In 2010, the FBI made a startling announcement: after several years of investigation, they uncovered what they called the "Illegals Program" and arrested 10 Russian sleeper agents. These agents were trained in Russia, spoke perfect English and were planted in the US by the SVR (successor to the KGB), posing as regular american citizens, in order to gain access to American intelligence through any means possible. They entered the United States, usually through Canada, assumed the identity of already deceased individuals and lived seemingly normal lives for several years. Some of these agents even had to marry each other for efficiency and realism, had kids together, held regular day jobs, all the while carrying out deep-cover operations.
If I wasn't aware of this bit of news, I would say that the plot of The Americans was way too far-fetched to be believable. But, as it turns out, the 2010 arrests were the inspiration behind FX's spy-drama. The series premiered in 2013 and its sixth and final season began last week, on march 28.
Instead of setting the story in the present time, Joe Weisberg, a former CIA operative and the show's creator, decided that it should take place in the 1980s, in the midst of the Cold War. The stakes were higher then and the relationship between the 2 nations could not be any more tense. This gives place for more drama and suspense in the story line.
The real-life sleeper agents or "illegals" were not successful in gaining access to valuable american intelligence (at least according to the FBI), but that is not the case for Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, the series' 2 main characters, who have manipulated, tortured and killed people in order to send crucial and top-secret information home.
Elizabeth and Philip are both undercover agents trained by the KGB to become illegals. They were paired together to be planted in the United States posing as a young married couple. They are not in love, they are colleagues who, when the time came, had kids to be shielded from suspicion and to further their cover. The 2 of them and their 2 unsuspecting children, Paige and Henry, were the perfect all-american family, living in the suburbs of Washington D.C. During the day, they run a travel agency and they spend the rest of their time raising their kids and carrying out operations and orders sent to them by Directorate S, the department of the KGB responsible for the Illegals Program.
The series began as Stan Beeman, an FBI counterintelligence agent, and his family moved next door to the Jennings. The 2 families quickly became friends and the Jennings use their relationship with Beeman to stay one step ahead. And Stan Beeman, on the other hand, specializes in investigating and hunting down Soviet spies on American soil. He's actually looking for two illegals who are wrecking havoc, without even realizing that these two illegals are his best friends.
Espionage aside, The Americans is also about family dynamics. The Jennings may be spies but they are also two parents who are trying to raise their children to the best of their abilities. How are they going to instill their set of values to their children without blowing their cover? How can they fight western culture and its way of life when their own children are growing up in it? Husband and wife rarely ever see eye to eye about anything. They disagree about how to raise their children, how to carry out operations, how to deal with issues, and they also disagree about their purpose, thus straining more and more their already fragile relationship.
I don't want to reveal any spoilers but I'll say this: The Americans is the best cat-and-mouse TV drama since Breaking Bad. Will there be an epic showdown between Stan Beeman and the Jennings like the one between Hank and Walter White? Will the already strained relationship between Philip and Elizabeth finally take its toll?
Personally, I believe that the final showdown will not be between the Jennings and Stan Beeman. Instead, I think it will be between Elizabeth and Philip: they have diametrically opposing values. He wants peace when she wants war. He doesn't believe that all the sacrifices they've made for their missions are worth it while she thinks they don't do enough. He wants to stop and leave espionnage behind, she can't seem to be able to exist without it. They'll probably both keep pushing each other further and further away until they ultimately find themselves in opposing sides. That's my opinion but who knows, really, what will happen! The show runners have been masterful, so far, at keeping the plot unpredictable and the viewers on the edge of their seats! Can't wait to see how it all ends but at he same time, I'll be sad the show's over...