MovieChat Forums > The Americans (2013) Discussion > what happened this season

what happened this season


Absolutely nothing.

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I'm still a fan of the show but after last night I agree, they dropped the ball this season.
Or they didn't even play the ball. The ball stayed in their pocket. I would have even preferred that they tried to throw the ball and drop it, than to not even throw it.
There was just a lot of set up for no payoffs. There was a lot of potential for drama, but all of it just fizzled instead of exploding.
1. Oleg's big long storyline... he's investigating corruption and he's being investigated... will he end up in Siberia prison or be blackmailed to become a double agent? And it all leads to... nothing. He wasn't even in the finale.
2. Phillip's son Mischa comes to the US through some harrowing escape, but then just goes right back home and works in a factory and has a quiet dinner with his uncle.
3. Is Stan's new gf an agent or isn't she? Still don't really know for sure, although she might be. She seems awfully intent that Stan stays in his job.
4. Will pastor Tim tell the big secret? Nope, he just goes to a new job and he's happy and Paige is happy and everything works out fine for everyone.
5. Cliffhanger of Pasha's suicide attempt- there's some drama! Oh but he's fine and he's going home and the agent watching his family does not suspect anything and everything worked out fine.
6. The wheat storyline. Could anyone make wheat exciting or interesting? They are having affairs with two people for this wheat story and both are the the most boring unsexy affairs and that whole storyline is dropped in the finale.
This reminds me, that many episodes in prior seasons used to be rated TV-MA LSV (language sex and violence) and now most are TV-MA L. Where's all the sex and violence? It's a spy show! Call me shallow but I want more than language.
7. The case that Stan and his partner are working, that Russian lady with the bad teeth, has been the most pointless storyline. What does she even do and what info can she even provide?

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7. continued
Her lover the hockey player looked like he MIGHT provide some drama, maybe he's working them, but then he passed his polygraph with flying colors. FIZZLE
All these firecrackers are duds. They just fizzle instead of going BANG.

8. The Kimmy story. A bunch of teenage kids sitting around and smoking pot with a 45 year old man who is giving one of them a backrub... well that certainly has the potential for some creepy drama. It's so inappropriate on so many levels. None of these kids ever question why this man is not hanging out with friends his own age. They all assume he's banging Kimmy because why else would he be there? But nothing goes wrong, no one accidentally rips Phillip's wig off, no sex or violence. It's the boringest teenage pot party that ever happened.

9. Martha. Poor lonely Martha. She needs a lover, not a kid! She got into this whole mess because she was lonely and wanted romance in her life. How do they think a child will solve the Martha problem?

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I have to think, with all you've outlined, that they're just saving these pay-offs for the last season....but that is a lot of things they have to get to. I can easily see how it could feel rushed because they didn't stretch the resolutions out.

There's lots of interesting threads here, but to have them all remain loose, perhaps, will end up a mistake. I suppose we'll have to wait and see how the final season goes.

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I know right? They left them ALL dangling. At least tie up a couple of them in some dramatically interesting way, and then I would not be so annoyed with all the dangling threads. but to leave them ALL just dangling, it feels unsatisfying. It's not just one dud firecracker, it's the whole damn pack.
fizzle
fizzle
fizzle
fizzle
fizzle
fizzle
not one single BANG!

I don't see how the next season can be wall-to-wall BANGS.

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That's a little sad though if they have to wait until the final season to do a "BANG"
I'll return next year, but my expectations will be very low, like they were for this season.

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Great posts. And how about each epi having a scene wayyy too long. Like 15 minutes showing a hole being dug, 10 minutes of Paige snooping in Pastor Tim’s home...

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Yes. The hole digging was kind of interesting as mood and setting the ascene, and i liked that it was showing rather than telling. Expository speeches are a crutch for cinema. SHOW, don't tell.
But yeah, too much.
The last season is supposedly a time jump 2-3 years , it takes place in 1987, so all those dangling threads might just be abandoned for new storylines. We might never get real bangs for all that setup. That kind of pisses me off too. I guess we have to assume that nothing important or interesting happened during that time gap? Unless they have lots of flashbacks to the 84-87 time period.

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