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"You're a monster! You're not a man! Whatever you once were, whoever you were, they trained it out of you!" Baklanov to Philip

The Deal is the fifth episode of Season Two of The Americans on FX, and the eighteenth episode overall.

Synopsis[]

Philip and Elizabeth are finally assigned a new handler as Philip works to clean up the mess of the last operation and Elizabeth, in disguise as Clark's sister Jennifer, does her best to smooth things over with Martha. As Stan searches for a missing scientist, Oleg and Arkady continue to argue over how best to handle the situation on their side, leaving Nina once again caught between the FBI and KGB.

Plot[]

At night in the middle of a street, Philip and Elizabeth are left alone with the agent who attacked them, Yossi. His partner, who was posing as Anton Baklanov's mistress, has managed to drive away with him in the Jennings' car. Hiding in an abandoned yard, Philip puts a gun to Yossi's head as police drive by. Picking up a dazed Yossi, whose arm is broken, the Jennings carry him on the street but are stopped by a patrol car. Feinting that Yossi is drunk, police buy the act when Yossi starts singing a song heard in a nearby bar. (♫ Kenny Rogers - The Gambler ♫) Picking the lock on an abandoned pizza shop, Philip stays with Yossi while Elizabeth goes for help.



S02E05-Liz Yossi Phil
Too much of a good thing.
In the Radio room at the Rezidentura, Arkady sends a message about Baklanov until interrupted by Oleg who he shouts at to never bother him while he's in the radio room. Martha leaves another message for "Clark" threatening to reveal their marriage on a job transfer application. George hears her message. At home, Elizabeth tells Paige that it's OK for her to read the Bible, she just doesn't want her hiding things. George calls and in code, tells Elizabeth about the Martha situation. At the pizza shop, Philip puts a splint on Yossi's broken arm and says he knows he's Mossad. Arriving home, Stan sees Sandra drawing but is called back to the office by Agent Halliwell due to Baklanov's disappearance.



The americans-call center-george 04
George on the job.
The Rezidentura sends Kate, the Jennings' new handler, to Philip with food and medical supplies. He's unimpressed with her demeanor and tells her the Center will need to made a deal with the Israelis to get Baklanov. In disguise as Clark's sister "Jennifer", Elizabeth arrives and says that she's in town staying at Clark's and that he didn't show up for a dinner. Drinking wine with Martha, she says she heard Martha's messages, felt bad and makes an excuse that Clark sometimes disappears. At the FBI, Stan gathers Agents Brooks and Loeb and starts looking into Baklanov's file. At the pizza shop, a tied up Yossi tries to engage Philip in conversation about icicles and that Philip is going to kill him. Philip reassures him that his government will make a deal for him but Yossi isn't optimistic.



S02E05-Martha Liz
He's always been that way.
After finishing a bottle of wine, "Jennifer" is able to talk Martha out of revealing her marriage to "Clark" on the application. Martha confides that Clark is an animal in bed which intrigues Elizabeth. In the radio room, Arkady receives a message that the Israelis know nothing about Baklanov. Arkady vows to do whatever it takes to get the Center to make a deal. At the FBI, Stan calls in Agent Gaad to help find Baklanov after discovering the Dept. of Defense (DoD) put out the notification. Yossi asks to go to the bathroom and unsuccessfully tries to escape. At the Rezidentura, a deal with the Israelis is nigh so officers pull together an exfiltration plan for Baklanov which Oleg doesn't approve of. Arkady tells him he won't be at the exchange but Oleg touts his counter-surveillance skills. He then tells Nina that he's reviewed her files and demands to know what's really going on with her and Stan.



S02E05-Exfiltration plans
You're likely to be under surveillance.
Gaad tells Stan that he can't find out anything from the DoD and that whatever Baklanov was working on is classified. Elizabeth meets for the last time with Brad, who gives her the file on Andrew Larrick. After kissing her, she fakes needing to recover from her trauma and says she won't see him again. Nina is sent to Stan to give him enough information so he'll assume the KGB has Baklanov and Oleg intends to exfiltrate him. At the pizza shop, Kate arrives and tells Philip that the Israelis have made a deal for Yossi. Stan tells Gaad what Nina related and that Oleg may be cocky enough to exfiltrate Baklanov. Philip frees Yossi and tells him about the deal. Watching the Rezidentura, Stan sees Oleg leave in a car and he and a team of FBI agents tail him. Philip makes the trade for Baklanov who screams when he realizes he's been betrayed.



S02E05-The trade
You said I would be safe.
On the long drive to the port, Baklanov begs Philip to have mercy on him, but Philip remains stone-faced. He offers a number of secrets if he's not sent back to the USSR and begins crying but Philip doesn't respond. His tears turn to anger and he calls Philip a monster. At home in the laundry room, as Elizabeth looks at Larrick's file, Paige interrupts and tries to explain why she's going to church. Stan follows Oleg to the Port of Baltimore where Oleg denies knowing who Baklanov is. Stan can see no exfiltration is taking place there and realizes he's been tricked. Oleg says he knows about Nina, but no one else does and that he'll be contacting him for information in exchange for Nina's safety.



S02E05-Oleg and Stan meet
So, let's make a deal.
Philip delivers Baklanov to a waiting ship where he can't look him in the eye. At the Rezidentura, Arkady listens to a newscast that reports the USSR is releasing 1,500 Jewish Refuseniks and that there's hope that the USSR is changing its stance on human rights. Arkady smiles and shakes his head. Hand-cuffed to a pipe, Baklanov looks out a window on the ship. Philip returns home in the very early morning and curls up with Elizabeth on a couch. Reporting that Baklanov was handed over, Elizabeth says she spent time with Martha and that "Clark" has some explaining to do. Remembering a conversation with Yossi, he asks her if Smolensk had icicles in the winter. Saying yes, she asks him if he remembers icicles in the trees when they left Moscow to come to the USA which he remembers. They hear the kids get up.



S02E05-Phil Liz on couch
We used to have sword fights with them.

Notes[]

  • Keri Russell's character, Elizabeth Jennings, used the word 'buttinsky' – a meddler – when she (disguised as "Clark's" sister "Jennifer") asked Martha how things were with Clark. The same word was used as an arc for Russell's famous character Felicity Porter, a kind but confused coed who wanted to help fix other's problems.
  • Columbia Record Club, formed in 1955, was an experiment to market music directly by mail, spurring sales to rural consumers. New members to the club were enticed with a free record just for joining. Columbia House attracted criticism for its business practices, which often resulted in members being sent music they did not want, and then had to pay shipping to return. A common requirement for joining was an agreement to purchase a certain number of albums in a specified period of time, often at prices significantly higher than those at brick-and-mortar retailers. Columbia Record Club had a significant market presence in the 1980s and early 1990s.
  • Just prior to her visit from "Jennifer", Martha watches an episode of Hill Street Blues, a popular American serial police drama that aired on NBC from 1981 to 1987. The show chronicled the lives of the staff of a police station in an unnamed large city, with "blues" being a slang term for police officers for their blue uniforms. The show received critical acclaim, and its production innovations influenced many subsequent dramatic television series produced in the United States and Canada.
  • The news story about a request to increase the US military budget was taken from the February 2, 1982 New York Times.
  • This is one of the rare episodes in which Philip doesn't wear one of his disguises.
  • Henry does not appear in this episode.
  • "Previously on The Americans" voice: Stan.

Music[]

Song Title Performer(s)
The Gambler Kenny Rogers

Videos[]


Season Two
#201 "Comrades" #208 "New Car"
#202 "Cardinal" #209 "Martial Eagle"
#203 "The Walk In" #210 "Yousaf"
#204 "A Little Night Music" #211 "Stealth"
#205 "The Deal" #212 "Operation Chronicle"
#206 "Behind the Red Door" #213 "Echo"
#207 "ARPANET"
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