I think it would be bad writing if Stan's girlfriend was KGB this late in the game. It would suck for this show to go the 24 route on us all of the sudden. It wouldn't be as bad as if Aderholt was KGB, but it would be pretty bad.

There is only ONE way Martha plays any part in the finale......

If Elizabeth dies and Philip gets away and is smuggled back to mother Russia..... last scene Philip walking up to an apartment door, knocks and Martha answers and smiles.....end scene roll credits.

But I really don't believe it. Martha and Nina and Sofia and some others - are all basically to show us the human cost of what P and E do. Martha's life is ruined, Nina dies, Sofia dies, Kimmy similarly is just used and discarded.

Yeah Martha showing back up in any significant way would just be gratuitous. That would be a huge eye roller for me.

TV Guide has ~75 minutes on the listing for this week and 90 minutes for next week, so almost getting 3 regular episodes for the final stretch.

Trying not to set my expectations too high as this show has always excelled at the slow burn and they are going to have to depart from that with so many things to resolve in such a relatively short time frame.

I think there are necessarily going to have to be some plot resolutions which don't seem quite as well done as the rest of the series.

I wonder if it ends: knock at door, FBI has house surrounded, roll credits.

Thank you for that PSA!

But let's be honest. The FBI has been investigating them for years. Once they get a good solid connection to Philip and Elizabeth it should end pretty damn quickly because the FBI will be able to get to them so quickly since they live next door to Stan. It is not like Philip or Elizabeth will leave their kids. It will come fast and hard the next two episodes.

SeattleAgJr said:

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But let's be honest. The FBI has been investigating them for years. Once they get a good solid connection to Philip and Elizabeth it should end pretty damn quickly because the FBI will be able to get to them so quickly since they live next door to Stan. It is not like Philip or Elizabeth will leave their kids. It will come fast and hard the next two episodes.

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i mean the kids aren't exactly around. Paige lives alone and Henry is in boarding school.

But Stan ain't gonna tell anyone anyway except maybe Aderholt as long as it is just suspicion.

Can you imagine admitting you lived across the street from the 2 spies they have been looking for for years.

He would likely rather kill them himself which will be his own undoing and they might never know about them.

Still people are going to die - I bet Stan and Elizabeth at least. But not all of them. And they are not going to just walk away either back to Russia.

My prediction is it goes down with Stan and Elizabeth getting killed - Philip has to dispose of Stan and make Elizabeths death look like some random accident or something. Philip goes back to Russia. Aderholt quits because of what happened to Stan. Paige goes into State Department job and still reports to Claudia looking for revenge for her mom.

I am going with Elizabeth sacrificing herself for Philip and the kids by taking the cyanide pill.

Phil and the kids get sent back to Russia, like the real illegals.

Well that episode certainly moved things along.

So good.

Great job of showing how they are on different sides believe in different things...and could be/are best friends..Oleg..Philip..and Stan.

Hope they figure it out and Philip and Elizabeth are gone. ...I just can't root for them to get caught...I love Keri Russell too much to have her in jail.

And they are so damn sneaky with the scenes from next week

How did Stan use the payphone to call their number? I know they set it up to look that way, but it is not like he could just walk up and hit redial to see the last number called. Like you said, they are sneaky with their cut scenes.

Mildly disappointed; didn't expect it to be that slow. Hoping that next episode will be the best finale ever. Some people need to die or get caught.

n_touch said:

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How did Stan use the payphone to call their number? I know they set it up to look that way, but it is not like he could just walk up and hit redial to see the last number called. Like you said, they are sneaky with their cut scenes.

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you don't think he knows their home number?

they were neighbors and kids used to go over to each others houses. they called each other all the time.

Law361 said:

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Mildly disappointed; didn't expect it to be that slow. Hoping that next episode will be the best finale ever. Some people need to die or get caught.

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you do realize none of the real illegals were killed. They were all arrested and sent back to Russia in exchange for US spies.

But yes, one of our two leads will likely die.

Thought Elizabeth was gonna cap Claudia as she ate her stew.

I thought Claudia might cap Elizabeth

Now that's how's you TV people.

Law361 said:

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I thought Claudia might cap Elizabeth

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Me too.

Holy poop when Philip took off running and there really were guys failing him....

Just commenting on the cut scene and how they made it look that he was calling from there.

Great episode. Only the Paige scene seemed rushed.

We had several scenes and flashbacks during surveillance, but then only get a short scene on how a primary relationship comes crashing down. I think they can be forgiven due to time constraints, and in previous season Paige would hear the story and then have several episodes for it to stew properly.

Only have one left.

Such a great penultimate episode.
They completely resisted the over the top, stayed true to the history of the show. People wanted action, but think of all that happened in this episode:

Oleg was caught
Paige came to realize who her mother truly is
Phillip is a dead man walking once the photos are developed
Elizabeth, the most loyal one in the group, burned the entire thing to the ground
Stan now knows who it is
Claudia is done

And the family is now on the run.

Can't ask for much more than that in a single episode, especially the way they were able to pace all of that. Really masterful.

Amazing episode. Almost rivals the end of BB.

Elizabeth smoking inside, at the dining room table.

Gonna have to watch again.

So much of Elizabeth sitting and just reflecting and contemplating.... thought for a while it was going nowhere....then boom boom boom.

Oleg caught
Elizabeth killing and then quitting
Claudia lecturing E
Philip running
Paige confronting E
Elizabeth getting the bat signal

Loved Oleg and Stan talking in the cell. They know each other so well. But they are both stuck in their positions basically - no way to work together.

So if they have photos of Philip well they are from one of his disguises that matches the drawings... but a clear shot and Stan would know (as he appears to in the preview).

Looking forward to it... but also don't want it to end.

SWCBonfire said:

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Great episode. Only the Paige scene seemed rushed.

We had several scenes and flashbacks during surveillance, but then only get a short scene on how a primary relationship comes crashing down. I think they can be forgiven due to time constraints, and in previous season Paige would hear the story and then have several episodes for it to stew properly.

Only have one left.

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for me that scene was a seasons worth of frustration for Paige towards her mom. Riding her mercilessly with no empathy, directing her dating life, planning her whole future, and then the final straw was the lie because it also meant she had lied before. And given the nature of what she lied about, it allowed her to finally see her mom for who she truly is.
Someone mentioned BB, this episode did have an Ozymandias feel to it. All of the tightrope walking fell apart at once.

The scene between Oleg and Stan was some great acting and dialogue.

I'm going to be sad when this show is over. The writers and creators have done a superb job this season. I wouldn't be shocked if next Wednesday is limited commercials.

I wondered if the stew was poisoned

I fully expect a plane ride home with Claudia, Jenkins, and Oleg

FBI delivering Oleg to the plane and Stan and Philip staring at each other through the window

Zombie Jon Snow said:

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So much of Elizabeth sitting and just reflecting and contemplating.... thought for a while it was going nowhere....then boom boom boom.

Oleg caught
Elizabeth killing and then quitting
Claudia lecturing E
Philip running
Paige confronting E
Elizabeth getting the bat signal

Loved Oleg and Stan talking in the cell. They know each other so well. But they are both stuck in their positions basically - no way to work together.

So if they have photos of Philip well they are from one of his disguises that matches the drawings... but a clear shot and Stan would know (as he appears to in the preview).

Looking forward to it... but also don't want it to end.

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They got a clear shot. He was sitting there talking to the priest for 5 minutes or so.

SWCBonfire said:

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Great episode. Only the Paige scene seemed rushed.

We had several scenes and flashbacks during surveillance, but then only get a short scene on how a primary relationship comes crashing down. I think they can be forgiven due to time constraints, and in previous season Paige would hear the story and then have several episodes for it to stew properly.

Only have one left.

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I think the Paige scene was well done. I expected Elizabeth to tell a good lie and for Paige to buy it. I'm glad that they made her smarter than that. I like shows that do not depend on half the characters being dumbasses.

Did anyone else notice the veins beginning to pop out of Elizabeth's head as she was talking to Paige?

FancyKetchup14 said:

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Did anyone else notice the veins beginning to pop out of Elizabeth's head as she was talking to Paige?

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Yep - great acting.

Oleg and Stan in the cell was so subtly great. One of my favorite scenes in that show.

The 'stache and glasses weren't enough, Phil. You're busted.