Without a family, man, alone in the world, trembles with the cold. – Andre Maurois

The deaths of the Connors last week were no joke. Both Elizabeth and Philip have been shaken up by the loss of their friends. Elizabeth has been obsessively checking the locks and curtains of her house and has made her children her first priority. The couple has always discussed what would happen if they were stripped away from their children, but it never felt so real as it did last week.

After seeing a utility truck parked near where the Connors died, Elizabeth kicks into full mamma mode. She’s put her duties to her country aside and is striving to take better care of her children. I can see her protective side becoming a problem later on this season.

Her motherly side isn’t all bad though. This week we see Elizabeth coaching a nervous agent whose mission is to stay close to an aide. Seeing that the aide has OD’ed, Elizabeth gets to aid to throw up and offers some advice to the new agent. Be the girlfriend, not the party friend. Taking care of this young, inexperienced agent withease, it makes us wonder, will Elizabeth ever been this motherly with Paige?

On Philip’s end, Martha is absolutely no help with the hotel murders. She has no information and Philip is getting weary trying to find what happened to his friends. When Philip goes to visit Emmett’s asset, he ends up tied up on the floor. Fred may seem like an idiot, but he was smart with that electrified lockbox hidden in the floorboards.

Everyone in Residentura is worried over the motel murders. Oleg needs to quit being so needy to say the least. Arkady has to send word about Cardinal and the dead agents to Moscow, he’s not ignoring you Oleg. Dameran seems to be a good replacement for Oleg though, he doesn’t look like he takes any shit. I’m excited to learn more about himthrough this season.

Although this week wasn’t above and beyond in the action category, it gave a lot of information to build on the storyline. I like that Elizabeth and Philip are starting to be parents instead of full-time spies. What do you think? Should they continue to be more attentive parents or stay focused on Mother Russia? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

The Americans Wednesday at 10PM on FX