dex14

Scheduled runtime is 92 minutes.

bralph

Dang... Going to have to wait until tomorrow night to watch. 11:30 end time is way past my weekday bedtime...

The Bus

I've got high hopes for what is currently the best series on TV (Game of Thrones:Sopranos::Americans:The Wire).

I'm getting home late but will hopefully watch it live-ish by skipping commercials and going to bed before midnight.

Osiris3657

Is it 9pm yet?

Superman07

No way we are watching this tonight. We are still behind about 4 episodes. I had hoped to catch up, but we were too backlogged on many shows after vacation.

Even though these may be one of the best shows ever (I hope the finale good...), you just can’t binge it. We just finished the episode where Philip visits Paige at her apartment. Between that scene and the conversation between Philip and Elizabeth at the kitchen table, we were drained! And that didn’t even include the segment with Mr and Mrs Teacup!

cleaver

I remember when I heard there was going to be a Russian spy show set in the 80s on FX and I was like every word of that sounds awesome. Elizabeth Jennings is my favorite TV character since Data, she deserves every award every year and you treat her right Matthew Rhys!

My prediction is Stan is the only fatality because his girlfriend takes him out to protect the Jennings.

Decker

Well, that would have been a cool theory but last week Stan confided in his partner that he thought the Jennings were Russian spies, so no way that suspicion goes unchecked should Stan meet a sudden ending. And of course he's got half the Washington bureau looking for him now.

Still there's no way that Chekov's Blonde doesn't figure into the endgame somehow, right?

I really want to watch this live tonight, but the Mrs and I will be going to the Stanley Cup Final Game 2 at 5. I'd be home in time to watch, but that makes for a really packed night and I might not be able to sleep for HOURS afterward.

alfredog1976

I can't wait! Going to try to watch it live

Luds

Cleared my schedule for tomorrow night for this. Can't wait!

Decker

You know it's on TV tonight, right? Or is it tomorrow in Canada?

Luds

I don't have FX Canada and I get up early so it's always next day for me.

Raul3

I go to bed between 9 and 10 pm. But there's no way I don't watch this live. Even with the long running time. I may be drinking a lot of coffee this afternoon.

Jackskeleton

this gonna be good.

stingermck

Well. That was a quiet ending.

The Bus

What a great ending. It wouldn’t have been their style for it to be action packed. That scene in the garage was everything.

“A... Stomach ache! At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within this parking garage?”

Everyone took Ls except for Renee.

Who is a spy. But probably not a Soviet one.

mcnabb

That was a perfect ending, as the show never sold out for 6 seasons as it was subtle, but totally engrossing. This is why sometimes it's great when a show doesn't get mass popular because it can play to the real fans 100% of the time.

I didn't see the Paige 'staying at home' coming, as that was a nice twist. Phillip and Elizabeth will have to live with that for the rest of their lives.

The Stan/Phillip/Elizabeth/Paige garage scene was great, as their ace in the hole was Henry. Phillip essentially saying to Stan that he is your son now, not mine. There was no way Stan could turn them in at that point.

I love that the last dialogue in the show was Elizabeth speaking Russian, "We'll get used to it."

And everytime I hear U2 'With or Without You', I will think of The American's Series Finale. Finally a great show stuck the landing as there were so many great shows I watched since the advent of Cable Drama's that dropped the ball for their Series Finale.

Osiris3657

Did FX really rate the episode TV-MA for Language and Violence (the latter of which there was none) to throw everyone off, thinking there would be a death to keep everyone on the edge of their seats? Nice troll, FX.

Great show despite the quiet finale, the garage scene was intense. Will miss the Jennings family.

bunkaroo

Not quite the finale I expected but good nonetheless. I don’t quite remember, but was there a scene at some point in the series where Philip tells Elizabeth she’ll get used to America in English?

slop101

Meh.

I mean, it was alright, I guess. No other way to end it, really.

I never thought this show was all that great, just merely good, and this finale cements that opinion.


Sure, but it was all based on what I've maintained from day-one as being the biggest contrived pieces of bullshit ever by putting two spies next door to an FBI agent - even cheesy sitcoms aren't that fucking hacky.

BearFan

I enjoyed the finale .. it was as good a way to end the show as any.

Overall, a series I really enjoyed.

On the plus side, now that he is back in Russia, Phillip can look up Martha if he wants to get his freak on


I started watching a German show "The Same Sky" Netflix ... takes place a bit earlier than the Americans (early 1970s), but so far (2 episodes in) .. pretty good show and worth checking out if you want to keep rolling on Cold War spy series.

mcnabb

It's a TV show, so you take that with a grain of salt as you need something to drive the drama throughout its run. It's like complaining that Jack Nicolson's speech on the stand in 'A Few Good Men' was contrived because he would never be allowed to do that in real court. It's a movie, enjoy it with a grain of salt.

Geofferson

Solid finale. It went out in typical Americans style. The showdown in the garage and final montages were great. Particularly like the Brothers in Arms, Dire Straits selection. Biggest surprises for me was that everyone made it out alive and Paige stays behind.

The extended driving montage at the very end didn't amount to much, but was extremely suspenseful. Unsure of what may lurk around every corner on that long, winding road. Well-done.

I feel so bad for Stan - he's been a great character the past 6 seasons.

Also, great shot of Renee watching from across the street as the Jennings' house is being emptied.

rocket1312

Lots of great moments, but not the blow away I was maybe hoping for. I thought it lost a bit of stream after the garage and I thought doubling up on the music montage diluted the concept, even if both montages were individually great. My final nitpick is the fact that the series ended on a crummy CGI shot of Russia. I know they used shots like that all the time, but they always bugged me. Still, one of my all time favorite shows. The final season was one of best and delivered some of the very best episodes of the run. I'm going to really miss it. For the first time ever, I'm not sure I have a favorite show on tv.

Doc Moonlight

I had a feeling that Paige wouldn't defect; that she wasn't buying the indoctrination, but didn't know which way to go.

There's part of that would like to see Paige's story continue, but there's another part of me that says , it was great, just let it end that way.

Decker

I loved that finale. It wasn't what I expected, but it made perfect sense. Those two music montages were GREAT. Loved "Brothers in Arms" and then, when I heard those first few notes of "With or Without You" I just said "Yeah!" It really worked. Joel and Joe know their song cues. I don't think I've ever hear "With or Without You" used before -- must be hella expensive.
That scene in the garage was amazing. I want to watch it again tonight. Just just wrenching and so well acted. "Stan, what are YOU doing here?" The look on Elizabeth's face when Philip confesses is priceless. That final revelation he leaves Stan with about Renee was such a gut punch.

Not crummy CGI. They shoot in Russia. All of Oleg's exterior shots last year (and at least some of the scenes this year). You can hear all about it if you listened to the official Americans podcast like I've done the past few seasons. Not sure if they flew Rhys and Russell out for their scene, but it wouldn't surprise me.

BTW : I encourage all fans to read Alan Sepinwall's final article for Uproxx before he moves to Rolling Stone. "The Americans" Comes to a Heart-breaking and Unexpected End It's as good a recap as any I've ever read of his -- and he's absolutely the best.