3x12 I Am Abassin Zadran

[7.6/10] Here’s a weird thing about The Americans for me this season -- I don’t really care about the major operations. Sure, nominally it’s interesting that the Jennings are having a major impact on how the proxy war between the USA and the USSR in Afghanistan happens, or if Elizabeth’s able to use her friend with a deadbeat of a husband to get pictures at a military contractor facility. And hey, it’s always cool to see the Jennings at the top of their game, getting access to the third Mujahideen member and convincing him to do their bidding.

But it just feels kind of...empty somehow? It’s not the most important thing going on. I care way more about Paige finding out who her parents are, about things unraveling with Martha, about the smaller day-to-day struggles that everyone is going through, than about the meat and potatoes espionage business that this show usually traffics in.

That may be why my favorite scene in this whole episode is Claudia and Gabriel having a working dinner in a diner. For one thing, you have their amusing reaction to the sheer overwhelming sense of choice on the average diner menu, which they read as an indictment of the American way of life. (I particularly got a kick out of Claudia’s reaction to the tea options.)

But I like it even better as an instance where the two of them don’t have to be playing games, or transmitting the Centre’s message, and you see the real people between the hardass spooks they play in front of their charges. It was one of the more powerful things we saw from Claudia early in her introduction to the show, when you realize that she does care about them and want the best for them, even if she has to be cagey in their presence. It’s just as interesting to hear Gabriel express doubt about whether bringing Paige into the fold is the best idea, not necessarily for her, but for Philip.

It’s also interesting to hear about how the aftermath of the events of last season back in Russia. The realization that heads rolled, that the entire program almost got rolled up, and that they persisted because they thought Gabriel could pull it off is interesting as a revelation both that the Centre is not heartless but also that they have too much riding on this, too much faith in their guy, to give up now.

And with what the Jennings accomplish here, you can understand it. I’ll admit, it’s still a little opaque to me what the CIA was trying to accomplish, but either way, the Jennings successfully manipulated the situation to their advantage, and threw giant bloody monkey wrench into the Americcans ability to align with, organize, and collaborate with the Afghani forces.

But I still find myself much more engaged with the Paige situation. Teenagers are a handful under the best of circumstances. When they have something legitimate to be upset about, like they have no sense of who their real family is after years and years of lies, it’s easy for the situation to become untenable. I appreciate the realness of her confrontation with her parents in this one, where she’s not apt to follow their rules, to keep quiet, because she just doesn't trust that the world is as she says it is.

I like the echo scene with Philip just as much. The idea that he’s building their trust back up by showing her what’s real, what’s undeniable, is a strong move. Using those pictures (which, in fairness, could have been doctored), to prove that Henry is really Paige’s brother, is a nice stepping stone to a more solid foundation. And while a little cheesy, Paige’s response that she kept Henry’s secret about fearing being eaten by a bear is a nice way to signal that she’s up to this.

Then you have Oleg and his counterpart trying to keep things going with Project Zephyr, aka the microphone in the mailbot that’s feeding the Rezidentura information from inside the CIA, but which seems to tap into what is mostly mindless chit chat. I’ll admit that once again, I’m not sure where the show is going with this, and it feels more like marking time than anything propulsive. But I suppose it shows us that (1.) Arkady might be just motivating his charges to do better work and his plans works and (2.) that ruse of not, Oleg and his counterpart are loyal and want to work hard to make their boss look good. So there’s that at least.

But the most compelling part of the penultimate episode of the season is the prospect of things unraveling with Martha. Look, on a show where people get whacked with regularity, anytime you learn somebody’s deep dark secret (or at least get hints at it), you’re kind of marked for death. Best case scenario, Martha gets “put on a bus” to Russia like they talked about doing with Gregory. But realistically, the moment Martha knew too much, things started to feel precarious.

It’s impossible not to feel for her though. Poor Martha means so well, loves Philip, and is just trying to get by. The face-to-face with Stan (who’s clearly onto her, and being suspected of misdeeds by his partner), clearly unnerves her. The life where she doesn't get to spend time with her husband disquiets here. Eventually it just all becomes too much. She can’t do it anymore, and has the chutzpah to pack a bag and tell “Clark” that she’s leaving.

In response, Philip....takes off his wig? I suppose it’s supposed to represent the same sort of thing he does with Paige -- a show of what’s real to convince her that he’s real. But I would expect it to have the opposite impact, as a symbol that he hasn’t been real with her all this time. His efforts to bring her in seem just as likely to push her away.

Still, that’s the part of the show I’m centered on. How is Martha feeling? How are the Jennings dealing with their daughter? Will Paige agree to go with Elizabeth to Russia to see her grandmother and will it be the step that brings her into the fold? Sure, some of this is wrapped up the spying and subterfuge, but a lot of it is just the fraying and rebonding of personal relationships The Americans has put front and center since the beginning. For a spy show, I’m a lot less engaged in the spycraft this time around, but the show pulling the trigger on some of its biggest in-universe reveals certainly makes up for it.