Philip's child problems continue to multiple in "Born Again," where we were reminded about his son with Irina. So now Philip has his Paige and Henry to deal with, along with Kimmy, as well as Martha's desire to foster a child, and the son he's never known (but who, according to Gabriel, has become a fine young man). It's kinda no wonder that Philip is stoned so much these days.
The Americans always comes back to identity, and "Born Again" explored that specifically. Elizabeth is afraid that Paige doesn't really know who she is, and is desperate now to bring her onboard with the true family business -- not the travel agency, of course, but spycraft.
But Paige is forging her own identity through the church, being baptized and never being afraid to speak boldly about her religious experiences, whether it's to her parents or even a stranger like Tori. She is never pushy or obnoxious about it, though, she's just quietly certain. She explains to Philip about the peace she feels, and later (in an unrelated moment), addresses Elizabeth's smoking with grace and maturity.
Philip specifically wanting Paige to know that she should and can always stand up for herself, and for what she believes, was a really interesting moment. It seemed to create a little distance between them at the time, with Paige thinking her father was talking about drugs or alcohol, or even church. But he meant Elizabeth.
The Jennings have been working together but apart this season, with Paige driving a wedge between them where they would otherwise be bonded closer together than ever. Elizabeth's fidgeting, and something akin to jealousy, about Philip's relationship with Kimmy shows a new side to her feelings for him, and though they spar over Paige's future, Philip brings home a joint for them to share, where they laughed and seemed, frankly, normal.
But Philip's relationship with Kimmy is not just about his relationship with Paige. It's also about Elizabeth. He fails to bring up to her the truth about his son, but is able to express all of his confusion on the subject to Kimmy. He engages her, incredibly, through prayer. Kimmy, like Paige would, embraced him in that moment, and joined him in a plea for peace, and for clarity (and safety) regarding his son. Philip seemed genuinely moved in that moment, experiencing a kind of emotional intimacy with Kimmy that he doesn't -- and perhaps can't -- have with his daughter or his wife. Philip is still not looking to get intimate with Kimmy (at least, not yet) yet through his dancing around it, he's establishing another very deep kind of bond.
"Born Again" also addressed other kinds of rebirth, like Tori helping Stan begin to heal regarding Sandra. She challenges him, making sure he is present with her, and then helps him become so. Though Stan still invites Sandra to the memorial for his friend Dave, which is in Chicago (which could be tricky for them), he also seems interested in reestablishing his relationship with Matthew.
As for Nina, she finally made her move on her cellmate, collecting the intel she was asked for, and being treated both to a tasty dinner, and to Evie's screams and accusations as she was dragged away. Nina is not heartless, but she is a survivor. She becomes, as she herself said, whatever it is she needs to become. Like Elizabeth and Philip, she also "makes it real," and uses her real experiences with Oleg and Stan to initially foster intimacy with Evie. There's truth among the lies, which makes them all the more powerful and convincing. But also like the Jennings (and Stan, who also has lived undercover for a long time, in various FBI operations), we don't really have a sense of the real Nina. It's hard to separate who she really is from who she is pretending to be.
"Born Again" was another fully engrossing episode that touched on so many major themes, but it never felt heavy-handed with it. The conversations had between characters always feel natural, even when they are anything but.
Just as Philip feels he has a handle on all of his spinning plates, though, Elizabeth is about to throw a new one in. She has really stepped up her conditioning of Paige, even introducing her to Gregory's old neighborhood (a way of slowly introducing her to another real part of herself). Elizabeth is of course a pro, so her words and how she said them seemed fairly innocuous. But where things go from there, and how Philip will continue to fortify Paige against Elizabeth (and if Elizabeth finds out) will be fascinating to watch unfold.
Episode Rating: ★★★★ Very good
Musings and Miscellanea:
-- Henry, who gets totally ignored usually, also seems really oddly mature at times (like when he asks Tori what she does for work, etc).
-- "Han's teenage super-spy likes redheads and is failing biology" - Elizabeth. Although Gabe says Hans was really on to something.
-- Kimmy is always wearing a soft palette of colors like pale pinks and blues that make her look even younger (along with those curls!) I loved that Philip tried to get her to listen to Pink Floyd, but rebuffed her wanting them to take a bath together. If you stop and think about who "James" is as a regular person and not Philip, the whole situation is excessively creepy.
-- Elizabeth owning up to her smoking with Paige was such a fantastic moment of total honesty between them.
-- Elizabeth's training of Hans is pretty insane. He's supposed to not only memorize what everyone is wearing, but license plates as they pass? I can't even remember why I just walked into the kitchen, much less all of that.
-- Philip using Paige's religion to get him out a bind with Kimmy was an amazing twist. But it wasn't just the surface-driven joke Elizabeth makes of it. Later on, it actually appeared to have meaning (I'm not saying that Philip is finding religion, but I think the moment allowed him to touch upon some emotions he hasn't otherwise dealt with).
-- I'm also interested to see how the new FBI guy's relationship with Martha escalates. The Classified documents are gone, just like she asked about, which may mean she's less of a help to Philip/Clarke now.
