Slow. That was the word everyone used back in 2017. If you look at the old Reddit threads or the AV Club reviews from when the episodes were actually airing, people were losing their minds over the pace. They wanted more dead bodies in suitcases. They wanted Philip and Elizabeth Jennings to finally get caught by Stan Beeman. Instead, they got a lot of digging. Literally. They spent a huge chunk of the season digging up a hole in the middle of a field.
But honestly? The Americans season five is arguably the most essential stretch of television the show ever produced, even if it feels like a fever dream compared to the high-octane finale that followed.
It’s a masterclass in psychological erosion. By this point, the wigs are starting to itch. Philip is basically a shell of a man, spending his nights listening to self-help tapes and looking at his wife like she’s a stranger he’s been stuck in a lift with for twenty years. Elizabeth is doubling down on the cause, but even her armor is showing cracks. The show stops being a spy thriller here and transforms into a meditation on what happens when you realize the "greater good" might just be a pile of rot.
The Great Grain Heist That Wasn't
Most of the season revolves around a plot to steal pest-resistant wheat. It sounds boring. On paper, it is boring. But it’s the vehicle for the show's biggest moral gut-punch. Philip and Elizabeth spend weeks tailing a lab worker named Deirdre and a scientist named Alexei, convinced that the Americans are developing a "super-pest" to destroy the Soviet food supply.
They think they are heroes. They think they are preventing a famine.
Then they find out the truth. The Americans aren't trying to starve Russia; they’re trying to create a hardier strain of grain that can survive anywhere. The "evil" scientists are actually trying to feed the world. When Philip realizes they’ve been killing people—including a lab tech who was just a kid—to stop a project that would have actually helped their home country, something breaks. It’s the moment the ideology officially dies.
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Tuan and the Perils of the True Believer
Enter Tuan Eckert. He’s the "son" the Jennings never had, a young Vietnamese operative who is more dedicated, more ruthless, and more cold-blooded than Philip and Elizabeth combined. He’s a terrifying mirror.
Tuan looks at the Jennings and sees weakness. He sees two people who have been softened by the American dream—by the travel agency, the big house, and the Mustang. Watching Tuan manipulate a lonely high school kid named Pasha is some of the most uncomfortable television you’ll ever watch. He pushes the boy toward a suicide attempt just to force his parents back to the Soviet Union.
Elizabeth watches Tuan and sees herself twenty years ago. It’s not a pleasant reflection. She realizes that the fire that fuels a "perfect" soldier also burns away every ounce of humanity.
The Paige Problem Reaches a Breaking Point
We have to talk about Paige. By The Americans season five, the Jennings' daughter is no longer just a teenager with a secret; she’s a trainee. This is where the show gets really dark. Elizabeth is teaching her how to fight, how to breathe, and how to lie.
But Paige isn't built for this. She’s a creature of conscience. Every time she learns a new "skill," she loses a piece of her soul. The scene where she’s practicing the "Elizabeth Jennings" stare in the mirror is chilling because you realize she’s losing her identity before she’s even had a chance to form one.
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Meanwhile, Henry is just... there. He’s the most normal person in the house, which makes him the most tragic. He’s brilliant at math, he’s a good kid, and he’s completely ignored by his parents because he isn't a "security asset." The fact that Philip and Elizabeth are considering fleeing back to Russia and leaving Henry behind—or dragging him to a country where he doesn't even speak the language—is the ultimate parenting failure.
Why the Pacing Was Actually a Choice
Critics at the time called it "The Year of the Long Pause." Showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields weren't interested in ticking boxes for a thriller. They wanted the audience to feel the exhaustion.
If you're bingeing it now, you can feel that weight. Every time they go to the "safe house" or have a coded conversation in the basement, the air feels thinner. They are running out of oxygen. The tension with Stan Beeman is no longer about "will he catch them?" but "what will it do to him when he does?" Stan is their only real friend. That’s the tragedy. His best friend is the guy who has been undermining his entire career for years.
The Misconception of the "Slow" Season
A lot of people skip parts of this season. Don't do that.
The brilliance of The Americans season five is in the small details. It’s the way Matthew Rhys (Philip) uses his eyes to convey a decade of grief in a three-second shot. It’s Keri Russell (Elizabeth) showing the slightest tremble in her hand while she’s cleaning a gun.
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This season is the foundation for the series finale. You cannot have the emotional payoff of the final episode without the grueling, slow-burn misery of season five. You have to see them fail. You have to see them realize that the KGB—the organization they’ve sacrificed their lives for—is just as corrupt and incompetent as any other bureaucracy.
Takeaways for the Dedicated Viewer
If you’re revisiting the series or watching for the first time, look for these specific shifts in the narrative:
- The Shift in Tradecraft: Notice how the missions become less about gathering intel and more about managing the psychological fallout of their previous actions.
- The Food Motif: Pay attention to how often food—or the lack of it—is discussed. From the grain plot to the dinners with Stan, food is a symbol of the life they are trying to protect and the one they are actively destroying.
- The Silence: This season uses silence better than almost any show in history. The long walks, the staring out windows—it’s all part of the "disappearing" act.
The reality is that The Americans season five isn't about spies. It’s about a middle-aged couple realizing they’ve spent their lives working for the wrong company, and now they’re too deep in the retirement plan to quit. It’s bleak, it’s frustrating, and it’s some of the best writing you’ll ever encounter in a prestige drama.
To truly understand the show, you have to sit with the boredom. You have to feel the routine. Only then do you realize that the Jennings aren't just hiding from the FBI; they're hiding from themselves.