Well I'm finally watching the Americans, a show long near the top of my list. And, shocker, I'm loving it (on Prime btw). Only through season one, I wasn't going to wait writing it up.
In 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected President and the Cold War ramped up in intensity. Reagan's brash demeanor and tough talk in international affairs scared the Soviets and even some Americans too. Specifically, the jobs of American and Russian intelligence and counter-intelligence agencies got more difficult and dangerous. It's kind of hard to imagine living during the Cold War this far removed (the USSR fell 30 years ago now!), but it was reality for decades and had everyone living the worldwide struggle with its periodic scares. The nuclear arms race and mutually assured destruction. Wars in Korea, Vietnam and elsewhere. The space race and 'Star Wars.' Here you're dropped right into that time.
We meet a husband/wife pair of Soviet deep-cover spies and an FBI counter-intelligence agent who happen to be neighbors in suburban DC. The wife, Elizabeth (Keri Russell) is wholly committed to the Communist cause and immediately shows plenty of distrust and frustration with her husband, if you can call him that. They were put together by the Party and didn't know each other prior to the arrangement. The husband, Philip (Matthew Rhys) displays conflict and depth. He considers defecting, knowing they'd be paid handsomely by the Feds. Events dictate other decisions, though I still think this introduction is interesting. The FBI agent, Stan (Noah Emmerich) has just come off years undercover and needs adjusting to a new role. Getting in too deep has already been a problem. We get a whole lot from the pilot and I was impressed even before the final scene with a great hook.
The first several episodes really build out the world. Philip and Elizabeth are exceptionally capable in intelligence work and physically skilled to boot. They use different aliases and disguises and already have numerous established contacts, including people in the (U.S.) government and press. Stan is no pushover. He and his partner quickly discover a situation where they turn a young woman and gain themselves a spy in the Soviet embassy. Early on, this woman Nina is probably the most sympathetic character of all.
Eventually there's enough setup and we're off to the races. The Soviets discover they have a mole and more active spy operations begin. Philip and Elizabeth are brutally tested and feel betrayed. They need to figure out what's next. As front-line Soviet spies, this aspect keeps engaging me. While expected to follow orders exactly, they also need to alter plans constantly to ensure their own survival.
Going in I wondered: who should I be rooting for? I'm certainly no Communist apologist and should just want Philip and Elizabeth captured and dealt with. That's not how it's gone. Maybe I just don't want it to be over, or maybe it's because the characters are so real. For Elizabeth it's definitely not sympathy. Her dedication fascinates and while she has moments where you empathize (mostly as a mother and a wife), I mostly hate her. Philip is harder to crack. Fairly likable even when not putting on an act, he plays the part of an American extremely well. He sees that life in America is good, so he's not pretending with every fiber of his being. Elizabeth has to do that and I struggle with how she fools anyone, though clearly she pulls it off.
This all plays into a complicated 'marriage,' which really is a credit to the writing. It's complex and you feel for them in certain situations even if you hate what they're doing. They have a shaky trust from the start and never had a romantic relationship. They've also lie to each other about a number of things and don't even know each others given names. Their games don't make exceptions. Somehow they continue to maintain a mutual commitment to their cause. And since they don't always see eye-to-eye, there's a large element of uncertainty with where it all will go. As a funny aside, I didn't realize until taking notes it's the same names as the Queen and her husband.
On the other side of things Stan is the supposed good guy, though he's having all kinds of issues himself. He's generally good at his job and super smart, but works too much and his wife feels desperately alone. He's a little too chatty with his neighbors. Then once again he gets in too deep, literally, this time with his Russian contact. Unsurprisingly everything he's built comes down on him. Not quite the hero I expected.
There's a fair amount of sex throughout. There's no nudity, and yet it verges on too much. The thing is though, it always serves a purpose. It's easy to laugh during James Bond films, but a spy needs to use all methods necessary in achieving their goals. The Americans instead does this with utter realism. Sex is nearly always used as a manipulative tool and it works very well. Information is repeatedly unlocked and gathered because of it.
Approaching the season end, the action feels like it accelerates all the way through. The finale was truly remarkable in that it was unpredictable and exciting and yet didn't actually resolve anything. Instead it opened up new opportunities for storytelling. I've been thinking about it as a chess game where the pieces keep moving on the board. There will be some sort of pacing reset, but the narrative will certainly have continuity going forward. I'm curious about Philip and Elizabeth's marriage and their relationship with their (so far unaware) kids. When will they find out and what will they think? What will happen with Nina and Stan?
As a kid, I loved the Jack Ryan Tom Clancy books. Jack Ryan was most definitely a creature of the Cold War and his impact on international affairs was a big part of the draw. The 80s in particular are a fantastic backdrop for spies and intrigue. Apparently I was missing that, and I'm glad I jumped in.
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