Therefore he gets all our critical grease.
*
*Oh my God.
Philip is almost always abjectly miserable.
Even in his quietest, most innocuous moments, Philips emotions pop off the screen.
In the opening moments of Immersion we see Philip immediately following his jarring meeting with Gabriel.
It builds, as Gabriel would say.
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Philip arrives home and walks upstairs (miserably) to chat with Elizabeth.
He asks how Paige is faring post breakup.
Fine, Elizabeth responds.
She thinks this break-up with Matthew will probably stick.
How did Philips meeting with Gabriel go?
Philip is glad Gabriel is gone.
I just think when it comes down to things.
Us or…I dont know, he says.
Then he tells Elizabeth that Gabriel echoes Philips assessment that Paige should have no part of this life.
Wouldnt it be a nice world if nobody had to do this?
Thats not the response we were looking for, Liz.
Philip is the squeaky wheel ofThe Americansand therefore the easier of the two Jennings to examine and analyze.
His motivations and feelings are clear.
This, all of it, is weighing on him and we are watching him deflate under it.
Elizabeth on the other hand … what do we make of her?
Philip and Elizabeth areThe Americans crown jewels.
Theyre the shows finest creative achievements in a series full of fine creative achievements.
Philip, the broken; Elizabeth, the hardened.
Still, regardless of their exterior they are both incredibly flawed and hurt deep down in their Soviet psyches.
Its just not always apparent where Elizabeth is hiding her pain.
Immersion gives us perhaps our best (yet still not perfectly clear) look into Elizabeth Jennings yet.
And I want to explore that further but first weve got to take a little feminist detour.
The absolute worst adjective in the world for good female characters in art is strong.
Superman is strong and Superman blows.
A good character needs flaws, vulnerability and contradictions, regardless of sex or gender.
At first glance one could be forgiven for assuming Elizabeth is a stock strong female character.
After all, she is strong both physically and emotionally.
She tackles her violent, terrifying work with a kind of steely resolve that would make Lenin proud.
Its not until you spend more time with the series, however, that her cracks start to show.
The cracks in her happy Russian spy facade pop up in the most unexpected ways.
Or when she is clearly visibly bothered by Ben Stobert cheating on her but cant admit it.
These are just cracks though.
Where is the real Elizabeth Jennings?
Where is the raw collection of misery and pain that constitute most human beings?
The answer is complex as it must be.
There cannot be a simple answer for richly realized, complex characters.
Still, Immersion helps us with a few reminders.
Paige is taking her combat training more serious than ever.
She seems discouraged by her progress but to the averageAmericansviewer she may as well be Jason Bourne.
Still, Paige is frustrating with the amount of fear and discomfort that she still feels.
So Elizabeth shares something important with her.
Even putting the word plotline too close to sexual assault feels reductive and shitty.
2 + x = Complex character.
Insert various sexual trauma for x.
But it clearly is a big part.
AndThe Americanshas gone about depicting it the right way.
The show almost never addresses it because Elizabeth never addresses it.
People are complicated and their motivations are complicated.
Still, that one moment when she was 18 must factor in in some way.
The Americansis remarkable when it comes to background detail and context.
Elizabeths trauma is just one example.
Another comes to light after the Jennings meet their new post-Gabriel handler.
Its their old handler.
Philip and Elizabeth have a chilly first meeting with Claudia.
Philip tries to draw a line in the sand based on their less than ideal previous experiences.
Lets do this a little differently from now on, he says.
How would you like to do it?
You tell us what to do and well do it.
You dont want anybody inside your heads.
Not my strong suit anyway.
When Elizabeth meets with Claudia alone shes a little more forthcoming.
Then the topic turns to the normal catch up now that the aloof Philip isnt present.
How is Paige, Claudia asks Elizabeth and assures her its out of mere curiosity.
I want her to believe in something, Elizabeth says.
Is that what Philip wants too?
We dont talk about it that much?
Holy shit, thats right.
They broach the topic.
They say their piece here and there.
Thing is though that the Jennings marriage has never been stronger.
Nothing will separate them at this point.
They just happen to fundamentally disagree on the single most important issue in the world to them.
Thats not bad writing or inconsistency.
Thats just pure, uncut humanity.
Everything can be bright, cheery and perfect and completely broken to the core all at once.
Immersion is a remarkably context-dependent episode of television.
I suppose that makes sense for a show eight episodes in to its penultimate season.
What is this then?
No one seems to know.
Not his father or his boss.
Though it appears to have something to do with his mother and his researching her time at the camps.
Just like how Gabriel and Philips father worked at the aforementioned camps.
Kovalenkos meeting with Stan and Aderholt at a museum is damn near inscrutable plot-wise.
Its almost like the Mike Yanagita scene inFargo(the movie).
Why is this here?
What is this trying to communicate?
Thankfully, due to the magic of being a pervert I have a theory of my own.
Then I realize that if that thought has crossed my mind its undoubtedly crossed world-class perv Stan Beemans mind.
Kovalenko is not unlike another pretty Russian informant Stan once held sway over.
This could be another opportunity for Agent Beeman to save Nina Krilovas life.
It matters to Deirdre.
It even matters to Henrys weird friends when one accidentally says shit in front of the adults.
Whoops, cant do that here.
Elizabeths burden might just be the largest … and thats why she appears the strongest.
Rating:
4.5 out of 5
