Agreed. I'll happily watch Phillip Jennings slowly unravel in a crisis of the whole meaning of his life while Elizabeth scares me with her steely stare and her ruthless determination any day.

I don't agree The Americans is in a rut (with all due respect to Sepinwall for sure). I trust the show to keep doing what it's been doing all along, to truly entertain and impress me while making me very nervous.

Yep. He's a time bomb waiting to go off.

The KGB guys (and their bosses) were probably unlikely to plant evidence on the son of a minister, especially in the minister's own home. That could bring a whole world of shit down on them if it all went wrong. I'm guessing there was much discussion about whether to even search Oleg's room considering who his father…

Not sure who they're hoping she'll spy on for the FBI, but Stan and Dennis need a win. Not just to keep Stan from being re-assigned or fired (not sure if Dennis even knows about that), but their spy advances have been rejected by a bunch of potentials lately. They seem to be counting on Sofia coming through for them.

Yeah I thought why is Elizabeth telling Claudia that? Don't feed the Center's leeriness toward Phillip. I feel so protective of him!

Amen to that.

That's probably true but it makes little sense to me (of course one feels how one feels). A TV show can have a child character who behaves appropriately for her age and experience, or have one who acts uncharacteristically for her age (like some precocious comedy kids, ugh), or else you can have no children at all.…

I too am very worried for Paige.

I said that to my TV also, heh heh. I wonder whether Gabriel always thought this or has slowly grown to believe it. Had to remind myself that the Center wasn't ASKING the Jennings (or Gabriel) to bring Paige into the fold. They weren't really given a choice, regardless of how much Phillip didn't wanted it (and…

It broke my heart to see them lie to Paige when the wheat story is obviously distressing her so much. It sickened me that she has to suffer (sacrifice!) over a lie to help them achieve their aims.

Oh dear. Didn't occur to me.

Maybe they go in and out the back door and walk to a car waiting for them a few blocks away when it's the middle of the night?

I never understood any hatred of Paige. The character was just acting like a teenage girl. It's not always easy to be one. I remember. Add the surreal nature of what she's been dragged into and I think she's handled it better than many would.

All of the reasons stated by the commenters above, and it was overwhelming her. Paige broke up with Matthew to protect him and herself and her parents. And to remove one emotional complication from her life.

Yeah, I don't think he's cheating on her at all. She comes to his town sometimes for business and they have sex and laughs. It hasn't seemed to me like some great love affair, nor have we seen any "I love yous" exchanged. Seems like a casual, fun relationship. Elizabeth's surprise and maybe even hurt feelings are a…

Agreed. Phillip is anything but dead inside. He's going through some roiling internal shit, and can see no way to keep Paige from this life, and no way to keep from killing innocent civilians. And after the Center's botched conclusion about the superwheat, the wrongful killing of the wheat tech, and knowing his…

I think Gabriel only felt free to tell Phillip that now that he's leaving and retiring.

They are lost in the woods now. Their defender is no longer there to protect them. Especially Phillip, with the Center looking at him warily. I'm very afraid for them.

Thankfully I'm not alone in my circle of family and friends in my appreciation and devotion to The Americans! So glad we can watch and discuss, and also that I can enjoy the comments here and engage in conversation about this show I absolutely love! But I do wish more people watched.