When the modernist poet Ezra Pound began to promote the mantra “make it new,” the idea was to innovate in the face of traditionalism. Pound took inspiration from classic Japanese art in general and infused it with modern sensibilities. Similarly, The Americans works with a traditional genre: spy-thriller. Since John le Carre and Ian Fleming, the genre has developed its habits, both effective and cliche. What “Open House” does, though, is it takes some of those tropes or previously-established ideas and themes and flips them back to the viewer in new and interesting ways.
There’s hardly a car chase scene worth shooting these days, especially now that Hollywood action films have cheapened the effect through sheer numbers. Even The Americans‘ pilot featured an opening sequence that was fast and loud (granted, it was set to Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” and, in spite of how familiar it felt, still managed to be one of the best car chases on TV that year). The series has matured beyond those techniques at this point, however. Instead, what we get in “Open House” is a slow-burner that uses the build-up effect of “Tusk” without having to explode into typical climax fashion. Everything happening in “Open House” happens at the speed limit, and the tension is heightened because of that fact. If the situation was merely one in which it felt like Elizabeth really was in danger again following this season’s fantastic premiere cold open, that would be enough to make this episode work for the audience. But by using restraint and slow, low, droning music, there really is that sense of making it new. Maybe fans of The Americans have become used to its style by now (and that’s a testament to how effective it is at that style), but it bears repeating that no other show on television does this kind of thing. A series like Banshee, which easily has the best action of anything right now (television or film), goes the opposite way and embraces its action roots fully. That works for Banshee. This works for The Americans and allows it to stand out, carving a niche that’s simply too hard to top at this point.
And just as The Americans makes its action new, its drama follows suit. Again, there isn’t a love story that is waiting to be told. They’ve all been done countless times in countless ways. What makes love stories engaging these days are changes in the details–motivations, character backgrounds, certain kinds of conflict. “Open House” looks at intimacy and expresses it in such a shockingly brilliant way that Elizabeth and Philip’s relationship, not unlike so many relationships we’ve seen before, feels fresh. It gives the illusion that these two characters care about one another in a way that is totally different from any other pair of characters that has come before them. Really, who would have thought that pulling teeth (literally) could be the most convincing sign of affection? Credit certainly goes to director Thomas Schlamme, Keri Russell, and Matthew Rhys for bringing out every frame and facial expression that come together to present that level of intimacy and trust, but the ultimate winner here is the writing staff for coming up with this idea. Here we are, three episodes into the season, with Elizabeth and Philip fighting–hard. Even when Elizabeth disrobes in front of Philip, all he’s doing is telling her to maybe keep the door open with her new asset if he’s becoming attracted to her. What thing–what event–can we put in there to bring the two back together? Pulling teeth.
What? How does that work on paper? In a season that already includes that premiere fight sequence on the street and last week’s body-in-the-bag, “Open House” throws in a new candidate for strongest sequence. Right from the beginning, as Elizabeth can’t even kiss Philip (a physical manifestation of the emotional and ideological divide between them right now), we see that Philip has had enough as he gently leads Elizabeth by the hand. No words are spoken as he sets a pile of towels behind her hand and pulls out the single malt for sterilization. All the details–the look that Philip gives Elizabeth when the first tooth that’s pulled isn’t the right one, the way that Elizabeth holds onto Philip’s shirt the second time, Elizabeth barely whimpering because of her training at dealing with pain–make this scene frankly transcendent. Just as there’s not another series that does car “chases” like The Americans, one would be hard-pressed to find another display of intimacy that has the same kind of effect that this pulling teeth does. Make it new? Check and check.
The rest of “Open House” almost seems mundane in comparison, but in actuality, this is just another strong episode for The Americans. The new characters (Stan’s co-worker and Elizabeth’s asset) begin to feel more real, more human. The plot advances in several intriguing steps as the Jenningses find out a new way to exploit someone to get information on the Afghan project. And the script sums it all up in neat fashion through Stan: “People love hearing how right they are.” Everyone’s looking for validation, especially Elizabeth and Philip regarding Paige. But The Americans strongly withholds any easy ways of allowing characters to be right, because no one ever really is.
Covert Observations:
– Gabriel and Philip playing Scrabble could be an entire episode and watchable from start to finish. Phlox is, in fact, a word.
– Hey, Henry makes an appearance! And…he’s got a picture of Sandra in a bathing suit? What are we going to do with this kid?
– “The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people.” Marx anticipated a whole lot in that quote, and its tenfold these days compared to when The Americans takes place. We see the changing of the Soviet guard at the rezidentura, so I’m hoping we also see more and more new technology as it becomes more available. The stuff we get in this episode genuinely contributes to it.
– The only thing holding this back from a perfect score is how tiresome the “What are we going to do about Paige?” question is already becoming. I understand that that’s the through-line for the season, but it either needs to be tabled in some episodes or written in different ways so that it’s not Philip and Elizabeth saying the same things over and over.
[Photo via FX]
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