"Claudia's plot on The Americans: A theory
Claudia is back. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
It's no secret that The Americans' Philip and Elizabeth are in a fragile place. (The camera has made that clear all season.) And at the intersection of all their conflicts — between Philip and Elizabeth, and their respective relationships to Russia — is Claudia.
That Margo Martindale is back — given the rough history the Jenningses have with her character — makes the Centre's configuration seem more opaque (and Elizabeth and Philip's relationship to it more brittle) than ever before. This is true for viewers too: Now that Arkady and Oleg are gone, we're basically blind to the Rezidentura's thinking. The one thing we do know is that Tatiana Ruslanova — not known to be either cautious or moral, given her participation in the dangerous and controversial Department 12 — is in charge. We also know that Claudia trusts the Jenningses less than Gabriel, their departed handler, did, and that the feeling is mutual.
I am worried. The wheat mission is starting to seem like a (cough cough) red herring, one intended to keep the spies busy. As our president might say, something is going on."
http://theweek.com/articles/694683/claudias-plot-americans-theory
= new reply since forum marked as read
