“The Americans” has done well with playing with audience sympathies. For a show about sleeper cell Soviet spies living in Reagan’s America, the show has made it a point to humanize characters that would often be portrayed as villains. Philip and Elizabeth aren’t just undercover agents trying to thwart the U.S. government. They are parents navigating the rough terrain of raising teenagers in a society much different from the one in which they were raised.

Specifically, the show has focused on Elizabeth's journey and her dedication...