The only place to start with this week's episode of The Americans is the end. The bleak final shot of innocent mum Joyce, chillingly killed by the Russians to stop her being caught by the FBI, showed that this series isn't going to shy away from the realities of the Cold War.
It wasn't all ass-kicking, comedy wigs and sex to Phil Collins music for spies back in the '80s. Well, not all of it anyway.
Joyce was the secret wife of the Jennings' murdered colleague Robert. Her child was sent back to snowy Donetsk to be with Robert's parents, but there was no way of getting out alive for poor old Joyce.
The Jennings' new KGB supervisor 'Grannie', played by the awesome Margo Martindale (Justified), proved that she isn't a character to be messed with, packing off Joyce and her baby for their terrible fate. Hopefully we'll see a lot more of how the ruthless Grannie fits in with the Jennings' day-to-day romantic entanglement and personal crisis of conscience.
Gregory, the title character this week, turned out to be a former black militant and also long-term lover of Elizabeth. Played by Derek Luke, the character was essentially a device for the writers to examine and probe the evolution of the Jennings' relationship.
Can two people whose lives are so entwined, so filled with lies and secrets, who know about each other's past romances, truly begin to start a genuine loving marriage after all these years?
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Gregory certainly didn't think so. "Let her have a little piece of something real," he pleaded with Philip after discovering Elizabeth's growing connection for her 'husband'.
All these affairs and the Jennings' will-they/won't-they romance would all be terribly hard to believe within the supposedly ruthless and top secret world of the KGB if it wasn't for the performances of Matthew Rhys and especially Keri Russell. The latter is captivating and committed and the former is effortlessly cool - his weekly fighting scenes are convincing and always a highlight.
It will be interesting to see how the show plays on our historical knowledge as the series progresses. My Cold War history could do with some brushing up, but I am aware that the Star Wars system that Philip and Elizabeth are searching for information on turned out to be more of a Reagan propaganda device than a reality.
Will that have any significance in the Jennings' ongoing story? And does the fact that we know the Russians will ultimately fail in the end have some bearing on our feelings for the show and the characters? Is that what makes it easier for us to back the Russians?
The show's beating heart is the Philip/Elizabeth axis, but the bad fashion, ghetto blasters and global paranoia of the '80s are helping transform the show into something even more intriguing.
Watch our interview with Matthew Rhys about The Americans below:
Spy Files
- Please can we have a bottle episode just with Philip and Stan playing squash and exchanging not-so-subtle coded messages? "Where I come from, you leave you lose!"
- This week's disguises were particularly disappointing. A dodgy wig from Elizabeth, and Philip just opted for a beanie hat. Hardly the masters of disguise.
- Margo Martindale. More, please. Lots more.
- The final shot in this episode divided critics in the US. Some suggested the more ambiguous ending with the baby being handed over would have been enough. Do you agree?
- Oh and if you've been wondering what that track was at the end of the episode, it was Roxy Music. Enjoy.
The Americans continues on ITV at 10pm on Saturdays.
What did you think of episode three? Are you hooked on the spy drama?
