After last week's slightly bizarre and bombastic episode of The Americans, 'Duty and Honour' was a return to the spy drama's strengths; subtle and intriguing character development and a sense of lingering unease surrounding absolutely everyone.
Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Beeman (Noah Emmerich), the two characters that I've leaned on as 'the good guys', both jolted my expectations this week. Philip reignited a relationship with a former lover and then lied to Elizabeth about it, and Stan finally acted on his impulses and got down and dirty with his Russian informant.
During a mission to discredit a Polish resistance leader, Philip met with his former flame Irina. Through a series of flashbacks, we discover a few little flecks of detail about Philip's past, and his reunion with Irina also brings the surprise revelation that he is a father to a young man who has just joined the army.
What was most surprising about Philip's fling with Irina was that it only amounted to a fling. It's felt at times during the series that Philip has been on the hunt for a way out of his life as a spy. An excuse to call it a day.
However, when Irina opened a door to a new life together, he couldn't follow it through and leave. Philip's loyalty to the cause and Elizabeth has constantly been questioned in the show, but once again, he was willing to sacrifice his own needs for others. He might not be as candid and mouthy as Elizabeth about his duties as a spy, but he definitely walks the walk.
In fact, Elizabeth is the one crumbling at the moment. Keri Russell continues to steal pretty much every scene she's in as the testicle-twisting spy, and she was allowed to flesh out yet further layers to Elizabeth this week.
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The fall-out from last week's KGB torture session has had a bigger impact on Elizabeth than Philip and, combined with her time in the unsettled Beeman household, she appears to be clinging on to her relationship with Philip as something to depend and rely on. Now her loyalty has been questioned by the Russians, he is the only person she believes that she can depend on.
That makes Philip's big fat lie at the end of the episode even more worrying for the future of the Jennings' marriage.
Elizabeth's meeting with Gran, their first since Elizabeth smashed up her boss's face, was superbly acted by Russell and Margo Martindale. It was delicious to watch as the duo savoured every line and let every glance linger.
Elizabeth may have shown that she's handy with her fists, but she's going to need eyes in the back of her head. Gran is battered and bruised, but there's an evil glint in her eye that suggests she'll take the first glimmer of an opportunity to take revenge.
The peek inside the Beeman household gave us a greater insight into Stan's life. His dedication to his job has left his wife despairing and created a terrible, moaning teenage son. Even his work colleagues find his dedication to the cause a bit dull and wish he'd crack a smile more often and sleep around like one of the lads.
However, while everyone else was complaining about Stan's stiffness, he was finally letting his steely front slip with Nina (Annet Mahendru). Is this going to be a classic case of a man losing it all over the love of a beautiful younger woman? I certainly wouldn't trust Nina if I was a spy. No matter how often she walks around my bedroom in the buff.
The Americans airs on Saturdays on ITV1.
What did you think to this week's episode of The Americans? Can you see the next twist coming?
