The Americans
Season 4, Episode 13 – “Persona Non Grata”
Directed by Chris Long
Written by Joe Fields & Joe Weisberg
Starring: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Lev Gorn, Susan Misner, Costa Ronin, Keidrich Sellati, Holly Taylor, Richard Thomas, Dylan Baker, Alison Wright, Noah Emmerich, and Frank Langella
FX
Air date: Wednesday, June 8, 2016, 10pm

The Americans is a show that didn’t need to reinvent itself. After three superlative seasons, we had a rough idea of what we were in for with each installment, as by design, the show has always been structured to slowly ramp up its stakes as it went it along towards its already forgone conclusion “” it’s not entirely dissimilar from Breaking Bad in that way “” but this fourth season seemed particularly focused on disrupting the existing “home” viewers had found within the program.

And all it took was a vial.

The Americans
Season 4, Episode 12 – “A Roy Rogers in Franconia”
Directed by Chris Long
Written by Joe Fields & Joe Weisberg
Starring: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Lev Gorn, Susan Misner, Costa Ronin, Keidrich Sellati, Holly Taylor, Richard Thomas, Dylan Baker, Alison Wright, Noah Emmerich, and Frank Langella
FX
Air date: Wednesday, May 25th, 2016, 10pm

If pop culture and historical accounts (the ones that we know of at least) have taught us anything, it’s that the art of spying is tedious at best and hazardous at worst.

The Americans has shown us both sides of this equation, but “A Roy Rogers in Franconia“ delves deep into the dangers of spycraft as William (Dylan Baker) is tasked with obtaining another biological sample, and a tip from Oleg (Costa Ronin) gives Stan (Noah Emmerich) and the FBI just enough information it needs to get the closest they’ve ever been to catching Elizabeth and Philip (Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys).

The Americans
Season 4, Episode 11 – “Dinner for Seven”
Directed by Nicole Kassell
Written by Joshua Brand
Starring: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Lev Gorn, Susan Misner, Costa Ronin, Keidrich Sellati, Holly Taylor, Richard Thomas, Dylan Baker, Alison Wright, Noah Emmerich, and Frank Langella
FX
Air date: Wednesday, May 25th, 2016, 10pm

Considering events with Philip (Matthew Rhys) dominated the front half of the season, it’s refreshing to see Elizabeth (Keri Russell) fall back into the spotlight for the back half of season four – with one of the most rewarding aspects of that pendulum swing being the way in which Elizabeth and Pastor Tim (Kelly AuCoin) find themselves in one another’s orbits throughout “Dinner for Seven.”

It’s easy to paint AuCoin’s Pastor Tim to an antagonist role – a reaction that’s reductive and wrongheaded – but the strength of the character comes from his empathy: something that Elizabeth desperately needs throughout this episode as she comes to terms with having to wrap up the Patti operation. I guessed that the pregnancy angle would be how Elizabeth approached it, but I forgot that you’d still need some way to actually get into Don’s office. My heart sank for Elizabeth as Philip entered into that building – that’s the goodbye she was referring to a couple of episodes back.

The Americans
Season 4, Episode 10 – “Munchkins”
Directed by Steph Green
Written by Peter Ackerman
Starring: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Lev Gorn, Susan Misner, Costa Ronin, Keidrich Sellati, Holly Taylor, Richard Thomas, Dylan Baker, Alison Wright, Noah Emmerich, and Frank Langella
FX
Air date: Wednesday, May 18th, 2016, 10pm

We’ve got another quick review of last week’s The Americans after the jump.

“Munchkins” has three moments that stood out for their noticeable use (or lack thereof) of sound. Fittingly, they’re also some of the most important scenes from the episode.

The Americans
Season 4, Episode 9 – “The Day After”
Directed by Daniel Sackheim
Written by Tracey Scott Wilson
Starring: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Lev Gorn, Susan Misner, Costa Ronin, Keidrich Sellati, Holly Taylor, Richard Thomas, Dylan Baker, Alison Wright, Noah Emmerich, and Frank Langella
FX
Air date: Wednesday, May 11th, 2016, 10pm

Fleetwood Mac has forged an inescapable bond with The Americans. Before the series premiered, critics were already praising the show’s now infamous use of “Tusk,” for good reason: it took something familiar (Fleetwood Mac needle-drops often find themselves frequently used in popular culture) and put a new spin on it (“Tusk” is, for someone like me, not something I’d ever remembered hearing on the radio and was therefore a new and fresh dimension of a band I was already familiar with). The inclusion of “Tusk” defined the show early on in the same way: we might know the tropes and typical beats of a spy story, but this show was going to bring something bold and new to the genre.