The Grey Area: Exploring Sex And Marriage In ‘The Americans’

“You Americans think everything is white and black. For us, everything is grey.” — Nina Sergeevna, The Americans

Grey best describes FX series, The Americans, starring Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell as Philip and Elizabeth Jennings: two undercover KGB agents posing as an all-American married couple during the early Eighties era of the Cold War. “Grey” is not a dis in the slightest, mind you, and KGB operative Nina Sergeevna’s (Annet Mahendru) telling insight of her affair with FBI agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich) throws the viewer a bone as to how this complex crime drama might play out. The various relationships between the show’s few characters have become integral to the success or failure of operations within the super secret sides of the Soviet and American governments. And while these relations both aid and disrupt classified intelligence for both sides, none is quite as stirring as the Jennings’ marriage.

An anomaly so radically different from how Mr. and Mrs. has been depicted on the tube, Philip and Elizabeth are a case that begs to be dissected, analyzed, and learned from. As Season Three gets under way this week and tensions within the series are at an all-time high, the grey area has never been cloudier (additionally making Rhys’ and Russell’s blossoming off-screen relationship, begun last year, all the more interesting).

After completing their training as young adults, Philip and Elizabeth were matched by the KGB, flown to the States to set up shop, and forced to begin their lives as undercover Soviet operatives disguised as your white picket fence American family — two kids included. Doesn’t exactly scream romance, does it?

When we meet Philip and Elizabeth nearly two decades later, their hostility towards each other is obvious, but not explicit: neither comes out and says, “Get the fuck out of my way so I can do my job.” Their back and forth nature is passive aggressive yet oozes sexual tension. In the pilot, after Philip is denied some innocent necking by the kitchen sink before work (they’re aliases are travel agents, conveniently enough) we’re given the impression, Oh, maybe he just likes her more than she likes him. Yet, there’s nothing that says this couple has had or is currently having marital problems, but rather, Philip and Elizabeth have simply never been in love. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to try.

While international intrigue and politics certainly play their part in this brilliantly researched series from Joe Weisberg (Falling Skies, Damages), the real war is at home with the Jennings; an ongoing battle of love and intimacy, deception, resentment, forgiveness, and trust.

In the field, Philip and Elizabeth are not to be reckoned with. (“I could never work with my spouse” is not the case whatsoever here.) As a team, they’re unstoppable and completely in sync, navigating their way in and out of the most dangerous of situations. This isn’t to say they haven’t had hiccups or jeopardized each other’s safety on missions gone awry, but nine times out of ten, Philip and Elizabeth can wipe their hands clean after finishing a job and make it home in time to kiss their kids, Paige and Henry, goodnight.

Their cohesiveness as working partners is undeniable, but their marriage so fascinating because, as a couple, Philip and Elizabeth are unapologetically fucked up, which offers dark comic relief along with some refreshing honesty. It’s no secret Joe Weisberg intended to create a crime drama centered around marriage, but to have planned out how nuanced and intricate their relationship has become — both on- and off-screen — would have been a thing of genius.

As Season One gets rolling, Philip and Elizabeth make an effort to get closer to one another, both physically and emotionally. Elizabeth cuts off romantic ties with one of her recruits, Gregory (Derek Luke), who she’s been seeing on and off since getting settled in the States. When Philip gets wind of their history for the first time, he cries the most heartbreaking of cries, proving that yes, he’s in love with this stranger he’s married to. Then surprisingly, it’s Elizabeth who breaks down to Philip about her relationship with Gregory, saying that sure, it was lustful and passionate and that passion “never really happened” for her and Philip, but she feels like “it’s happening now.” Reminiscent of monarchy marriages: Philip and Elizabeth were meant to be the perfect team, not the perfect couple.

Yet, without sounding too cliché, in the truest sense of the phrase: Philip and Elizabeth are perfect for each other, specifically because of their ability to work in the grey. Part of their job description is to sleep their way to the top of the government food chain whenever possible. While this might seem shocking to non-spies in relationships that haven’t been set up for them, Philip and Elizabeth don’t know the meaning of the word jealousy. Although, to be fair, that was before they fell in love.

If you’re just getting into the series — spoiler alert — Philip is also married to an entirely different woman named Martha: head secretary at the FBI’s counterintelligence office. Martha (Alison Wright) is a gentle, unassuming woman who has access to countless classified government documents and information, which Philip uses to the KGB’s advantage. With Martha, Philip poses as Clark, a counter-counterintelligence lapdog who checks up on FBI protocol to make sure they’re meeting the securest of security standards. What could have posed as an aggravating B-plot, over the course of two seasons, has become one of the more interesting aspects of the series. While day-to-day, Clark is usually pressing Martha for information about work, they certainly have their married moments, including fighting about leaving hair in the drain and if kids are on the horizon (Martha wants ‘em, Clark certainly does not. And can’t, really).

Eventually, sex between Clark and Martha directly affects Philip’s and Elizabeth’s pillow talk, which is taboo to say the least, given their occupations. Elizabeth often has to sleep with strange, sometimes dangerous and violent men for government intel, but out of respect for their separate missions, Philip rarely inquires about “work stuff.” Sex is just another day at the office for Philip and Elizabeth until it’s not, and Martha, a non-threatening figure, creates a unique and tense dynamic. After Elizabeth heard from Martha (Elizabeth disguises herself as Clark’s sister when they’re forced to see each other) that Clark is “a wild animal” in bed, she wanted to indulge in some good old fashioned role play. “Can Clark have an affair?” Elizabeth asked Philip, who might have been turned on for a second, but knew deep-down it would mess things up, which it did in a horrifically depressing sex scene, reiterating the fact that whether you’re Russian or American, black or white, or grey – mixing business with pleasure eventually goes sour.

But the grey carries on and it has become the most unpredictable character of the series. And not to discredit their acting in the slightest, but it’s hard to deny that as Rhys and Russell get closer in real life, Philip and Elizabeth become more pronounced as a couple. Talk about method acting.

But off-screen romances aside, the greyness between Philip and Elizabeth, Stan and Nina, Clark and Martha, and so on; offers a different perspective on the Cold War and the sociopolitical divide, not just between America and the Soviet Union, but also on the nature of politics themselves. Weisberg’s series is about war and marriage and wars within marriages, but the multi-dimensional relationships within The Americans remind us that while marriage isn’t black and white, neither are politics. Political parties in the U.S. and abroad encourage division of ideology, leaving citizens to wonder just how loyal they should be to their respective motherlands.

When we left Philip and Elizabeth at the end of Season Two, their marriage was in a relatively solid place until the Soviet Centre ordered that they want to recruit their oldest and only daughter, Paige, to the KGB. Philip put the kibosh on this immediately, but Elizabeth is second-guessing her husband’s impulsivity. “She’s looking for something to believe in. This could be it,” Elizabeth explains to an aghast Philip, who looks like he might strangle his wife, whose dedication to “the cause” has reached new heights.

Season Three of The Americans premieres on FX this Wednesday, January 28th at 10pm. Stream episodes on FXNOW and catch up on Amazon Prime Instant Video.

Like what you see? Follow Decider on Facebook and Twitter to join the conversation, and sign up for our email newsletters to be the first to know about streaming movies and TV news!

Photos: FX/Everett Collection