I have enjoyed the FX spy thriller series, The Americans from the beginning. Season 4 was a bit all over the place, but last season and this season (the final one) have been well worthwhile. Part of the fun of course is the soundtrack during key scenes. Quick spoiler – this season picks up a few years after season 5 ends – so the Jennings are coexisting in 1987, both living essentially separate lives under the same roof. The opening scene to Season 6, Episode 1 included this Crowded House tune, juxtaposing Elizabeth’s continued spy work with Philip’s efforts to live the American dream now that he is out of the spy business:
The sense of melancholy and of just sheer existential exhaustion are punctuated by this tune. Whoever curates for the series has done a reasonably good job. The writers do a fairly decent job of capturing the early 1980s (during the early seasons of this series) and 1987 (during the current final season) quite aptly, right down to the musical selections.
I’ll try to post more later as time permits.
