‘The Americans’ Review: Season 4 May Be Series’ Best Yet

Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell offer weekly master classes on one of the best dramas on television

The Americans Matthew Rhys Kerri Russell
FX

As the new season of FX’s “The Americans” picks up where Season 3 left off — Philip has killed an FBI agent to protect the woman he’s married to under an assumed identity; daughter Paige has ratted out her Soviet agent parents to her pastor; son Henry is feeling so abandoned that he’s turned to neighbor (and perpetually suspicious FBI agent Stan) for fatherly guidance; and Elizabeth is as steely and determined as ever — it becomes increasingly clear that for the Jennings family, the center cannot hold.

If every successive season of the Cold War era drama-slash-critical darling moves further away from the action-movie highs of its debut campaign, then Season 4 is when the ruthlessness of Elizabeth and Philip’s exploits is underscored.

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