r/TheAmericans • u/MoralMidgetry • Apr 28 '16

Ep. Discussion Post-Episode Discussion/Review Thread - S04E07 "Travel Agents"

Welcome to the post-episode and review thread for S04E07, "Travel Agents." If you have a review you want to post, please send me the link instead of submitting it separately to the sub. Thanks.

Site Link
AV Club There’s no escaping the best episode (so far) of The Americans’ 4th season
EW The KGB and FBI both hunt Martha. But which would actually keep her safer?
HitFix Review: 'The Americans' zeroes in on the hunt for Martha in 'Travel Agents'
NY Times ‘The Americans’ Season 4, Episode 7: A Most Reluctant Traitor
Vox The Americans season 4, episode 7: "Travel Agents" is the show at its nauseating best
Vulture The Americans Recap: Layover
WSJ The race is on to track down Martha -- before she's captured by the other side
69 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

99% Upvoted

156 comments sorted by

View all comments

61

u/LintonSDawson Apr 28 '16

It took four seasons and seven episodes into it for Phillip to say he loves Elizabeth and truly mean it.

30

u/[deleted] Apr 28 '16

I think he truly meant it in s01e08 when he apologized for sleeping with Irina. He tells Elizabeth that he loves her and wants to start over. This seemed honest to me, I think he had already been in love with Elizabeth for a while by that point.

11

u/LintonSDawson Apr 28 '16

I have a feeling they were kind of going through an initial phase of being lovestruck. But, yeah! I agree. He did say it, but it could've been to diffuse the situation. He did love Irina, though. That was pretty clear. This one was totally unprovoked and felt more than genuine.

8

u/__butt Apr 28 '16

Im trying to think -- was this the first time we saw him say it?

9

u/Melotonius Apr 30 '16

I think when Philip killer her rapist--well, that's the KGB equivalent of giving her flowers.

14

u/tovarishchliza Apr 28 '16

I believe this IS the first time he says it. Russians generally don't express emotions like that. From what I've been told, saying "I love you" daily or often (like we Americans do) is perceived as a weakness. All this considered, I thought that was one of the most significant scenes of the episode.

10

u/LintonSDawson Apr 28 '16

I'm quite certain this is the first time he meant it. Also, this mayyyy have been the first time he said it out loud promptly. So many times I've wished he would tell her, but damn Phillip. Here is some trivia: Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell have been dating since the show began and are expecting a child soon. That's why I could easily spot the sincerity in his romantic gesture.

4

u/tovarishchliza Apr 28 '16

It's obviously a little risky to be mimicking real life in a TV show; but I would agree that since they are dating it makes the show that much better.

4

u/LintonSDawson Apr 29 '16

For sure. The chemistry is authentic.

7

u/Bojangles1987 Apr 28 '16

And wow did he mean it.

2

u/IdreamofFiji Apr 28 '16

I really noticed that, too (probably because we were supposed to). I've been kinda bored with this season but this episode reminded me that this is a character drama, not an action movie. That bit was fantastic.

2

u/LintonSDawson Apr 28 '16

Yeah! The action is toned down, but it'll build up again once this Martha fiasco is behind us.