# The Americans: Season 6 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 28, 2018, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379 "2018-03-28T22:50:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/401 "2018-05-16T15:13:22Z")
Time to interview the “disgruntled ex-employee”-Stavos. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/402 "2018-05-16T15:17:23Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Time to interview the “disgruntled ex-employee”-Stavos. I’m thinking that, as well. They’ve shown Stavos way too much lately to not use him somehow. And he has been with the travel agency long enough to notice lots of strange goings on. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/403 "2018-05-16T15:51:37Z")
I do agree BTW that it was strange to find it suspicious that Henry knew about the business failure. I thought it would’ve been just the opposite: a corroboration that it wasn’t something Philip just made up as an excuse. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/404 "2018-05-16T22:40:17Z")
> [@spifflog](#): > > he didn’t know that he was in the hip pocket of Russian spies for 6 years, and then put it all together over a Thanksgiving weekend. This is it for the most part, but for some reason you insist on framing it as if Stan knew absolutely nothing until Thanksgiving. That is not what happened. > [@spifflog](#): > > I don’t know why it had to be boring for him to figure it out over a 3-4 episodes in a thoughtful, believable way, What would be boring is watching Stan methodically gathering clues “over time” for 6 seasons, which is what you seemingly implied earlier (and since you didn’t correct me, I assume I’m right interpreting it that way). Now you’re talking about him figuring it out over 3-4 episodes, so I assume what you mean here is the final processes of it all becoming clear to Stan. Here’s what you said earlier — “They’ve had 6 seasons for Stan to break the code. They didn’t have to do it in one or two episodes.” But now you say 3-4 episodes is thoughtful and believable? So is that what you’re disappointed with? That they didn’t stretch it out over an extra episode, maybe two? > [@spifflog](#): > > but it’s exciting for him to be clueless for the entire show (save for the pilot) and then figure it all out because there was a man and woman in a van in Chicago and Phillip’s business is going under. You’re getting close to straw man territory here because that is not an accurate description of how Stan figured it out. This is like the third time you’ve done that. ---
**Author:** ![golffan1963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4af34b/32.png) [@golffan1963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/golffan1963)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/405 "2018-05-17T03:50:53Z")
Quite the fascinating episode…not sure which way the show will end now…but I won’t elaborate for fear of creating a spoiler. One interesting thing…I noticed in The Vault, they talked about FISA warrants. Were FISA Courts in existence in 1987? They’ve certainly been in the news in recent years, but don’t recall them being mentioned much in the 1980’s. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/406 "2018-05-17T04:32:07Z")
Short answer: Yep Long answer:[Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Act) ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/407 "2018-05-17T09:14:59Z")
Oh my god that was freaking INTENSE. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/408 "2018-05-17T15:40:36Z")
I enjoyed the way they sewed up the Stavros thing, very satisfying. If the mail-bot thing is resolved with the same elegant finality I’d probably forgive any other loose ends. (Which can’t possibly all be resolved with only two episodes left, can they? :eek: ) ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/409 "2018-05-17T19:13:12Z")
Wonder how many people here have seen\* Deutschland '83\*. A show with a simiular premise, but more realistic I feel. They showed the division of labour between various positions. We have the long term illegal, a variety of people on short-term missions, the guys with diplomatic cover and the people back home. Here the focus has been exclusively on the Illegals and initially the diplomatic cover people. The “Illegal” does little actual spying, instead, he spends most of his time, handling and giving support to the others. Like a real life Jennings would do. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/410 "2018-05-17T19:35:49Z")
I watched the first season of D83. I liked it but didn’t love it. ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/411 "2018-05-17T20:19:35Z")
> [@eunoia](#): > > I enjoyed the way they sewed up the Stavros thing, very satisfying. If the mail-bot thing is resolved with the same elegant finality I’d probably forgive any other loose ends. (Which can’t possibly all be resolved with only two episodes left, can they? :eek: ) Have we seen anything to confirm that mail-bot is still active since season one? ---
**Author:** ![golffan1963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4af34b/32.png) [@golffan1963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/golffan1963)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/412 "2018-05-17T20:38:58Z")
> [@Fir\_na\_tine](#): > > Have we seen anything to confirm that mail-bot is still active since season one? Yes…the mail robot made a quite humorous appearance in an elevator scene with Stan and Adderholt a few eps back. One of the more interesting “characters” I’ve seen in quite awhile…it seems to have gained its share of fans during the show’s run. I think a good idea for the show’s final scene would be a shot of Stan and Adderholt in the office—stunned at whatever revelations they find—when as they fade to black, the viewer sees the famed robot roaming around the office in the background…going about it’s normal duties, as if you tell the audience…“whatever has happened…the world will indeed keep on turning, and humanity rolls along…” ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/413 "2018-05-17T23:39:59Z")
I thought this episode was amazing. Elizabeth killing Erica, then taking her painting, then almost not burning it, was riveting. I wonder whether her letting Jackson go will be her undoing? Because he’ll certainly recognize Stan’s photo of her if he ends up turning himself in. Very interesting that Stavros so certainly knows that something was going on. I didn’t see that coming at all. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/414 "2018-05-17T23:58:35Z")
I got the sense that they were setting it up for Stan’s GF to kill him. A raid on the garage is definitely looking likely. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/415 "2018-05-18T00:18:57Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Very interesting that Stavros so certainly knows that something was going on. I didn’t see that coming at all. And the look on Philip’s face when Stavos\* said he wouldn’t call the police about what was going on in the back room…! I like that the showrunners have set up the final suspense, the final tension, to be _‘will Stan stop P&E from saving Gorbachev?’_ That question is filled with dramatic irony in a way that ‘Stan tries to stop Elizabeth from aiding Gorbachev’s enemies’ would not have been. - no ‘r’: [Stavos | The americans Wiki | Fandom](http://theamericans.wikia.com/wiki/Stavos) ---
**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:** [May 18, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/416 "2018-05-18T00:26:57Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > …I like that the showrunners have set up the final suspense, the final tension, to be _‘will Stan stop P&E from saving Gorbachev?’_ That question is filled with dramatic irony in a way that ‘Stan tries to stop Elizabeth from aiding Gorbachev’s enemies’ would not have been… That would be ironic, but not necessarily dramatic given that we already now Gorbachev went on to preside over the Soviet Union’s dissolution instead of being removed in a coup. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/417 "2018-05-18T00:48:41Z")
True, but for all we know, Joe Weisberg is going to pull a Tarantino (_Inglourious Basterds_ variety) on us. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/418 "2018-05-18T01:07:05Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > And the look on Philip’s face when Stavos\* … > > - no ‘r’: [Stavos | The americans Wiki | Fandom](http://theamericans.wikia.com/wiki/Stavos) You sure? I figured it was fitting that Kojak’s partner ended up as an unsuccessful travel agent! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/419 "2018-05-18T01:30:46Z")
I guess we shouldn’t think too hard about Stavos’s back room suspicion, because if you do, it just doesn’t make sense. They are married: they could have been having private discussions about any number of things. > [@Sherrerd](#): > > I like that the showrunners have set up the final suspense, the final tension, to be _‘will Stan stop P&E from saving Gorbachev?’_ That question is filled with dramatic irony in a way that ‘Stan tries to stop Elizabeth from aiding Gorbachev’s enemies’ would not have been. Oh, good point! ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379/420 "2018-05-18T01:34:52Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > _‘will Stan stop P&E from saving Gorbachev?’_ All of my predictions have been dead wrong, but I think Renee is going to kill Stan before he can finger P&E. I also think Renee will turn out to be the assassin sent by the Centre to kill Gorbachev. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-americans-season-6/811379.md?page=22)