If season three of FX’s “The Americans” has imparted any wisdom on the television community, it is the notion that getting the right things right will more than compensate for getting a few things wrong.
Structurally the weakest of the three seasons, this year’s “The Americans” was often its most dramatically effective and emotionally resonant. Decidedly rarer in the contemporary television climate, the latter achievements produced an immunity against criticism relevant to the former shortcoming.
Wednesday’s season three finale served as a microcosm for that battle between flawed, imperfect narrative structure and gripping, character-conscious feeling. As it did throughout the third season, the latter quality triumphed over the former.
The result was a very successful, very powerful third season finale. In the short-term, that is the key takeaway. Viewers surely enjoyed what they saw. Moreover–and more importantly–viewers surely felt what they saw.
But as those behind “The Americans” look to develop a season four amid impossibly high standards, resting on the fact that palpable emotion can trump narrative imperfection is not the advisable course of action. The flaws of both the finale and the season were real, and they warrant attention from a big picture perspective.
FX’s “The Americans” finale aired Wednesday night. Here are some things that worked — and some things that did not.
What worked
It sets–and achieves–clear objectives: Insofar as “The Americans” thrives on raw, honest emotion, there is an extent to which a finale that feels like a finale represents a negative for this show. The focus should not be on creating something neat and strategic, it should be on presenting something real.
But at the end of the day, a season finale is responsible for making every moment count. It needs to provide context for everything that transpired in the previous string of episodes, it needs to let key storylines reach conclusions and it needs to establish a framework for the coming season.
Wednesday’s “The Americans” finale largely does that. It brings Philip’s long-running disillusionment to a boil. It provides Paige with an intimate look at the reality of her parents’ circumstance — and then drives her to an action that will surely have serious consequences in season four. Met with a simultaneous taste of heartbreak and vindication, Stan is ultimately thrust onto a new course for the coming season as well.
Moreover, the episode effectively captures the debate between loyalty of obligation and loyalty of belief that had been running rampant through the atmosphere over the past two seasons.
The family meeting: To the extent that “The Americans” lacks a clean, linear narrative structure, precisely anticipating everything that was to come on this finale–or any episode, really–is impossible. But one thing that was promised was a final meeting between Elizabeth and her mother. And insofar as Paige accompanied Elizabeth to that very intimate meeting, the scene also represented the most notable of the cracks that had emerged in her parents’ facade.
The scene was handled perfectly. The emotion–whether in the mere idea of the meeting, the contrast between the frail woman in the room and the tough one Elizabeth knew, and the fact that Paige turns back to prayer (her belief) rather than to acceptance of her status as a Russian daughter (the imposed loyalty)–flows organically rather than through narrative injection.
Philip’s disillusionment: Similar to the double-edged sword of setting objectives, there is a degree to which the tale of Philip’s disillusionment does not work in this finale. Notably, the “on the nose” triggers–whether in the Est seminar or in the toys he spots on his mission–feel beneath the show. Disillusionment and questioning have long been bubbling under Philip’s skin, and loyal viewers doubtfully needed tacky reminders of his internal struggle.
But thanks to Matthew Rhys’ compelling performance and brilliant juxtaposition with the other episode storylines, the honesty of the storyline triumphs over the inorganic construct. He plays the disconnect between the mechanics of his “profession” and the supposed emotion emotion behind that behavior flawlessly, and viewers can truly relate to his struggle. Whereas some of the episode’s outcomes feel shoehorned into the finale, the escalation of Philip’s moral and spiritual dilemma feels entirely organic.
Superb direction: “The Americans” is great not simply because of what happens but because of how what happens is presented on screen. Benefiting from inspired use of music and keen management of the visual, “The Americans” makes every single moment count. Exposition is never necessary — and is not necessary here — because the importance of every single piece of every single moment feels significant.
The final sequence, set against the backdrop of Ronald Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech, captures the haunting, multi-dimensional intensity possessed only by television’s most important moments.
What did not work:
Nina: Aware of Annet Mahendru’s charisma and the role her character plays in motivating Stan and Oleg, viewers doubtfully complained about the show’s decision to–once again–keep her around against all odds.
A complaint they likely will have, however, is the show’s inability to derive impact from her storyline. Barely endearing in a vacuum, the scenes between Nina and Anton (Michael Aronov) never properly convey the stakes, urgency or emotion expected, if not required, of “The Americans.”
Season 3 never presented a scenario in which a Nina scene felt meaningful. The season 3 finale did not change that reality.
Moreover, the finale established Nina as more meaningful in concept–as a trigger for Stan–than in presence. She seems immensely important when conceptually driving Stan’s behavior and lapses in loyalty, but she never pops as a character worthy of independent investment.
Clean conveniences: When the season two finale revealed that Paige was being eyed for the spy program, the moment felt like a natural evolution and explanation of the events that preceded the episode.
Moreover, it thrust an inevitable Jennings family conflict into the spotlight.
This year’s finale culminates with Paige’s confessional call to Pastor Tim. While the moment is definitely powerful and generally faithful to the rest of the season, it feels more like a transparent, calculated “finale moment” than the season two finales climactic event.
Effectively shot, it is nonetheless a strategic shortcut to conflict. Rather than uncovering an inevitable, complex issue that had been developing, it introduces a shallow plot point for the coming season (will Pastor Tim reveal what he knows?). Effective for a typical TV finale and even for this finale, which is why the use of strategic objectives also falls under the “what works” column, the effort still feels a bit cheap and simplistic for “The Americans.”
Valuable in helping to introduce and underscore the conflict between organizational loyalty and personal belief, the Stan storyline also comes off as disappointingly clean and convenient from a narrative standpoint. Little was compromised and a lot was gained by Stan’s effort, which makes Gad’s reaction seem preposterous and Stan’s new job directive seem utterly predictable.
On the subject of convenience, the simplicity of Zinaida’s takedown epitomizes the word. It was clearly never envisioned as a major plot point, but the way it reaches its conclusion in this episode is irrefutably disappointing.
The frivolity of the mission: The second and third seasons truly underscored the notion that this not a show about the endeavors of covert Russian spies — it is a show about the complex individuals involved in that universe. It is a show about people, philosophies and emotions more than missions, and it does not need a rigidly structured “spy storyline” to capture the hearts of its viewers.
Moreover, the frivolity of the day-to-day missions has been serving to flesh out Philip’s moral dilemma. Knowing that he is supposedly serving the greater good is no longer enough — he needs to know what that greater good is. Thrusting him into a series of rote, yet highly consequential missions provides a visible basis for his concern.
But unless the show is willing to completely forego spy missions, it needs to strike a compromise. Minimizing the cohesion and meaning of each effort might serve a greater philosophical point, but it undermines the emotional efficacy and intensity of each task. Superb direction and pacing helps make the most of those scenes, but if viewers are consistently conditioned to believe the missions are impersonal, interchangeable and small-scale, the returns associated with the quality direction will diminish. At some point, viewers need to know the why as much as Philip does.
Admittedly by design, the season three finale does not take that approach — on any side of the coin. Nothing about what characters like Arkady, Stan and Philip are doing carries the desirable level of stakes. Moving forward, however, it will be nice to see stakes restored: not simply from a personal life standpoint but from a Cold War standpoint.