The Americans

  1. Episode 13 The Colonel
    The Americans Recap: Games Without Frontiers Last night’s finale brings down the curtain on maybe the best freshman outing since season one of Homeland.
  2. Episode 12 The Oath
    The Americans Recap: Marry Me Upside Down Last night’s Clark-Martha subplot is the closest The Americans has gotten to raised-eyebrow sitcom contrivance.
  3. Episode 11 Covert War
    The Americans Recap: The Body Count Continues There is a moment with every season-one crush when you have a crisis of faith.
  4. Episode 10 Only You
    The Americans Recap: No Future in His Sleep Tonight Matt Zoller Seitz’s second favorite episode of the season, after “Gregory.”
  5. Episode 9 Safe House
    The Americans Recap: Is It Safe? Stan shows that the Russians aren’t the only spies who understand revenge.
  6. Episode 8 Mutually Assured Destruction
    The Americans Recap: We Had an Arrangement In which Elizabeth is reminded by the KGB that she’s married, but not really.
  7. Episode 7 Duty and Honor
    The Americans Recap: Marriage Is Not for Sissies Man, this is one beleaguered marriage!
  8. Episode 6 Trust Me
    The Americans Recap: Show Them Your Face! This episode’s storytelling strategy could be summed up as “Mind-eff first, explain later.”
  9. Episode 5 COMINT
    The Americans Recap: Sex for Secrets Last night’s episode was, to a degree, about how secrecy is a part of sex and love.
  10. Episode 4 In Control
  11. Episode 3 Gregory
    The Americans Recap: The Heart Has Many Rooms Last night’s episode was a marvel, expertly paced, with a number of unexpectedly piercing scenes.
  12. Episode 2 The Clock
    The Americans Recap: Umbrellas and Caviar After last week’s pilot, you might have worried that The Americans would bend over backward to make its characters as “likable” as possible. Nope!
  13. Episode 1 Pilot
    The Americans Recap: Way to Commit This is an assured, adult series that errs on the side of subtlety.
  1. Episode 13 Echo
    The Americans Season 2 Finale: To Be Like Us Emmett and Leanne’s killer is revealed, Stan makes a call about Nina, and the stage gets set for season three.
  2. Episode 12 Operation Chronicle
    The Americans Recap: One Day It’s Coming Tensions are rising, and toupées are being acknowledged.
  3. Episode 11 Stealth
    The Americans Recap: Silent Running As season two nears its end, this episode may have been the calm before a storm.
  4. Episode 10 Yousaf
    The Americans Recap: It Must Be Done This week’s episode gave us another signature spy-game set piece.
  5. Episode 9 Martial Eagle
    The Americans Recap: With Contras and Christ Philip and Elizabeth carry out a mission and go to church. But they aren’t exactly singing hallelujah.
  6. Episode 8 New Car
    The Americans Recap: ‘Am I a Good Person?’ Putting the intel in Intellivision.
  7. Episode 7 ARPANET
    The Americans Recap: Call and Response At this point, The Americans seems incapable of producing anything other than tight, propulsive episodes.
  8. Episode 6 Behind the Red Door
    The Americans Recap: Multiple Identities “You first … I like to watch.”
  9. Episode 5 The Deal
    The Americans Recap: When to Hold, Fold Them “The Deal,” the fifth episode of The Americans’ second season, is one of the greats.
  10. Episode 4 A Little Night Music
    The Americans Recap: Partial Truths We followed many pairings over the course of this episode, some romantic, others platonic.
  11. Episode 3 The Walk In
    The Americans Recap: Secrets and Lies The Americans aired its first great second-season episode last night.
  12. Episode 2 Cardinal
    The Americans Recap: Paranoia Will Destroy Ya A bridge episode that feels like a setup for a big payoff later.
  13. Episode 1 Comrades
    The Americans Season 2 Premiere Recap: Strange to Myself If marriage formed the dramatic center of season one, family is shaping up as the core of season two.
  1. Episode 13 March 8, 1983
    The Americans Season Finale Recap: Everyone Lies Paige, Philip, and Nina unravel as special guest star Ronald Reagan makes an appearance.
  2. Episode 12 I Am Abassin Zadran
    The Americans Recap: I Need a Break Stan starts sniffing around Martha; Phil takes his wig off.
  3. Episode 11 One Day in the Life of Anton Baklanov
    The Americans Recap: 20 Questions Forget Walter Taffet: Paige might be the toughest interrogator of all.
  4. Episode 10 Stingers
  5. Episode 9 Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?
    The Americans Recap: Revenge of the Mail Robot The robot attack becomes a major plot point, and Philip finally identifies his problem: Gabriel’s face.
  6. Episode 8 Divestment
    The Americans Recap: Burning Man Nina finally gets out of jail, and Martha flips out — or maybe just flips.
  7. Episode 7 Walter Taffet
    The Americans Recap: Chains Keep Us Together Martha finally gets suspicious of Clark but doesn’t want to pull the thread on her favorite sweater.
  8. Episode 6 Born Again
    The Americans Recap: After-School Special The Jennings have very important talks with teenagers.
  9. Episode 5 Salang Pass
    The Americans Recap: Age Is Just a Number Philip grows closer to two teenage girls: his daughter … and the asset he’s seducing.
  10. Episode 4 Dimebag
    The Americans Recap: Innocence Is Sexier Than You Think This week is full of uncomfortably sexy babies, synth pop, and teens getting clean for Jesus.
  11. Episode 3 Open House
    The Americans Recap: 50 Shades of Dentistry Nothing brings a couple closer together than a pair of pliers.
  12. Episode 2 Baggage
    The Americans Recap: Human Origami Moscow is beginning to doubt Philip’s commitment to Sparkle Motion.
  13. Episode 1 EST Men
    The Americans Season 3 Premiere Recap: F#@king Jeff Elizabeth doesn’t seem happy very often, or at least not the sort of happy that floppy-haired seminar leaders would call “real.”
  1. Episode 13 Persona Non Grata
    The Americans Season Finale Recap: A Home Away From Home The Jennings’ house is their shelter, but it’s also a symbol of their curse.
  2. Episode 12 A Roy Rogers in Franconia
    The Americans Recap: Turning the Paige Philip and Elizabeth Jennings are fighters. Is their daughter a fighter, too?
  3. Episode 11 Dinner for Seven
    The Americans Recap: One Tough Mother The biggest threat to the Jenningses still lives across the street.
  4. Episode 10 Munchkins
    The Americans Recap: Oh My Gaad Understatement of the year: “An operation didn’t go as planned.”
  5. Episode 9 The Day After
    The Americans Recap: Playing With Matches “You need to blink. I promise you it will be better if you blink.”
  6. Episode 8 The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears
    The Americans Recap: The Pursuit of Happiness What does it mean to be an American?
  7. Episode 7 Travel Agents
    The Americans Recap: Layover There are no good outcomes for Martha, no matter who catches her.
  8. Episode 6 The Rat
    The Americans Recap: I Smell a Rat The truth won’t save Martha now.
  9. Episode 5 Clark’s Place
    The Americans Recap: The Terror of Knowing As Martha knows all too well, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
  10. Episode 4 Chloramphenicol
    The Americans Recap: Exceptional Punishment It’s strange we didn’t see this coming.
  11. Episode 3 Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow
    The Americans Recap: Stupid Glanders A bad plan is better than no plan at all, right?
  12. Episode 2 Pastor Tim
    The Americans Recap: We’re in Trouble How do you solve a problem like Pastor Tim?
  13. Episode 1 Glanders
    The Americans Season Premiere Recap: Guts, Brains, and Glanders Will this new mission finally break Philip Jennings?
  1. Episode 13 The Soviet Division
    The Americans Season-Finale Recap: It Takes Two At the end of a particularly fraught season, Philip and Elizabeth’s marriage has never been stronger.
  2. Episode 12 The World Council of Churches
    The Americans Recap: Won’t Somebody Think of the Children? “The World Council of Churches” hits on a universality about parenthood.
  3. Episode 11 Dyatkovo
    The Americans Recap: I Know Who You Are Philip and Elizabeth must confront the toxicity of their own actions.
  4. Episode 10 Darkroom
    The Americans Recap: Are They Monsters? “Darkroom” is one of the best episodes of the season.
  5. Episode 9 IHOP
    The Americans Recap: Home Away From Home “IHOP” is an episode about parents, children, and the mistakes that can break them apart.
  6. Episode 8 Immersion
    The Americans Recap: Fighting Words Elizabeth decides it’s time for Paige to learn harsh truths.
  7. Episode 7 The Committee on Human Rights
    The Americans Recap: The Next Generation Is Project Paige headed for the rocks?
  8. Episode 6 Crossbreed
    The Americans Recap: Failed State “Crossbreed” is about following your path, even when it seems hopeless.
  9. Episode 5 Lotus 1-2-3
    The Americans Recap: It’s Us This is as emotionally devastating an episode as The Americans has ever produced.
  10. Episode 4 What’s the Matter With Kansas?
    The Americans Recap: What’s Best for the Country “What’s the Matter With Kansas?” is full of blackmail, seduction, and manipulative arm-twisting.
  11. Episode 3 The Midges
    The Americans Recap: The Family Business Philip and Elizabeth finally make their case to Paige.
  12. Episode 2 Pests
    The Americans Recap: The Talk Elizabeth’s advice to Paige is both unexpected and wise.
  13. Episode 1 Amber Waves
    The Americans Season Premiere Recap: Playing House “Amber Waves” doesn’t budge an inch with our changing times.
  1. Episode 10 START
    The Americans Series-Finale Recap: With or Without You The Jennings’ saga closes on a note of bittersweet ambiguity.
  2. Episode 9 Jennings, Elizabeth
    The Americans Recap: Topsy Turvy With the end finally in sight, it feels like we’re careening toward a brick wall.
  3. Episode 8 The Summit
    The Americans Recap: Friendly Fire Elizabeth finally confronts the truth of what she’s been doing for the Russian cause.
  4. Episode 7 Harvest
    The Americans Recap: In Case of Emergency After a botched and very gruesome mission, how much longer can Philip continue holding on?
  5. Episode 6 Rififi
    The Americans Recap: Thanksgiving Day “Rififi” does an excellent job in pinpointing where Philip and Elizabeth are ultimately divided.
  6. Episode 5 The Great Patriotic War
    The Americans Recap: The Breaking Point Philip has finally, definitively, turned against Elizabeth’s mission.
  7. Episode 4 Mr. and Mrs. Teacup
    The Americans Recap: Dead Ends The risks and obstacles keep on piling up for Elizabeth.
  8. Episode 3 Urban Transport Planning
    The Americans Recap: The War at Home It’s hard to fathom the Jennings family cataclysm to come.
  9. Episode 2 Tchaikovsky
    The Americans Recap: Slippery People Never forget that The Americans is a show about parenting.
  10. Episode 1 Dead Hand
    The Americans Season Premiere Recap: Don’t Dream It’s Over Philip and Elizabeth can’t share secrets anymore and they can’t share burdens, either.

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    For All Mankind’s Wrenn Schmidt Thought ‘This Might Be It’ for Margo“Margo is making choices every step of the way, making the best choice she can in terrible circumstances.”
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    Law & Order: SVU Actor Isaiah Stokes Charged With Murder After NYC ShootingThe actor, who appeared in series like Boardwalk Empire and Power, has been indicted in relation to a February shooting in Queens.
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    When Keri Russell Won a Golden Globe for Felicity, Awards Shows Got InterestingThe Hollywood Foreign Press Association is known for rewarding absolutely bananas television, but in 1998, the decision felt right.
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    Robert Frank, 1924–2019: The Rage and the BenevolenceA remembrance by Frank’s biographer, including an excerpt from his book.
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    The 10 Best TV Scenes of 2018The year’s most memorable TV moments, from The Americans to Sharp Objects.
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