The Americans | |
---|---|
Season 3 | |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Release | |
Original network | FX |
Original release | January 28 – April 22, 2015 |
Season chronology | |
The third season of the American television drama series The Americans , consisting of 13 episodes, premiered on FX on January 28, 2015, and concluded on April 22, 2015. [1] The series was renewed for the third season on April 16, 2014. [2]
The events of the third season begin in late 1982 and end on March 8, 1983, the night of Ronald Reagan's Evil Empire speech. [3]
Lev Gorn, who portrays Arkady Ivanovich, was promoted to series regular for the third season, after having a recurring role throughout the first two seasons. [4] Additionally, Costa Ronin and Richard Thomas were promoted from recurring status to series regulars. In October 2014, Frank Langella was cast in a recurring role. [5] Filming for the season began in October 2014. [6] Co-star Noah Emmerich directed the seventh episode of the season, marking his directorial debut. [7]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
27 | 1 | "EST Men" | Daniel Sackheim | Joel Fields & Joe Weisberg | January 28, 2015 | BDU301 | 1.90 [8] |
Elizabeth meets with an ex-CIA agent, who gives her a list of operatives. However, after the meeting, Elizabeth is followed by Gaad and another agent, fights them, injuring them and herself, and loses the list. Later, she and Philip meet with their mentor Gabriel, who re-affirms that they should recruit Paige. Philip, against the idea, argues with Elizabeth. Annelise admits to Philip that she is in love with Yousaf; Philip still asks her to get information from him. While having sex with Yousaf, she confesses her motives for being with him, and he strangles her to death. Philip arrives too late to save her, but still offers to help Yousaf. Meanwhile, Stan attends an EST meeting, but refuses to comprehend their ways. | |||||||
28 | 2 | "Baggage" | Daniel Sackheim | Joel Fields & Joe Weisberg | February 4, 2015 | BDU302 | 0.92 [9] |
Philip and Elizabeth dispose of Annelise's body. Her death deeply affects Philip, in regards to recruiting Paige. Nina, arrested for treason, is shown in her Moscow prison cell, which Nina ends up having to share with another woman who claims innocence. Furious with Stan for her arrest, Oleg confronts him in alley with a gun threatening to kill him, but instead lets him walk away. Stan, seeking familiarity, contacts Sandra, hoping to visit his son. Gaad also puts Stan in charge of Zinaida, a defector from the Institute for US and Canadian Studies. | |||||||
29 | 3 | "Open House" | Thomas Schlamme | Stuart Zicherman | February 11, 2015 | BDU303 | 1.02 [10] |
In disguise, Philip and Elizabeth are able to put a listening device in a target's mobile phone, hoping to gain insight in retrieving the operative list. This puts them in more danger of being spotted by the FBI and CIA, as they must follow the signal themselves. Elizabeth is followed, and is nearly caught, but Philip and the KGB manage to save her. At home, the pain from the previous attack becomes unbearable for her, and Philip must extract some of her broken teeth. At the rezidentura, Oleg struggles with remaining in America or returning to Russia. Ultimately, he decides to stay. | |||||||
30 | 4 | "Dimebag" | Thomas Schlamme | Peter Ackerman | February 18, 2015 | BDU304 | 0.97 [11] |
After learning their telephone target has employed Kimmy, daughter of the head of the CIA's Afghan group, as a babysitter, Philip is tasked with recruiting Kimmy, who is nearly the same age as Paige. Nina is pressured to get a confession from her cellmate, Evi. Stan publicly voices his opinion at an EST meeting and is asked out on a date afterward by a woman named Tori. Paige's birthday is approaching and she requests to invite Pastor Tim and his wife to dinner. During the meal, Paige says that she wants to be baptized, and the visitors support her decision. Later, Philip and Elizabeth think Paige ambushed them with the request and invited her guests for support. | |||||||
31 | 5 | "Salang Pass" | Kevin Dowling | Stephen Schiff | February 25, 2015 | BDU305 | 0.81 [12] |
Kimmy invites Philip to her house on a night that her parents will be away. Gabriel supplies him with Afghani marijuana and gives him advice about gleaning information from her and recruiting Paige, who now wants to go shopping for a baptismal dress. Philip finds an attaché case of Kimmy's father for future planting of a listening device. Elizabeth helps Lisa, a Northrop employee, get a better company position by causing the death of another employee. Stan asks Oleg's help in finding out if Zinaida is actually a Russian spy posing as a defector, with Nina's release as a bargaining chip. | |||||||
32 | 6 | "Born Again" | Kevin Dowling | Tracey Scott Wilson | March 4, 2015 | BDU306 | 0.93 [13] |
Paige gets baptized by Pastor Tim, with Philip and Elizabeth in attendance. Later, Tori and Stan have dinner at the Jennings house, and despite his admitting that he still considers Sandra his wife, he and Tori have sex. Gabriel informs Philip that his other son is now a soldier in Afghanistan. This causes Philip to increase his visits with Kimmy to check the phone taps. Kimmy tries to seduce Philip. Meanwhile, Nina portrays herself as vulnerable to get Evi to confess about her boyfriend's treason. Evi gets taken away and Nina gets rewarded with a meal. | |||||||
33 | 7 | "Walter Taffet" | Noah Emmerich | Lara Shapiro | March 11, 2015 | BDU307 | 1.22 [14] |
After learning of her and Paige's excursion, Philip confronts Elizabeth. During a meeting, Gaad discovers Martha's microtransmitter, which thrusts the bureau into a mole hunt. Martha's distress worries Philip. Stan shares a bonding story with his son. Paige begins to explore the history of racial discrimination. Philip tells Elizabeth of his secret son. | |||||||
34 | 8 | "Divestment" | Dan Attias | Joshua Brand | March 18, 2015 | BDU308 | 1.13 [15] |
Philip, Elizabeth, and Reuben abduct two men, Todd and Venter, who were believed to be planning attacks against those in the anti-Apartheid movement. Reuben executes Venter by necklacing, but Todd is spared when he gives them the location of a bomb he couldn't set off. OPR Investigator Walter Taffet begins questioning Gaad's staff, including Martha, who later confronts "Clark" by exposing Philip's cover. Elizabeth asks Gabriel's help in getting Mischa, Philip's son, off the front lines in Afghanistan. Nina is given a reduced sentence, with the possibility of a full pardon, should she get Russian physicist Anton Baklonov to increase his productivity. She also meets Vasil, the former Rezident, who has yet to forgive her. | |||||||
35 | 9 | "Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?" | Stephen Williams | Joshua Brand | March 25, 2015 | BDU309 | 0.99 [16] |
Elizabeth tells Hans that Todd saw him at the site where Venter was killed. Fearful of being excluded from further operations, Hans finds Todd and kills him. Martha, who seems determined to act as if nothing has happened, informs Philip that the FBI's Mail Robot has been sent for repairs after a tense Agent Gaad kicked and broke it. Philip and Elizabeth go to the repair facility to install a recording device inside Mail Robot and are discovered there by Betty, an old woman who had come in to work on the business's books in the middle of the night. Betty tells Elizabeth many details of her life and family; moved by Betty's openness, Elizabeth reveals her identity as a Russian spy before allowing Betty, who now knows she will be killed, to overdose on her heart medication. Stan and Oleg reach a tentative agreement to use Zinaida's possible status as a Soviet mole to secure Nina's freedom. | |||||||
36 | 10 | "Stingers" | Larysa Kondracki | Joel Fields & Joe Weisberg | April 1, 2015 | BDU310 | 0.90 [17] |
In a movie theater's bathroom, Zinaida is shown to be leaving a message, confirming she is a double-agent. In the Russian factory, Anton tells Nina that he needs photographs to aid his work. After retrieving a tape from Kimmy's father, Philip and Elizabeth learn of Pakistan's ISI Agency sending someone to the U.S. to discuss this country's involvement in Afghanistan. Elizabeth takes residence in a hotel for future infiltration. Henry and Stan bond over films and games, as Paige, at Pastor Tim's urging, confronts her parents about their secrecy. They confess to being Russian spies but caution her about telling anyone. | |||||||
37 | 11 | "One Day in the Life of Anton Baklanov" | Andrew Bernstein | Stephen Schiff & Tracey Scott Wilson | April 8, 2015 | BDU311 | 1.04 [18] |
As more and more pressure mounts, Martha expresses worry over her interview with agent Taffet. Paige continues the adjustment into her new reality. Gabriel informs Elizabeth that her mother is close to death, which prompts Philip to lobby for a visit. As Elizabeth is making strides on one front, at the hotel; she's hit with an untimely ultimatum from Lisa's husband. Anton Baklanov slips further into Nina's emotional grasp. | |||||||
38 | 12 | "I Am Abassin Zadran" | Christopher Misiano | Peter Ackerman & Stuart Zicherman | April 15, 2015 | BDU312 | 0.98 [19] |
After discovering Paige has acted hastily, Philip and Elizabeth confront her. Stan is met with controversy at the office, concerning Nina. Elizabeth oversees her first mission with Lisa, and her husband. After Paige expresses more frustration, Philip and Elizabeth decide that she should travel, with Elizabeth, to see her dying mother in Russia. Philip and Elizabeth go undercover as CIA agents to manipulate Abassin Zadran, an Afghanistan mujahideen commander. He murders his colleagues, sabotaging a vital meeting. As Martha grows ever more frantic, to comfort her, Philip confides a secret to her – he removes his wig, revealing his true appearance. | |||||||
39 | 13 | "March 8, 1983" | Daniel Sackheim | Joel Fields & Joe Weisberg | April 22, 2015 | BDU313 | 1.22 [20] |
Against Gabriel's wishes, Elizabeth and Paige travel to Germany to visit Elizabeth's mother. Elizabeth believes the trip helped Paige understand, but her daughter becomes more fearful. Philip visits Gene, the FBI's computer guy, and knocks him out to stage a suicide, hoping this hastens an end to Taffet's investigation. Stan admits to Gaad about his deal to get Nina released using the reveal of Zinaida as a spy. The plan fails and Stan is nearly fired from the FBI. Philip welcomes his wife and daughter home and discusses recent events with Elizabeth, who gets distracted by Ronald Reagan's televised "Evil Empire speech". Meanwhile, a distraught Paige calls her pastor to tell him that her parents are Russian spies. |
The third season received widespread critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it received a 100% approval rating, with an average score of 9/10 based on 53 reviews. The critical consensus reads: "Family-driven drama and psychological themes propel The Americans' tautly drawn tension, dispensing thrills of a different ilk this season." [21] On Metacritic, it scored 92 out of 100 based on 23 reviews. [22]
The series was given a 2014 Peabody Award, with the organization stating, "In this ingenious, addictive cliffhanger, Reagan-era Soviet spies—married with children and a seemingly endless supply of wigs—operate out of a lovely 3BR home in a suburb of Washington, D.C. Between their nail-biter missions (and sometimes in the midst of them), the series contemplates duty, honor, parental responsibility, fidelity, both nationalistic and marital, and what it means to be an American." [23]
For the 5th Critics' Choice Television Awards, it won for Best Drama Series and received three acting nominations—Keri Russell for Best Actress in a Drama Series, Matthew Rhys for Best Actor in a Drama Series, and Lois Smith for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series. [24] For the 31st TCA Awards, the series was nominated for Program of the Year, Rhys was nominated for Individual Achievement in Drama, and it won for Outstanding Achievement in Drama. [25]
For the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards, Margo Martindale won for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama series after her third consecutive nomination, and Joshua Brand was nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?". [26] [27]
For the 68th Writers Guild of America Awards, the series was nominated for Best Drama Series. [28]
The third season was released on DVD in region 1 on March 1, 2016. Special features include deleted scenes and a featurette titled "The Cold War for Paige". [29]
Togetherness is an American comedy-drama television series created by Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass and Steve Zissis. It is primarily written and directed by the Duplass brothers, and stars Mark Duplass, Melanie Lynskey, Amanda Peet, Steve Zissis, and Abby Ryder Fortson. The series focuses on themes such as marriage and friendship.
The Americans is an American period spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg for FX. It originally aired for six seasons from January 30, 2013 to May 30, 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also served as showrunners and executive producers. Set during the Cold War, the show follows Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB intelligence officers posing as an American married couple living in Falls Church, a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., with their American-born children Paige and Henry. It also explores the conflict between Washington's FBI office and the KGB Rezidentura there, from the perspectives of agents on both sides, including the Jennings' neighbor Stan Beeman, an FBI agent working in counterintelligence. The series begins in the aftermath of the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan in January 1981 and concludes in December 1987, shortly before the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
"In Control" is the fourth episode of the first season of the period drama television series The Americans. It originally aired on FX in the United States on February 20, 2013.
The second season of the American television drama series The Americans, consisting of 13 episodes, premiered on FX on February 26, 2014, and concluded on May 21, 2014. The series was renewed for the second season on February 21, 2013.
The first season of the American television drama series The Americans premiered on January 30, 2013, and concluded on May 1, 2013. It consisted of 13 episodes, each running for approximately 45 minutes, except for a pilot of over an hour. FX broadcast the first season on Wednesdays at 10:00 pm in the United States. The series is produced by DreamWorks Television. The Americans was created by Joe Weisberg.
"Safe House" is the ninth episode of the first season of the period drama television series The Americans. It originally aired on FX in the United States on April 3, 2013.
"Echo" is the thirteenth episode and the season finale of the second season of the American television drama series The Americans, and the 26th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on FX in the United States on May 21, 2014.
The fourth season of the American television drama series The Americans, consisting of 13 episodes, premiered on FX on March 16, 2016, and concluded on June 8, 2016.
"Born Again" is the sixth episode of third season of the American television drama series The Americans, and the 32nd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on March 4, 2015 in the United States on FX.
The sixth and final season of the American television drama series The Americans, comprising 10 episodes, premiered on FX on March 28, 2018, The final season was announced in May 2016, when the series received a two-season renewal to conclude the series. The series moved back to its original time slot, Wednesdays at 10:00 pm, after airing on Tuesdays the previous season.
"Walter Taffet" is the seventh episode of third season of the American television drama series The Americans, and the 33rd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on March 11, 2015, in the United States on FX.
"Divestment" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American period spy drama television series The Americans. It is the 34th overall episode of the series and was written by consulting producer Joshua Brand, and directed by Dan Attias. It was released on FX on March 18, 2015.
"Stingers" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American period spy drama television series The Americans. It is the 36th overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Joel Fields and series creator Joe Weisberg, and directed by Larysa Kondracki. It was released on FX on April 1, 2015.
"One Day in the Life of Anton Baklanov" is the eleventh episode of the third season of the American period spy drama television series The Americans. It is the 37th overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Stephen Schiff and story editor Tracey Scott Wilson, and directed by Andrew Bernstein. It was released on FX on April 8, 2015.