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"If I want to say I hate Russia, I can say it. I hate Russia!" Alexei Morozov

Pests is the second episode of Season Five of The Americans on FX, and the fifty-fourth episode overall.

Synopsis[]

Stan and Oleg wrestle with the harsh consequences of their complicated history, as Philip and Elizabeth face a new mission with devastating implications for their country.

Plot[]

Philip and Elizabeth meet with Gabriel and give him the sample dug from William's dead body. They tell him what happened to Hans. Gabriel says The Center is on edge with rumors the US is planning to contaminate grain shipments to Russia, leading to mass starvation. He wants them to follow Alexei on a trip he's making to Illinois. The Jennings go home and check on their kids. Finding Henry sleeping, they panic when Paige is not in her bed. They soon find her in her closet. Still troubled by watching Elizabeth kill someone, she sleeps in the closet for protection. At the office of the OBKhSS of the KGB, Colonel Anatoli Victorovich tells Oleg how those in charge of the USSR's Food Trade organizations bribe officials. He gives him files of the heads of stores that have the highest quality food and asks that he investigate them.



S05E02-Liz Phil Gabriel
Hans cut his hand...
The next day, Philip and Stan talk in front of their homes where Stan tells him he spoke to a woman from the gym he's interested in. However, he's not sure if the feeling is mutual. Drinking in the kitchen at the Beemans, Stan is happy Paige and Matthew are dating but tells Philip that Paige seems burdened. Philip puts her behavior on Matthew being her first boyfriend. In the garage, Elizabeth continues training Paige in self-defense and warns her that sex can bring an intimacy that may make her reveal things she doesn't mean to. Paige indicates she's not having sex with Matthew but Elizabeth still doesn't want them to date. In the bathroom, Philip shares Stan's concern about Paige with Elizabeth and they both worry that she's going to slip up soon.



Pests Episode Elizabeth Paige
It's not about the sex.
At the FBI, Stan meets with Agent Wolfe and CIA Agent Alan Streiter who is looking for tips on how to pressure Oleg to work for them. Stan gets upset when Streiter says they plan to use the recording he made to blackmail Oleg, especially since Oleg gave them an incredible piece of intel that led to William's capture. He tells Streiter to leave Oleg alone. Norm and Elizabeth tail Alexei as he drives to Illinois in a car with CIA agents. In the hallway, Stan tells Wolfe that he's going to see the Deputy Attorney General (DAG) to have him get the CIA to leave Oleg alone. Wolfe wants nothing to do with the meeting. Elizabeth spots the farm the CIA agents drive Alexei to. With Tuan, "Brad" asks him if he can deal with the Morozov's CIA security if they question him. Tuan speaks about the family in Seattle that took him in.



S05E02-Stan and Wolfe hallway
You have a self-destructive streak.
Studying at the Beeman's, Matthew can tells something is wrong with Paige. She explains that she's fighting with her Mom but doesn't go into specifics. Reassuring her that she makes her own decisions, Paige recalls her crush on Matthew when they first met. They kiss and start touching each other. At night, Elizabeth watches Alexei and the agents leave the farm. Stan meets with the DAG and asks for help stopping the CIA from blackmailing Oleg. Explaining that punishing Oleg after he helped them reflects poorly on the American intelligence community, the DAG indicates he has no authority over the CIA and can't help. Elizabeth enters a greenhouse on the farm and finds wheat plants in various stages of health. One group is completely covered in tiny insects which swarm her. At home, she showers the pests out of her hair, concerned over what she saw.



S05E02-Paige and Matthew
Everything always has to be her way.
While waiting to play racquetball, Stan tells Philip he went out with Renee, who he describes as "a female version of you." He introduces Renee to him and Philip is suspicious of her intentions. Oleg is again followed on his way home. At Dupont Circle Travel, Elizabeth asks Philip if Alexei has said anything to him about bugs. Philip says no, but wonders if they just ought to kill him, before he can do anything that might lead to thousands of people starving. Elizabeth believes they need Alexei in order to figure out what's going on.



Pests Episode Renee gym
Nice meeting you Philip.
A CIA agent approaches Oleg as he walks home and hands him a note, saying Stan Beeman sent him, and they need to talk to him in private, soon. Arriving at home, Oleg heads to his room and looking at the note, sees it's a map with a date and time to meet. The Morozov and Eckert families eat at a restaurant where Alexei marvels at the food available. (♫ White Heat - Cross Country Feelin' ♫) He loves being able to say whatever he wants but Pasha gets upset at him, saying in Russian that he hates it in the US. Alexei apologizes, Philip and Elizabeth show no signs of their disdain for him. In the car on the way home, Tuan shows his hatred for the Morozovs and relates how his entire family was killed by US bombers in the Vietnam war. He brags that he can get Pasha to do anything he wants.



Pests Episode Morozovs at Bennigans
We eat, but nobody eats like this.
Stan and Agent Aderholt are incredibly bored, staking out the Rezidentura all day, photographing its visitors. Aderholt is unsympathetic to Stan's concern about the CIA blackmailing Oleg. He gives Stan a suggestion where to take Renee on their next date. Arriving home, Philip and Elizabeth offer to teach Paige a technique that can help her lie or stop her from saying anything revealing to Matthew. Elizabeth tells her that in order to keep her emotions in check, she can rub her thumb and forefinger together, and picture her parents to help remind her who she is and where she comes from. Paige starts to practice while they watch.



S05E02-Stakeout
It's not right.

Notes[]

  • Gabriel tells Philip and Elizabeth that Alexei's trip to Illinois is on February 29, 1984. However, on his trip, the trees are leafy and green.
  • During the scenes showing CIA agents, Morozov, Norm and Elizabeth driving through Illinois, mountains can be seen in the distance. Like most of the Interior Plains region of the Midwest, Illinois has no mountain ranges.
  • The note from the CIA to Oleg indicates the meeting is March 9, 1984 at 9:00pm.
  • The first significant Bennigan's location was opened in Tysons Corner, Virginia, in 1977. By the early 1980s, Bennigan's had become one of the best known of the new style, mid-range casual dining franchised establishments in the US. Failure of Bennigan's executives to update and evolve the restaurant concept over twenty years led to significant sales and customer visit declines. Bennigan's consistently lagged behind its contemporaries (Chili's and T.G.I. Friday's). In 2006 Bennigan's closed most of its New York and New England locations.
  • The pickup truck plastic bed liner in Elizabeth's red Chevy truck may be an anachronism for 1984.
  • "Previously on The Americans" voice: Elizabeth.

Music[]

Song Title Performer(s)
Cross Country Feelin' White Heat

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"
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