The americans Wiki
Register
Advertisement
The americans Wiki

"It was worse than you could imagine. People were shot, worked to death in the camps. Some were counterrevolutionaries. But some, some hadn't done anything." Gabriel

The Committee on Human Rights is the seventh episode of Season Five of The Americans on FX, and the fifty-ninth episode overall.

Synopsis[]

As Paige becomes even more enmeshed in her parents' world, tensions with Matthew Beeman come to a head. Philip and Elizabeth's honeytraps take surprising turns, and Stan faces the consequences of overplaying his hand at the FBI.

Plot[]

Realizing how little he knew about his own parents, Philip and Elizabeth bring Paige to meet Gabriel before he returns to the USSR. They have tea and Gabriel tells Paige she's been brave and that her parents are heroes. Leaving, Paige remarks to her parents that Gabriel is like their family. In the laundry room at home, Philip and Elizabeth examine photos from the greenhouse in Illinois and see that it is heavily guarded. Seeing they can't get a sample of the "super wheat" from it, they plan to find another location from their unwitting sources, Deirdre Kemp and Benjamin Stobert. They both agree that the situation with Paige is improving. At the FBI, Stan and Agent Aderholt receive a call from Sofia who asks to meet with them.



S05E07-Phil Paige Liz
He cares about you.
As Norm provides a distraction, Elizabeth breaks into Dr. Robert Semel's office after hours and retrieves a file entitled "Committee on Human Rights." It contains a report from the American Psychiatric Association about the Moscow Working Commission. Elizabeth later tells Philip the report contains names and addresses of people in Russia. In Topeka, "Gus Alexander" and Deirdre continue their awkward relationship. Deidre says that if he moves to Topeka she'd break up with him as he's too needy. She then asks for sex. Oleg tells his mother Yelena that those that were blackmailing him have stopped. Wondering why, she says it doesn't matter. Sofia meets with Stan and Aderholt in a park. Worried about her and her son Ilia's safety if she becomes their source, Aderholt panders to her while Stan gives realistic answers which scares her off. Aderholt asks Stan to go easier on Sofia.



Committee Human Rights Episode Aderholt Beeman
We can help you financially, a lot.
At home, Paige asks Elizabeth and Philip about Gabriel and their current operation. Still thinking the US plans to poison Soviet wheat, they don't tell her it's not true. Elizabeth learned that Stobert is going to Mississippi so they plan to follow him. Paige meets with Pastor Tim to work out a time to babysit his daughter Claire Louise. Paige relates that things are better with her parents and that there are bigger problems in the world than her own. Tim speaks of Jesus' sacrifice being an example and Paige reveals she's not praying regularly. At the FBI, Agent Wolfe tells Stan that the CIA has decided to back off Oleg, but that the Deputy Attorney General has requested Stan be transferred out of counter-intelligence. The transfer will be delayed due to Stan's involvement in the operation with Sofia, but the delay won't be indefinite.



Committee Human Rights Episode Wolfe Beeman
That's the good news.
Disguised as farmers, the Jennings drive to a field where Stobert is examining wheat. Paige goes to Matthew's and breaks up with him. She's unable to explain why, confusing Matthew who reaches for her arm. To his surprise, she violently shoves him, starts to cry, apologizes and leaves. With Marilyn running counter-surveillance, the Jennings follow Stobert to Memphis, where he meets a woman for dinner. Seeing their intimacy, Elizabeth is surprised. Returning to the field, the Jennings dig up a sample of the wheat and Elizabeth confesses she was surprised that Stobert was seeing someone else. Philip tells her it's okay to care, but she retorts that she never has before.



Committee Human Rights Episode Ben
The "super wheat."
Elizabeth puts the wheat in a decorative bowl with a bow, and gives it to Gabriel. She tries to find out the real reason he's leaving but all Gabriel will indicate is that the work has taken its toll on him. Saying he's leaving late that night, he asks her to have Philip visit to say goodbye to him. Arriving home, Elizabeth learns that Paige broke up with Matthew. Stan and Renee watch a movie together but his mind is elsewhere as she describes in great detail how she visited a place shown in the movie. She's able to get him to describe what happened at work in a bit of detail and he feels better afterward.



Committee Human Rights Episode Stan Renee
What's going on?
Philip arrives home, where Elizabeth tells him about Paige breaking up with Matthew and Gabriel leaving that evening. Philip comforts Paige in her room and then heads out. Oleg visits the KGB Archives and reads the file detailing his mother's prison camp incarceration. Philip meets Gabriel and asks about the psychiatrist's file which details a well-organized opposition to the USSR's leadership. Also asking about what Gabriel did before WW2, he confesses that it was a time of terrible suffering and persecution in which he was a perpetrator. Indicating that many of the people he imprisoned or shot were innocent, he relates that he followed orders out of fear. Finally, Philip asks if Renee is KGB. Gabriel is astounded Philip would think so, but doesn't know. He then reveals that Paige's recruitment is the reason he's returning home. Just before leaving, he says Paige shouldn't have been recruited.



Committee Human Rights Episode Yelena Burova
I did what I had to do.

Notes[]

  • The Mail Robot makes another appearance. As Dennis and Stan are told that Sofia has called them, the robot is seen passing by in the background.
  • Pastor Tim mentions that Alice wants to see Terms of Endearment, an American comedy-drama film directed, written, and produced by James L. Brooks. The film received eleven Academy Award nominations and won five. Brooks won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Writing.
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy written by William Shakespeare in 1595/96. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and widely performed across the world.
  • The movie Stan and Renee watch is Breaking Away, a 1979 American coming of age comedy-drama film produced and directed by Peter Yates and written by Steve Tesich. The film was shot in and around Bloomington and on the university's campus.
  • When discussing Breaking Away, Renee refers to Indiana University as “U of I”, in the format of many Midwestern state schools; however, students and faculty on that campus refer to their school as “IU”, similar to schools on the Great Plains.
  • Vladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak, MSM (Russian: Владисла́в Алекса́ндрович Третья́к) is a Russian former goaltender for the Soviet Union national ice hockey team. Considered to be one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the sport, he is the current president of the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia.
  • When Paige was young, Gabriel gave her a stuffed toy tiger which she named "Jessie."
  • Henry does not appear in this episode.
  • "Previously on The Americans" voice: Paige.

Videos[]


Season Five
#501 "Amber Waves" #508 "Immersion"
#502 "Pests" #509 "IHOP"
#503 "The Midges" #510 "Darkroom"
#504 "What's the Matter with Kansas?" #511 "Dyatkovo"
#505 "Lotus 1-2-3" #512 "The World Council of Churches"
#506 "Crossbreed" #513 "The Soviet Division"
#507 "The Committee on Human Rights"
Advertisement