Now we have to say goodbye to a stellar season of The Americans. In its sophomore season, The Americans decided to scale things back: it looked at the nitty-gritty of the Cold War, the sometimes tedious nature of spycraft, and, ultimately, the nature of truth, and of family. It was gut-wrenching, thrilling, and beautiful. Lots of shows will jam-pack their season finales with cliffhangers or “holy shit” moments, and while “Echo” had a few deaths and few revelations, it was mostly a quiet, powerful, masterfully done episode of television.
“Echo” was all about tying up loose ends, the first of which was the identity of Emmet and Leanne’s killer. Philip and Elizabeth have other things on their mind, taking the kids to upstate New York once the Centre tells them that Larrick is AWOL. It’s a pointless gesture, though, as Larrick finds them anyway. As he prepares to put them both in the trunk of a car, saying he plans to turn them in, Jared pulls a gun and shoots Larrick, getting shot in return. Philip takes Larrick out, and as Jared bleeds out in the snow, it’s revealed who killed Emmet and Leanne.
At this point, the killer could have only been Jared. Kate tried to recruit without his parents’ knowledge. When Jared wanted to join the KGB, his parents said no, so he felt his only option was to kill them. His sister Amelia just got in the way, more damnable collateral damage (like Fred, whose death Philip and Elizabeth heard about on a police scanner). What’s important about Jared’s confession is not what it reveals to the Jennings about him, but what it reveals to the Jennings about Paige. Namely, that she could be a spy if she put her mind to it. The Centre has started recruiting “second-generation illegals,” sons and daughters of operatives who, because of their American birth, stand a chance of joining organizations like the FBI and CIA. At first the Jennings are against this, and Philip goes so far as to deliver an ultimatum to Arkady in person, but by the end of “Echo,” Elizabeth seems like she’s coming around.
The victory, and tragedy, of this episode comes through Stan Beeman. Noah Emmerich delivers one of the best performances on TV, there’s no way around it. For much of “Echo” it looks like Stan is going to steal the titular program and deliver it to Arkady, saving Nina but effectively damning himself. But he doesn’t – at the drop site, he leaves just a typewritten note saying “Tell Nina I’m sorry.” Nina is escorted from the Rezidentura, and Stan is waiting for her. At first I thought he was going to attempt some Hail Mary rescue, but nope, he just watches them take her away. She looks at him from the back window, and it’s heart breaking. The shot is reminiscent of the ending to Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious – death seems all but assured.
The Americans‘ greatest coup is that its a show without any real villains. Sure, historically, the Commies were the bad guys, but in the world of the show, do we really root against Philip, Elizabeth, Claudia, Nina, Arkady, or even Oleg? I don’t, for the same reason I don’t root against Stan or Agent Gaad. Warfare and espionage have always been maddeningly gray areas, and The Americans is one of the only shows I’ve ever seen to make that so palpable.
Season Grade: 4 1/2 Stars
About Author
