Joshua Brand

While last week’s episode, “Divestment,” showcased the emotional violence caused by the characters of The Americans, this week’s Phillip K. Dick-referencing “Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?” focused on actual physical violence and its effects. It’s an idea that’s been explored throughly on the show (through the infamous suitcase scene, the tooth extraction, and many other aspects), but the most recent hour is particularly notable for the way in which it contrasts how various characters react to the murders (or forced suicides, which are more or less the same thing) for which they’re responsible. No major players in the series’ universe are lost, but the two killings are, in their own way, two of the more devastating moments on The Americans in recent memory.

Calling attention to the lies told in an episode of The Americans might feel like spotlighting the sex in an hour of Game of Thrones or the cringeworthiness of an installment of Girls, but this week’s “Divestment,” was particularly filled with mendacity. As with the violence (which I’ll get to in a bit), it’s not the amount of it, but the severity of the obfuscations of truth which impacts the viewer most severely. Accordingly, “Divestment” contains some of the most painful and exaggerated lies seen on the show in recent memory.

There are certain images that stick with me from my childhood TV consumption: turtles eating pizza in a sewer; Kevin Sorbo in leather pants; and a moose serenely walking down the street. The latter image is the opening to one of my favorite TV shows of all time – Northern Exposure. I didn’t remember much …