The Americans is easily one of the greatest drama shows of the 21st century and one of the rare series that maintained a consistent level of quality throughout its entire run. While spy shows are more popular than ever right now, The Americans took a much more nuanced approach to the espionage genre. Rather than highlighting the action, The Americans explored the all-consuming nature of secret identities that KGB operatives experienced while undercover in the United States. It's a terrific depiction of the Cold War that’s equally critical of both governments, the KGB, and the FBI. However, at its heart, The Americans is a story about family and marriage. The pitch-perfect series finale “START” ended the story on a conclusive note that wrapped up six seasons of great storytelling.
The Americans follows the KGB spies Phillip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell), who have spent years together undercover as a married couple in the United States. While both Phillip and Elizabeth go on missions to report on American activity, they’re also in the midst of raising their children Paige (Holly Taylor) and Henry (Keidrich Sellati). While the Jennings initially manage to hide the truth from their children, Paige steadily becomes suspicious of their true loyalties and forces her parents to admit what they really do. The Jennings also run into danger when they realize their new neighbor Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich) is a member of the FBI investigating Soviet activity. By the time that the sixth and final season begins, the Jennings are in danger of being exposed and must find a way to get their family to safety back in their home country.
Paige and Henry's Fate
Paige and Henry are in completely opposite scenarios by the time the final episode airs. Paige had begun training under the senior KGB operative Claudia (Margo Martindale), with who she formed a personal bond and admiration. Now that she’s prepared to become an espionage agent herself, Paige’s parents plan to bring her with them when they travel back to the USSR. However, Paige has still grown up in the United States, and is content to remain as an undercover agent outside of her parents’ supervision. After feeling guilty about leaving Henry behind and enjoying her supposedly final meal at McDonald’s, Paige’s decision is clear; she abandons her parents before their departure and chooses to find Claudia’s apartment and begin using her equipment.
However, Henry has no knowledge of this, and the Jennings decide that it's best to leave him in the US in order to retain his happy life. Henry goes through some rough patches throughout The Americans, but he eventually finds a place at a boarding school where he is on the right track to complete his education and form friendships that simply wouldn’t be impossible to have otherwise. While the Jennings do not reveal their secret to Henry, they get to bid him farewell during an emotional phone call. However, it's implied that Stan will travel to New Hampshire in order to tell Henry the truth after he learns for himself.
The Family's Daring Escape
Phillip and Elizabeth monitor Paige’s situation as the politics in the USSR are getting murkier; a KGB conspiracy against the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and its leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, is underway. After finding Paige and preparing for their departure, the Jennings realize they’ve been tracked by Stan, who has held on to his suspicions for far too long. Stan is infuriated that he has been deceived, as he had become Phillips’ best friend. Similar to Hank’s (Dean Harris) revelation about Walter (Bryan Cranston) in Breaking Bad, it’s a moment of personal betrayal. The two had shared many secrets with each other, which helped them both recover from challenges in their respective marriages. Stan corners them within a parking lot and proclaims that they will be arrested.
Stan has lost all self-control; he’s now skeptical that Paige’s relationship with his son Matthew was just an illusion, but she insists that their dating was genuine. After exchanging information with Stan about his skepticism about Renee (Laurie Holden), Phillip insists that he valued their friendship together. Stan allows them to leave in peace after they reveal that they were not involved in the recent murders. Before leaving the United States for good, Phillip and Elizabeth burn all the evidence surrounding their American identities, including the fake passport that they had intended to give to Henry before deciding he should stay.
An Ultimately Touching Finale
Stan is forced to return to the FBI and act shocked at the drawings given to him by his supervisor Dennis Aderholt (Brandon J. Dirden), who specializes in tracking down Soviet operatives. The sketches of the descriptions they were given are clearly Phillip and Elizabeth, and Dennis apologizes for doubting Stan’s earlier claims about his neighbors. Stan insists that he will kill Phillip if he ever sees him or his wife again, but the Jennings have already made it through the border security at Rouses Point, New York. It’s here that they discover that Paige has decided to remain on the station; it’s one of the show’s most powerful moments. While her fate is left ambiguous, the Jennings realize that she has finally become independent, and rest easy knowing that they’ve raised two extraordinary children.
After finally making it back to the USSR, the Jennings take a moment to reflect upon everything that they’ve learned from their experience. Returning to Moscow means that their lives will be completely different, and they stand alone together in the Russian nighttime. It’s a beautiful way to examine their marriage; they never chose to be partners in life, but their love has kept them together throughout all the challenges that they’ve faced. It’s even more powerful knowing that over the course of filming the show, Rhys and Russell formed a relationship and were married. Those looking for an excellent spy series that unpacks the Cold War in exciting new ways should look no further than The Americans.