- When Philip and Elizabeth are given an urgent task to plant a bug in Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger's office, they risk exposure when an unwilling maid of the Weinberger home refuses to cooperate.
- When a secret meeting is to be held in the Weinberger's home, Phillip blackmails the maid to hide a bug in a clock. Agent Beeman turns a Soviet embassy worker into an FBI mole. The Soviets become worried when they learn about the new S.D.I.—A Dude Named Dude
- Posing as Swedish diplomat, Philip successfully seduces State Department staff. When the KGB hears that the US is about to discuss a space shield with the UK government, the couple is ordered to plant a bug in deputy defense secretary and host Weinberger's home. Philip considers that madness without proper preparations, which normally take months, but lets his wife drag him along. They poison cleaner Viola's only son Grayson to blackmail her with the antidote. As Philip feared, her religious conscience complicates matters. Meanwhile the FBI, which also uses illegal pressure, manages to press-gang a Soviet employee into turning mole.—KGF Vissers
- Previously on 'The Americans': Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings are Soviet spies in 1981 who suddenly have a new neighbor, an FBI agent Stan Beeman. Phillip is having thoughts about defecting to America for the right price. Elizabeth is outraged. They've kidnapped a Russian defector a former captain who raped Elizabeth during her training back in the mother land. Phillip didn't know how the captain hurt Elizabeth, but when she told him to do with the captain what he wants, Phillip killed him by crushing his throat.
'The Clock': We open on Phillip in bed with a woman who calls him Scott. We later see Phillip telling Elizabeth that "she" (presumably the woman) "isn't cut out for this." Elizabeth tells Phillip that the woman is good at getting men to turn their brains off, which has collapsed whole empires. She says the fact that the woman cares about "Swedish intelligence officer" Scott Berkman (Phillip's cover) is enough. Phillip says he isn't so sure she cares about "him," either.
We next see the woman at a dinner party with her husband, where a bunch of guys are talking about various missiles. She sneaks off to snoop around the study and snaps some photos from a camera hidden in her bra. Security guards catch her and take her to another room.
Meanwhile, Phillip prepares to go meet the woman hoping she completed her task. He gets to a hotel room and finds her there, excited to tell him about being questioned by the guards. She tells him she played her part perfectly. She tells "Scott" that she thinks he's "the one," and she loves him. He tells her he loves her, too. They have sex again.
Phillip develops the photos in a dark room while Elizabeth talks to him about "Reagan ranting and raving" and how he "literally wants to destroy us." They see a clock among the items in the study and focus on it. The plan will be to get someone on the inside, which could take "six, seven months," according to Phillip, and they'll take it for a day, or so, to see what they can get from it before putting it back. Elizabeth notices a picture of the woman in her bra and says, "You never told me she looked like that. Phillip stammers a little, and then says, "well, she's not always dressed like that."
Agent Beeman and Agent Amador are watching a woman walk into an electronics store. She walks out quickly with a wrapped box. Beeman gets out to question the man in the store about the woman who was in there. The man says he can't tell them "a damn thing." They start poking around behind the counter and find a tin with Russian writing on it. It's caviar, "very fancy stuff," Amador says. They take it despite the store clerk's objections.
At the Soviet Embassy, plans are discussed in Russian about a visit by British Prime Minister Thatcher and Defense Minister Nott, who will be meeting Secretary of Defense Weinberger at his house. The two men Arkady and Vasili disagree on the best way to execute the mission. Arkady reminds Vasili that he (Arkady) reports to General Zhukov, an old friend of Vasili's. Vasili says he'll cable Zhukov right away, but Arkady warns him that "Zhukov isn't who he used to be." And adds, "Be careful. I tell you as a friend," before walking out.
Phillip and Elizabeth get their orders in a coded message. Phillip thinks this mission, which is supposed to take place in three days, should take six months to plan. Elizabeth reminds him that "these are orders" and "it must be necessary." She says they can make adjustments as they go. Phillip thinks it's "crazy."
Elizabeth sits at a bench watching a man walk across what looks like a college campus. She walks toward him, holding an umbrella. She releases a sharp end from its point and, as she gets close to the man, trips on purpose apparently sticking him on the foot with the sharp end. He sees her and forgives her for the "accidental" fall, helps her pick up her books and keeps walking.
Back at home, Phillip rounds the kids up for dinner and asks Elizabeth if she finished up the Kryzinski package. She says yes. She then notices her 13-year-old daughter is wearing a red bra and doesn't seem to like it.
Phillip and Elizabeth show up at a woman's house in disguise, saying only that they "need to talk" about her son. Phillip abruptly walks in, with the woman trailing him and Elizabeth closing the door behind them. Phillip calls the woman by her name, Viola. Phillip explains to her that her son has been poisoned and he (Phillip) has the antidote. He will let Grayson, her son, die in 72 hours if she doesn't complete one task: She has to go into her boss' study and take the clock from the bookshelf.
That night, Phillip worries that Viola won't make a great target, but Elizabeth assures him that the fact that Viola believed him was all that matters. Phillip is also annoyed that Agent Beeman doesn't appear to be back home yet. He wishes he knew Beeman's schedule in order to avoid too many late-night run ins. Elizabeth is worried that Beeman is still suspicious of them, but Phillip tells her Beeman's face when he saw their trunk was clean made it clear that he felt silly for having suspected anything in the first place. Phillip tells her Beeman is no fool, but "I think he's moved on."
Elizabeth starts thinking about her kids. She thinks Henry, their younger son, would "adjust" if anything happened to them. But she worries about Paige, saying "she's delicate somehow." She turns off the light and goes to sleep.
The next day, Viola is in her boss' study and sees the clock. She moves toward it and the woman of the house walks in and asks Viola if she's "seen Caspar's datebook." Viola says it's in the dining room.
"That man," Weinberger's wife says. "God help us if we ever go to war."
Mrs. Weinberger notices that Viola looks tired. Viola says she worries about her son, and they talk briefly about how they "almost lost" him. But he made it through this vague episode "thanks to you and Mr. Weinberger," Viola says. Mrs. Weinberger leaves the study and Viola turns and looks at the clock again.
At the travel agency, Elizabeth tells Phillip that Grayson looked bad that day and Viola almost lost it when she saw him. She tells Phillip they need to cover their meets as best they can, and she doesn't think he should go alone. He says they're "sitting ducks, either way." He hugs Elizabeth and feels a gun she's holding in her waistband.
"I'm not getting arrested," she tells him.
"What if there's 10 of them?" he asks.
Elizabeth says she's not going to make the choice of being tortured and forced to give up everything she believes in.
"One day you could maybe find a way to make them understand," she tells Phillip, referring to their kids.
He tells her that "if they are there" and catch Phillip, "they'll be at the house in an hour."
Phillip heads to Viola's place. Inside, he asks Viola if she had any problems. Phillip turns and sees a man pointing a gun at him, saying, "Give it to me." Phillip pleads with the man not to shoot, all while moving just close enough to rip the gun away. After a long tussle, Phillip breaks the man's arm and takes the gun and points it at the man, then Viola. Asking who the man is, Viola admits he's her brother. She told him, but made him promise not to come. Phillip insists no one can ever know about this because they can always find her or her family and they'll "pay the price." She hands him the clock and he leaves.
Elizabeth asks Paige if she'd like to go to the mall to buy bras, but Paige tells her kids don't buy bras with their moms.
Elizabeth finds Phillip working on the clock. She sees his bruises from the fight and he tells her about Viola's brother. He thinks this whole thing is turning into a mess. She takes some headphones and goes into another room, then Phillip tests the bug he installed in the clock, quietly saying, "Coming to you live, from the home of the Secretary of Defense."
Elizabeth comes back in and says, "Still joking. That's a good sign."
The bug works.
Beeman gets home and no one is there. He looks out the window and sees Phillip playing street hockey in his driveway with Henry. He walks over and they chat a bit about sports, saying they should go play racquetball. They talk a little about how life is so pleasant in the area and Beeman offers Phillip some of his fancy Russian caviar. They eat it with tortilla clips as Beeman starts to explain how he stole the caviar from a guy he ran into while working a case. Phillip says it's salty, and Beeman says, "That's what the beer is for."
Phillip sneaks up on Viola on the street, gives her the clock and tells her to put it back and plug it back in. Then her son will be better. She asks him if he worries about God, but Phillip says he worries about Viola and her son, and moving on after this whole thing is done.
Beeman and Amador go back to the electronics store and start to torture him, shoving foam in his mouth and choking him, asking about the woman who came into the store and what she wanted.
Viola brings the clock back to Caspar Weinberger's study and pauses for a moment. Mrs. Weinberger walks by and says hello, and Viola says nothing.
Phillip is outside in his car, checking for sound from his transmitter. Nothing but static. He's not happy.
He comes back and tells Elizabeth that Viola "made a choice" and didn't put the clock back. He says they have to assume she's reporting everything. They can't go back to her apartment and Grayson is going to die.
"They'll know it was the KGB," Elizabeth says.
"Yeah, that was the risk they took," Phillip says. "They didn't ask us."
He's relieved that at least they weren't blown. Elizabeth says they have to finish the job. Phillip gets a call with a coded message, which he says is an emergency signal from Annelise.
With other FBI agents watching from a nearby van, Beeman discreetly stands next to the woman from the electronics store at a produce stand. He tells her he's an FBI agent and knows she's stealing fancy caviar and trading it for high-end stereo equipment she's sending back to Russia, where it's probably being sold. He tells her he knows she's probably breaking a bunch of Russian laws and would face time in a Siberian prison if he turns her in. He tells her she works for him now and gives her two chances to nod in agreement. She does.
Phillip picks up Annelise. She says she's tired of doing this and threatens to call the police. He stops the car and tells her she's "been through a lot" and what she did the other night was "fantastic." She asks him about how he was ready to save her that night, and then fantasizes about escaping to Sweden together. She tells him to just "say yes" for that night, even though she knows it's "not real." She goes on talking about this, then abruptly gets out of the car and tells Phillip, "I'll see you later."
Elizabeth is at Viola's apartment trying to talk her into putting the clock back to save her son. She won't budged. She says she listens to her lord. Phillip says there's been a misunderstanding between her and her lord, and begins to suffocate Grayson, demanding that she promise she'll put the clock back. She screams that she will, swearing to Jesus. Phillip and Elizabeth leave.
The next day, Viola puts the clock back just before Mrs. Weinberger walks in. Phillip, listening from his car, hears the signal clearly. We next see Elizabeth sitting in Viola's apartment, with Grayson shaking on the couch. The phone rings twice, then stops. She gives Grayson the antidote and takes a deep sigh.
That night, Phillip brings Elizabeth the tin of caviar. He asks if she ever had it before and she says, "No, we couldn't afford this. We were like you, we had no money."
They sit down and enjoy the caviar. Elizabeth goes on to tell Phillip that had a "tingle" earlier, like she knew things were about to go bad. She tells Phillip she saw Henry and Paige and him, then says, "They shouldn't ask us to do impossible things."
"No, but we did it," he says. "And tonight, we're in the house of the Secretary of Defense. They must be after something very, very big. Something that changes things."
A lead FBI agent is on the phone explaining that the last time they had a source inside the KGB was four years ago. He then hands the phone to Beeman, who listens intently and gives many thanks. He notes "it's a team effort," which appeases Amador, who looked slightly annoyed for a moment. Beeman gets off the phone and says "that was the president." It was just the chief of staff, "but still," Beeman says.
Elizabeth goes to Paige's room while she's sleeping. She wakes her up. She asks her if she wants to pierce her ears something they'd agreed Paige could do when she was 15.
"You can go to the mall and do it with your friends, or I can do it now," Elizabeth says.
Paige considers it for a minute and says, "You do it."
Meanwhile, Phillip is sitting beside Henry's bed, watching his son sleep with a tear rolling down his eye.
At the Soviet Embassy, the woman from the electronics store sees Vasili and Arkady congratulating each other over some news. She asks the man sitting next to her what that's about. He says Directorate S had a good night, but has no further details.
Vasili and the other man head to a closed office where Arkady presents the transmitter, turns up the volume and listens in on Defense Minister Nott's conversation with U.S. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. Nott says he and the prime minister are supportive of a ballistic missile shield, provided it covers Europe as well as the United States.
"Think what a different world it will be as soon as we don't have to worry about their nuclear missiles," Nott says.
"Amen to that," Weinberger replies.
Vasili and Arkady don't look so happy any longer.
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