“It’s easier but it’s not better.” Elizabeth tells Phillip this when he asks if she likes living in America. America has always been the antagonist for our heroes, but our stars and stripes have never appeared so villainous. A few episodes back, the Jennings found plans for a submarine. The mission was treated as business as usual, but this is not a “mission of the week” show. It may masquerade as one, but it’s truly not. Every thread is connected. As the Jennings doubt the use of killing the Contra field agents, Kate reveals the submarine plans were faulty and a sub went down. Capitalism, Reagan, and America itself are called into question with this news. Weisberg and company were wise to play this hand slowly. We have seen American villains before, but not on this level.

Phillip’s interest in capitalism has always opened the door for him to tip. The Jennings would not be all that dimensional if they didn’t even think about the country they live in. Part of us even wants them to see the good in America and perhaps, pun intended, TURN. But when Phillip looks his new sports car up and down, there is a clear feeling that Mother Russia will not be losing one of their best for quite some time. America has crossed a line.

The big moment tonight was the inevitable death of Lucia. She was too much of a firecracker for this world. She would have done better on the frontlines with an assault rifle. Nevertheless, she made her choices and Larrick made her pay for it. As much as I know this death is a rough hit for the Jennings, her death is for the best. I don’t say this from a moral standpoint, but from a writing one. Battlestar Galatica had a character like Lucia named Kat. She lived far longer than Lucia, but the show addressed her in doses. Then, when they decided to kill her off, she was given a full episode complete with backstory, dramatic scenes of staring in the mirror, and yes, depressing music. I’ve never moved through an episode faster. Thankfully, The Americans didn’t give Lucia this much credit. Rather, she’s meant to be an added motivation for the upcoming Contra mission.

Speaking of the Contra mission, TV pacing truly benefits from ticking clocks like this. It’s a key moment that will likely define the season. FX shows have a talent for this. Justified has its villain arc season. Sons of Anarchy had an entire season dedicated to finding Abel in Belfast. The problem of TV, for me, has always been pacing. Unless you successfully create a clockwork world like Breaking Bad, I can have a hard time maintaining attention. The reason for this is that I feel there are plenty of things I don’t see on screen in TV. Certainly miscellaneous things like travel or eating aren’t critical to a story, but full days and even weeks can freely go by between episodes. Based on my brush with the head of TV development at Dreamworks, I feel that Landgraf is responsible for this. Between Season 1 and 2, there became a clearer need for season themes.

Nicaragua feels like an opportunity to expose the villainy of America. Everyone wants to see the secrets revealed to the public. This includes Beeman, in a sense. The bureaucracy of the FBI has slowed down his attempt to take down Oleg, his new enemy on many levels. His goal to blindly help Nina has been met with one of the many actors on this show who have played the President in action movies, in this case Cotter Smith from X2. Somebody needs to stop this guy. Stan is starting to unravel in such a big way. He can put up his walls all he wants, but they’re only made of plaster. It cannot last. He was such a threat to the Jennings at the start, but now he only seems to threaten his own country. For his sake, I hope he learns some intel on Nina soon.

Let’s not forget tonight that Henry did something. Unfortunately, the heavy spy drama tonight pushes the family drama off to the side. Luckily, the writers have chosen weaker Henry stories, rather than limited Paige stories. Yes, it feels like a waste of time. I will admit that. If, however, we had the same amount of face time with Paige, the subplot would feel too restricted. The more mission-based back nine of Season 2 has left her absent for a handful of episodes. I hope this changes next week, because the Jennings could use the friction.

If you’re keeping up with the news, you’ll know that The Americans was renewed today. If anyone out there has a Nielsen box or has been DVR-ing, I give you my thanks.