simply enjoying the cold war

one of my favorite shows to binge watch is the americans. i probably would have watched it regardless of the plot because i love keri russell so much. one of my all time favorite shows is felicity [#teamben] and besides all the angsty love triangles, it was because felicity was experiencing college the same time i was. and even though there are many, many differences in our college experiences, there is something to be said for a television show that captures a seminal time period of your life. i will always associate felicity with my college years, and that love extends to pretty much anyone who took part in that show, but especially keri.

when i first heard about the americans i was so excited for it. not only was felicity in it, but it was a show about the cold war and the leads were russian spies masquerading as american citizens. this was basically the made up game i played my entire childhood. [i am obviously a child of the 80s. i grew up during the cold war. which is such a weird era, because it was all about the threat of war without any actual war happening. and all we knew was that there was always the danger of being spied on by the russians and an atomic bomb could destroy the world. pretty dark, right?]

anyway. because we are at war with time warner cable we do not get fx. so i have to wait until the most recent season has started to watch the show on amazon prime. i suppose i could pay more to watch it, but i don't really mind the wait, it just means i'm a season behind everyone else in the world. i think that this also turns out to be a good thing, because i can just binge-watch the episodes. not having to wait a week to watch the next show. i think the ability to binge-watch makes the television viewing experience better than before. but i'm an instant gratification kind of girl. i hate to deny myself things, i don't see the point of that. so binge-watching the americans is totally the way to go.

one of my favorite things about this show is that it's not just this intense spy drama, it's also the story of a marriage. and the way elizabeth/nadezhda and philip/mischa interact, the push and pull between them, it's fascinating to watch. these are two people who are so dedicated to their country that they have created a family all to further the cause, and they can't question their cause, because then they'd have to question everything they've done in its name. and it's all so complicated. it's not just about patriotism, it's about marriage and family, it's about love. and keri russell and matthew rhys play all these layers so beautifully.

and i'll be honest, i kind of love that they fell in love while portraying these characters. and now they just had a kid and it's totally the best. those two people definitely needed to procreate. they are beautiful and the chemistry they share is just amazing.