"What's the Matter with Kansas?" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the American period spy drama television series The Americans. It is the 56th overall episode of the series and was written by supervising producer Peter Ackerman, and directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton. It was released on FX on March 28, 2017.
The series is set during the Cold War and follows Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB intelligence officers posing as an American married couple living in Falls Church, a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., with their American-born children Paige and Henry. It also explores the conflict between Washington's FBI office and the KGB Rezidentura there, from the perspectives of agents on both sides, including the Jennings' neighbor Stan Beeman, an FBI agent working in counterintelligence. In the episode, Philip and Elizabeth follow two employees in Kansas, while Stan puts his career in risk in order to protect Oleg.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.89 million household viewers and gained a 0.3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received extremely positive reviews from critics, praising the performances, tension and character development.
Plot
Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) inform Gabriel (Frank Langella) about the facility in Topeka, Kansas where the eggs are sent. Gabriel then assigns them in following two employees, Deirdre Kemp and Benjamin Stobert. They reluctantly accept the "honey trapping" operation, even as it will make their lives more difficult due to constant travel.
In Topeka, Philip struggles in connecting with Deirdre at a gym, while Elizabeth gets along with Benjamin. They also dine with Stan (Noah Emmerich) and Renee (Laurie Holden), avoiding talking so much of their past when Renee claims to have a relative in their supposed birthplace. Paige (Holly Taylor) helps Pastor Tim (Kelly AuCoin) and Alice (Suzy Jane Hunt) by babysitting Claire Louise. After they leave, she decides to read Tim's diary to find anything suspicious. She reports this to Elizabeth, who tells her to not do it again.
In Moscow, Oleg (Costa Ronin) is assigned a new OBKhSS partner, Ruslan (Ravil Isyanov). They once again visit Ekaterina (Alla Kliouka), with Ruslan's intimidating tactics making her give out the name of her contact. They give the name of the contact, Dmitri Sharanov, to Anatoly (Oleg Stefan), although Oleg does not hide his disdain for Ruslan's tactics. Oleg later visits Yelena (Snezhana Chernova), confiding that his life is now in danger after an incriminating cassette appeared. She states that she had to survive five years on a prison camp and that he needs to do whatever it takes to survive. In Ljubljana, Vaso (Zoran Radanovich) gets Mischa (Alex Ozerov) hidden on a car. He manages to sneak him into Austria when a friend distracts the border patrol, allowing Vaso to drive into the country.
Unwilling to let the CIA blackmail Oleg, Stan confesses to the Deputy Attorney General (Cotter Smith) that he killed Vlad and threatens to publicly disclose it unless they stop their plan. Mischa is seen arriving at the John F. Kennedy International Airport. That night, Elizabeth tells Philip about Paige's actions. While outraged, she wonders if they can use the diary to their advantage.
Production
Development
In February 2017, FX confirmed that the fourth episode of the season would be titled "What's the Matter with Kansas?", and that it would be written by supervising producer Peter Ackerman, and directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton. This was Ackerman's sixth writing credit, and Horder-Payton's first directing credit.
Filming
Filming for the episode started on November 22, 2016 and wrapped by November 28, 2016.
Reception
Viewers
In its original American broadcast, "What's the Matter with Kansas?" was seen by an estimated 0.89 million household viewers with a 0.3 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.3 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. This was a 11% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.80 million household viewers with a 0.2 in the 18-49 demographics.
Critical reviews
"What's the Matter with Kansas?" received extremely positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 92% approval rating for the episode, based on 13 reviews. The site's consensus states: "The stirring, deceptively simple 'What's the Matter with Kansas?' probes the deepening layers of entanglements weighing on Philip, Elizabeth and Stan."