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"I was invisible. To everyone. Made me feel special, like I was a star in my very own movie." William

Persona Non Grata is the season finale of Season Four of The Americans on FX, and the fifty-second episode overall.

Synopsis[]

Philip and Elizabeth are in a high-stakes race against the FBI to recover a hazardous package. Will they get there in time? And will Paige follow her parents into the family business?

Plot[]

William prepares the Lassa virus sample for transport, unaware that Stan and Agent Aderholt are staking out his apartment with an FBI team. He leaves his apartment in order to meet Philip at a park where Norm and Marilyn run counter-surveillance. The FBI tail him but spotting the surveillance, he bolts. As the FBI close in on him, William breaks the Lassa virus vial, using the glass to cut his hand and infects himself with it. Surrounded by the FBI, he surrenders and warns them about the virus. Philip returns home, having not seen William's capture and tells Elizabeth they didn't meet. Elizabeth tells him she talked to Paige about Smolensk. She wonders what it looks like now and believes it could be totally different. Philip thinks little will have changed.



S04E13-William caught
I suggest you don't move.
In a Soviet mental institution, Mischa is imprisoned for speaking out against the USSR's involvement in the Afghan War. Brought before an officer who indicates he has powerful friends, he's given the opportunity for release in exchange for his silence. At USAMRIID in Fort Detrick, Maryland, William lays in bed in a bio-containment unit. Stan and Aderholt watch him from above in a sealed room with a microphone and introduce themselves. Asking if they can help him in anyway, William says he's a dead man. At the Rezidentura, Oleg tells Arkady that he's transferring back to Moscow to be with his family. Arkady shakes his hand and tells him he's a good son. At home, Paige tells Elizabeth that Alice had her baby, a girl, Claire Louise.



S04E13-Arkady and Oleg
I'll be all right.
Philip speaks in front of the audience at EST, saying being a travel agent is the only job he's ever had. Really speaking about his job as a KGB officer, he says that he doesn't like his job anymore and wakes up every morning with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Howard challenges him to change his job and says it isn't that important. Philip and Elizabeth meet with Gabriel, who still hasn't heard from William and assumes the FBI has him. Gabriel worries that William will be enticed to give critical information and they leave the safe house, since William has been there.



Persona Non Grata Episode 6.35.18 PM
So why don't you quit?
In snowy Moscow, Mischa enters the dilapidated apartment building of his grandfather, Fyodor, who is thrilled to see him. Fyodor gives Mischa a package his mother sent before her capture which contains money and passports. Mischa is intent on finding Philip. Arkady is summoned to the Department of Justice. Agent Wolfe and the Deputy Attorney General tell him he's gone too far with William, the bug in Gaad's office and Agent Gaad's assassination. They give him a "persona non grata" document and tell him he has 48 hours to leave the US.



S04E13-At DOJ
I wanna see his face.
As William grows sicker, Aderholt asks if he liked what he did. William responds that at first it was exciting. He was committed to something and he was invisible, which made him feel special. But over time, it became a curse as he felt very lonely. Gabriel meets with the Jennings, saying the longer the FBI has William, the greater the risk is to them. He thinks it's time for them to get out but leaves the decision to them. Philip and Elizabeth are stunned as they consider his advice. Paige visits Pastor Tim and Alice at the hospital and holds Claire Louise. (♫ Leonard Cohen - Who by Fire? ♫) Arkady sits in his office alone and has a drink. Exiting the Radio room, Tatiana tells Oleg she's been asked to stay in the US to orient the the new Rezident. Oleg breaks the news that he's going home and so neither of them will be going to Kenya.



Persona Non Grata Episode Paige
Hi Claire.
As William enters the final minutes before death, he cannot see or think clearly, and begins to mutter deliriously, saying the Center always wanted more and wanted him to be married. He recalls the woman that was to pose as his wife who left due to them fighting so much. He wishes they could have been "like them, couple kids, American dream. You'd never suspect them. She's pretty, he's lucky." The Jennings return home where Henry watched the Super Bowl alone.



S04E13-William dying
They always wanted more.
Matthew and Paige have been watching the game at his house. They talk and then start kissing. In their bedroom, Philip and Elizabeth discuss leaving and see Stan come home. Philip goes over to get Paige, and Stan greets him excitedly at the door, saying he thinks Matthew and Paige were doing more than just watching football, based on how they reacted when he came home. He jokes about them getting married. Paige leaves with Philip and outside, Philip brusquely tells her she's not to date Matthew. From her bedroom window, Elizabeth watches them hurry back into the house.



Persona Non Grata Episode Matthew Paige
You have no idea.

Notes[]

  • Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game between the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Raiders, played on January 22, 1984. The Raiders defeated the Redskins 38–9. The Raiders' 38 points and 29-point margin broke Super Bowl records. As the favored team, the Redskins' 38–9 defeat at the hands of the black-jerseyed Raiders led the game to be known as "Black Sunday." The telecast of the game on CBS was seen by an estimated 77.62 million viewers, and was notable for airing the famous "1984" television commercial, introducing the Apple Macintosh computer.
  • "Previously on The Americans" voice: Elizabeth.

Music[]

Song Title Performer(s)
Who by Fire? Leonard Cohen

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"
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