THE AMERICANS, 4.13 – ‘Persona Non Grata’
Given that The Americans, in its understated way, has never been beholden to the usual expectations of how a serialised drama should play out, it…
THE AMERICANS, 4.12 – ‘A Roy Rogers in Franconia’
“A Roy Rogers in Franconia” begins right where last week’s episode left off, with Paige (Holly Taylor) having seen her mom take care of two…
THE AMERICANS, 4.11 – ‘Dinner for Seven’
The scene that gives this week’s episode its name happens about halfway through, when Stan (Noah Emmerich) drops in on the Jennings family as they’re…
THE AMERICANS, 4.10 – ‘Munchkins’
While Henry (Kendrick Sellati) is mostly absent from “Munchkins”, he gives the episode one of its most memorable elements while he’s totally offscreen, bouncing a…
THE AMERICANS, 4.9 – ‘The Day After’
The early sequence in this week’s episode of The Americans, that cuts to various characters watching the made-for-TV movie The Day After, with rapt attention,…
THE AMERICANS, 4.8 – ‘The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears’
“The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears”, this week’s episode of The Americans, ends with its own sleight of hand, but begins…
THE AMERICANS, 4.7 – ‘Travel Agents’
There’s a moment halfway through “Travel Agents” where Martha (Allison Wright), finally, simply asks “Clark” (Matthew Rhys) what his real name is. When he responds,…
THE AMERICANS, 4.6 – ‘The Rat’
For a series defined by restraint and deliberate pacing, the last few weeks of The Americans have seen a monumental change in the show’s status quo….
THE AMERICANS, 4.5 – ‘Clark’s Place’
After the shocking ending of last week’s episode, “Clark’s Place” was an episode for The Americans to do its customary thing, after a major story development,…
THE AMERICANS, 4.4 – ‘Chloramphenicol’
I’ll admit that I was initially reluctant when asked to cover The Americans for Frame Rated. It’s not that I’m not a big fan of the show—I’ve…
THE AMERICANS, 4.3 – ‘Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow’
Is there any show as strong at narrative misdirection as The Americans? Four seasons in, the show’s strategy of slowly building tension over multiple episodes, only…
THE AMERICANS, 4.2 – ‘Pastor Tim’
Any fans of The Americans who, after last week’s season premiere, looked ahead to this week’s episode, had good reason to suspect that Pastor Tim (Tim…