Trust Me (The Americans)

Last updated
"Trust Me"
The Americans episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 6
Directed by Daniel Sackheim
Written bySneha Koorse
Featured music
Production codeBDU105
Original air dateMarch 6, 2013 (2013-03-06)
Running time49 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"COMINT"
Next 
"Duty and Honor"
The Americans season 1
List of episodes

"Trust Me" is the sixth episode of the first season of the period drama television series The Americans . It originally aired on FX in the United States on March 6, 2013.

Contents

Plot

Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) are concerned about the FBI's mole. Philip (as Clark) plans to meet with Martha Hanson (Alison Wright), Agent Gaad's secretary, but while making plans at a phone booth, is abducted and thrown into a van. Back at the Jennings' home, Elizabeth, hearing a noise upstairs, investigates. She is attacked by an intruder and fights back, but is taken away by a second man.

In an abandoned warehouse, Philip is tied to a chair and being interrogated by Cal (Robert Bogue) who removes Philip's wig and glasses and calls him a "commie". He shows Philip his various passports under different aliases and plays conversations he had with Martha. Cal threatens to send Philip's children to Russia. Elizabeth is thrown into a small room with pictures of her family all over the wall.

Later, Philip's head is held under water in front of Elizabeth. Philip refuses to give them any names, even when they threaten to do the same to Elizabeth. Elizabeth asserts that she and Philip will die before they talk. Claudia (Margo Martindale) enters, revealing the abduction to be a ruse by the KGB. After the codes were changed, Philip and Elizabeth were the first suspects. Philip is furious that the KGB is questioning their loyalty, and Claudia tells Elizabeth the decision went over Zhukov's head. Elizabeth submerges Claudia's head under water and then badly beats her face, saying: "Tell whoever approved this that your face is a present from me to them." After leaving the warehouse, Philip wonders why they stopped interrogating Elizabeth. He accuses her of telling them that he considered defecting, but she denies this, saying that she told them he liked living in the U.S. too much.

Meanwhile, Paige (Holly Taylor) and Henry (Keidrich Sellati) are stranded while their parents are missing. Paige decides to hitchhike, despite Henry's reservations. They are picked up by Nick (Michael Oberholtzer). Nick takes a detour, saying that he wants to feed the ducks before dropping them off. Nick's behavior changes – he offers Paige a beer, tells her that she'll be very attractive in a few years, and talks about his faith in God, stating, "Without a higher power, we’re no better than wild dogs." Henry, who notices a knife on Nick, takes a beer bottle and smashes it across his head as he and Paige escape.

Agent Gaad (Richard Thomas) hands Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich) a file on the shooting of Adam Dorwin. He tells him that Dorwin was murdered at the same time the FBI were tracking Vasili and informs him of the missing defense blueprints. Stan meets up with Nina (Annet Mahendru), who refuses to continue to spy for the FBI as the Russians are now aware of the mole. Stan tells her to trust him and then gives her a camera to take pictures of confidential files at the embassy. Nina calls this suicide as she won't be able to take the files past the heavy security. Stan assures her that she won't have to. Later, Nina takes classified documents and brings them to the bathroom and photographs them in a stall.

Vasili is buying tea in a store. Vasili's change for the purchase is dropped by the clerk, and when Vasili is picking it up, the clerk, unnoticed, drops something in his bag. Stan calls the embassy and asks for Vasili, telling the person on the other line to leave a message from Theo about the tea store he visited and that he'll enjoy. Stan calls again, stating that it's urgent this time. Arkady discusses the messages from "Theo" with Vasili and tells him they must search his office just in case. The innocent Vasili complies, and Arkady finds diamonds that were placed in his tea bag. Vasili denies any knowledge of them and, as his office is searched more thoroughly, Arkady finds Nina's camera behind a clock with the pictures of the classified documents. Vasili realizes he's been set up.

Philip and Elizabeth purposefully crash their car into a tree on their way home, using the crash as an alibi. They return to Paige and Henry and tell them about the accident. Elizabeth later apologizes to Philip and tells him that she herself feels betrayed by the people she trusts most in the world. Philip is still upset and goes to sleep on the couch.

Production

Development

In February 2013, FX confirmed that the sixth episode of the series would be titled "Trust Me", and that it would be written by Sneha Koorse, and directed by Daniel Sackheim. This was Koorse's first writing credit, Sackheim's first directing credit. [1]

Reception

Viewers

In its original American broadcast, "Trust Me" was seen by an estimated 1.88 million household viewers with a 0.7 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.7 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. [2] This was a 30% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 1.44 million household viewers with a 0.5 in the 18-49 demographics. [3]

Critical reviews

"Trust Me" received critical acclaim. Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode an "amazing" 9 out of 10 and wrote, "This week's Americans gave us a 'What if?' scenario, as the Jennings found themselves apparently found out as spies, captured and tortured. Yes, shortly before the ruse was revealed, I realized it couldn't be real – it's too early in the series and it was clear the FBI were not involved in any of this. But still, Elizabeth and Phillip were put through hell and it was shocking and powerful to see." [4]

Emily St. James of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A–" grade and wrote, "The Americans cannily uses whatever feelings we have about Russell against us, and while she plays someone who could be Felicity all grown up in the 'normal' scenes, she's a titanic cauldron of rage who's been threatening to boil over everywhere else." [5]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "'Trust Me' is perhaps the most uneven episode of The Americans to date. It features three intertwined stories: one terrible, one gripping, and one that starts off problematic but concludes with some of the series' very best moments." [6] Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "As written by Sneha Koorse and directed by Daniel Sackheim, it's a pull-the-rug-out-from-under-you episode that puts the audience in the position of many of its major characters. It plunges you into unfamiliar, terrifying situations. You aren’t sure what's happening, whom to trust, what it all means, where it's all leading." [7]

Vicky Frost of The Guardian wrote, "while the Americans might have some large and puzzling plotholes, it is very big on that kind of strong storytelling in which events and themes are mirrored and balanced across various characters and organisations, neatly contrasted for maximum effect." [8] Carla Day of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.7 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The Americans has done an exceptional job over the first six episodes with shaking up the format. It's definitely not a case-of-the-week show. Each episode is centered around something entirely different than the others: it's fixing a mistake, forcing an American to cooperate, telling the story of a historical event, or presenting the core emotional basis of being human." [9]

Related Research Articles

"COMINT" is the fifth episode of the first season of the period drama television series The Americans. It originally aired on FX in the United States on February 27, 2013. The name of the episode refers to communications intelligence, a sub-category of signals intelligence that engages in dealing with messages or voice information derived from the interception of foreign communications.

"Mutually Assured Destruction" is the eighth episode of the first season of the period drama television series The Americans. It originally aired on FX in the United States on March 20, 2013.

"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.

"Covert War" is the eleventh episode of the first season of the period drama television series The Americans. It originally aired on FX in the United States on April 17, 2013.

"The Oath" is the twelfth episode of the first season of the period drama television series The Americans. It originally aired on FX in the United States on April 24, 2013.

"The Colonel" is the thirteenth episode and the season finale of the first season of the period drama television series The Americans. It originally aired on FX in the United States on May 1, 2013.

"Comrades" is the second season premiere of the American television drama series The Americans, and the 14th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on February 26, 2014 in the United States on FX.

"Behind the Red Door" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American television drama series The Americans, and the 19th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on FX in the United States on April 2, 2014.

"Martial Eagle" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American television drama series The Americans, and the 22nd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on FX in the United States on April 23, 2014.

"Yousaf" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American television drama series The Americans, and the 23rd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on FX in the United States on April 30, 2014.

"Stealth" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American television drama series The Americans, and the 24th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on FX in the United States on May 7, 2014.

"Operation Chronicle" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American television drama series The Americans, and the 25th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on FX in the United States on May 14, 2014.

"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.

"EST Men" is the third season premiere of the American television drama series The Americans, and the 27th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on January 28, 2015 in the United States on FX.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stan Beeman</span> Fictional character

Stanley Beeman is a fictional character in the American television drama series The Americans on FX, and the supporting male character. He was created by series creator Joe Weisberg and is portrayed by Noah Emmerich. Stan is an FBI agent and a neighbor of the lead characters, Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, who are undercover Soviet spies.

"Open House" is the third episode of third season of the American television drama series The Americans, and the 29th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on February 11, 2015 in the United States on FX.

"START" is the tenth episode of the sixth season and the series finale of the period drama television series The Americans. It originally aired on FX in the United States on May 30, 2018.

"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.

"March 8, 1983" is the thirteenth episode and season finale of the third season of the American period spy drama television series The Americans. It is the 39th overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Joel Fields and series creator Joe Weisberg, and directed by executive producer Daniel Sackheim. It was released on FX on April 22, 2015.

"Munchkins" is the tenth episode of the fourth season of the American period spy drama television series The Americans. It is the 49th overall episode of the series and was written by co-producer Peter Ackerman, and directed by Steph Green. It was released on FX on May 18, 2016.

References

  1. "(#BDU105) "Trust Me"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  2. Bibel, Sara (March 7, 2013). "Wednesday Cable Ratings:'Duck Dynasty' Wins Night, 'Psych', 'The Americans', 'Workaholics' 'Southland', & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 12, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  3. Kondolojy, Amanda (February 28, 2013). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Duck Dynasty' Dominates Night + 'Psych', 'Top Chef', 'The Daily Show', NBA Basketball & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 3, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  4. Goldman, Eric (March 6, 2013). "The Americans: "Trust Me" Review". IGN . Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  5. Koski, Genevieve; St. James, Emily (March 6, 2013). "The Americans: "Trust Me"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  6. Sepinwall, Alan (March 6, 2013). "Review: 'The Americans' – 'Trust Me': Buckle it up or you'll die". HitFix . Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  7. Zoller Seitz, Matt (March 7, 2013). "The Americans Recap: Show Them Your Face!". Vulture . Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  8. Frost, Vicky (July 8, 2013). "The Americans recap: season one, episode six". The Guardian . Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  9. Day, Carla (March 7, 2013). "The Americans Review: Trust is a Tricky Thing". TV Fanatic. Retrieved September 15, 2023.