"Dead Hand" is the sixth season premiere of the American television drama series The Americans, and the 66th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on March 28, 2018 in the United States on FX.
Video Dead Hand (The Americans)
Plot
In the three years between 1984 and 1987, Philip has become a full-time travel agent running an expanded Dupont Circle Travel, Henry attends boarding school and plays hockey, and Paige attends college and is a Soviet agent in training (and is practicing Russian by watching Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears with Elizabeth and Claudia). Stan has married Renee and has moved out of counterintelligence except for Sofia and Gennadi (whom he still co-handles with Dennis Aderholt), while Elizabeth is exhausted and resentful from handling a full KGB case load nine weeks before the Reagan-Gorbachev summit in D.C. (December 8-10, 1987), with most of her work focused on the summit.
On orders from Claudia, Elizabeth travels to Mexico City and meets with a Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces general who tells her about "Dead Hand" (a doomsday device) and the Soviet military's plan to overthrow Gorbachev if he renounces it. He asks Elizabeth to spy on Soviet negotiator Fyodor Nesterenko, who is meeting with American negotiator Glenn Haskard (whom Elizabeth is monitoring by serving as a home health care aide for his wife Erica, a bedridden and dying artist). He also gives her a cyanide pill to take if captured. Meanwhile, Arkady, now deputy chief of Directorate S and a Gorbachev supporter, recruits Oleg, now married (with a son) and out of the KGB (but also a Gorbachev supporter), to travel to the US and ask Philip to uncover (and possibly stop) Elizabeth's unapproved new mission; due to internal Soviet opposition to Gorbachev, Arkady cannot trust his own officers with this task. In D.C., Oleg signals Philip and then meets with him, telling Philip that he'll stay in D.C. (without official cover) for Philip's answer.
While Paige is on a surveillance detail, a young US security officer tries to coerce her for a date by taking her (fake) college ID. Elizabeth then covertly kills him and recovers the ID. That night, when Philip tries to tell Elizabeth about Oleg's visit and points out the emotional toll of her job, she rudely dismisses him.
Maps Dead Hand (The Americans)
Production
The episode was written by Joel Fields and series creator Joe Weisberg and directed by Chris Long.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Dead Hand" was seen by an estimated 642,000 household viewers and gained a 0.14 ratings share among adults aged 18-49, according to Nielsen Media Research.
"Dead Hand" received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the episode has a 100% approval rating with an average score of 9.8 out of 10 based on 14 reviews, with the consensus stating: "Tensions mount in 'Dead Hand,' an unusually fast-paced installment that barrels toward the show's seemingly inevitable endgame." The A.V. Club gave the episode a perfect A grade. Alan Sepinwall from Uproxx reviewed it positively saying, "'Dead Hand' wastes little time in establishing just how bad the conclusion could be for all involved."
References
External links
- "Dead Hand" at FX
- "Dead Hand" on IMDb
Source of article : Wikipedia
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