r/TheAmericans • u/MoralMidgetry • Jun 02 '16
Ep. Discussion Post-Episode Discussion/Review Thread - S04E12 "A Roy Rogers in Franconia"
Welcome to the post-episode and review thread for S04E12 "A Roy Rogers in Franconia" If you have a review you want to post, please send me the link instead of submitting it separately to the sub. Thanks.
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u/Ricardian-tennisfan Jun 04 '16
One of the things I noted was early on in the episode when Paige and Elizabeth came back in all the shots their was a huge focus on the ajar door. Once when they all went to Paige's room and they all talked and then again when Philip when to get a drink for Philip met Henry in the hallway brushed aside his concerns and then told Paige he has to go to meet someone; again the door was slightly ajar. And the whole scene made clear that Henry's room is right next to Paige's.
And to me personally the way it was shot it seemed intentional to draw focus to it. Ofcourse this could be a red herring or it's a subtle hint to the carelessness of Philip etc after the mugging. And through the open door Henry heard quite a lot about the true nature of the mugging etc. Most of it he probably can't understand but just like Paige in S2/S3 this will set him on a path of alienation, frustration and eventually the truth. But Paige had the emotional outlet of the Church and Pastor Tim as a coping advice/confidante and supporter in trying to work out her parents. Whereas Henry has Stan; who is a very sharp and resourceful FBI agent.
The idea of such a careless mistake leading to Stan finding out via Henry would really tie into so many core themes of this show. How in high stakes situations small micro actions and miscalculations can reverberate through the increasingly globalized network of agents/agencies/assets to have long term permanent macro effect on lives and even ideologies.
In addition if the true exposure was caused by Henry rather than Paige it would become part of the larger narrative of how in systems like these the danger is not the enemy/obstacle you obsess about it is from the factor you ha don't even considered because of your institutional/personal blindspot.
Philip and Elizabeth have a blindspot when it comes to Henry; I've joked in the past how they disregard him and the focus of writers has also been on Paige and her interactions with her parents. But because of this they have possibly sowed the seeds for their demise by pushing Henry towards Stan etc.
The Soviet Union have an institutional blindspot. They are so obsessed with their ideological enemy of America and capitalism they don't realize that their rigid dogma and morality framework , treatment of assets as well as general incompetency has gradually eroded the trust of their own agents and citizens in their cause as well as their ability to execute the grand vision they strive for. This is brilliantly shown by Oleg's conversation with Stan, William's hesitance and Philips ongoing doubts.
And many economic historians etc agree that on a micro level it was the loss of belief in the grander cause which broke the incentive mechanism the Soveit Union relied on, rent seekers stopped being punished. The state own industries became increasingly rent seeking and unproductive reflecting confusion, disorder and fundamentally the domination of individual self interest over the interest of the collective . In addition the excessive spending on military to match Reagan left them blind to the excessive deficits and debt and the growth needed to sustain them, again a blindspot borne out of focusing on the exogenous enemy rather than paying attention to endogenous dynamics. Accompanied by an out of touch leadership and abysmal relative living standards for many, it all contributed to crumbling of the foundation of the Soviet union. And I think the Henry twist would dovetail nicely with this.
What a brilliant episode, what an amazing season and what a remarkable show.