â€˜The Americansâ€™ Recap: How About That Excruciating Tooth Scene?

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Last week, Philip and Elizabeth showed us a nifty way to pack a suitcase, this week we learn a little about at-home dentistry in this equally disturbing episode of The Americans.

…previously on The Americans.

"Open House," felt significantly shorter than previous two episodes of the season because, well, not a whole lot happened. BUT! That doesn't mean it wasn't super tense and scary, especially for our girl Elizabeth, who, once again, was almost caught by the fuzz.

We didn't get to see a whole lot of Stan this episode, other than his tagging along to hunt down Elizabeth and to accompany Zinaida, the new defector, as she continues her press tour against the Soviets. From the looks of it, the way he gazed inquisitively at that set monitor as she described the bread lines over in Russia, Stan might very well be interested in this Milky Way-loving broad…

And to hell with Sandra and her EST bullshit. SPEAKING OF SANDRA…

Why the hell does Henry have an almost-nudie of her? Paige is gathering Henry's laundry (aww, she's becoming just like her mom!), when all of a sudden, she finds a picture of her ex-neighbor in her brother's jeans. Henry, are you breaking into houses again? Except this time he's not playing strangers' video games… He's playing with himself. Paige is a little disturbed by this, too. Well, he is getting older, folks. Didn't you hear that drop in his voice when he stormed in?

Meanwhile, Philip is pissed at everyone lately — Elizabeth (because what else is new?), Martha (because she won't stop with the baby talk), Gabriel (because he's old and better than him at Scrabble) — over his frustration about his daughter's fate with joining the KGB. Which is completely understandable (and might also be the only reason he would defect, so that's a biggie), but Paige won't have to worry about finding out the truth or having to choose her future just yet. So everyone should just calm down, because I love Paige (kind of, she's grown on me), but this entire show has become about Paige and I don't want to get sick of her like I was in Season One.

Though after Elizabeth comes home from her late-night extravaganza of following CIA agent Ted Paswell and almost getting caught by his fellow agents, Philip gives her a passionate kiss on the mouth (while the National Anthem was playing — nice touch, guys). YIKES! She still has that awful tooth infection from getting her head smashed in on Agent Gaad's car back in the season premiere.

Which brings us to…

Finish whatever you're eating. Because Philip is going to yank out that not-so-pearly white…

A mouthful of whiskey makes you unafraid of those pliers that are about to invade your piehole.

Open wide…

Ah, there it is.

First breaking down a body with their bare hands, and now this. What's so gruesome about these scenes isn't the act itself per se, but how long they last. That tooth removal alone felt like ten minutes of agony. Why couldn't they just take a trip to the KGB warehouse doctor who stitched up Elizabeth after she got shot? Is he on vacay or what? But something really great came out of all that yanking and intense eye contact (no words were actually spoken during those excruciating minutes): Elizabeth and Philip trust each other again! Yay! Well, at least for now they seem to be on the same team.

Field notes and observations:

1. Despite Philip's snarky comment about recruiting men and sleeping with them, Elizabeth shuts down her new recruit's advances. That's a first.

2. Agent Aderholt and Martha sitting in a tree… Wonder what Clark would think of that. Honestly, he's probably like it. He'd be like, "Invite me over during your affair so I can listen for intel. I don't even have to watch."

3. Oleg was going to be sent back to Moscow, but in an effort to defy his manipulative father, he's staying. Good. Now let's get a look at that perfect booty again.

4. Gabriel is a bad seed. I know the beer-drinking and Scrabble-playing seems all innocent and I can't put my finger on it, but I have a feeling he's going to use something against Philip and Elizabeth real soon. I mean, he's already pinning them against each other.

5. The only other thing you really need to know is that Ted Paswell, the CIA agent Philip and Elizabeth have been tailing, is getting hit on relentlessly by his babysitter, who happens to be CIA head Isaac Breland's daughter. The plot thickens, but we're not sure exactly who Philip and Elizabeth will target out of this weird triangle.

More recaps for you, my comrades:

Episode One, "EST Men"
Episode Two, "Baggage"

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