u/Status_Syllabub_2543

Al spends the whole introduction trying to figure out why Wild Bill has never stepped inside the Gem. He gives him this ridiculous speech about being “locked in my room weeping” and wondering what offense he could've caused. Bill's answer is just “No poker.” Al immediately tells Dan to dismantle the titty-corner and put in a poker table. Bill hasn't even asked him for anything yet and Al is already changing the business.

Some of the most bizarrely normal scenes in The Americans are when Philip and Elizabeth are at home talking about work. They'll be eating, doing dishes, whatever, and casually talk through a murder or an extraction without really changing their tone. Then they'll get onto something actually personal and suddenly neither of them knows what to say. The contrast gets even better once Paige starts getting involved.