Let’s take a closer look at one of amazing characters of the hit drama TV show, The Americans. Elizabeth Jennings, as played by Keri Russell, is the American name of an undercover KGB spy who lives in the Washington, D.C., area in the early 1980s. Her actual name is Nadezhda and she is in an arranged marriage with fellow undercover KGB spy named Mischa, who lives under the American identity of Philip Jennings, as played by Matthew Rhys. The couple spy has two children, a teenage daughter named Paige and a son named Henry whom they love.
Elizabeth and Philip cover as travel agents and they run an office as their front. In spite of loving her children very much, Elizabeth’s affiliation with her husband isn’t a principally a very close one. They were obliged to pretend to be married and put up a life in the United States, which they have done successfully, but they don’t seem to have come to know much about each other and their imminence may have always been more assumed than real. In a lot of ways, their marriage could never be a “normal” one, as their spy duties often include each of them engaging in other “close” and often sexual relations with other people whose trust they need to achieve so as to get access to information. Elizabeth has had an on and off affair going with an associate named Gregory Thomas, an African-American man living in Philadelphia who has been turned to support the Soviet and is irregularly called upon for help completing missions. He supplied information about government dealings.
In spite of their marital apprehension, Elizabeth and Philip are a great spy duo. After having worked together for many years, they are able to foresee each others’ moves. They manage seamlessly and converse non-verbally if and when needed. In the field, they don’t ever seem to doubt each other, but Elizabeth has some doubts about Philip’s dedication to the Soviet Union. While never abandoning a mission and always following orders, Philip has let out hints and comments that life might be easier for them if they gave up the spy life and created real lives in the U.S.
Elizabeth was born in Smolenks around World War II. Elizabeth’s father worked for the Soviet government. He passed away when she was young and still living in the Soviet Union. When government officials came offering assistance, her mother had refused to take it. Elizabeth did, however, ended up in training as a KGB officer. She was sexually abused by her commanding officer, who said it was “part of the job” at the time and probably assumed their paths wouldn’t cross again but they did and he ended up dead.
For Keri Rusell’s portrayal, she has been nominated for two Critics’ Choice Television Awards for Best Actress in a Drama Series, one Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama, and one Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television.
More of Elizabeth Jennings exciting character when The Americans returns to FX.
