by Lynn Lee

[Warning: Spoilers for the series finale of The Americans] 

It ended not with a bang or with a whimper, but with the characteristic slow burn and emotional gravitas that’s been its hallmark all along.  The series finale of The Americans may not have been what everyone expected or wanted, but it was a fitting conclusion to one of the best shows of the decade.

There’s been plenty of speculation over the years about the end game for FX’s critically acclaimed but ratings-challenged drama about Reagan-era Soviet spies posing as the perfectly all-American family next door.  History foreordained that the Jenningses’ cause was doomed, and as their personal kill count and internal conflict mounted, a reckoning seemed inevitable...