The Americans told the story of Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings, two seemingly ordinary travel agents who were secretly Russian spies. As part of their cover, they married and had two children, Paige and Henry. They never intended to tell their kids the truth about where they came from until Paige began to figure things out for herself. Once she was in on the secret, Paige became a more central character on the show, even undergoing training to work as an undercover agent herself.
While she was often a sympathetic character, there were moments where her actions nearly cost Phillip and Elizabeth everything. Here are five times we felt sorry for Paige, and five times she was incredibly frustrating.
10 Felt Bad: Every Time Her Parents Lied To Her
Right off the bat, the show makes you feel for the children, as they're completely in the dark about why their parents are working so often and keeping such late hours. Paige always seemed more aware of their parent's odd behavior than Henry was, which led to her being more suspicious and disappointed with their dishonesty.
Ideally, our parents are supposed to provide a sense of safety and security. The irony of Paige's situation is that, while her parents were working to provide this for the people of Russia, they were neglecting their own children.
9 Was The Worst: When She Joined A Youth Group To Make Her Parents Mad
While there isn't anything wrong with finding a community and connection with others, Paige's choice to join the church's youth group seemed to have more to do with irritating her parents than anything else. Phillip and Elizabeth's disdain for the church worked to Paige's advantage, as she was able to irritate them without really doing anything wrong.
8 Felt Bad: When Her Parents Separated
Having your parents split up is difficult at any age, but going through this change during childhood can be particularly stressful and confusing. While we also felt bad for Elizabeth when Paige blamed her for Phillip leaving, we couldn't help but be understanding, as Paige's pain was justified.
7 Was The Worst: Her Attitude Towards Her Parents
While her frustration with their secrecy was understandable, Paige's surly attitude was rather grating at times. One of the great strengths of The Americans is the show's ability to make you feel some of the mental exhaustion and stress that Phillip and Elizabeth go through because of their job.
Watching them come home to Paige's difficult behavior only made things worse, and made Paige occasionally come across as a nuisance. There are few things more annoying than an angry teenager.
6 Felt Bad: When She Walked In On Her Parents Having Sex
If you cringed just reading that, imagine how Paige felt when her suspicions about her parents culminated in her sneaking into their bedroom, only to find them engaged in an act no kid wants to see. While the moment was ultimately funny, the joke was at Paige's expense, and we couldn't help but feel bad for the kid.
5 Was The Worst: When She Listened In On Her Parent's Phone Call
While you can't really blame Paige for her insane curiosity where her parents were concerned, listening in on people's phone calls definitely crosses a line. Much of the show's second season revolves around Paige's suspicions, but Phillip catching her listening in on his phone call tipped him and Elizabeth off and made them realize that the question of whether or not they should tell Paige was something they would have to deal with in the near future.
4 Felt Bad: When She Visited Her Fake Aunt
Paige longed to feel more normal and wished for family outside of her brother and her parents. When Elizabeth was shot in the season one finale, she stayed away for months to recuperate. The cover story was that she was staying with her sick aunt, who Paige and Henry had never met.
Wanting to find her family and distrustful of her mother, Paige went off on her own to find this aunt. What she found, instead, was a KGB officer posing as her aunt.
3 Was The Worst: When She Told Pastor Tim Her Parents Were Spies
She had one job! When Paige finally confronted them with her suspicions, Phillip and Elizabeth told her the truth—or, at least, part of it. The one condition, they stressed, was that she tell absolutely no one about it.
The stress of keeping a secret of this magnitude got to Paige, and she told Pastor Tim everything in the season two finale. This development led to a lot of time spent with the well-meaning but often self-righteous Pastor Tim, which nobody thanked Paige for.
2 Felt Bad: Whenever Elizabeth Was Mean To Her
Although Elizabeth did really love her children, she didn't always know how to show it. Her methods were often harsh, and this tough-love approach made us feel bad for Paige.
The two had a complicated relationship; while they shared some common traits and ideals, Elizabeth could never be fully honest with her daughter, and Paige sensed this. Paige's softness often rubbed Elizabeth the wrong way, as she had a habit of perceiving emotion as a weakness to be disciplined away.
1 Was The Worst: When She Called Elizabeth A Whore
In season six, Paige is fully in-training to work undercover for the KGB. Elizabeth takes over her training and tries to answer her questions as honestly as possible. When Paige asks about using sex for information, Elizabeth lies, telling her that that's not what they do.
She's motivated to keep this from Paige by a desire to keep Paige away from the dirtier parts of the job, but Paige finds out that Elizabeth slept with a young man for information and is appalled that she would do something like that and lie to her yet again. Elizabeth tries to explain the way she was raised and what she was taught, but Paige is too angry to understand.
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