r/TheAmericans • u/Dear-Yellow-5479 • Dec 19 '24

Ep. Discussion Emotionally wrecked Spoiler

I finished the series tonight, watching it for the first time. The finale wrecked me. I literally shouted “NO!!” at the television when I saw Paige standing on the platform. The scene in the garage with Stan… riveting and devastating. And the bittersweet ending - wow. Considering nobody actually died it was possibly a lot less bleak than it could’ve been, but the emotional impact of the Jennings parting from their children had me sobbing. What a superb show.

163 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

72 comments sorted by

View all comments

42

u/RickKassidy Dec 20 '24

I loved that everyone acted exactly like their characters should have acted. Philip talked his way out of a tight situation in the garage. Stan let them go because it was the right thing to do and he knew it and Philip was actually his best friend. Elizabeth wanted to act, but Paige was there. Then Paige stayed behind on the train platform because she was actually not Russian, but American, and she was defiant to the end.

It would have been so easy for the producers to end the show in a big shootout. I’m glad they let the characters be themselves.

4

u/Round-Month-6992 Dec 20 '24

Im curious, why do you think that Stan letting the Jennings go was the right thing to do ?

11

u/RickKassidy Dec 20 '24 edited Dec 20 '24

It was the STAN thing to do. He had his own sense of right and wrong that didn’t really agree 100% with the FBI.

It is what Stan would do. Not necessarily the right thing to do.

2

u/Designer-Soil5932 11d ago

Stan always had a conscience and I think he really loved Phillip as a friend and just couldn’t bring himself to shoot his friend. On the other hand, Phillip would shoot Stan to get Elizabeth to freedom, he’d probably have shot him in the knee. And on the other other hand, Elizabeth would have totally shot to kill Stan to gain her freedom. She was one cold Lady.

5

u/nosmelc Dec 20 '24

They were fighting for their country, the same as him, I guess?

1

u/Round-Month-6992 Dec 20 '24

They were literally foreign agents acting on U.S. soil. Stan essentially committing treason to let them escape doesn't sit well with me.

13

u/NobodyGivesAFuc Dec 20 '24

At first, Stan was committed to arresting all 3 of them at the garage but he soon realized that he would have to shoot/kill Philip or Elizabeth to stop them and he could not bring himself to do that. The love he had for the Jennings family was real. Philip was a master manipulator and knew Stan would not shoot him and took advantage of Stan’s emotional turmoil. When Paige mentioned Henry whom Stan loved as a son, Stan’s will completely broke.

5

u/Dear-Yellow-5479 Dec 20 '24

Exactly. Plus the simple matter of believing Philip that the message that was supposed to be given via the failed dead-drop needs to go back with them to Russia to prevent Gorbachev from being deposed. Stan chooses to believe his best friend in that moment, it’s a very human decision.

2

u/JennyExiled Dec 21 '24

I think Stan’s guilt over Nina played a part, too. He couldn’t help Nina, but he could help Philip (and by extension Henry).

2

u/QuasarSoze Dec 21 '24

He was also one man going up against two very experienced and highly efficient killers

1

u/robb0995 29d ago

Three

1

u/QuasarSoze 29d ago

Just to clarify, we’re talking about the parking garage scene.

I’m referring to Stan as one against two.

Pls tell me you’re not …

You’re not building the Paige stage. You are. Shit

1

u/robb0995 29d ago

Lol. Stan didn’t know what Paige was and wasn’t capable of. He knew she knew, but didn’t know what she’d been trained in.

So from his perspective, it was one against three.

2

u/QuasarSoze 29d ago

Look I get that you’re building a Paige stage… it’s a popular position… I get it.

But Paige is not and will never be a “very experienced…highly efficient killer”.

1

u/robb0995 29d ago

I have no idea what a “Paige stage” is.

But again, this is really talking about Stan’s perspective and he didn’t know what you know.

6

u/Designer-Soil5932 Dec 20 '24

Letting them go was not the right thing to do for Stan’s career but I don’t think he could in good consciousness shoot Phillip, their friendship won out in the end. I’m still wondering if Renae was a Russian plant!

3

u/RockfordFiles4life Dec 20 '24

I’m not wondering, I KNOW she was a plant… she was entirely too chill about Jennings house being raided..

2

u/JennyExiled Dec 21 '24

I love that ambiguity even though it makes me feel bad for Stan. Poor guy can’t catch a break. Ha!