The title "Roy Rogers in Franconia" really does roll off the tongue, doesn't it? Before the season's through, I just wanted to make sure I gave a shout out to the wonderful episode titles that The Americans has brought us. (Other favorites included "Baggage," "One Day in the Life of Anton Baklanov" and "Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow.") Has it really been 12 weeks already? Why, it seems like only yesterday Paige was being inducted into the world of espionage. Now look how far the curious teenager has come: Paige is still being inducted into the world of espionage!
Just joshing. I think it's wise her story line is proceeding at such a cautious pace. Any faster would be unrealistic, though this hour sure saw Paige catapulted a little further into her parents' world than Elizabeth and Philip might like. Namely, whatever distance it takes to know that your mom and dad have definitely killed before and may kill again. While Paige dealt with the aftermath of watching her mom knife a man dead, William had second thoughts about delivering the deadly virus sample. And if that wasn't enough the FBI discovered the dang bug in the mail robot.
"Roy Rogers in Franconia" -- named for the Virginia restaurant where the FBI janitor got coerced into changing out the planted bug -- forced the Jenningses to confront new realities about the lives they live. The two scenes that stuck out as thematic parallels were Paige's talk with Elizabeth about killing, and William's explanation of why he refused to help get a virus that makes you "dissolve inside then squirt yourself out your anus," as he so poetically put it. On the one hand, there was a woman who justified her murderous actions to her own daughter by drawing on inspiration she felt as a child in watching her town rebuild itself. On the other, there was a man who had once committed himself to a cause in the throes of youthful idealism, but had since grown out of touch with the country and its values.