the day of the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan Plot Summary

In response to the instability, the Jennings' handler, Claudia (Margo Martindale), activates "Operation Christopher," which prepares sleeper agents for guerrilla warfare in the event of a government coup.

Both intelligence agencies scramble to determine if the other is involved. Agent Gaad (Richard Thomas) orders Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich) to use his informant, Nina (Annet Mahendru), to find out if the KGB orchestrated the attack.

Philip (Matthew Rhys) correctly suspects the shooting is an isolated incident by a "lunatic" rather than a coup. Elizabeth (Keri Russell), however, remains strictly loyal to Moscow's paranoid directives, leading to a high-stakes disagreement over whether to report potentially false intelligence about Haig's access to nuclear codes. Key Cast & Characters The Americans: Season 1, Episode 4 | Cast and Crew

Tensions rise when Secretary of State Alexander Haig famously declares he is "in control" at the White House. Believing Haig may be staging a coup, the KGB orders the Jennings to track U.S. leaders for potential assassination.