The Americans Series Finale Review: A Tense, Powerful End To One Of TV’s Best

<img src="https://https://static3.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Matthew-Rhys-and-Keri-Russell-in-The-Americans-Series-Finale.jpg" /><p>From the beginning it was clear <a href="https://screenrant.com/tag/the-americans/"><b><i>The Americans</i></b></a> would end in tragedy. How could it not? A period drama set against the backdrop of the Reagan administration and the Cold War, when the political and ideological divide between the U.S. and Soviet Russia was at its greatest, the series focused on a pair of protagonists, Philip and Elizabeth Jennings (Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell), whose life’s work as deep cover Soviet operatives would ultimately find them on the losing side of history. But television being what it is, the question of what sort of tragedy was headed the Jennings family way was one the show would have to wrestle with <a href="https://screenrant.com/americans-final-season-premiere-review/">come time for the series finale</a>.</p><p>As that episode demonstrates, <i>The Americans</i> executive producers and co-showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields delivered an incredibly pensive, intimate conclusion that is both satisfying and surprising. It delivers a suitably emotional climax that will inevitably counter what some believed (thanks in large part to a cyanide capsule around Elizabeth’s neck all season) was in the offing. There’s always a bloodthirsty contingent among the viewership for whom only a violent end equals suitable punishment. It’s common when dealing with characters who not only force viewers to weigh the morality of their actions against the desire to root for them, but do so over and over again for six seasons. Just look at the exceptional and still-divisive ending to <a href="https://screenrant.com/tag/the-sopranos/"><i>The Sopranos </i></a>in 2007<i>,</i> and the lengths to which certain corners of the internet have gone to not only resolve or explain the finale’s ambiguity, but to definitively declare Tony Soprano dead — i.e., suitably punished for his many crimes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <strong>Click to continue reading <a href="https://screenrant.com/the-americans-series-finale-review/">The Americans Series Finale Review: A Tense, Powerful End To One Of TV’s Best</a></strong><br /><br /> <p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://screenrant.com/the-americans-series-finale-review/">The Americans Series Finale Review: A Tense, Powerful End To One Of TV’s Best</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://screenrant.com/">ScreenRant</a>
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May 29, 2018 at 11:05PM