A perfectly normal looking couple, right? "The Americans", FX Wednesdays at 10. (FX)

What does it mean to be an American? For some, it could be the constant drive to initiate or maintain the freedom of what you believe in. For others it may mean cultivating a comfortable and stable life and family. Regardless of the answer, the importance lies in the choice. As a result, there exist as many definitions of America as there are American citizens. While all those definitions may not receive equal treatment and respect, the hope and ambition to attain this equality remains. What happens, then, when America starts to consider a political position as a threat? The inherent double-standard comes to the front lines: every opinion counts as long as every opinion falls in line with America’s. The opportunity for choice crumbles into as singular an idea as that of the very construct of America fears. 

While this may be an oversimplified explanation of the Cold War, it’s an idea necessary to understand FX’s exploration of said war in its new drama “The Americans.” The new show offers a simultaneously exhilarating and fascinating attempt to grapple with the numerous concepts of American identity by showing how American even KGB spies can become. Using the lens of nationalism and violent patriotism, the show explores the individual nature and motivations of the characters (without sacrificing the thrill of a spy drama). “The Americans” stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as Elizabeth and Phillip Jennings, two KGB super-spies living as unassuming parents within a typical upper-middle class family in Washington D.C. An already difficult lifestyle, the show makes it even harder by giving the Jennings a questionably coincidental new neighbor: Stan Beeman, FBI Counter-Intelligence Agent (played by the masterful Noah Emmerich). The contrived nature of his arrival aside, Beeman’s character offers a point-of-view into the operations of the Jennings’ enemies. Emmerich’s menacing portrayal of Stan transcends the character’s problematic introduction and sets up the sympathetic slant the show takes towards its KGB operatives. 

Only two episodes of the show have aired so far, and both of them offer a different, but equally compelling look at the potential routes the show will take in the weeks to come. The pilot gives a more playful but still intense look into Elizabeth and Phillip’s spy jobs, but its more poignant material deals with the tension between the couple’s national duty and their attachment to their family and fake-but-has-become-real life. The music plays a much more significant role in the pilot versus the second episode. It comes in at all moments of heightened emotions, and the variety provides an added layer of insight into the characters’ internal conflicts. The episode still has clear marks of a pilot, despite its strengths. The occasionally clichéd dialogue and camera movements and too-often reminders of the core character conflicts of the series did detract from the overall effect, but the bulk of the episode was strong enough to counteract those elements.

The second episode, by contrast, puts the bulk of its focus on a specific mission the Jennings’ must accomplish. While still buffering those scenes with representations of the family dynamic, the pacing leans priority towards the spy-thriller elements of the story. These elements are very necessary though: only through understanding what their jobs require of them can the audience gain enough perspective on Elizabeth and Phillip’s internal conflicts. While the through-line of the episode shifts, it still allows the main characters to reveal more about their internal struggles. The episode takes everything the pilot set up and continues with a cohesive and streamlined episode (with an unfortunately smaller musical presence).

The ability for this show to create compelling material both viscerally and intellectually within its first two episodes sets high standards for the season to come. Hopefully, for the sake of good-TV-lovers everywhere, “The Americans” can run with its early momentum to create a memorable and exciting first season. New episodes air on Wednesdays at 10 PM on FX. Check out a promo below.