Jay: I just don’t know anymore. This show is all over the place, and I don’t really mean that in a good way. We’re about halfway through the season (6 out of 13 episodes), but I’m still unable to get excited about anyone or anything in the show. That’s a problem, right?

There wasn’t anything glaringly wrong with this episode, necessarily. The plot moved along at a decently fast pace, and I couldn’t help but smile at the scene between Elizabeth and Gregory on the steps of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. (I practically live in that building these days.)

But the story with the kids was just…weird. What are the chances that the first person to pick them up would be such a psycho? The reviews I’ve read point to that narrative as a way for The Americans to show how the kids now have secrets of their own, just like their parents. But every kid keeps secrets from his parents. (Am I misremembering my entire childhood?) Even taking into account the danger presented by that freak at the duck pond, hiding something like this from one’s parents is perfectly in line with normal kid behavior. All of that makes me wonder why it’s included in the episode at all.

As for Elizabeth and Phil, it’s gotten to the point where, even if I have trouble identifying specific problem parts, I’m not particularly into the episode anyway. Maybe it’s that their on-again-off-again marital problems are already boring me.

The Stan/Nina dynamic was more interesting. As noted elsewhere, the scene with the projected images flashing on their faces was very well-done, even if Stan seems unable or unwilling to acknowledge just how much danger he’s put Nina in. Side note: I love that he managed to protect her and get rid of her sexual partner, all in one fell swoop.

Did this episode mark an improvement? Or is it still stuck in “meh” territory?

Sam: Considered in relation to the rest of the episodes we’ve seen, this episode actually held its own. But then again, given how much we’ve roasted the show, that’s not saying much.

This episode, more than any other so far, had at least some level of excitement and intrigue. I definitely didn’t see Phil’s “kidnapping” coming, but then again, I also immediately suspected it was the KGB testing him. So not a huge surprise when Granny showed up.

I did think, though, that it was interesting that Phil’s steely response to being captured and about to be beat up was NOT what you’d typically see from a guy with nothing to hide. Don’t most people yell something to the effect of, “Please! I have a wife and two kids!”? He was just like, “What are you doing?” Not exactly the most convincing performance—and this was even before he realized they knew who he was. Also, the scene where Elizabeth gets taken seemed too dragged out as well. She went a long way with a knife before beating up one of the guys.

That is pretty cool that the SIPA building showed up. I hadn’t even realized that! But the arcs on this show are getting old. The kids’ whole thing with the crazy guy was just dumb. Am I being too harsh? Everything about this show just seems like it has to have some unusual, contrived backstory to it.

Honestly, I hate to admit it, since I was not a fan of Stan in the beginning, but the stories around him are actually becoming the most interesting. Pretty awesome how he got rid of the director dude. With him gone, it doesn’t seem like Nina’s going to be exfiltrated anytime soon, no?

Jay: By the way, after re-watching that part, I realized it wasn’t SIPA in the shot, but Columbia Law School (right across the patio). Also, it’s funny that you immediately realized it was the KGB testing the Jennings. I’m probably the least aware TV viewer of all time, so it should come as no surprise that I didn’t realize it until Granny walked in. But in reading other reviews, it sounds like most people shared your premonition. Logically, it wouldn’t have made sense that someone in the US government knew what they were up to even while Stan and his own boss at the FBI didn’t know, but I still figured it might have been the CIA.

This does pose an interesting problem for Elizabeth, obviously, in that she is increasingly wary of the toll her job is taking on her family and on her own wellbeing. Meanwhile, the cause itself is looking less and less worthy (as evidenced by her shock that Granny’s bosses would order this type of shakedown).

Also, I was unclear on something: when did Elizabeth tell her handlers something about Phil? Not during her own questioning, right? The way I understood it, she had mentioned Phil’s growing assimilation well before (as borne out in one of the earlier episodes, when she speaks to the general and he alludes to her concerns about Phil’s commitment). But if so, why did they bother taking her in at all, if they only suspected him?

Finally, I agree with you about Stan and Nina. That’s quickly becoming the best, most interesting story on the show. Let’s hope we see more of them. I have to admit, I felt a little bad for grimy old Vasily getting set up so easily.

OK, last point: I think one of the main reasons this show has been consistently unable to draw me in is its lack of urgency. I know I’m always droning on about Homeland, but from the very first episode it was clear that Brody was quite possibly a ticking time bomb. Soon enough, we began to understand his backstory and we realized why he might want to kill the vice president. The entire season was infused with this sense of urgency: will he succeed with his plan? Will Carrie discover him first? The problem with The Americans is that there is no such clear mission, and thus no urgency either. What is the Jennings’ primary objective? It’s simply to follow orders and keep spying on American intelligence officials, which means that at no point does it feel as if everything is about to go haywire. So even when it does — such as in this last episode — it feels more manufactured than anything else.

What would you most like to see this show change?

Sam: I think the thing that surprised me most about Phil and Elizabeth getting tested by the KGB was Elizabeth’s utter beat down of Granny. That was a little unexpected, considering the fact that Elizabeth herself wasn’t even beaten up really. I feel like realistically Granny would be in a coma after getting punched in the face repeatedly on the concrete floor like that.

Also, the way the interrogator hit Phil in the chest with what looked like a phonebook is partly why I thought it was KGB and not CIA. It just seemed strange that he’d be hitting him like that instead of punching him in the face. It’s plausible that they wanted to see if they could turn him and make him useful, so it’d be better not to leave marks too visible on his body. It just struck me as somewhat unusual.

As for Elizabeth telling the KGB office about Phil’s prior feelings of wanting to defect (or more that he was perhaps not as dedicated to the cause), I think that was much earlier. She hadn’t said anything recently, and in fact, the last time she was asked directly, she had his back. I’m not surprised that they took her, though, since they were testing Phil and seeing whether he would break. He’s unlikely to break under physical pressure, so they were probably seeing how strong he was psychologically. So, I guess I just didn’t question their kidnapping of Elizabeth as something odd.

I do agree, though, (and you know I almost always do when comparing Homeland and The Americans) that this show demonstrates little sense of urgency. In fact, from week to week, there’s little continuation of any urgent plot (except perhaps what’s happening with Nina). The major stories that are weaved in each week are the relationship problems that Phil and Elizabeth (and to a lesser degree, Stan and his wife), and as we’ve both noted, it’s getting old.

I think what I would want to see change is for the show to move away from simply trying to rehash the “greatest hits” of spy thrillers and move toward actually writing a crisp, well-developed spy angle that doesn’t involve so many tangential and distracting side shows. As discussed, their current major theme focuses on relationships in the spy world, but it’s a boring angle and one that frankly falls flat after the second or third time (we’re on the umpteenth iteration of it now). So, I’m with you: skip the contrived, perfectly placed scenarios (though I have to admit: it can be done well in a hilarious fashion like Brody fumbling around someone’s office) and tell a more cohesive, convincing story.

Otherwise, it’s just a piecemeal show of the writers’ favorite spy novel vignettes. With such a lackluster first half of the first season, what on earth are doing making a second season?