The Americans - Review of "Arpanet." A Rat, Some Cheese, and a Tiger

Season 2, Episode 7

Air Date: Wednesday, April 9, 2014, 9 pm ET/PT on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

“You keep a tiger as a pet, it’s still a tiger.” – Elizabeth

Arkady explains to Nina the importance of taking the polygraph test.

Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Nina (Annet Mahendru) has no choice but to comply with Stan’s (Noah Emmerich) request that she take a polygraph test. Oleg Igorevich (Costa Ronin) assures her he can teach her how to fool the machine, and Arkady (Lev Gorn) agrees she needs to do this. But can she really fool the polygraph? And what will happen to her if she doesn’t?

Kate the Naïve

According to Kate (Wrenn Schmidt), the Arpanet (The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network ) is “an advanced processing system that has to do with computers,” and she tells Philip (Matthew Rhys) the Centre wants him to bug the machine. Each week, the writers of The Americans prove how young and naïve Kate is by showing her lack of knowledge of important things. “Arpanet” is no different as Kate apologizes to Philip for not being technologically savvy. I’m afraid one of these days, her inexperience is going to cause big problems for Philip and Elizabeth (Keri Russell). I know Kate needs to prove her spy chops but why place her with such valued agents? Schmidt hasn’t had a lot to do since joining the cast and I think the casting department made a big mistake by hiring her. She is too young and fresh-faced to be playing such an important role that should be depicted by someone older and more experienced. What a huge difference between Schmidt and Margo Martindale, who portrayed Claudia, the Jennings’ original handler. Now, there was a handler Philip and Elizabeth trusted.

Snooze Fest City

Philip’s agent Charles Duluth (Reg Rogers) takes Philip to Professor Rosenbloom (Geoffrey Canton), who explains the Arpanet to them. To be honest, I found myself nodding off during the professor’s long and drawn out description. I know it’s necessary for Philip to understand the inner workings of the thing but the writers could have shortened the speech a bit to keep viewers interested. Charles is not to be trusted—of that I am sure. He’s an alcoholic and doesn’t think clearly after he’s had a few. He may swear his loyalty to the cause but when Philip discovers Charles isn’t drinking what he says he is, all bets are off. Philip is too smart to depend on someone like Charles.

Kids Will Be Kids

Henry is just a boy being a boy.

As with many television shows these days—think Homeland—only one of the main characters’ children is showcased in the series. The Americans is no different as throughout season one, and so far, two, Paige (Holly Taylor) is the one being featured. Poor Henry (Keidrich Sellati) hasn’t had much to do. That all changes in “Arpanet” as we learn Paige isn’t the only Jennings child who tells lies. Henry’s are more innocent than Paige’s but still… I wonder, with Elizabeth going off on Paige every time she catches her in a lie, will Philip react the same way? Or will the old double standard that was so prevalent during that time in our history raise its ugly head?

Hot Headed Lucia

Elizabeth and Lucia (Aimee Carrero) have a noteworthy conversation that explains, in part, her reason for helping the Soviet cause. It’s an interesting look at what makes Lucia tick. The big picture, though, involves Lucia working with Captain Larrick (Lee Tergesen), who is a very dangerous man, or “monster” as Lucia calls him, even though he’s helping Elizabeth and Philip with their Nicaraguan mission. But Lucia has different plans for Larrick that could turn out very dangerous for Elizabeth and Philip. Larrick is not the kind of man to fool with. If she’s not careful, Lucia could end up dead. That’s what usually happens to hot heads, right? It would help to understand Lucia better if the writers had provided more background for the character than they have. She’s young and pretty, but I don’t understand why she has such a visceral reaction to the mere mention of Larrick’s name. I think there’s more going on here than meets the eye.

The Polygraph Test

Nina tries to keep her cool during the polygraph test.

I was holding my breath throughout Nina’s interrogation by the American polygrapher. It is a very intense and powerful scene, especially when Nina answers the question, “Do you know who killed Vlad Kosegin?” You can almost see her heart beating out of her chest. Watching Oleg teach Nina how to beat the polygraph machine is a thought-provoking experience. I hope his last suggestion – “Squeeze your anus” – isn’t true. While I appreciate The Americans staying as true to history as much as it does, we certainly don’t need real life criminals thinking they can pass polygraphs by doing this! Working so closely together on this mission may bring Nina and Oleg closer together but I never expected what happens at the end of “Arpanet.” Did you?

This Week’s Bits of Nostalgia

The PDP-10. A machine that was used to build out the early Arpanet and played a large part in early hacker folklore.
“Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Aretha, gospel, rhythm and blues” – all the music and musicians Oleg likes to listen to.

Overall

“Arpanet” moves the storyline along nicely and is a very interesting episode. We see Lucia for who she truly is, as well as a new side of Nina. Mahendru is doing such a good job of portraying Nina, I can’t tell whose side Nina is on. Just when I think she is truly in love with Stan, she does an abrupt about face with Oleg. Or does she?

So, what did you think of “Arpanet?” Leave me a comment below, or tweet me @SeasideTV.

Tune in to The Americans Wednesdays at 10:00 pm ET/PT, only on FX.

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Philip @MatthewRhys, Stan Beeman @NoahEmmerich, and Nina @AnnetMahendru.

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!