"The Oath" is the twelfth episode of the
first season of the
period
Period may refer to:
Common uses
* Era, a length or span of time
* Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Period (music), a concept in musical composition
* Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
''
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 ...
''. It originally aired on
FX in the United States on April 24, 2013.
Plot
Sanford Prince (
Tim Hopper
Tim Hopper is an American actor known for his appearances in movies like '' Tenderness'' and ''To Die For''.
He has been an ensemble member of the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago, Illinois since 1988 and acted in various stage product ...
) tells 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), ...
) that he has recruited an Air Force colonel named Lyle Rennhull who will give the Soviets important information on the
SDI project for $50,000. Elizabeth brings this new information to her husband
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
(
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 ...
), who is wary, citing Prince's gambling addiction. Elizabeth believes Sanford is delivering them the "highest source" within the
Reagan administration
Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over D ...
, while Philip believes it could be a trap.
Elizabeth receives material from Prince at a
dead drop
A dead drop or dead letter box is a method of espionage tradecraft used to pass items or information between two individuals (e.g., a case officer and an agent, or two agents) using a secret location. By avoiding direct meetings, individuals ca ...
, containing schematics for the U.S. missile defense system. She meets Claudia (
Margo Martindale
Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is an American character actress who has appeared on television, film, and stage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on '' J ...
) who believes that the Americans wouldn't hand over such important information just as a trap, telling Elizabeth that she believes the Colonel is real and a meeting with him has been set. Elizabeth has grown tired of Claudia as their handler and tells Philip that she wants her to be reassigned. Philip resolves to convince FBI employee Martha (Alison Wright) to plant a bug in Gaad's office to see if the FBI are planning anything. Later, while at dinner, Philip (disguised as FBI counterintelligence agent Clark) proposes to Martha, who happily accepts.
Nina's (
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 ...
) suspicions about
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 ...
(
Noah Emmerich
Noah Nicholas Emmerich (born February 27, 1965) is an American actor and director who is best known for his roles in films such as '' Beautiful Girls'' (1996), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Frequency'' (2000), ''Miracle'' (2004), '' Little Childr ...
) grow and she accuses him of murdering Vlad, which he strongly denies. Philip asks Martha to plant a listening device in Gaad's office and she agrees. Viola Johnson (
Tonye Patano
Tonye T. Patano (born October 16, 1961) is an American actress. She may be best known as Heylia James on the television series '' Weeds''.
She has appeared in television shows such as ''Law & Order'', ''Sex and the City'', ''Monk'' and ''Third ...
), who
planted the bugged clock in Weinberger's study, has been feeling increasingly guilty, and eventually confesses to the FBI. She tells Stan and Gaad what happened, and they surmise that Viola was threatened by the same couple who
kidnapped Patterson. Viola agrees to speak to a
sketch artist
A sketch (ultimately from Greek σχέδιος – ''schedios'', "done extempore") is a rapidly executed freehand drawing that is not usually intended as a finished work.Dia ...
. The FBI discover the bug in Weinberger's study and decide to leave it there now that they know the Russians are listening.
After planting the bug, Martha confronts Philip about their relationship, complaining that they have to keep it secret. Philip agrees that she can tell her parents about the marriage and Martha tells him she wants to get married over the weekend. Philip and Elizabeth listen in on the bug in Gaad's office, where they hear no mention of a trap. Sanford is arrested one night for failing to pay his child support. Elizabeth fears this has something to do with the meeting with the Colonel. At Philip (assuming the identity of Clark Westerfeld) and Martha's wedding ceremony, Elizabeth attends as "Clark's sister" and Claudia attends as his mother. Elizabeth asks Philip if their relationship would be different if they had had a wedding ceremony and taken vows, and Philip says he doesn't know.
Viola's time with the sketch artist results in the FBI looking for a white couple in their 30s or 40s. Nina, who has grown increasingly tired of Stan's lies, confesses to Arkady about spying for the U.S. and volunteers to become a
re-doubled agent
In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...
.
Production
The episode was written by
Joshua Brand
Joshua Brand is an American television writer, director, and producer who created '' St. Elsewhere'', ''I'll Fly Away'' and ''Northern Exposure'' with his writing-and-producing partner John Falsey. He was also a writer and consulting producer of ...
and
Melissa James Gibson
Melissa James Gibson is a Canadian-born playwright based in New York.
Life
The child of former BC Liberal MLA Gordon Gibson and journalist Valerie Gibson, Melissa James Gibson grew up in North Vancouver. She graduated from Columbia University an ...
and directed by
John Dahl
John Dahl (born December 11, 1956) is an American film director, film and television director and screenwriter, writer, best known for his work in the neo-noir genre.
Life and career
John Dahl was born in Billings, Montana, the second of four c ...
.
Reception
In its original American broadcast on April 24, 2013, "The Oath" was watched by 1.49 million viewers, according to
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oath
The Americans (season 1) episodes
2013 American television episodes
Television episodes directed by John Dahl