The Americans - Season 6

Wow, what an ending to a marvellous series. It lasted for six seasons and what seasons! But now about the last, sixth season. Were the creators able to deliver a well-rounded ending to a wonderful series?

In the last season, which only had 10 episodes, we once again follow the lives of the Jennings family. An all American family with two kids, their own company and a nice house in one of Washington DC's suburbs. But nothing is what it seems in the Jennings' household. Elizabeth and Philip Jennings are Russians trained to pass for real Americans.

You can't live your life being afraid, Paige. You wouldn't do anything. You want to make a difference, you make a difference.

When we return in the sixth season with the Jennings' it is October 1987, only two months away from the well-known summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. This whole sixth season revolves around this famous meeting. Elizabeth is ordered by the Russians to find out what happens at that summit and Philip, who has quit his spy job, tries to manage the travel agency as best as he can.

The two American Russians seem further apart than ever, especially when Paige, the couple's daughter, gets more and more involved in the espionage business. Henry, the Jennings' son, is away at boarding school and is a star hockey player. He doesn't know anything about what his parents really do.



In this season we see Elizabeth's fight with Philip: who is right and who is wrong? Philip's fight trying to make his wife realize that something is not right and his fight to keep the family business going. Never before have we seen the Jennings' this way, miles apart but still together in the same house and the same bed.

I don't know how to say this, but I think there's a chance Renee might be one of us. But I'm not sure.

Philip's best friend, Stan Beeman, is an FBI agent and for nearly six seasons he is unknowingly hunting his own neighbours across the street. The question, during all these six seasons, is: will Stan find out the truth? He is divorced, with a son and in the fifth season he meets Renee. The Jennings' suspect her of being a Russian spy, just like them. But is she? And does that really matter?

The sixth season keeps you on the edge of your seat. The tension is built up in an excellent way. The depth of the characters displayed is a joy to watch. It is a delight to see such wonderful acting and the dialogues are riveting even when nothing is being said. The ending is such that it makes you reflect on all the previous seasons, the Jennings', the Cold War and The Americans.

Ten points for an excellent ending of an excellent show.