• PDI Press

    PDI Press

    BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

    PDI Press
    January 17, 2022 2

    Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Seven)

    PDI Press
    January 16, 2022

    Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Six)

    PDI Press
    January 15, 2022 3

    Featured

    BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

    John E. Meredith
    PDI Press
    January 17, 2022 2
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Marvel at the Movies
    • Muppets 101
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • The Psycho Drive-In Podcast
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews

    Reviews

    Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)

    Movies
    June 8, 2025 6

    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (2025)

    Reviews
    June 7, 2025 16

    Until Dawn (2025)

    Reviews
    June 5, 2025 8

    Featured

    Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)

    Paul Brian McCoy
    Movies
    June 8, 2025 6
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews

    Interviews

    Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

    Interviews
    July 13, 2018 397

    David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

    Interviews
    March 7, 2017 223

    Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

    Interviews
    September 29, 2016 8

    SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

    Interviews
    July 28, 2016 61

    SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

    Interviews
    July 27, 2016 3

    Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

    Interviews
    April 16, 2016 3

    Featured

    Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

    The Final Girl
    Interviews
    July 13, 2018 397
  • News

    News

    Regular Show: The Complete Series DVD is here!

    News
    February 9, 2025 19

    “PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT” UNLEASHES TERRIFYING UNDERGROUND HORROR – A PSYCHEDELIC CULT MOVIE EXPERIENCE COMING SOON!

    News
    November 15, 2023 74

    Breaking Down The Upcoming DC Studios Slate

    Shot for Shot
    February 1, 2023

    Featured

    Regular Show: The Complete Series DVD is here!

    Paul Brian McCoy
    News
    February 9, 2025 19
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Shop
Breaking
  • Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)
  • From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (2025)
  • Until Dawn (2025)
  • Havoc (2025) / Novocaine (2025)
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
    Home
    Reviews

    The Americans 3.04 “Dimebag”

    Thom V. Young
    ReviewsTV
    February 25, 2015 4

    Synopsis of The Americans 3.04 “Dimebag” from the FX network’s Website:

    Phillip faces a moral dilemma while developing an asset. Phillip and Elizabeth’s friction escalates. Stan develops a theory with serious repercussions. Paige makes a surprising birthday wish.

    The “previously on . . . [insert name of series] that precedes each new episode of TV shows can be so very helpful in connecting the dots for viewers who aren’t capable of connecting them very well on their own. A couple of weeks ago in my review of Justified 6.03 “Noblesse Oblige,” I indicated how such a connecting of the dots helped me understand a plot point that had completely baffled me (because I was an idiot). Well, just such a dot-to-dot connection took place in the “Previously on The Americans” that preceded “Dimebag.”

    Fortunately, I don’t think the reason I missed it on my own was because I’m an idiot. It wasn’t as obvious as the point that baffled me in Justified. I think I could have made this connection on my own if I had re-watched the previous two episodes of the current season. However, once the connection was made for me, it colored my entire viewing experience of “Dimebag”—so here’s the setup with information that is needed from the previous episodes:

    In episode 3.02 “Baggage,” FBI agent Stan Beeman is assigned to escort and protect a defector from the Soviet Union, Zinaida Preobrazhenskaya, who is smuggled into the United States in a packing crate. Stan must then tag along as she makes the political talk show circuit while discussing the cruelty of the USSR’s Marxist system and how the Russian people do not want to be communists.

    Near the end of episode 3.03 “Open House,” an African-American FBI agent, Aderholt (played by Brandon J. Dirden), asks Stan about the undercover work he did in Arkansas when he infiltrated a white supremacist group. Agent Aderhalt asks Stan what it took to fool the white supremacists into accepting him into their group. Stan’s answer is a point I’ve heard before about undercover work, but it’s worth repeating, “Tell them what they want to hear. Over and over and over again. . . . People love hearing how right they are.”

    See the connection between those dots?

    Stan suddenly saw it when he was watching Zinaida being interviewed on yet another TV talk show. It’s a connection that causes Stan to doubt the validity of Zinaida’s defection, as he now suspects she is a Soviet spy who is using her celebrity status to set up appointments with powerful American political figures—including President Reagan—for an undetermined purpose.

    Nighthawks at the Diner

    In his attempt to turn up evidence against Zinaida, Stan returns to a diner where the two of them ate dinner earlier that evening so that he can tear up the women’s restroom to see if Zinaida left a dead-drop package for her KGB handlers. He doesn’t uncover any evidence, but he does take a hard tumble during his attempt to look at the space above the ceiling panels—an awkward tumble that clearly shows his groin landing hard on a toilet-roll dispenser. Yowza! That had to hurt!

    Anyway, I suddenly realized that most of the interactions in “Dimebag” involve one character telling another character something he or she either wants to hear or does not want to hear—or, in one scene, perhaps telling a character what she thought she wanted to hear, but she then discovered she didn’t want to actually hear it after all.

    This motif of telling people what they do or do not want to hear gets started when Stan and Phillip attend another EST meeting together—such as the one they attended in episode 3.01 “EST Men.” Phillip goes to these meetings as Stan’s support person, and Stan goes to them because his estranged wife, Sandra, is a die-hard EST enthusiast and he is trying to reconcile with her.

    At this particular meeting, Lawrence, the man running the EST seminars in DC, calls up Stan in front of the group so that he can imagine saying to Sandra exactly what he wants to tell her. To coax Stan into revealing himself before the group, Lawrence has Stan close his eyes so he can imagine being with Sandra in their kitchen while Lawrence speaks for her:

    Lawrence (as Sandra): Stan, what do you want me to know? Why shouldn’t we get divorced? Stan, come on; tell me what’s on your mind. (Stan mumbles hesitantly) Stan, come on, don’t be an asshole, tell me what you want. . . .

    Stan: Don’t call me an asshole, asshole! This is bullshit! That’s what I want to tell you! It’s bullshit!

    Dont Call Me an Asshole

    Afterwards, one attractive woman at the EST seminar, Tori, was so impressed by Stan that she asked him to go out for drinks after the next meeting on Friday—but Stan tells her what she does not want to hear. Phillip then asks Stan if he’s crazy.

    Obviously, Stan’s focus is on reconciliation with Sandra, so it makes sense that he indicates to Tori that he’s not interested. After all, he has already done the extramarital affair thing with Nina Krilova—which is partially how he became so estranged from Sandra—so in response to Phillip’s comment about being crazy, Stan reminds Phillip that he and Sandra are still married (even though she’s living with a man named Arthur).

    Meanwhile, back in the Soviet Union—in Lefertovo Prison where she is awaiting eventual execution—Nina is offered a deal by the government. If she can get her Dutch cellmate with the American accent, Evi Sneijder, to open up about the circumstances behind the dead-drop espionage package she was caught making, Nina will be given a lighter sentence. As far as I can tell, Nina’s current sentence is eventual execution, so a lighter sentence must mean she won’t be killed—and Nina seems to consider it a good deal.

    Later, in their cell, Nina tells Evi what she wants to hear—the tale of the crime that landed Nina in Lefertovo Prison. Most of what Nina says is the truth, as one of the key components of working undercover is to have a cover story that is close enough to the truth of your own life that you don’t have to put on too much of an act to make it believable. Whether Nina’s efforts will work is something a future episode shall reveal.

    Nina

    However, when Nina and Evi first became cellmates, I thought (and Nina seemed to also think) that Evi might be the planted informant who is supposed to try to get information from Nina. In the end, it could be that the KGB is playing each of them off the other to get useful information by going down either path.

    Back in DC, Phillip and Elizabeth’s daughter, Paige, tells her parents something she has wanted to tell them for a while it seems. However, it’s news they did not want to hear.

    Beginning last season, Paige has become very involved with a non-denominational church and its youth group—and for her birthday dinner, Paige wants her parents to entertain the church pastor and his wife in their home. Last season, Phillip threatened to beat up the pastor if he continued to minister to his daughter—so tension at the dinner table was already inevitable.

    After dinner, and with the support of the pastor and his wife, Paige told her Marxist, KGB parents (but she doesn’t know their ideology and their occupations) that she wants to be baptized in the church—to wash away her old self and make herself clean for Jesus Christ.

    Obviously, this announcement was something Phillip and Elizabeth did not want to hear—but the pastor and his wife wanted to hear it, so I suppose this instance of the motif is a toss-up.

    Paige wants to be clean for Jesus

    The most ironic instance of this “tell people what they want to hear” motif is when Stan stops by the home Sandra is sharing with her boyfriend, Arthur. Late at night, in the dark, in the driveway of the house, Stan decides to embrace the EST concept and tell Sandra exactly what he has wanted to say to her. Furthermore, it’s something Sandra has been saying she wants Stan to do—to be honest and not hide behind his usual bullshit.

    However, it turns out Sandra may have only thought she wanted Stan to tell the truth—because, as the cliché says, “The truth hurts”—and it hurts Sandra when Stan tells her what she already strongly suspected: that he had been having an affair (with Nina, of course). She initially seems slightly pleased to know she was right, and that Stan finally confessed.

    However, she wasn’t prepared for what Stan then confessed:

    Stan: I was an asshole, and I loved her. (Sandra looks slightly stunned that Stan confesses he actually loved Nina.) I’m not saying that to hurt you; I’m just trying to be honest.

    After confessing a bit more about the nature of his affair, and how bad he feels about it, Stan apologizes—but it’s all too much for Sandra to bear, so she shakes her head and heads back to the house with a slight hint of tears in her eyes.

    Sometimes what we thought we wanted to hear may not be what we actually wanted to hear after all. Sometimes it’s easier to believe the half-truth we have in our heads than face the full truth that hits the heart like an ounce of lead.

    Sandra holding back the tears

    However, the biggest instance of telling people what they want to hear comes with Phillip working on the development of his new asset—and the moral dilemma he faces in the process. The new potential asset is Kimmy Breland—the daughter of the man in charge of the CIA’s Afghan group that Elizabeth and Phillip have been working on uncovering.

    In his role as “Jim,” a lobbyist working to keep the legal drinking age at 18, Phillip tells underage Kimmy (who is approximately 15 years old) exactly what she wants to hear—and which is leading the plot into some creepy areas. It will be interesting to see just how far the show runner and writers of The Americans are willing to go in this direction.

    Kimmy and Jim

    So, as Phillip (Jim) wraps his arm around Kimmy to keep her warm after she complains two or three times that she’s “freezing” during the dark evening in the park where they have been smoking pot while listening to Upstairs at Eric’s by Yaz (known as Yazoo in their native UK), the episode ends with Kimmy’s favorite Yaz song, “Only You,” haunting us as it plays to the show’s final moment.

    If you haven’t watched this episode, go watch it now—or, if you haven’t been watching The Americans at all, you only have 30 episodes to watch to catch up.

    However, before you leave to watch the episode (or the entire series), let’s end this review with Kimmy’s favorite Yaz song. It’s my favorite, too—and its haunting words evoke all of the various relationships between the characters in this episode: Elizabeth and Phillip Jennings, the Jennings and their daughter Paige, Stan and Sandra, Stan and Nina, and (finally) Kimmy and “Jim.”

    Looking from a window above
    It’s like a story of love; can you hear me?
    Came back only yesterday;
    I’m moving farther away; want you near me.

    All I needed was the love you gave;
    All I needed for another day,
    And all I ever knew, only you.

    Sometimes when I think of her name,
    When it’s only a game, and I need you.
    Listen to the words that you say;
    It’s getting harder to stay when I see you.

    All I needed was the love you gave;
    All I needed for another day,
    And all I ever knew, only you.

    All I needed was the love you gave;
    All I needed for another day,
    And all I ever knew, only you.

    This is going to take a long time,
    And I wonder what’s mine; can’t take no more.
    Wonder if you’ll understand;
    It’s just the touch of your hand behind a closed door.

    All I needed was the love you gave;
    All I needed for another day,
    And all I ever knew, only you.

    (Visited 349 times, 1 visits today)

    Related

    Annet MahendruJulia GarnerKeri RussellMatthew RhysNoah EmmerichSusan MisnerThe AmericansThom V. Young

    FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
    Previous Legends of the Superheroes (1979)
    Next Arrow 3.14 “The Return”
    monsterid
    Thom V. Young
    Spontaneous Quixote
    Thom V. Young has lived all over the country—Idaho, Oregon, Ohio, California, Kansas, back to Idaho, Louisiana, and South Carolina—but he eventually ended up in Maryland. Over the course of his travels, he has had an array of odd jobs—including short order cook, fast food restaurant manager, construction worker, frozen food warehouseman, alternative health publications editor, and college professor. He has also published several poems and short stories in a variety of super-secret small-press publications.

    Related Posts

    13 Days of Halloween Day 0: Antlers (2021)

    Paul Brian McCoy
    Movies
    October 30, 2021 6

    Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) – Take Three

    Paul Brian McCoy
    Movies
    December 24, 2019

    Daily Top Ten

    • i-spit-on-your-grave-09The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
    • fallingskies105h copyFalling Skies 1.05 “Silent Kill” by Rafael Gaitan
    • MacbethShakespeare’s Macbeth (2010) by Paul Brian McCoy
    • Wolves-MomoaWolves (2014) by Paul Brian McCoy
    • AT606-visionAdventure Time 6.06 “Breezy” by Dave Hearn
    • 1Top Ten Fight Scenes from Iron Man 1-3 by The Final Girl
    • one-eye-headerPOPCORN CINEMA 23: THEY CALLED HER ONE EYE (aka,… by John E. Meredith
    • Peabody-Sherman-MarieLost in Translation 116: Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Redux by Scott Delahunt
    • hills-have-eyes-02The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006) by Corin Totin
    • Iron ManIron Man (2008) Review by Shawn Hill
    400x400 GI Joe Funko Banner

    Weekly Top Ten

    • i-spit-on-your-grave-09The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
    • AT606-visionAdventure Time 6.06 “Breezy” by Dave Hearn
    • MacbethShakespeare’s Macbeth (2010) by Paul Brian McCoy
    • DS-headerDungeons & D-Listers: Deathstalker (1983) by Alex Wolfe
    • hills-have-eyes-02The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006) by Corin Totin
    • nightmare-07Freddy’s Sweater: Revisiting A Nightmare on Elm St… by The Final Girl
    • predator-killer-of-killers-headerPredator: Killer of Killers (2025) by Paul Brian McCoy
    • monster-squad-headerDrive-In Saturday: The Monster Squad (1987) by James Radcliff
    • babylon-5-blu-ray-04Babylon 5 Complete Series Blu-ray Review by Paul Brian McCoy
    • BQ4Dungeons & D-Listers: Barbarian Queen (1985) by Alex Wolfe

    psychodrivein

    We came here to chew bubblegum and write intelligent reviews and commentary on cult TV and movies! And we're all out of bubblegum!

    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: Backstock Blacksite - Night Specter (2008)

In Backstock Blacksite, we open the classified crates and dig deep into Greg’s personal G.I. Joe overflow closet, where extras, variants, and forgotten figures wait to be unearthed.
—
@anythingjoespod #AnythingJoes #GIJoe #GIJoeClassified #NightSpecter #BackstockBlacksite
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Predator: Kill Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)

With Predator: Killer of Killers, Predator fans are feasting, baby!!
—
Read more of Paul’s review at the link in our profile!

#Predator #PredatorKillerOfKillers #KillerOfKillers #DanTrachtenberg #LindsayLaVanchy #DamienCHaas #LouisOzawa #RickGonzalez #MichaelBiehn #JoshuaWassung #MichoRobertRutare
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com From the World Today at https://psychodrivein.com

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (2025)

I can’t wait to see more Ballerina films. Seriously. I want one right now.

—

Read more of Paul’s review at the link in our profile 

#Ballerina #JohnWick #FromTheWorldOfJohnWickBallerina #AnaDeArmis #KeanuReeves #IanMcShane #AngelicaHuston #GabrielByrne #DavidCataneda #LenWiseman #ShayHatten #ChadStahelski #NormanReedus #LanceReddick
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com The Psycho Dri Today at https://psychodrivein.com

The Psycho Drive-In Podcast 05: Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2 

Join Paul and John in the fifth episode of the Psycho Drive-In podcast, where they delve deep into the universe of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.
—
Listen to the guys at the link in our profile!

#PsychoDriveIn #ThePsychoDriveInPodcast #KillBill #QuentinTarantino #LadySnowblood #Arena #FemalePrisonerNumber701Scorpion
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Until Dawn (20 Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Until Dawn (2025)

If you’re going to be Until Dawn in name only, why not just be that original horror idea and let someone else actually adapt Until Dawn as it was? 
—
Read more of Nate’s review at the link in our profile!

#UntilDawn #DavidFSandberg #PeterStormare #EllaRubin
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com The Psycho Dri Today at https://psychodrivein.com

The Psycho Drive-In Podcast 04: Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning (Part One)

In this week’s Psycho Drive-In Podcast, Paul and John delve into the world of espionage and high-octane action with a focus on Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning.
—
Listen to the guys at the link in our profile!

#PsychoDriveIn #PsychoDriveInPodcast #MissionImpossible #MissionImpossibleDeadReckoning #ArmyOfShadows #TheBourneLegacy
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Havoc (2025) / Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Havoc (2025) / Novocaine (2025)

Both Havoc and Novocaine are fairly enjoyable escapes and reminders that action cinema can be some of the most gleefully transporting sensory experiences.
—
Read more of Nate’s reviews at the link in our profile!

#Havoc #TomHardy #GarethEvans #Novocaine #JackQuaid #AmberMidthunder #ForestWhitaker
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com The Psycho Dri Today at https://psychodrivein.com

The Psycho Drive-In Podcast 03: Sinners

In this episode, Paul and John discuss their recent film binges, and review Sinners.
—
Listen to the boys at the link in our profile!

#ThePsychoDriveInPodcast #PsychoDriveIn #Sinners #RyanCoogler #MichaelBJordan #JackOConnell #HaileeSteinfeld #MilesCaton #DelroyLindo #WunmiMosaku #LiJunLi
    Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S02E28 - File Card Focus: Recoil

Greg and Jaren take a deep dive into the world of Recoil?
—
Watch the @AnythingJoesPod guys at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoes #FileCardFocus #Recoil
    Follow on Instagram

    Look Who's Talking

    Shawn EH
    Shawn EH - 5/4/2025
    Thunderbolts* (2025)
    Yep, very well done; avoiding the big flashy battle that these heroes (can any of you fly?)...
    Ideonova
    Ideonova - 12/26/2024
    Page to Screen: F. Paul Wilson’s The Keep
    Not living up to the source material? What source material? The book is a predictable, at times...
    Fred L. Taulbee Jr.
    Fred L. Taulbee Jr. - 8/17/2024
    Cahiers du Horror 03: Frank Henenlotter and The Brain that Wouldn’t Die
    I need to see that again. Maybe make it a double feature with All of Me. Steve Martin is someone you...
    RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

    Archives

    Large_rectangle_336X280
    • PDI Press
      • PDI Press Catalog
      • PDI Press Writers
        • Fiction
    • Columns A-D
      • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
      • ABCs of Horror
      • All Binge… No Purge
      • Anything Joes
      • Beautiful Creatures
      • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
      • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
      • Cahiers du Horror
      • Dispatches From the Field
      • Drive-In Saturday
      • Dungeons & D-Listers
    • Columns F-P
      • The Final Girl
      • First Looks… Second Thoughts
      • The Flesh is Weak
      • Innocence and Experience
      • Lost in Translation
      • Marvel at the Movies
      • Muppets 101
      • Page to Screen
      • Popcorn Cinema
      • The Psycho Drive-In Podcast
      • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
    • Columns S-Z
      • Schlock & Awe
      • Shakespeare on Film
      • Shot for Shot
      • Sick Flix
      • Unnatural Selections
      • Versus
      • Video Word Made Flesh
      • We Got Lists
      • Women in Horror
      • The Xeno File
      • Zombies 101
    • Reviews
      • Books
      • Comics
      • DVD/Blu-ray
      • Movies
      • TV
      • Series
    • Interviews
    • News
      • Trailers
    • Psychos
    • Shop
    • PDI Press
      • PDI Press Catalog
      • PDI Press Writers
        • Fiction
    • Columns A-D
      • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
      • ABCs of Horror
      • All Binge… No Purge
      • Anything Joes
      • Beautiful Creatures
      • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
      • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
      • Cahiers du Horror
      • Dispatches From the Field
      • Drive-In Saturday
      • Dungeons & D-Listers
    • Columns F-P
      • The Final Girl
      • First Looks… Second Thoughts
      • The Flesh is Weak
      • Innocence and Experience
      • Lost in Translation
      • Marvel at the Movies
      • Muppets 101
      • Page to Screen
      • Popcorn Cinema
      • The Psycho Drive-In Podcast
      • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
    • Columns S-Z
      • Schlock & Awe
      • Shakespeare on Film
      • Shot for Shot
      • Sick Flix
      • Unnatural Selections
      • Versus
      • Video Word Made Flesh
      • We Got Lists
      • Women in Horror
      • The Xeno File
      • Zombies 101
    • Reviews
      • Books
      • Comics
      • DVD/Blu-ray
      • Movies
      • TV
      • Series
    • Interviews
    • News
      • Trailers
    • Psychos
    • Shop
    Type to search or hit ESC to close
    See all results
    Username
    Password
    Remember Me
    Lost password?
    Create an account
    Username
    Email
    Cancel
    Enter username or email
    Cancel