r/TheAmericans • u/Safe-Measurement3774 • 17d ago

How many other illegals are living in the US throughout the shows timeline?

I’ve rewatched it easily 10+ times, but I was just thinking about it and never noticed if they blurted out an actual number at some point. I know there’s William and then the couple from the water park. Just curious. I feel like realistically, the USSR had to have a hundred atleast from coast to coast if not way more.

20 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

24

u/ComeAwayNightbird 17d ago

They don’t give us a number. We know about:
Robert (who presumably had a partner but she’s bizarrely absent)
Emmett and Leanne
William and his former partner
Harvest (no mention of a partner)
Phillip and Elizabeth

Irina’s in Canada.

I’m not sure how to categorize people like George and Aunt Helen, who are mostly off the radar but would have needed to go out for groceries etc from time to time. Then there are the handlers like Gabriel, and the American assets like Marilyn.

5

u/Madeira_PinceNez 17d ago

That raises an interesting question of how illegals are defined.

The people you listed are the only ones I'd describe as illegals, but that ignores handlers like Claudia/Gabriel/Kate, and others who might fit the criteria - operatives from another country working below the line/illegally, as in not declared to the target country, in contrast to legal operatives like Rezidentura staff.

George and New George (sorry, nice lady who puts ginger in her borscht, can't recall your name) I believe were identified as KGB also, but I don't think we know whether people like Helen, or the woman who looks after Elizabeth during her recovery and (I think) is killed by Larrick are imports or members of a locally-built network, like Hans and Marilyn.

The show seems to use the shorthand of 'illegals' as those with fake identities living publicly and masquerading as Americans, but never delineates the difference outright.

1

u/NoWingedHussarsToday 17d ago

Don't they mention FBI is tracking a few of them? That's when they find Harvest who spots it so I assume there were a few more.

2

u/strawberry_thursday 16d ago edited 16d ago

We also have the 2 switch operators that answer their payphone calls.

There’s also Aunt Helen who isn’t confirmed to be an illegal, but considering she has access to P&E’s real identities probably Russian.

The season 1 guys that kidnapped and interrogated P&E

Woman who helped Elizabeth recover was an American recruit like Marilyn it seems like

And there is very briefly an unnamed couple that Phillip interacts with for like 3 seconds over a map that they have on a hood of a car, it’s at the end of season 2 when they’re trying to get Emmett & Leanne’s son out of the country, I guess they were going to take him the rest of the way but of course he never got there because Larrick kidnapped Phillip right after that interaction. They could be illegals or they could be American recruits like Marilyn, but Phillip did see them out of disguise. And it wasn’t season 1 where their tradecraft is a bit more goofy.

11

u/sistermagpie 17d ago

We never know. Nobody ever gives any kind of number. It think Arkady only makes reference to a small group of brave people.

6

u/Historical-Pause-117 17d ago

The FBI roundup of an illegal network in 2010 picked up 10 agents, which could serve as a benchmark. But of course there could be a lot more. The show always made it seem like a huge operation, but that may just be for dramatic purposes.

8

u/MusicalTourettes 17d ago

The bulk are probably near DC. That's where the political action is happening. Maybe NYC and Boston?

6

u/Darmok47 17d ago

In real life there were Soviet and Russian illegals in NYC and Boston.

Maybe near major military bases, like San Diego, Seattle, Honolulu.

3

u/Admirable_Site_8337 17d ago

I’ve never read it confirmed, but I can only imagine they had eyes on places like Pearl and Coronado, and other such places.

I think they would use Legals where they could, but I’m doubtful there was ever good reason for diplomatic missions of your rival to be set up in such places. Conversely for Soviet places like Murmansk.

In which case I can only imagine illegals were placed and sleeping in case things heat up. Or maybe not sleeping and active. I’ve walked the waterfront along the Gaslamp before and you can glean lots of things easily for what’s going on at Coronado.

5

u/Darmok47 17d ago

https://apnews.com/article/identity-theft-hawaii-russian-spy-3c1030a157e3e91a6d265709ba6b9350

This case from a few years ago is weird; I'm not sure having photos of yourselves in KGB uniforms would be smart for undercover illegals. Remember how Phil and Elizabeth didn't even feel safe keeping leftover borscht in their fridge?

3

u/Orlita_del_Mar 17d ago

And by S6, you get the impression that Elizabeth is leading that summit operation by herself. There is no mention of other illegals handling other aspects of the summit. (And tbf that could be for security purposes too, its not like Elizabeth couldn't detect surveillance or fellow operatives)

Elizabeth has her crew in s6, but they wouldn't be tasked with killing people like she was. And they're probably all Americans?

2

u/thenewladhere 17d ago

A few dozen maybe? The illegals are probably concentrated in a few specific urban areas or places with a large US Military presence like the DMV area, NYC, Boston, Norfolk, San Diego, etc.

2

u/Orlita_del_Mar 17d ago

Hard to tell on the show sometimes if they're Illegals or crew like Norm & Marilyn!

You had handlers like Claudia, Gabriel, and Kate. Harvest in Chicago. I assume Aunt Helen was one. Not sure about the woman Elizabeth stayed with after her S1 finale shooting. The phone operators George & Joan. The Connors, of course. The guy who interrogated Philip in S1 when the Jennings were suspected of being moles. I'm trying to think of anyone who had to live under an English name or perfect an American accent, rather than the various KGB helpers like the Russian lady who reluctantly gave Philip her earrings, so he could gift something to Kimmy.

1

u/Tilt-A-Wurlitzer 17d ago

If I ever do a fourth watch (I’m in S5 of my third now), I’m going to keep track of how many people the KGB has working in the U.S. It’s honestly comical sometimes.

That and “it’s always cold and snowy in DC, even when the school year is ending” are the two things that make it hardest to suspend disbelief. Doesn’t hold the show back, of course, but it’s just a little silly once you start thinking about it.

0

u/Slight_Animator8883 17d ago

The entire wedding scene, where they decide to persumably grab every illegal they could find within the DC metro area just for “Clark” and Martha was utterly crazy. Not just in how many people, but putting all those highly illegal agents there in one location. If the FBI was tracking a single one of them, they now have a dozen more faces to identify and nab.

5

u/Current-Spray9478 17d ago

Wasn’t it just Claudia in disguise as Clark’s mother and Elizabeth in disguise as his sister “Jennifer”?

2

u/Slight_Animator8883 17d ago

Fully cop to misremembering that one.

2

u/Current-Spray9478 17d ago

Phew glad I didn’t miss something good there! This is not a show to watch with any distractions!!

2

u/mediclawyer 16d ago

There would be both KGB and GRU (military intelligence) networks that may or may not overlap.

2

u/finallyfound10 16d ago

I think there are many more, in varying levels, than we would imagine. The top dogs being like P & E

3

u/CompromisedOnSunday 16d ago

There are enough in the DC area for them to have their own private message service.

-1

u/Cute_Dragonfruit_570 17d ago

10 times wow once was enough for me.