Stingers

"Stingers" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American period spy drama television series The Americans. It is the 36th overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Joel Fields and series creator Joe Weisberg, and directed by Larysa Kondracki. It was released on FX on April 1, 2015. 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 investigate an incoming arrival to the United States, while Paige decides to question her parents' real life. According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.90 million household viewers and gained a 0.3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received critical acclaim, with critics praising the confession scene, with many feeling that it will change the course of the series. Plot Pastor Tim (Kelly AuCoin) visits Philip (Matthew Rhys) at the travel agency to schedule a church trip to Kenya for missionary work. He invites Philip to join them, but he declines.