I guess you and I just have different senses of humor. 
So kind of like a more sophisticated version of an eye exam. Makes sense, and it’s a very cool method; but one thing I wonder is if this method itself could make someone’s recollection “drift” in their mind’s eye, if it was someone they only saw fleetingly.
It was a strange episode to end a season on. This felt like a middle of the season episode. I kept waiting for Dylan Bakers character to spill the beans and leave us an off season of “Stan knows”! To stew over.
Another thing I thought was going to happen that did not… I was sure Pastor Tim had gone to a source or something (or at least had designs on it, taping conversation or something generally sneaky and unpastorlike). In the first few episodes he kept pumping Paige for information. That all kind of fizzled away, too.
In the end, I wish that they’d been able to stretch the Martha storyline and had the superb Martha on the run episode here and aired most of what was here as next to last.
The Tof wrote: “In the end, I wish that they’d been able to stretch the Martha storyline and had the superb Martha on the run episode here and aired most of what was here as next to last.”
That would have worked.
You reminded me of a piece I once read about a writer who would plot his novels on 3x5 cards. (One plot point per card.) Then simply rearrange the cards to see which order had the best dramatic flow.
Agreed.
I was thinking the other day: What if, for whatever reason, the show ended up getting cancelled a few weeks ago, and this turned out to be the series finale?
It would be up there with the biggest letdown series finales of all time. By contrast, the previous season finales would have been much more interesting and/or satisfying as series finales.
The end of season podcast with both showrunners, Matthew and Keri - essential listening though I thought it got better towards the end. Always engaging:
https://soundcloud.com/panoply/the-americans-s4-e13-persona-non-grata-slate-tv-club
I think the writers are now supremely confident in their skills and abilities. They were also secure in that they knew they’d been given 2 more seasons (even if it became public much later). They didn’t write end-of-season cliff hangers because. It’s a rare position in cable tv drama.
In a way the drama came earlier - Nina, Martha, Gadd… what happened at the end was family; Paige not just willingly joining the family business but getting ahead of her parents.
The podcast speaks of Henry being in the position Paige was at the end of S1 (looking around the basement for clues as to what the hell was going on … ).
Maybe we should look at the last three seasons as a whole …
I get that, and I know it will live on for years on streaming services. But I guess I’m old-fashioned because I still think seasons should have finales. Just like I think episodes should have structure and not just be a chopped-up bit of a long-ass movie. (Not that this show is guilty of that, but some others made for Netflix are.)
They talk about the particular nature of a finale in the podcast - they actually consulted a finale expert 
You’re not old fashioned enough! Back in the day, seasons never had endings, and nothing ever changed. All episodes were stand-alone and could be syndicated in any order.
I’m with you there. (I’m looking at you, Bosch.)
On the contrary, this felt like a season finale of a group of writers who knew they had a plan and time to execute it, and there was no rush or need to do the suitable-unplanned-series-finale thing. I think they knew they had 2 more seasons before this season was written although I’m not 100% sure on the timing.
That said, it did feel more like a setup episode than a conclusion, cliffhanger, or denounment. I would not have guessed that was the season finale if I didn’t know.
Right. I’d be perfectly happy with it if it were not a season finale. So once the whole series is a wrap, and it becomes a pile of 75 episodes there for the watching, the point is mostly moot. But I think while it’s “on the air”, they should try to serve the current fans and not just have an eye to that future.
A lot of storylines concluded this season, but you know they’re not going back to Russia, yet.
I was surprised that Arkady got deported, as there wasn’t much build up to it . There was build up to Oleg leaving, but I’m not convinced he will go, or if he does, that he will stay.
Yeah, it feels as though he and Stan still have unfinished business together (in the story sense).