The americans Wiki
Register
Advertisement
The americans Wiki

"If Tim doesn't come home or if anything happens to me, that tape goes to the Justice Department." Alice

Munchkins is the tenth episode of Season Four of The Americans on FX, and the forty-ninth episode overall.

Synopsis[]

When Paige's long-ago indiscretion threatens to resurface and destroy the family, Philip and Elizabeth find themselves scrambling and Paige finds herself reevaluating who her parents really are.

Plot[]

Posing as "Patty", Elizabeth eats dinner with the Seong family. Young-Hee doesn't seem to notice that Patty feels uncomfortable, having slept with Don, but she does wonder what's wrong with Don, who leaves the dinner suddenly. Paige and Philip get dinner ready at home and Paige asks if his mom was a good cook. Philip pauses for a moment, remembering food shortages, and comments on a soup she made. He also speaks about his father. Paige asks if he liked Tobolsk to which Philip responds that life was hard and protecting one's family was foremost. Outside, Patty and Young-Hee talk about Don's behaviour, laugh and say good-bye. Meeting with Gabriel, he tells the Jennings about a new recruit and asks how close they are to getting the access code William Crandall needs to get the Lassa virus from his lab. Elizabeth indicates they are close.



Munchkins Episode Seong Family
Don said a funny thing.
At the FBI, Agent Aderholt complains to Stan about their new boss Agent Wolfe and his rigid, by-the-book management style. Stan tricks him into agreeing to go for a drink with Martha's father, Bill who is in town. After Elizabeth comes back home, a very pregnant Alice shows up at the Jennings' and says Tim is missing in Ethiopia. She then accuses Philip and Elizabeth of arranging it. Having recorded a tape and given it to a lawyer, addressed to the US Justice Department, revealing who Philip and Elizabeth are, Alice threatens that if anything happens to her or Tim, the lawyer will send it. After she leaves, Paige is confused and wonders if her parents arranged Pastor Tim's disappearance.



S04E10-Alice angry
I don't want to hear it.
Oleg and Tatiana have sex and afterwards, she asks him to arrange for an agent to be sent from his department. After describing the skills the agent needs to have, Oleg jokes that she won't tell him what the agent is needed for. She indirectly tells him she's working for Department 12 and that he can't tell Arkady. She admits the agent will be helping to steal a pathogen. Elizabeth and Paige truthfully deny any involvement with Tim's disappearance but not believing them, Paige accuses them and leaves. Philip wonders if the Center arranged it without telling them. Elizabeth doesn't believe so and is struck by the irony that they've done everything in their power to not have Tim and Alice killed. Planning to ask Gabriel if the KGB can help locate Tim, Elizabeth muses if they should run.



S04E10-Tatiana and Oleg
My job is to get the samples.
The next day, Paige goes to the Reed Street Church where the church secretary Jackie tells her Tim's jeep was found but he's still missing. In Tim's office, Alice is icy until Paige says how much she loves her and Tim. Alice hugs her and when Paige starts crying, Alice breaks down and sobs how scared she is. Stan and Aderholt meet with Bill who doesn't believe Martha worked for the KGB and that she disappeared for another reason. He relates Martha's kindness and intelligence which Aderholt points out can be weaknesses the KGB exploit. Aderholt lies that they haven't given up looking for her. Philip arrives home and tells Elizabeth there was nothing from the bug in Pastor Tim's office indicating Alice had revealed they are spies. As Henry whacks a tennis ball on the garage door, they tell Paige that they all might have to leave for Russia. Paige is aghast, refuses to accept this and storms off.



Munchkins Episode Bill Hanson
You're acting like she's the criminal.
In Thailand, Frank Gaad watches his wife, Linh, leave their hotel room to go shopping. Three KGB agents break into his room and assuring him they mean him no harm, say they have a proposal for him. Gaad doesn't want to hear them out and runs towards the glass balcony door. An agent pursues him, they crash through the door and Gaad's abdomen is pierced by a glass shard. The agents watch as he bleeds out and dies. Very disappointed, the leader of the agents apologies as Gaad is dying and leaves.



Munchkins Episode Frank Gaad
Sorry.
"James" hangs out with Kimmy, smoking pot and changing the tape in her father's briefcase when he gets the chance. Kimmy tells him that her father revealed to her that he's not in the State Department but works for the CIA. She relates how her life suddenly makes sense. "James" tries to maintain his façade, but is perturbed with her, thinking of Paige's betrayal when she shared his and Elizabeth's real jobs with Pastor Tim. "James" tells Kimmy she shouldn't have told him, that by breaking her father’s trust, she's missing an opportunity to grow closer to him. Looking for Henry at the Beemans', Matthew invites Paige in. He tells her about the situation with Martha while Paige discusses Tim's disappearance. Matthew offers to drive Paige over to the church.



S04E10-Jim and Kimmy
Everything in my life makes sense suddenly.
Arriving at the church, Paige is greeted by Zach who tells her Tim has been found. After their jeep ran out of gas, Tim and a colleague tried to walk back to their camp but were lost for two days before being found. Paige sees Alice in Tim's office and both express their relief. Alice apologizes, saying she's never had such a scare and asks Paige to apologize to her parents as well. Elizabeth checks her messages at the Clandestine call center and finds Young-Hee has left her one, crying about Don's strange behaviour and begging her to call. Paige returns home and gives her parents the news about Tim. Saying they can't tell her everything about their work, the Jennings say they won't ever lie to her. Paige asks when they'll tell Henry but Elizabeth says that depends on if he shows interest in knowing.



S04E10-Matthew Paige church
This is my friend Matthew.
At the Rezidentura, Arkady meets with Tatiana until interrupted with a message. Reading it, he expresses his regret. Tatiana asks for details but he'll only reveal it's an operation that shouldn't have been attempted, not being able to tell her it involved Gaad. At the FBI, Aderholt pulls Stan into "the vault" and tells him that he overheard the Deputy Attorney General telling Wolfe about Gaad's death. Stan is stunned and doesn't leave the vault when Agent Loeb tells them that Wolfe has an announcement to make to the staff. Elizabeth meets with Gabriel and shares the news that Tim was found. Knowing that Elizabeth is regretting what she's doing to Young-Hee's family, he tries to console her. Knowing that the final step to get the lab access code from Don will destroy his family, Gabriel offers to ask the Center if there's another way in. After some hesitation, Elizabeth says she'd like him to ask.



S04E10-Stan stunned
Gaad is dead.

Notes[]

  • The Munchkins are natives of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. They first appear in the classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), where they welcome Dorothy to their city. The 1939 movie musical The Wizard of Oz was loosely based on Baum's novel. In the United States, as a result of the popularity of the 1939 film, the word "munchkin" entered the English language as a reference to small children.
  • Stan talks about the difference in his FBI office under Agent Wolfe as compared to Agent Gaad, describing his co-worker's attempts to emulate the new boss exactly - even down to the way they dress -  and calling them Munchkins. He refers to his new working environment as Munchkinland. Agent Wolfe is a short person (actor Peter Jacobson is 5 ft 5 ½ inches, or 166.4 cm). While title of this episode speaks to the changes at the FBI counterintelligence unit, it also suggests a focus on children: Elizabeth's hesitation to break apart the close-knit Seong family with its three kids, Alice’s soon-to-be-born baby increasing the tension of Tim's disappearance, Paige’s ever-growing understanding of the adult issues at stake and realization that she's now part of her parents' world, and questions about the timing of making Henry aware of his parents' identities, thus expanding his world beyond video games and movies.
  • "Previously on The Americans" voice: Frank Gaad.

Videos[]


Season Four
#401 "Glanders" #408 "The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears"
#402 "Pastor Tim" #409 "The Day After"
#403 "Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow" #410 "Munchkins"
#404 "Chloramphenicol" #411 "Dinner for Seven"
#405 "Clark's Place" #412 "A Roy Rogers in Franconia"
#406 "The Rat" #413 "Persona Non Grata"
#407 "Travel Agents"
Advertisement