While it is true that Stan became Philip's neighbor and not the other way around, Philip has been working him as an asset from the moment they met. Philip didn't have to cozy up to Stan, play racquetball with him, go to EST with him, entangle their two families, etc. I absolutely agree that Philip cares for Stan, and…

That reminds me of Colton Dunn breaking Ben Feldman while improvising a wedding argument on Superstore:
"I just don't think a wedding should mired in stodgy old-fashioned traditions."
"Oh right, better to have it in a dirty old barn with a bluegrass band."

I don't know. Is it possible that Alexei procured the wheat for the CIA as part of his defector deal in the super wheat program? Maybe that's what Alexei meant by, "They were going to shoot me." As in, he was close to getting caught. I don't know if the Centre or Claudia is that concerned about saving face to Philip…

When Philip said that he doesn't want Stan to be another Martha, I was like, "Stan already is a Martha. He's your Martha. How do you think he's going to feel when he finds out about you?" Of course, Philip doesn't think Stan will ever find out, but damn, the hypocrisy and self-righteousness of that statement made me…

Wow, what a contrast of subterranean developments. I was moved to tears by the marriage, and I don't know what to feel about the darkroom scene. As an aside, The Leftovers ruined me for Philip's proposal, as I ludicrously half-expected that Elizabeth might burst into laughter when he suggested they get married for…

Howard is actually my favorite character — or at least, the one who entertains and fascinates me the most. I want to know more about him! And Patrick Fabian is just perfection at playing him.

I'm not interested in the moral question from a plot perspective, but I am somewhat interested in what Nora's answers said about herself. Two things that struck me were:

John and Matt were open to hearing about that. Matt especially would eat it up. When Kevin opened up to Nora about seeing Patti, she handcuffed him to the bed and left him. Who knows how she would react if he told her about the hotel. Kevin probably feared she would leave him for good, or worse, tried to have him…

As Derpacleese noted, it is a real library, but I couldn't help but notice that the centerpiece resembled the eight-sided DHARMA logo from Lost, which itself had Taoist symbology. If intentional, perhaps it was an easter egg for Lost fans.

Holy shit. That was one gut punch after another, and the ending left me breathless. And the final image reminded me of Roy Batty dying in the rain in Blade Runner. Gorgeous.

You're welcome!

Stan trying to get Mrs. Gaad's approval is ironic because Stan's leverage (blackmail scheme concerning his murder of Vlad) exists only because Gaad (along with the CIA) wanted to retaliate for the deaths of three FBI agents. And during Stan's last conversation with Gaad, Gaad urged Stan to ignore his conscience and to…

Oh sure, absolutely. I wonder if this St. Edward's is supposed to be the TV stand-in for St. Paul's, which has been rocked by some scandals in recent years?

Favorite exchange:

Yeah, somehow I think a one-percenter boarding school in New England is not going to instill socialist values into Henry. I really don't want Henry to grow up to be a Wall Street douchebag, but the irony of him getting even deeper into capitalism while Paige is getting into socialism is rather delicious.

I do, too. They always have two to three playwrights on staff, and I think it shows. The dialogue isn't flashy, but the scenes feel and are filmed very play-like to me, with tons of subtext.

Mischa's storyline definitely feels unfinished. I would be shocked if they don't at least check in on him this season. And I wouldn't be surprised if the KGB doesn't try to use him against Philip at some point, to keep Philip in line. Given how much using a child to manipulate the parent has been a theme this season.

I thought part of it could be Gabriel trying to make himself feel better — like, if Martha is a success story then that, coupled with the wheat plants, could be positive notes to go out on. If we get a scene of him checking in on Mischa, who also should be justifiably miserable and angry with him, then Gabriel's…

The scripts for the pilot and the two Emmy-nominated episodes are out there. I'll link the one for the pilot, but the Emmys asked to not directly link the scripts for copyright reasons. Just google The Americans Emmy script 2016 (or 2015), and you should find them. They are a better example of the spare, lean writing…

On the contrary, positive things have happened to her: she started dating boys her own age, and her relationship with her father improved. So… yay to less creepy but still horribly manipulative relationship with Philip/Jim?