Philip and Elizabeth’s new handler is a familiar face.
Last weeks episode ofThe Americansis tough to top.
Philip returns home after learning about his father, who was a guard at a brutal prison camp.
Credit: Jeffrey Neira/FX
Gabriel said goodbye by informing him that maybe recruiting Paige was not a great idea.
Is she a KGB operative, sent to get close to the counterintelligence officer?
Gabriel said he didnt believe she was, then suggested Philip was losing it.
Elizabeth says shell miss Gabriel.
I cant believe were never going to see him again.
Im glad, Philip says, surprising her.
All those years by our side, I just think he was doing his job.
He can do his job and still care about us.
Hes worried about Paige.
He told me she shouldnt do it.
Wouldnt it be a nice world if nobody had to do this, Elizabeth says.
Stan is there too, but tells the Jennings parents he was sworn to secrecy about Henrys new crush.
They want to know about Renee.
She wants to take me skydiving, he says.
Im trying not to die before Matthew graduates from college.
That sounds like foreshadowing.
Back in Moscow, Oleg Burov runs afoul of Major Kuznetsov, from Directorate K, forKontrrazvedka counterintelligence.
Wed appreciate your permission to search your apartment, the major says.
Because your father is a minister it requires special permission.
Its a lot of trouble to get.
But some issues have come up, and we need to look into it.
Burov says, keeping his cool.
I cant tell you that.
But if we could just come up?
I have nothing to hide, Burov says.
But I cant give you permission to tear up my fathers apartment.
No need for that, the major assures.
They just want to see his room.
Burov complies, and the men set to work not just searching his quarters but dismantling the woodwork.
His parents keep their distance, but are alarmed.
Theres nothing there, Burov tells his mother.
They find things even when theres nothing, she says.
Ultimately, they leave with no further confrontation.
Burovs father wants answers, but his son persuades him to let it be.
Shes busy teaching Russian to CIA agents.
The Center is eager to learn more about these operatives.
Some get upset when dont say word right, Evgheniya says.
Another just sit there.
Another think he boss.
Another is big sex guy.
Like a ladies man?
Women like him, Evgheniya says.
This seems like someone Elizabeth may get close to.
Or perhaps Evgheniya has beat her to it?
Good to see you, Claudia says, not convincingly.
Youve been doing beautifully.
Meanwhile, they plan to monitor Evgheniyas class and ID all the operatives shes teaching.
The meeting ends abruptly in the awkwardness, and Claudia tries to figure out how to fix it.
Lets do this differently, Philip suggests.
You tells us what to do, and well do it.
You dont want anybody inside your heads.
Not my strong suit anyway, she agrees.
Elizabeth and Philip leave, but carry the weight of the tense encounter.
Back when Gabriel was shooting people at home, what do you think she was doing?
Philip offers to do the same with Deirdre, who is miserable.
Elizabeth thinks hes just doing it to give her cover, but we know better.
Shes helping them for the money, and to give her son a shot at freedom beyond Soviet oppression.
My son has imagination, she says.
One day he wants to be a fireman, the next day police, a doctor.
I want him to be what he wants.
He can be whatever he wants here.
If things go well, well give you more, Aderholt says.
He thinks hes a big man and he knows everything, but he knows nothing, she says.
So its not different from the FBI then, Aderholt jokes.
Shes more interested in getting help from them so a dentist will fix her teeth.
Youre a really sweet guy, but…
I just dont see this going much further, she says.
I just need someone more, I dunno, assertive.
Back home, Paige and her mothers training has gone to the next level.
Simple punches in the garage are now a complicated battle involving a baseball bat.
Youre getting there, Elizabeth says.
Im sick of being scared, Paige says.
I was scared like that for a long time…
When I was 18, a man I was raped.
I couldnt stop thinking about it.
I didnt tell anyone for a very long time, her mother confides.
Paige tries to embrace her, but Elizabeth pushes her off.
I trained as hard as I could every day, she says.
I imagined that mans face every time I fought, and the harder I fought the better I felt.
Im not afraid anymore, and youre not going to be either.
Back in Moscow, Burov tells his boss, the colonel, about Directorate K searching his apartment.
I went to the archives… got a file, without authorization, Burov confesses.
It was a family matter.
I found out some things about my family.
I was trying to get more information.
I shouldnt have done it.
That wont look good, the colonel says.
But they wouldnt search your apartment over it.
Theyre going to be careful with you.
Because of your father.
Before Burov can leave, the colonel asks: What were you looking for?
My mother… Burov says.
She spent five years in a camp.
The colonel tries to reassure him.
Sabotage was different then.
You could be accused of sabotage if you took a pencil from your office… You didnt know?
Your father, youre lucky.
I didnt tank it.
I tried my best, but it doesnt always work, he says.
She thinks EST has been teaching him peoples feelings are more important than anything else.
Nobody has ever said that.
I think a part of myself Ive never thought about.
She tells him he could win back Deirdre if he tries.
You think hes one of her students, Philip asks.
I hope so, Elizabeth says.
Speaking of breaking up families, Elizabeth asks Claudia: So where have you been?
I went home for a while.
Spent time with my daughter and grandchildren.
Havent seen them in years.
The grandchildren didnt remember me.
I dont know what I expected.
Claudia asks about Paige allegedly just to ask, not prying for information.
But her questions have an uncomfortable probing feel.
Elizabeth gives her the fine treatment.
Paige is figuring things out, she says.
And the relationship between her and Philip?
Things have been good, Elizabeth offers, and theres no more where that came from.
I just didnt want to get off onto the wrong foot when we met, he says.
I dont know how to say this, but… Im married.
Things havent been going well, and its complicated.
Deirdre says, picking up the phone.
Maybe because now she doesnt have to worry about him becoming too attached.
Some thugs at school have been hard on him and Pasha, the Morozov boy.
One of them kind of likes me.
If I got in with them, they could make things really bad for Pasha, he says.
Bad enough that his mother will want to take him home to Moscow?
Maybe, Tuan says.
Thats dark, tormenting a teen, ruining his family.
This is what Elizabeth hated about her work on Young Hee last season.
Okay, on to the final scene and that new theory about Renee…
The show ends on a mellow note.
Elizabeth and her daughter, out for a walk.
Paige brings up the rape and says she doesnt know how she could ever get over it.
Other things become more important, Elizabeth says.
Do you like what you do?
I wish I didnt have to do it.
But Im proud to help my country.
If you didnt have to serve your country like this, what would you do?
I never thought about it much, Elizabeth says, but she has.
Id want to be a doctor.
For once, it would be nice to feel like shes really doing something good.
Instead of doing cruel things for the right reason.
Okay so that new piece of intel on Renee…
They stop in Bloomington, Indiana, Renee recalls, because Jenny went to school at U of I.
But Indiana University in Bloomington goes by the nickname IU.
you’re able to see it all over theschools Twitter feed.
U of I is how theUniversity of Illinoisis typically described.
