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The Worst Episodes of The Americans

Every episode of The Americans ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of The Americans!

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Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    The Americans Season 5 Episode 8 - Immersion
    7.5/10(1423 votes)

    #1 - Immersion

    S5:E8

    A secret brings Elizabeth and Paige together. Back in Moscow, Oleg's own secrets put him under KGB suspicion and a new twist in the Morozov operation creates an opportunity that changes everything.

    Director:Kevin Bray
    Writer:Tracey Scott Wilson

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  2. The Americans Season 5 Episode 4 - What's the Matter with Kansas?
    7.6/10(1487 votes)

    #2 - What's the Matter with Kansas?

    S5:E4

    Philip and Elizabeth have qualms about a new assignment, while a specter from Philip’s past creates unforeseen dangers. At the FBI, Stan makes a shocking play that could throw his career into turmoil.

    Director:Gwyneth Horder-Payton
    Writer:Peter Ackerman

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  3. The Americans Season 5 Episode 2 - Pests
    7.7/10(1541 votes)

    #3 - Pests

    S5:E2

    Stan and Oleg wrestle with the harsh consequences of their complicated history as Philip and Elizabeth face a new mission with devastating implications for their country.

    Director:Chris Long
    Writers:Joel Fields, Joe Weisberg

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  4. The Americans Season 5 Episode 6 - Crossbreed
    7.7/10(1480 votes)

    #4 - Crossbreed

    S5:E6

    Gabriel stuns Philip and Elizabeth with a sudden announcement and a crushing revelation about Philip's past. Stan and Aderholt draw a fly into their web while Oleg and Ruslan ambush their first suspect.

    Director:Roxann Dawson
    Writer:Stephen Schiff

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  5. The Americans Season 5 Episode 7 - The Committee on Human Rights
    7.7/10(1461 votes)

    #5 - The Committee on Human Rights

    S5:E7

    As Paige becomes even more enmeshed in her parents' world, tensions with Matthew Beeman come to a head, Philip and Elizabeth's honeytraps take surprising turns, and Stan faces the consequences of overplaying his hand at the FBI.

    Director:Matthew Rhys
    Writer:Hilary Bettis

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  6. The Americans Season 2 Episode 2 - Cardinal
    7.8/10(2003 votes)

    #6 - Cardinal

    S2:E2

    As Philip investigates the fallout from the last operation, Elizabeth sticks close to home, concerned for her family until she gets a mysterious distress signal. Meanwhile, a walk-in arrives at the Rezidentura - providing both Nina and Stan with unique opportunities.

    Director:Daniel Sackheim
    Writers:Joel Fields, Joe Weisberg

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  7. The Americans Season 2 Episode 3 - The Walk In
    7.8/10(1974 votes)

    #7 - The Walk In

    S2:E3

    Philip and Elizabeth complete their next mission - but not without complications - and Philip's fears about Elizabeth's readiness for action deepen. Stan tracks the KGB walk-in which leads to much praise at work and a deepening of his attachment to, and dependence on, Nina. Meanwhile, Paige snoops into her mother's family background and Oleg begins to scrutinize Nina's secret operation.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writer:Stuart Zicherman

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  8. The Americans Season 2 Episode 7 - ARPANET
    7.8/10(1858 votes)

    #8 - ARPANET

    S2:E7

    Philip uses his agent Charles Duluth to help him gain access to an early precursor to the Internet so that the KGB can bug American government communications. Nina faces the threat of a potential FBI polygraph exam, bringing her closer to KGB colleague Oleg.

    Director:Kevin Dowling
    Writer:Joshua Brand

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  9. The Americans Season 3 Episode 2 - Baggage
    7.8/10(1747 votes)

    #9 - Baggage

    S3:E2

    Elizabeth and Philip come together to deal with a mission gone wrong but struggle to reconcile their increasingly opposing ideologies. Stan welcomes a Soviet defector, Zinaida, to America. Nina acclimates to her new living arrangements.

    Director:Daniel Sackheim
    Writers:Joel Fields, Joe Weisberg

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  10. The Americans Season 5 Episode 9 - IHOP
    7.8/10(1433 votes)

    #10 - IHOP

    S5:E9

    Philip and Elizabeth are thrown off balance when things with Tuan take an unexpected turn. Henry makes a startling proposition and Stan has a disturbing encounter with Frank Gaad’s widow.

    Director:Dan Attias
    Writer:Peter Ackerman

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  11. The Americans Season 1 Episode 3 - Gregory
    7.9/10(2815 votes)

    #11 - Gregory

    S1:E3

    Philip and Elizabeth discover that their murdered colleague Robert had a wife they never knew about. As they try to determine what she knows and where her allegiance lies, Stan's investigation into Robert's death puts him hot on their trail.

    Director:Thomas Schlamme
    Writer:Joel Fields

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  12. The Americans Season 1 Episode 5 - COMINT
    7.9/10(2509 votes)

    #12 - COMINT

    S1:E5

    A crucial agent crumbles under emotional distress and threatens to topple a valuable network of KGB informants. Professionally, Philip and Elizabeth are tasked with infiltrating the FBI's new communications encryption system while personally they are forced to grapple with one of the darker aspects of life as a spy.

    Director:Holly Dale
    Writer:Melissa James Gibson

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  13. The Americans Season 1 Episode 7 - Duty and Honor
    7.9/10(2416 votes)

    #13 - Duty and Honor

    S1:E7

    Philip and Elizabeth's troubled marriage is further tested when a mission to discredit a Polish pro-democracy leader reunites Philip with his old flame.

    Director:Alex Chapple
    Writer:Joshua Brand

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  14. The Americans Season 1 Episode 8 - Mutually Assured Destruction
    7.9/10(2344 votes)

    #14 - Mutually Assured Destruction

    S1:E8

    Philip and Elizabeth must stop an assassin from taking out key US scientists, while Stan and the FBI hunt the same man. Grannie shocks Elizabeth with the truth of what happened between Philip and Irina in New York.

    Director:Bill Johnson
    Writers:Joel Fields, Joe Weisberg

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  15. The Americans Season 1 Episode 11 - Covert War
    7.9/10(2226 votes)

    #15 - Covert War

    S1:E11

    Events in Moscow strike a personal chord for Elizabeth, leading her to take on a dangerous mission she can't complete without Philip's help, and placing the couple on a collision course with both Grannie and the FBI.

    Director:Nicole Kassell
    Writers:Joshua Brand, Melissa James Gibson

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  16. The Americans Season 2 Episode 6 - Behind the Red Door
    7.9/10(1908 votes)

    #16 - Behind the Red Door

    S2:E6

    A dangerous Naval officer becomes the key to Philip and Elizabeth’s mission as well as a potential threat to their family's safety. Lucia, a Sandinista intelligence officer working with the Jennings, is tasked with getting Elizabeth access to Capitol Hill. Stan struggles with the potential costs of protecting Nina.

    Director:Charlotte Sieling
    Writer:Melissa James Gibson

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  17. The Americans Season 2 Episode 10 - Yousaf
    7.9/10(1783 votes)

    #17 - Yousaf

    S2:E10

    A new mission with international stakes has Philip calling on Annelise for assistance just as an old foe returns to D.C. with a vendetta. Stan makes a discovery that could put the FBI hot on the trail of illegals.

    Director:Stefan Schwartz
    Writers:Stephen Schiff, Stuart Zicherman

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  18. The Americans Season 3 Episode 6 - Born Again
    7.9/10(1679 votes)

    #18 - Born Again

    S3:E6

    Gabriel has surprising information. Elizabeth begins to take family matters into her own hands. Stan receives upsetting news from his past and turns to Sandra for support.

    Director:Kevin Dowling
    Writer:Tracey Scott Wilson

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  19. The Americans Season 3 Episode 11 - One Day in the Life of Anton Baklanov
    7.9/10(1601 votes)

    #19 - One Day in the Life of Anton Baklanov

    S3:E11

    Philip and Elizabeth's home and work lives collide in new and dangerous ways. Nina struggles to figure out her next steps. Arkady assigns Oleg and Tatiana to an operation with uncertain potential.

    Director:Andrew Bernstein
    Writers:Stephen Schiff, Tracey Scott Wilson

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  20. The Americans Season 4 Episode 9 - The Day After
    7.9/10(1524 votes)

    #20 - The Day After

    S4:E9

    The Day After premieres, making the stakes - and terrible consequences - of the Cold War plain. Even with that in mind, will Elizabeth be able to complete the painful process of the "Patty" operation?

    Director:Daniel Sackheim
    Writer:Tracey Scott Wilson

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  21. The Americans Season 5 Episode 3 - The Midges
    7.9/10(1532 votes)

    #21 - The Midges

    S5:E3

    Philip and Elizabeth tell Paige more about the family business, but pressing new questions arise when an operation takes a ghastly and unexpected turn. Meanwhile, a sensitive package jeopardizes Oleg’s life back home.

    Director:Stefan Schwartz
    Writer:Tracey Scott Wilson

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  22. The Americans Season 1 Episode 2 - The Clock
    8.0/10(3034 votes)

    #22 - The Clock

    S1:E2

    When Philip and Elizabeth are given an urgent task to plant a bug in Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger's office, they risk exposure when an unwilling maid of the Weinberger home refuses to cooperate. Stan closes in on a member of the Soviet Rezidentura in an effort to uncover the identities of deep cover Directorate S operatives.

    Director:Adam Arkin
    Writer:Joe Weisberg

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  23. The Americans Season 2 Episode 4 - A Little Night Music
    8.0/10(1955 votes)

    #23 - A Little Night Music

    S2:E4

    Just when Philip and Elizabeth think they have a quiet road ahead, an old friend returns to complicate things. Not only do they have to intercept a target who could prove valuable to the Soviet Union, but they also have to take on an important rogue mission without the support of the Centre. Divisions inside the Rezidentura deepen between Oleg and Arkady and there’s an upheaval at the FBI as the chickens come home to roost for Agent Gaad. Meanwhile, Martha’s frustrations threaten to blow Philip’s cover.

    Director:Lodge Kerrigan
    Writer:Stephen Schiff

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  24. The Americans Season 2 Episode 8 - New Car
    8.0/10(1844 votes)

    #24 - New Car

    S2:E8

    Philip and Elizabeth both find themselves faced with painful turns in their various missions. Stan fights to gain access to an American military program that could give him the upper hand in his battle of wills with Oleg.

    Director:John Dahl
    Writer:Peter Ackerman

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  25. The Americans Season 2 Episode 11 - Stealth
    8.0/10(1785 votes)

    #25 - Stealth

    S2:E11

    Elizabeth makes a shocking discovery about Kate. Philip pursues a contact for information about stealth. Stan continues his pursuit of the illegals.

    Director:Gregory Hoblit
    Writer:Joshua Brand

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Immersion" is the worst rated episode of "The Americans". It scored 7.5/10 based on 1423 votes. Directed by Kevin Bray and written by Tracey Scott Wilson, it aired on 4/25/2017. This episode scored 0.1 points lower than the second lowest rated, "What's the Matter with Kansas?".