THE AMERICANS, 4.13 – ‘Persona Non Grata’
[usr 4.0] Given that The Americans, in its understated way, has never been beholden to the usual expectations of how a serialised drama should...
THE AMERICANS, 4.12 – ‘A Roy Rogers in Franconia’
[usr 4.5] “A Roy Rogers in Franconia” begins right where last week’s episode left off, with Paige (Holly Taylor) having seen her mom take...
THE AMERICANS, 4.11 – ‘Dinner for Seven’
[usr 4.0] The scene that gives this week’s episode its name happens about halfway through, when Stan (Noah Emmerich) drops in on the Jennings...
THE AMERICANS, 4.10 – ‘Munchkins’
[usr 4.0] While Henry (Kendrick Sellati) is mostly absent from “Munchkins”, he gives the episode one of its most memorable elements while he’s totally...
THE AMERICANS, 4.9 – ‘The Day After’
[usr 3.5] 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,...
THE AMERICANS, 4.8 – ‘The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears’
[usr 5.0] “The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears”, this week’s episode of The Americans, ends with its own sleight of...
THE AMERICANS, 4.7 – ‘Travel Agents’
[usr 4.0] There’s a moment halfway through “Travel Agents” where Martha (Allison Wright), finally, simply asks “Clark” (Matthew Rhys) what his real name is....
THE AMERICANS, 4.6 – ‘The Rat’
[usr 4.5] For a series defined by restraint and deliberate pacing, the last few weeks of The Americans have seen a monumental change in the...
JANE GOT A GUN (2016)
[usr 3.0] The Western is a genre that resolutely refuses to ride off into the sunset. Despite an increasing distance from the era—when America’s...
THE AMERICANS, 4.5 – ‘Clark’s Place’
[usr 4.0] 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...
THE AMERICANS, 4.4 – ‘Chloramphenicol’
[usr 5.0] 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...
THE AMERICANS, 4.3 – ‘Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow’
[usr 4.5] Is there any show as strong at narrative misdirection as The Americans? Four seasons in, the show’s strategy of slowly building tension over...