Who knew that spreadsheets and lovemaking go together so great? Philip sure does now after Season 5 Episode 5 of The Americans entitled “Lotus 1-2-3”! It aired April 4, 2017, was written by Joshua Brand, and directed by Noah Emmerich.

This is Episode 81 and contains the news and our episode breakdown and analysis. To hear our history, tech of yesteryear, and feedback segments stay tuned for Episode 82.

There was so much news we had to cull it this week! First up is Vulture admiring the activism of Elizabeth and Paige, followed by Thrillist asking that although The Americans revealed Martha’s fate, what’s next for her? Then we have The Detroit News showcasing a cool interview with Holly Taylor, and we close with a funny piece in The New Yorker (via @fam4fun and Nancy!) showing us some of the ways TV critics have tried to get someone to watch The Americans!

It’s then time to dive right into the episode! It turns out Henry is a math whiz, and Philip and Elizabeth are clueless. They later show Henry the level of their cluelessness and make him unhappy. Oleg and Ruslan try to exploit the target of their investigation. Oleg is later treated to a surprise episode of the dating game by his parents, and wants none of it. He later goes to meet the CIA contact at the designated time, but the CIA is a no-show. Stan and Dennis show their displeasure about the busywork Wolfe has given them. Stan gets closer to Renee and spends time with her. Philip suspects Renee is a Soviet agent and begins tailing her. Paige and Matthew are having issues! Mischa tries to contact Philip, but Gabriel intervenes and prevents him from doing so. Philip as Gus has a date with target Deirdre, and he is able to honeypot her and learns the magic of spreadsheets. Elizabeth spends more time with her target Ben, and she too is intimate with him. She discovers that they have been wrong about their mission, in that the Americans are trying to help the world’s food production, not harm the USSR. Philip feels horrible about the murder in the lab. Elizabeth offers to take things on herself, and he insists “it’s us.”

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