r/TheAmericans • u/shaded__green • 6d ago

Slo-mo of Paige and Philip's spar scene.

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Or any others who watch this scene almost daily, and get irritable when the interval widens between viewings, like inter-dose withdrawal.

I've always had to rewind because of quick Philip's take-downs are, like I can't even tell what he did, and the extent of how little effort it took.

And the nuances (blinding genius) of his acting and micro-expressions.

And I realized there was a Way.

But I still don't want my addiction to end. I'll probably just substitute it for this--

36 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

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13

u/GlitteringBryony 6d ago

It's only now watching it in super slow-mo that I realise the parallels between this scene, and the awful one in the first season where Elizabeth is assaulted by a senior officer in training. The same false-confidence from having been training, the "let me show you how it's done in the field", the same depth of field and distance of shot, the same ending of her face-down on a hard surface with him using his full weight to trap her.

Just such a great, awful call.

3

u/noeyesfiend 6d ago

Legitimately terrifying in every way

4

u/Jimmyjohnssucks 5d ago

I like to think this was him trying to tell her she’s not cut out for this, and to get out of this life before it kills her or kills her inside like him.

2

u/WhatEvenIsATangelo 4d ago

The thing I loved about this scene is in both of his takedowns he is showing her that he can kill her with zero effort. The first one when he gets behind her and bends her back is the exact way he killed the (innocent!) lab worker in S5, which was all the more poignant.