The Season 4 finale of the American espionage period drama TV series “The Americans” on FX was aired on June 8 and it was another amazing episode to wrap up the show’s fourth year.
Despite the show’s not so superlative viewership ratings, some critics believe that “The Americans” has some kind of secret superpower to deliver riveting episodes every time the producers and showrunners want. And the TV series did not disappoint when it delivered a really good and certainly amazing finale to wrap up its fourth season, notes Movie News Guide.
The Season 4 finale featured the FBI catching Dylan Baker’s William. But in order to escape prosecution or be tortured to reveal his comrades, he administers the deadly poison to himself resulting in his slow and lonely death.
So the Center over in Russia decides that the Jennings must pack their operation and go back to Russia. However, everything depends on Matthew Rhys’ Philip Jennings. Whether he will heed the advice of the Center or not shall be known in Season 5 of “The Americans.”
There is also the dilemma regarding Paige Jennings, played by Holly Taylor. Season 4 of “The Americans” actually revolved around Paige accepting her parent’s secret identities that they are actually KGB spies pretending as an average American couple.
Towards the end, Paige seems convinced that she too will take the path of her parents after she asked her mother to teach her how to fight.
It would be interesting how her life will change especially with regards to her ongoing fling with the son of an FBI agent who lives next door to them.
A muted climax
Some critics, however, believe that the Season 4 finale of “The Americans” entitled “Persona Non Grata” is a muted climax because the TV series already put most of the action scenes in the episodes leading to the finale, notes Vox.
However, some say that the Season 4 finale was a stellar and spellbinding episode that puts Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, played by Keri Russell, as close as they have ever been to getting caught as Russian spies.
The big cliffhanger which viewers would know in Season 5 is whether Philip and Elizabeth finally give up their cover as Americans and move overseas.
But given the title of the TV series, it is likely that the Jennings will remain rooted in America despite the close call especially with the fact that much of their life has been built in the US.
The message of the Season 4 finale of “The Americans” is not that Philip and Elizabeth are extraordinary but actually ordinary and that’s why their cover looks great.
The show does not play out in a grand geopolitical landscape but capitalizes on the flicker of shared glance between two people who trust each other implicitly and without an iota of doubt.
Good for two more seasons
There have been rumors the recently concluded fourth season of “The Americans” on FX might be the last for the show following the birth of the first child of Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell late in May.
A source close to the couple revealed recently that Keri and Matt both looked overjoyed and over the moon as they welcomed their first child together, snapping pictures of the baby, and having family and friends sending gifts.
The baby is the first child for the 41-year-old actor while it is the third for Keri Russell, who already has two kids with ex-husband Shane Deary – eight-year-old son River and four-year-old daughter Willa.
The pair was spotted last week in New York City with their bundle of joy. Keri cradled her baby as her husband was on her side during their casual outing at the Big Apple.