Philip. Philip is initially reluctant to involve their own children, but relents due to time pressure and carries out the task successfully.
Philip and Elizabeth go to Emmett and Leanne's hotel room to drop off the package. They are shocked to find the couple and their 15-year-old daughter, Amelia, shot dead. Philip tells Elizabeth to get their own kids, and retrieves a notebook with codes from Emmett's luggage. He walks out of the hotel room and passes by Emmett's teenage son, Jared. Philip leaves, Jared walks into the room and screams in horror.
Elizabeth and Philip frantically retrieve their kids from the park and go home. That night, Philip decodes Emmett's information and Elizabeth is extremely paranoid. Philip regrets using Henry as a prop and putting him in danger, but Elizabeth forgives him. She tells him he has to spend the night as planned with Martha, the FBI employee whom he
married under another identity.
Stan comes home early from work. His wife Sandra warms up to him and asks him to go to the movies with her. Coincidentally, the film is ''The French Lieutenant's Woman''.
The episode ends with Philip, disguised as FBI counterintelligence agent Clark, lying with Martha and talking about his job, stating that "it gets to you in ways you didn't think it would". Meanwhile, Elizabeth watches out the window anxiously.
Production
The episode was written by Joel Fields and series creator
Joe Weisberg
Joseph Weisberg is an American television writer, producer, novelist, and school teacher. Weisberg is best known as the creator and showrunner of the FX TV series ''The Americans''.
Career
A 1987 graduate of Yale University, Weisberg became a C ...
and directed by
Thomas Schlamme
Thomas David Schlamme (; born ) is an American television director, known particularly for his collaborations with Aaron Sorkin. He is known for his work as executive producer on ''The West Wing'' and ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,'' as well as ...
.
Reception
''Comrades'' received critical acclaim. ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave the episode a perfect A grade. Also, Eric Goldman of
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
rated the episode 8.5/10 stating; 'The Americans returned with a strong premiere that quickly raised the stakes.' Writing in
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
, Spencer Kornhaber observed that the episode "raises the FX series' stakes by making its secret agents face a universal fear", namely about the safety of their own children.
References
External links
*
{{The Americans
The Americans (season 2) episodes
2014 American television episodes