Jay: Wow, I think I can safely say that this was the best episode all season. Normally, I’m against using plot twists for the sake of using plot twists, but in this case I think they actually got it almost perfectly right. Agent Gadd is one of those characters who the show never even slightly hinted might be a villain, and yet here we are.

The best part about this surprise is that it puts a lot of central characters into some very vulnerable positions. Most obviously, Nina is screwed. But the genius of this scenario is that Gadd can’t move too quickly to eliminate her, because Stan’s a savvy veteran (having been undercover with white supremacists for years) and might catch on to anything strange happening to Nina — especially considering his romantic/sexual attachment to her, which Gadd obviously knows about. At the same time, Gadd himself is on thin ice, precisely because Stan is such a consummate professional (minus the small detail of his affair with a confidential informant) and may be quick to catch on to Gadd’s double-crossing of his own agency.

I also loved Amador’s creepy stakeout of Martha’s place when Phil came over again. I do have a slight beef here, as usual: there’s absolutely no way Phil would take off his mustache, wig, and everything in his car right after leaving Martha’s place, even if he thinks there’s no way anyone could see him. Relatedly, it’s highly unlikely Amador could actually see anything in the dark of night like that, even with his binoculars. But OK, I’ll let those small details slide. Whatever the realism or lack thereof, the fact that Amador now knows A) Martha is sleeping with someone else and B) this guy is clearly not whoever he tells Martha he is, the stage is definitely set for some big surprises.

And I haven’t even gotten to the home life stuff yet. What did you think of this one?

Sam: Just when I was ready to write off the entire series for good, The Americans surprised me in a way I didn’t think they would ever be able to pull off. Granted, it’s still no Homeland, but hey, we can’t have it all, can we?

Can’t say that I saw Agent Gadd’s double cross coming, since he has always only had cheesy lines whenever we saw him. My main complaint about Agent Gadd being a double agent, though, is that the previous episodes never gave his character a chance to really develop to the point that this supposedly shocking moment would be so…well, shocking. In some ways, while I was taken by surprise, I was also disappointed that it felt so contrived.

That said, you are absolutely right that this new development (new to us viewers, anyway) puts several key characters in precarious situations. As you noted, Nina has the most to lose here, but I’d say Stan has just as much to lose, since Agent Gadd can’t risk Stan exposing him. I wonder if Gadd will pull off a Vasili and then ultimately find himself framed by Nina. Hmm…

As for Amador’s stakeout, he seems like a loose cannon now. I’m thinking he may talk to Stan about it, and at some point, Stan and he will have a little stakeout where Stan may see Phil (or Elizabeth) in disguise. Intriguing plots abound.

For me, the silliest stuff was undoubtedly what happened at home. How could it possibly take this long for either Paige or Henry (in this case, Paige) to accidentally walk in on one or both of their parents in disguise? My favorite part about all this might be the stupid disguise Elizabeth had on — the one where her wig looks like a haystack of dark brown hair on her head. My not-so-favorite part of it is how naively Paige believes Elizabeth’s absurd story about dressing up for a client at work who likes the brown wig. At the same time, it’s sort of true, if you think about it…

So, where does this episode leave you? Are you more or less convinced the second half of this season isn’t already a waste of time? Or do you think this episode maybe breathed new life into a lackluster series?

Jay: Definitely onboard with your comments about Paige’s discovery. Especially at her age, her interpretation of Elizabeth’s explanation could really backfire: dressing up for a client at work? I suppose having your daughter think you’re a prostitute is still probably better than knowing you’re a spy, but at that point it’s basically splitting hairs because your parenthood skills are in obvious need of an upgrade.

My question: where is Amador going to go on this? Is he more likely to take it to his superiors, or keep it to himself? Although it seems obvious to report it, we also have to remember that he was stalking Martha on his own time. So he really has no good excuse for being there at that time of night when he saw Phil, meaning he’s less likely to tell anyone what he saw. I’m guessing that The Americans will cook up some way for Amador to run into Phil in the near future. Hopefully they’ll do it in a believable way, though.

Interesting thesis on Nina. I’m also of the mind that we still don’t know exactly what her intentions are. Has she really fallen for Stan as much as she’s made it seem? Or is she using him just like he’s using her? Hard to tell what she wants, really — although exfiltrations continues to be a high priority, at least superficially.

Ultimately, this episode was enough to get me mildly more excited for the second half of the season (which, to be honest, I would’ve watched anyway). That said, I’m keeping my hopes in check for anything truly incredible to happen. How about you? Has this changed everything for you, or not?

Sam: I’m probably less enthusiastic about the second half of the show than you, even with this one better-than-average episode. I think I learned my lesson about getting my hopes up about this show after episode three. That said, I do have higher hopes for the coming episodes (though that’s not saying much).

I think your take on Amador’s situation is spot on. I had forgotten he had gone out by himself, essentially stalking Martha. But I could definitely see some way in which he confronts Phil after one of these surreptitious stakeouts. Perhaps Phil goes all badass covert agent on him (like he did on the child predator creep barbecuing in his backyard). That might draw Stan’s (and the FBI’s) unwanted attention. Either way, it will be interesting to see where that goes.

As for Nina, I think you said what I think is most important to her: “exfiltration.” But perhaps The Americans will make it all about relationships again, so she’ll have to choose between Stan and exfiltration. Stan will be all for it until the last minute, when he pulls a Carrie and decides he has to go back.

Overall, though, I’m not sure one decent episode has changed my mind about the show as a whole. But does the episode give me slightly more hope for more exciting storytelling? Sure, why not. My hope is that the show can maintain a consistent level of exciting storytelling as opposed to interstitial flashes of intrigue among extended lulls of boring crap about how mad Elizabeth is at Phil or vice versa.

UPDATE: Happy April Fool’s Day.