Rewatching "The Americans": Season 1

Because of my Covid-induced torpor, I was not able to do much but lay back on the couch and binge stuff. There was nothing of interest on, and I had toyed with the idea of rewatching "The Americans" anyhow, so off I went and watched three seasons in five days. Hooray for Covid. I want to talk about the experience, but it comes with a spoiler warning. 

So, season 1. In my memory, it was solidly "fine", and the pilot especially was a bit of an incoherent, if greatly acted and produced, mess. My memory serves. I want to deal with the pilot first, and I say this with the great affection I have for the show: it's not good. It survives by virtue of magnetic performances, impeccable filming and a snappy soundtrack, but the writing is...kinda bad. 

 

The most baffling decision made in the pilot for sure is to let Philipp instantly propose to defect to the US, which feels like it should be the culmination of a long character arc and not a plot-point in the mid of an episode, and not even the most important one. Even worse is how this is solved: Philipp learns that the defector he intends to run away with (conflict with his spouse! You can see why they went for this) raped Elizabeth during training. 

 

This is a major problem because it creates a point of no return, raises the stakes from zero to maximum in the very first episode. As a matter of fact, the show does return from this point, but only by pretending it never happened, which is never a good sign. In this case, the quality of the rest of the show allows it to survive the rape-y misstep. 

 

While we're at the subject of rape anyway: in a minor misfire that is nevertheless indicative of the atrocious characterizations and plot lines that mercifully fall by the wayside after the pilot is a little subplot in which Philipp sniffs out a pedophile and beats him bloody like a discount Rorschach, a move obviously written into the pilot by comittee to ensure our sympathy lies with the Soviet spy instead of, you know, write a good character. 

 

Another equally baffling decision is to make Agent Beeman, the new neighbor, instantly suspicious of the couple. This too should be the content of a whole season of development and not one minor roadbump in the main plot! Here, too, the show simply chooses to ignore the actual event, which is made easier by the event itself being a ridiculous turn of character in the first place. 

 

But no, while the pilot does establish the necessary groundwork, it fails on many levels. It's only for the obvious capabilities of the cast, the writers and the whole art crew that you really want to keep watching, because there is the promise of more. 

 

Regarding season 1, the "more" here is a competently written high-stakes spy thriller. It never really moves beyond that, and its two novelties - the heroes are Soviets, and the no-nonsene badass is female - wear themselves out quickly. 

 

A big problem is the pace of things. Every episode has another balls-to-the-wall-event, a make-or-break-moment for the Jennings, the Cold War, the whole world. Everything is always at danger, events moving with a breakneck pace, and each episode features its own "crisis of the week". This is WAY too fast, and if you remember the later seasons of the show, you'd be surprised to think you're watching something completely different. 

 

Again, all of this is competently executed, which is why you keep watching, but there is this feeling all the time that there is more to it than nailbiting tension always bordering the ludicrous. It's like a whole season of Tom-Clancy-climaxes. 

 

But that promise is always there. You can see it in the effects that the spywork has on the Jennings, who never really seem to enjoy themselves quite as much as they did in the pilot. You can see in the subtle nuances of Stan Beeman, whose acted with great skill by Noah Emmerich (did I mention everyone's bringing their A-Game?), which make the juxtaposition with a crude character like Agent Amador much more visceral. But the show lacks an emotional anchor, and it will take until season 2 to remedy that problem. It also lacks something to say, something to be about, and once it finds out what that is in season 3, it finds its way to greatness. In season 1, it only finds its way to escapist entertaintment.