Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on Apr 5, 2017 14:13:51 GMT -8
I sure hope Philip's Russian son finds a way to force a meeting/confrontation with him, because otherwise, that whole subplot would be a total waste of screen time. I think Mischa's scene with Gabriel almost justifies the wasted time. It was goooood yo. And I also think Mischa is totally gonna go rogue, resulting in either his death or the beginning of the end for the Jennings.
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Post by ThirdMan on Apr 5, 2017 15:04:19 GMT -8
I think we have to assume he'll play a continued role this season, and the fit will hit the shan at some point.
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Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on Apr 11, 2017 19:54:37 GMT -8
Out of curiosity, how would y'all rank the seasons of this show? I'm torn but right now I'm leaning towards 2>4>3>1. 2 winning out because it has the strongest plot momentum with Larrick and Jared, but also the strongest material for Nina, Arkady, and Henry; and 4 for having brilliant payoff, so much so that 5 feels like a letdown in comparison. But I feel terrible suggesting a season with "Do Mail Robots..." and "Stingers" is not the GOAT season.
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Post by ThirdMan on Apr 11, 2017 21:07:21 GMT -8
4>2>3>1
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Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on May 16, 2017 19:13:22 GMT -8
Well, we have the definite highlight of the season in "Dyatkovo." And yet, despite being obviously very very good, it still feels like a retread of DMRDOES. Hell, Stan literally points out the mail robot to Henry.
What an odd season-- the plot threads that have been burning for years fizzle out to nothing, while a retread of a standalone brings me to tears. Not a good or bad thing, but it does seem counter to the show's strengths.
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Mail Robot
Newbie
beep! beep! beep! beep! whirrrrrrrrr
Posts: 41
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Post by Mail Robot on May 16, 2017 19:32:38 GMT -8
BEEP. BEEP.
IT IS GOOD TO KNOW THAT MY ATYPICAL FORAY INTO THE DRAMATIC ARTS IS APPRECIATED BY THE DENIZENS OF MY TYPICAL WORKPLACE. WHILE AS A MECHANICAL ENTITY I AM WHOLLY UNPERTURBED BY YOUR HUMAN ENTERTAINMENTS, I GREATLY ENJOY MY TIME AS AN ACTOR ON A QUOTE UNQUOTE PRESTIGE CABLE DRAMA, ESPECIALLY ONE SO RELEVANT TO OUR TEMPESTUOUS POLITICAL CLIMATE. I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT "THE AMERICANS" USHERS IN A NEW WAVE OF NUANCED TELEVISUAL DRAMA CENTERED ON THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE LOWLY MAIL ROBOT.
BEEP. BEEP.
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Post by ThirdMan on May 17, 2017 15:16:04 GMT -8
They're devoting so much time to Burov in Russia, and I don't know that it ties in all that meaningfully to what's going on in America. It's not quite two separate shows (as Better Call Saul can often seem like), but it just feels unfocused and lacking in urgency. It would be pretty funny, though, if the entire sixth season took place in Russia.
"Henry, you can't go to that school, because we're moving to Russia."
Henry: "Wuht?"
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Post by Incandescence 112 on Jun 3, 2017 10:58:32 GMT -8
Well, I'm disappointed to learn that Season 5 is a bore, because Season 4 was pretty much perfect. Especially the David Copperfield one.
The only major death that's had an impact on me so far is Agent Gaad. Which is weird, but as well as Nina's final moments were, it wasn't that shocking.
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Post by ThirdMan on Jun 3, 2017 12:17:15 GMT -8
The main character interaction remains solid. It's just that the stories around them don't have a great deal of urgency. It really does mostly feel like setup for a (hopefully) more eventful final season.
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Post by buffyholic on Jun 5, 2017 3:14:11 GMT -8
Please, don´t say that! I´m getting a bit worried, then. Sorry to say this but season 2 and 3 had episodes that were a bit of a bore. But this season 4 (I just finished it two days ago) was so, so good that it would be a shame to take a step back. Even Paige this season didn´t annoy me at all. I´m not saying Americans is one of my favorite shows but it is very, very good and Keri Russell and Mathew Rhys deserve tons of awards.
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Post by Incandescence 112 on Jun 5, 2017 9:23:51 GMT -8
I'm a few episodes into it, and I'm really liking it so far actually. The weakest parts are the Oleg and Mishca subplots. I don't really care about either of those two things, but the rest of it is good stuff. Other random thoughts: Every Elizabeth disguise is atrocious, and Phillip's are average at best. I miss Clark's toupee. And c'mon guys! The show has some levity! Do you not remember how the Revolutionary War ended? Or how about this line from Gaad? "I'm the head of FBI counterintelligence, and the KGB seduced and married my secretary". Anyway, on the whole I think it's a fantastic show, easily a 9.5/10 (I don't like it as Person of Interest, but I don't like anything as much as Person of Interest, so ...). It would have been a 10, but like Buffyholic said earlier the pacing does drag at times, especially in the first couple seasons.
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 19, 2018 6:17:51 GMT -8
Unpopular opinion alert: The final season has, thus far, been really underwhelming.
First, the good: Most of the Philip/Elizabeth/Paige interaction remains stellar. The tensions between the two leads make for a strong dramatic crux, and nicely bring the show into a full-circle loop with the marital tensions of Season One. And I'm continually impressed with how well the show has depicted and developed Paige, maturing her while still maintaining her relative innocence and naivete.
Unfortunately, so much else of this season - much like last season - feels like the show is simply spinning its wheels. The Americans has been on the air longer than many other dramas of its caliber, and its habit of keeping around characters and storylines well past their expiration dates is not a new one. But in the final season - especially a shortened one, which we're now nearly halfway through - it becomes a far more significant concern.
So we get the recycling of major story beats. (Paige witnessing Elizabeth kill someone? Yeah, haven't seen that before.) We get the increased sterilization of once-great supporting characters (notably Stan Beeman) who the series needs to keep around just... a bit... longer. We get formulaic and uninvolving espionage stories - three consecutive episodes climaxing with Elizabeth killing someone, followed by a warehouse fight in last night's episode which is one of the most poorly-lit TV scenes I've ever witnessed.
I want to believe this all leads somewhere - it wouldn't be the first final season of an FX drama to start slowly and then deliver a terrific second half. But Season Five really killed a lot of the series' momentum, and the show doesn't have much time to get it back.
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Quiara
Grade School
Posts: 775
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Post by Quiara on Apr 19, 2018 14:33:15 GMT -8
There are other problems-- the time skip to 1987 is mostly just confusing, for instance-- but I think the problem The Americans faces going into its final stretch is one of expectations. To some extent, people expect this show to end with Philip and Elizabeth getting their comeuppance, both because this is an antihero drama in the mold of Breaking Bad and because for some reason,audiences really want to see Russian interference get punished. But I don't think this show is going to do that, and a lot of audiences are going to be disappointed by the ending even if they nail it.
I do have an inside scoop that the season should be heating up -- no spoilers, but Philip and Elizabeth's subplots are going to intersect very soon.
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Post by Jeremy on Apr 19, 2018 16:09:33 GMT -8
Ah, yes. Too bad I couldn't get any inside scoops on the show. I don't expect the series to have a happy ending (or even the long-proposed Bonnie and Clyde-style finale - which we sort of got at the end of Season One, anyway). In fact, I'd prefer it not have the tidy, all-too-perfect ending of Breaking Bad. But it's around this point that the show needs to start letting stuff happen, if it wants to achieve any sort of memorable endgame at all. Thus far, it's mostly just been more of the same. for some reason,audiences really want to see Russian interference get punished. Funny you should mention being disappointed by the ending...
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Post by Incandescence 112 on Apr 19, 2018 17:04:02 GMT -8
Unpopular opinion alert: The final season has, thus far, been really underwhelming. First, the good: Most of the Philip/Elizabeth/Paige interaction remains stellar. The tensions between the two leads make for a strong dramatic crux, and nicely bring the show into a full-circle loop with the marital tensions of Season One. And I'm continually impressed with how well the show has depicted and developed Paige, maturing her while still maintaining her relative innocence and naivete. Unfortunately, so much else of this season - much like last season - feels like the show is simply spinning its wheels. The Americans has been on the air longer than many other dramas of its caliber, and its habit of keeping around characters and storylines well past their expiration dates is not a new one. But in the final season - especially a shortened one, which we're now nearly halfway through - it becomes a far more significant concern. So we get the recycling of major story beats. (Paige witnessing Elizabeth kill someone? Yeah, haven't seen that before.) We get the increased sterilization of once-great supporting characters (notably Stan Beeman) who the series needs to keep around just... a bit... longer. We get formulaic and uninvolving espionage stories - three consecutive episodes climaxing with Elizabeth killing someone, followed by a warehouse fight in last night's episode which is one of the most poorly-lit TV scenes I've ever witnessed. I want to believe this all leads somewhere - it wouldn't be the first final season of an FX drama to start slowly and then deliver a terrific second half. But Season Five really killed a lot of the series' momentum, and the show doesn't have much time to get it back. My favorite part is the depiction of their relationship thus far. The way they physically frame it in each of their interactions is just brilliant. Otherwise, your complaints are generally fair-however, one thing this season has over Season 5 is the impending sense of dread and doom hanging over the season. Maybe that's just by virtue of it being the final season, but it still feels like we're heading towards an explosive climax. Good point about The Shield and Justified. . If this final season turns out to be a classic, this show will have followed Justified's trajectory almost exactly: good-but-not-great first season, followed by three brilliant seasons, followed by a disappointing penultimate, then finishing with another brilliant season. Interesting. Personally, I feel like the show is somewhere in between them in terms of quality (with The Shield at the bottom and Justified at the top)-I've always thought it was *slightly* overrated by critics. I know the creators said it's a show about marriage at heart, but my biggest problem was that the The Americans: The Domestic Drama was far less compelling than The Americans: The Spy Thriller. I've never really cared for straight 'prestige dramas' like Mad Men or Boardwalk Empire, so it's no surprise that it was my least favorite part of the show.
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