The Americans Season 3 Epis 2-12 Reviews: Will Paige Rat Out Her Parents And Will Martha Survive The Season?

It's been a while since I reviewed "The Americans" so just catching up before the season finale on Thursday. It continues to be one of the overlooked shows on television. Sure the show is about KGB spies in 1980's middle class America but it's also about marriage, trust, duty, parenthood and religion. Luckily for us, "The Americans" isnt going anywhere. It was just renewed for a season 4.

I wont go into minute detail about episodes since that would be too much to cover in one review. Hopefully I've hit the highlights though. There are lots of story lines to keep track of.

There Is No WiFi In Prison

"Baggage" opens with Nina in a Soviet prison camp peeing in a bucket. Nina has really hit rock bottom. She is soon joined by a cellmate from Belgium. Nina at first appears to be standoffish but finally bonds with the girl. We later learn its a setup. Nina has proven she'll do whatever it takes to survive. Her next mission is to get in good with Anton the scientist. Anton is guy Philip kidnapped back in season 2 and sent back to Russia. I still recall that painful car ride when Anton pleaded to see his children again. Now he is being held hostage in a Russian lab.

Next we see the aftermath of Annelise's death. Remember she was strangled by Yousaf in the hotel room (while Philip listened next door). Lip calls Elizabeth to help with the cleanup. It was extremely painful to watch them breaking Annalises's bones to cram her into a suitcase. They also take a photo of Yousaf helping with the disposal (so they could blackmail him later). Yep, he's in some deep, deep shit now. And I'm probably not going to get that suitcase scene out of my head for a LONG time.

I Love America And The Million Dollar Bar

Meanwhile the FBI boys are at Dulles Airport opening a crate. Inside is a woman with an oxygen mask. We find out she is a defector named Zinaida Preobrazhenskaya. That's quite a mouthful. I would avoid saying her name if possible. Zinaida is paraded in front of the various media outlets. And she REALLY likes candy bars.

Philip and Elizabeth argue about Paige entering the junior spy program. Liz is for it and Lip is vehemently opposed to it. He says "I dont want her putting people into a suitcase and I dont want her ending up in a suitcase".

Why Doesnt The KGB Offer Dental?

The highlight of "Open House" was Philip pulling Elizabeth's infected tooth. Remember her ruckus with Agent Gaad left her injured (but he ended up in far worse shape). Now that was some powerful acting. And if one tooth wasnt bad enough, Philip then went for a second once. That made me cringe.

The New Guy Is A Pretty Good Spy

New agent Aderholt makes a pass at Martha. Of course she spurns him since she's secretly married to Clark. Martha really wants to have children but we all know that will never happen. Her latest plan is to take in a foster child.

The New Handler In Town

Gabriel has become the Jennings new handler. They discuss business over games of Scrabble. He is a fatherly figure but I dont think he can be trusted. He appears to side with Elizabeth against Philip on Paige being recruited as a junior KGB agent.

In "Dime Bag" Philip has to get cozy to an underage girl named Kimmie in order to secretly steal intel from her father. Philip is uncomfortable with this (as am I). We also see some of Philips previous KGB training on how to get around unpleasant sexual situations. Yuck.

Stan decides in "Salang Pass" that their defector Zinaida Preobrazhenskaya (say that 6 times fast) is really a double agent. He meets Oleg in the park. If Stan can prove she is a spy, he wants to a prisoner exchange for Nina. Yes Stan still loves Nina. We all know that. But I'm not sure Nina loves Stan.

Pagie continues pressing to be baptized in the aptly named "Born Again". Elizabeth tells Paige she and Philip were involved in the civil rights movement when they were younger (as a way to win Paige over). She mentioned Gregory specifically. She leaves out the part where they had an affair. We also learn that Philip has a son fighting for Mother Russia in Afghanistan. Who knew?

Code Red... Code Red

The FBI office is under a lock down in "Walter Taffet" as a bug is found in Agent Gaad's pen. There were some great scenes with Martha heading to the women's room to dispose of the transmitter that Clark/Philip gave her earlier. Poor Martha. She is beginning to realize she's in some deep shit. On the other spy front, the KBG is trying to work with a South African man who recruits college students to fight oppression. Elsewhere Elizabeth is working with Lisa from Northrop to get intel. Elizabeth met her at an AA meeting. We later met her husband Maurice. To be honest this whole story line felt like a filler.

In "Divestment" the South African story continues although to be honest I dont much care. I did learn that "necklacing" was a repugnant practice that arose in Africa in the 1980s. It involves putting something filled with gasoline around a victim's shoulders and chest and slowly burning them to death. Horrible stuff.

In other news, Walter Taffet is still snooping around FBI headquarters. He's from the Office of Professional Responsibility which is supposed to be where Clark works. So poor Martha (yes I know I say that a lot but I feel really sorry for her) knows that Clark doesnt even work for the US government. She is still holding her own at the office and under interrogation so I'm impressed.

Betty, You'll Be Happy To Learn That We Win The Cold War

"Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sleep" gets the award for weirdest title ever. The most shocking scene in this episode (and there were a few to choose from) was when Liz forced the older woman (Betty) to OD on her medication and kill herself. I watch lots of deaths on TV shows but that one hit me hard for some reason-- probably because she was just an innocent old woman. Obviously I wouldnt be a very good spy since I would let everyone go IF they promised not to tell on me. Hans also kills Todd so Liz and Hans can keep working together. Did Liz set that whole thing up? I'm thinking yes.

Please Pass The Potatoes. Did You Know Mom & Dad Are Russian Spies?

The moment finally arrives in episode 10 "Stingers" when Elizabeth and Philip tell Paige who they REALLY are. They didnt have much of a choice. Paige has know something was not right for some time. She corners them with options: drug dealers, Witness Protection Program, time travelers, swingers, aliens, etc (OK maybe I made a few of those up). I bet she didnt have secret KGB spies on her list though.

We also learn that Zinaida is actually a double agent and not an innocent defector. Stan is also still hot on the trail of Martha. Did she place the bug in Gaad's pen? Bonus points for Henry's Eddie Murphy impersonation. I too remember listening to Eddie Murphy in the 80's but it was his "Raw" album. We played that over and over and over again. Good times.

"One Day in the Life of Anton Baklanov" shows how everyone on the show is trapped in situations beyond their control. Clark gives Martha pointers on how to pass Taffet's lie detector test. Paige says she cant trust anything her parents have ever said since it's all a lie. The bug that was placed in the mail robot (Operation Zephyr) has uncovered no useful information. It's still fun hearing the Soviets try to figure out what it all means.

I'm Rooting For These Two Kids

"I Am Abassin Zadran" has Liz and Lip getting a mujaheddin (Abassin) to kill his other two countrymen right under the FBI's nose. Abassin thinks they are CIA (and not KGB). We see the return of Claudia. Apparently she and Gabriel used to be a thing. I'm hope she's back to stay. I just love any scene Margo Martindale is in. Stan visits Martha at her home. She manages to hold her own. You gotta give it to the lady. She seems cool under pressure even when she's really not. Later Clark does a slow reveal to Martha. He doesnt look that different (just with less hair). It was a very powerful scene though. Excellent acting. Again, I fear for Martha's life.

I Will Miss You Martha

So here's where we are going into the finale. Please place your bets in the comments section as to who will survive.

Martha- After Clark removed his hair piece, I'm thinking Martha will not survive the season. Poor Martha. She deserves better.
Paige- Now that Paige knows who her parents really are, what will she do? I dont think she'll be able to keep her mouth shut forever and will probably spill the beans to the Pastor Tim (forcing Philip and/or Elizabeth to kill him). I say good. There's something I dont like about Pastor Tim (and its not just his sermons).
Philip and Elizabeth- The noose continues to tighten around Liz and Lip. I know they need to gain intel but having Stan drop by whenever (especially now that Paige knows) is too much of a risk.
Stan- I'm not sure where Stan will end up at the end of the season. Will he be in mortal danger if he keeps stopping by the Jennings' house unannounced? Will he ever be reunited with his true love Nina?
Nina- Speaking of Nina, I really like her character but since it's not part of the main action, it feels disjointed.
Gabriel and Claudia- What will happen next with them? I think we can all agree that neither can be trusted (but I still love Claudia anyway).
Zinaida- how will her story line resolve? I hope they have vending machines where ever she ends up.
Everyone Else At The Rezindentura- Do we really care what happens to Arkady, Oleg or Tatiana? I'm not sure I do.

Favorite Quotes:

"I dont want her putting people into a suitcase and I dont want her ending up in a suitcase"- Phillip about his daughter Paige.
"Propaganda is more important than anything"- Soviet agent to Oleg.
"They are good with disguises"- Stan about the female spy (Liz) that beat up the FBI boys.
"This isnt a prison for innocent people"- Nina to her new cellie.
"That's what evil people tell themselves when they do evil things."- Betty to Elizabeth when Elizabeth saying the she must kill her because the ends justifies the means.

Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). If you stick with the show it is engrossing and thought provoking. My one hope is that Martha survives into season 4 but I'm not betting on it.