# The Americans; season 5 (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2017, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255 "2017-03-03T01:15:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/21 "2017-03-09T05:38:05Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > Henry was as oblivious about everything as ever. I’m just waiting for Henry to step up, tell them all he’s known what’s been going on for years now, and rat them all out. Because, let’s face it, they’ve been doing a really crappy job of keeping things quiet around him. > [@AK84](#): > > To be fair it was kill him now or let him live and start a pandemic. Yeah, that was the least surprising bullet to the head ever. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/22 "2017-03-09T13:38:10Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > When they showed that brief Fargo promo with the couple in the diner, I thought it was Philip and Elizabeth in costume at first. My wife too. I think it might have been intentional. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/23 "2017-03-09T14:31:49Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > My wife too. I think it might have been intentional. It had to have been. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/24 "2017-03-09T19:00:42Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > How did they know precisely where William was buried? For a show that is usually meticulously careful about things like that, it seemed like a bit out of the blue. Philip was very pointedly using a map and coordinating with something (looking up) when they got to the site itself. Perhasp te Russians had people watching Fort Deitrich after Willy had got captured. I presume the ground at the precise location was still freshly dug and bare of grass. > [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I’m very interested in the new storyline with Tuan and the Russian family. Was it clear to anyone whether that Russian family was defectors, or legitimately posted in the USA on diplomatic business? I’m with the crowd that thinks they got posted by Aeroflop and dad decided to defect on behalf of the family. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/25 "2017-03-09T19:08:16Z")
Good to see Elizabeth immediately back on form with the single silencer shot execution of her protege Hans. tbf, there are worse ways to go … ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/26 "2017-03-09T19:20:17Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Good to see Elizabeth immediately back on form with the single silencer shot execution of her protege Hans. tbf, there are worse ways to go … Yeah, the virus he’d just been infected by. The choices were single shot to the head then or painful death (and a high likelihood of infecting both them and the public at large). ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/27 "2017-03-09T19:51:33Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Good to see Elizabeth immediately back on form with the single silencer shot execution of her protege Hans. tbf, there are worse ways to go … As **amarinth** says the choice was probably for the best. I do think the missed a spot; should have been done by Philip, always the most cold-hearted of the two. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/28 "2017-03-09T20:04:52Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > I’m with the crowd that thinks they got posted by Aeroflop and dad decided to defect on behalf of the family. Me too. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bagging on the Soviet Union so overtly. Unless…he’s a double agent trying to draw out some Illegals. You heard it here first. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/29 "2017-03-09T20:26:35Z")
I had no idea what was up w/ the second house and Tuan. At first wondered if they pulled a Darren Stevens, subbing a new actor for their son… Was any of that set up last season. That digging segment had to be the most boring couple of hours in a one hour show ever! ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/30 "2017-03-09T20:43:14Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I had no idea what was up w/ the second house and Tuan. At first wondered if they pulled a Darren Stevens, subbing a new actor for their son… Was any of that set up last season. Totally new this season. > [@](#): > > That digging segment had to be the most boring couple of hours in a one hour show ever! I know. Good god. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/31 "2017-03-09T20:55:00Z")
I’m pretty sure that family are defectors and he is essentially being paid to provide information on his area of expertise which is agriculture. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/32 "2017-03-09T22:54:24Z")
I love Tuan. When his “parents” aren’t home, he sits in the dark and watches television to keep up with his classmates. I wonder if he attends the same school as Paige and Henry. Maybe he’ll run into them at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/33 "2017-03-09T23:03:43Z")
I don’t understand what the cover story is with Tuan. Do the neighbors think his adoptive parents leave him alone in the house all the time? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/34 "2017-03-09T23:33:33Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I don’t understand what the cover story is with Tuan. Do the neighbors think his adoptive parents leave him alone in the house all the time? Well, their cover is that they are flight attendants. Perhaps someone who was literally sitting there with a notepad taking notes as to exactly when the left and returned might eventually notice that something was fishy, but I like the detail that he goes out of his way to turn room lights on and off in ways that make it appear more people are home than are really home. > [@](#): > > That digging segment had to be the most boring couple of hours in a one hour show ever! I disagree. I thought it was oddly compelling… and I was trying to figure out what was going on the entire time. My first thought was that they were going to bury some sort of transmitter. Then I thought they might be hacking into an underground cable or pipe or something. > [@](#): > > I’m pretty sure that family are defectors and he is essentially being paid to provide information on his area of expertise which is agriculture. I mean, I see three possibilities: (1) They’ve defected (2) They’re posted to Moscow as official diplomats, the father is just really really careless about running his mouth One thing that makes me lean towards (2) is that you think someone would have mentioned or asked about (1) if (1) were the case. I mean, something like “gee, how did you get up the nerve to defect” or “and THAT’s why we defected”. The other thing is that if they are actually defectors, what’s the point of P&E gaining their trust? What are they going to do, try to convince them to re-defect? Whereas if they’re not defectors P&E might be trying to figure out whether he’s just a loudmouth vs someone who’s actually going to betray his country, sell secrets, etc. Or we could be missing an entirely different possibility. There’s some chance that they are actually legal emigres. I assume the number of such is very very small, but would it have actually been zero in that time period? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/35 "2017-03-10T00:06:09Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I wasn’t expecting to see “William” again; you’d think the FBI would’ve just cremated him. :dubious: There was a biohazard sticker on him when they opened the coffin that said “Warning: Biohazard. Do not burn.” > [@AK84](#): > > As **amarinth** says the choice was probably for the best. I do think the missed a spot; should have been done by Philip, always the most cold-hearted of the two. Elizabeth has always been portrayed as much more cold-blooded then Philip. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/36 "2017-03-10T00:56:55Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > …Or we could be missing an entirely different possibility. There’s some chance that they are actually legal emigres. I assume the number of such is very very small, but would it have actually been zero in that time period? The USSR actually did allow a token amount of legal emigration; most of those allowed to leave were ethnic Jews or Germans. There were even people who emigrated, but changed their minds and returned home. Like the [Polovchak](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Polovchak) family. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/37 "2017-03-10T01:20:19Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I had no idea what was up w/ the second house and Tuan. At first wondered if they pulled a Darren Stevens, subbing a new actor for their son… Was any of that set up last season. > > That digging segment had to be the most boring couple of hours in a one hour show ever! My wife doesn’t watch the show, but she sat down just as the digging began. I told her it’s a great show … and she left after five minutes of digging. “Come back! They hit something!” I told her, but by then she had gone to bed. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/38 "2017-03-10T04:25:59Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > That digging segment had to be the most boring couple of hours in a one hour show ever! I was quite impressed with how nice and straight the sides of the hole were. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/39 "2017-03-10T05:21:03Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Elizabeth has always been portrayed as much more cold-blooded then Philip. On the contrary, she is a much more of a true believer than Philip. Philip does what is expedient to the job. Gregory burnt? Kill him. Afghans annoy him? Shoot em. The old lady catches them with the robot? Have her put down, vide an overdose and tell a wavering Elizabeth she has to do it. Elizabeth on the other hand gets attached to the people she works with. Like Gregory. Or the Korean lady. And, Hans. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255/40 "2017-03-10T05:31:01Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > That digging segment had to be the most boring couple of hours in a one hour show ever! Thank God for Amazon Prime. When things get slow, I just drag the slider to the right. This is especially helpful for the long, poignant, atmospheric scenes in Russia. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-5-open-spoilers/781255.md?page=3)