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Recap

While getting a bath, Elizabeth remembers when she tossed Paige into the pool, by tossing her straight into the pool after saying, "it's OK."

Elizabeth is meeting with a CIA officer for drinks.They're sharing stories. The woman is sharing a story about how she got information one of her male counterparts could never have gotten. One week later, "Jeff" got promoted. Screw the CIA. She gives Elizabeth the information she wants. At the top of the stairs on her way to the ladies room, she makes a call. "It's me. I'm doing something terrible."

Both Philip and Stan are at a meeting with guest star Scott William Winters. Given the name of the episode, is it an EST meeting?

The woman tries to keep Elizabeth at the bar longer. Dinner maybe? The woman is Charlotte. As Elizabeth leaves the bar, she begins to look around. Cars race down the street, tires peeling and she speeds up. As she gets farther away, she starts to lose her a bit of disguise, turning her coat inside out. Back at the bar, Charlotte is describing her.

Stan and Philip are driving home in the Corvette. Stan thanks Philip but doesn't know what he'll tell her. It's the best thing he ever heard in his life? According to those idiots, he probably should, he jokes. They decide to go get a non beer.

Meanwhile Elizabeth is followed by two men, who announce themselves as the FBI. She tries to fight, but end up in the street. A motorcycle rider spins up on them and it's his wreck that saves her. She has a chance to shoot one of the agents. It's Frank Gaad. but knocks him cold instead.

Arkady, Oleg and friends are watching recruiting videos from Afghanistan that looks very much like what we see Al Qaeda to today -- man on each side, one kneeling in the middle... the one in the middle shot (mercifully, instead of getting his head sawn off). Oleg thinks if they want to stop getting the tapes, they need to get out of Afghanistan. Tatiana is a new gal in the office, and Arkady suggests Oleg tread lightly. Oleg says they need to speak freely to do their jobs. Arkady disagrees.

Elizabeth has ice on her shoulder when they get home and Stan thinks Philip should start unloading the groceries. Philip sends him home and Elizabeth invites him for dinner tomorrow. She tells him it was a close call. Very. She had a list of names in her pocket. No more. The scene by the sink is captivating.

At the office, Stan kids Frank about the size of the woman who bested him. Frank tells Stan they got intelligence from the CIA. The convicted Nina. Espionage and treason. The other agent who was in the scuffle comes in. They're going to put out an alert to emergency rooms and dentists about injuries to the face and the jaw. There's no reason that should concern Stan where Elizabeth is concerned. That is, until we see her at home wiping off her excellent makeup job. She's crushed.

Elizabeth is helping Paige at the church. They're stuffing fliers. She's flirting with a boy named Dan. Pastor Tim is smiling and sends Paige to help Dan set up the food when it arrives. 

Elizabeth and Philip visit a man named Gabriel. He thinks Regan wants to turn Afghanistan into our Viet Nam. He then brings up Paige. They want to start laying the groundwork with Paige. Philip is against it, but Elizabeth tries to smooth the waters by talking about the liberal church group and how much closer they're growing, both as family and politically. They're grooming her. There's also something for her in the kitchen, if she'd be so good to do the dishes while he and Philip play Scrabble.

When they leave, Philip cannot believe what Elizabeth said to Gabriel. She assures him she told him what Gabriel and the Centre needed to hear. Philip thinks he's assessing Paige and developing her. He wants her to have her own life with her own future, in college. 

Stan is at the shooting range with Martha. Once she takes off her glasses, she's not a bad shot. The question is WHY is she at the range with Stan.

Arkady and Oleg are arguing over Nina and treason. Oleg says she was just careless with paperwork, Arkady says it's also possible she actually loved Stan. Oleg still wants to help her. He begged his father, but he doesn't think political connections should ever be used for personal gain.

Philip is meeting with Annelise about Yousaf. His name is Scott. It's always so hard to know who he is when. And so fun! He gets ready for a little down and dirty.

Elizabeth is listening to her cassette in the garage. It must be from her family. It's not translated. 

Annelise is crying in the front seat of the car after carrying on with Scott. She shouldn't have done this. She thinks she's in love with her mark. He deserves better and so does he.

Elizabeth and Paige are off to the church pot luck. 

Stan delivers some stuff to Sandra. He tells her he took the first weekend of EST. He lies to her and says it was good stuff. Then she says if he had really listened, he would have known it was about honesty. Total bullshit didn't go over as an answer either.

I have no idea what kind of sex Martha and Clark were just having but Oh. My. God.

Stan's being followed.

When Philip shows up at the office, Elizabeth gives him a brownie. She tells him about the tape. It was her mother. She's dying. 

The FBI is looking at slides. A woman from an institute put a note inside a window and she'll be on US soil in a few hours. They have to protect her. 

Elizabeth is on a meet. She appears to be teaching someone, a British fellow, how to tail people. 

The kids are watching TV in the Jennings home. First up is a Hershey's kiss commercial with Jason Alexander in it. When Paige gets her turn, the news of Leonid Brezhnev's death comes up, but she changes the channel to watch the Jeffersons. Paige looks ever more grown up each time she's on screen.

Philip is listening to Annelise have sex with Yousaf. He wants to get her an apartment in Zurich. She proceeds to tell him she's been doing some very important work. You can feel her life slipping out of her even before his hands go around her neck. 

Philip makes a move to slip into the room to save her, but it's too late. She's gone. Philip tells him he can't undo this and Yousaf can't just slip away into the streets of America, but he can help. He can make this go away. It was likely what he wanted all along. Gah. They're so good at being bad.

 

Show:
The Americans
Season:
Episode Number:
1
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The Americans Season 3 Episode 1 Quotes

Sex is one of the few things we have, and almost getting killed is another, that can jolt us into feeling fully alive. If you want to actually experience life, then you've got being so reasonable all the time, you've got to stop hoping things are just gonna get better and you've gotta accept what you've got.

EST Leader

Maybe I should be be honest. 'Hey sweetie. I went to EST. I think they're all insane. Can we get back together now?'

Stan