'The Americans' Postmortem: Holly Taylor Talks About Paige's Shocking Confrontation

No one could have seen this one coming, at least, not at this point of the storyline, and definitely not in this way. In Wednesday’s episode of The Americans, “Stingers,” increasingly suspicious and savvy spy daughter Paige Jennings confronted her parents about their frequent absences and other secret activities, and Philip and Elizabeth responded: They told her they’re Russian-born spies!

Paige was, of course, shocked, and responded thusly: a few questions for her spyrents, but then a whole lot of angsty introspection in her bedroom. Philip warned her they could face lifetime imprisonment if she tells their tale, but is Paige emotionally mature enough to handle such info and keep it from pals like Pastor Tim? And will her handling of the matter prove her to be an even more attractive recruit for the KGB? Paige’s portrayer, 17-year-old actress Holly Taylor, talks to Yahoo TV about the pivotal episode, how Paige will continue to pepper her parents with questions about their spy activities, and her own (onscreen) spy wishes.

Well, this was a game changer.
Yes, definitely! I was so excited when we got the script. I was speechless. I thought it was so crazy, just the way [Philip and Elizabeth] announce it. Not even announce it, it’s just… the way it’s set up is so out of the blue. The whole season has been setting it up. When is Elizabeth going to tell Paige? How is she going to tell her? Is she even going to tell her this season? The fact that Paige approaches them about it, and she is obviously not expecting that answer at all, to find out her parents are Russian spies… I thought it was really well written, and so unexpected and amazing.

After Paige found out about Gregory, do you think she thought it was most likely that her parents were involved in some sort of drug business?
Yeah, definitely. That’s one of the things she brings up in the scene when she confronts them. I think she kind of racked her brain this whole time to search for every possibility. I think that the only thing she probably hadn’t considered is that they were spies. She thought of everything. Are they killing people, just in general? Are they drug dealers? What’s the big secret? What’s so bad that they can’t tell me all these years?

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Were you surprised that this revelation was happening at this point in the series? This is something that could have been saved for the series finale, several seasons down the road.
I was expecting maybe for it to be the Season 3 finale or it could be Season 4, or five even, if we go that long, for it to carry on longer, because it’s such a huge deal for Paige to find out. I definitely was not expecting it in this episode, which I think is what’s great about it. I don’t think anyone is really expecting it to happen [now]. It’s not even a cliffhanger at the end of the episode, it’s right in the middle of it. You got to see how everyone is reacting to it and absorbing it. It’s really cool, because I feel like not a lot of TV shows would do that. It would be an awesome cliffhanger to bring everyone back for the next episode, so this is a really cool path to take.

This really gave us a lot more insight into Paige, too. The fact that she figured all this out, that she was paying enough attention to suspect something was up with her parents, it all suggests she really does have a lot of spy potential.
Yes, I think that’s a really good point. Throughout this whole season, Paige has kind of proven herself and shown that she does have a lot of the spy qualities that her parents have. From the beginning of the season, she sets up her parents to have a dinner with Pastor Tim to tell them she wants to get baptized… her parents who are trained agents couldn’t figure out that she was setting them up. She found out about Gregory and did research on him in the library on her own. She’s gathered all this information now and is confronting them with facts. “I know that there’s something going on. You can’t get around this anymore.” She doesn’t keep bringing it up to them without having evidence of something. I think it’s really been thought out for her, and she’s waited for the right opportunity, and it finally came.

Clearly, her mind is racing after they tell her. What do you think she was thinking about when she went off to be alone in her room?
I think she got what she was looking for, but it ends up just making things worse, finding out. I think she’s trying to digest it all when she first hears it, and also trying to picture her parents in that new light. It makes them appear like strangers now. She doesn’t really know who they are anymore.

Is she maybe a little sorry that she found out?
Yeah. I was thinking that also. I thought it was one of those moments where you really want to know, but do you want to know? It hurts sometimes. In this case, it really hurt Paige to find out. I think that now that she knows, and it’s on the table, she wants to find out more. She wants to know who her parents really are.

It also probably messes with her sense of security. As you said, they seem like strangers to her now. If they’re strangers, who is she really? Is her life real? Is their family real?
Yeah, definitely. We see that more later in the season. Paige gets curious, as always. She wants to know who she is, and how she relates to this whole thing. Now that they’re strangers to her, it also brings up the question of how did she come into all this. What are they going to do now that she knows? How is she supposed to keep all that information inside of her? It’s a big deal. She’s kind of like a ticking time bomb just walking around the house now.

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She is more mature and savvy than the average person her age, but it’s still a lot to expect her to keep this to herself, process everything without being able to confide in someone unconnected to the situation.
Right. I think that Pastor Tim has been the one person that she kind of felt safe with, especially since she didn’t really know what was going on with her parents. Now she has an answer but she’s still confused. She needs to talk to the one person that she feels safe and secure with, and can get direct answers from. I think it makes sense that she would want to talk to somebody, but then… her dad mentioned to her they could go to jail forever. She doesn’t know what the right thing to do is, and she’s just trying to figure it out. Pastor Tim is the one person she feels can help her with that, but she doesn’t want to put herself in the danger of exposing her parents when she doesn’t know the whole story yet.

What’s going through her mind when Stan — FBI agent Stan — comes over for dinner? She’s staring at him and thinking…
When Stan comes over, that’s a big realization for her, because he comes over all the time for dinner. Her parents have a great relationship with him. He’s their neighbor. He’s so close to them, but he doesn’t really know what they do. I think she sees a lot of danger, and also feels betrayed almost, because her parents are faking a friendship with this guy. She thinks that they’re using him. She doesn’t really understand. It’s just a big eye opener for her, a lot more for her to take in.

Is it fair to assume there’s going to be quite a bit of anger on Paige’s part, towards her parents? As you said, as she starts to realize all these things about them, and how that affects other people.
There are a lot of emotions that come along with finding out something as drastic as this. Paige has to go through an emotional journey. It’s a whole family affair. A lot of stuff unravels, and it gets even more intense.

Do you want to see Paige become a spy, ultimately?
Oh my gosh, of course. I want to be a spy so bad. I think that would be awesome. It’s always cool seeing what hair and make-up comes up with. They’re so amazing with the disguises. I would love to be a part of that, do some stunt work, do some secret stuff, instead of just setting up my parents [so I can] get baptized. I want a real spy job.

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Has being in the show, the 1980s setting, made you a fan of ‘80s fashion or pop culture?
Basically, when I go to stores now, I see a lot of ‘80s clothes, and I’m actually starting to think of buying some of them. I’ve always listened to ‘80s music. My parents introduced me to a lot of stuff even before I was in the show. I enjoy seeing it on the show and seeing what songs they’re going to pick.

Have you listened to the Yaz album Philip gave Paige earlier this season?
I did! I had to look it up when we first got the script. Then as soon as I played one of their songs, I was like, “Oh my God, I know all these songs. I’ve heard them before.” It was funny to see that, all those songs that you know, but you can never remember who sings them.

Do you watch the show?
Yeah, I do. When I watch them on Wednesday nights, it’s my first time seeing it, along with everyone else. It’s kind of fun to sit with my family and see what’s going to happen.

Do your friends watch the show?
A few of my friends watch, but it’s mostly their parents that enjoy it.

Do they try to talk to you about it?
Yeah. If I go over to my friends’ houses, sometimes their parents will ask me questions or try to get me to spill the beans on something that’s coming up. I never do.

The Americans airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX.