The series is set during the Cold War and follows Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB intelligence officers posing as an American married couple living in Falls Church, a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., with their American-born children Paige and Henry.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.80 million household viewers and gained a 0.2 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
Philip (Matthew Rhys), Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Tuan (Ivan Mok) meet with Alexei (Alexander Sokovikov), Evgheniya (Irina Dvorovenko) and Pasha (Zack Gafin) at a bowling alley.
During this, Alexei gets into an argument with Evgheniya over his disdain for Russia, making Philip, Elizabeth and Tuan realize that he got his family to leave the country without informing them of his defection.
Gabriel (Frank Langella) informs Philip and Elizabeth that the midges are bred and studied at a lab in Oklahoma City and assigns them to investigate.
In February 2017, FX confirmed that the third episode of the season would be titled "The Midges", and that it would be written by supervising producer Tracey Scott Wilson, and directed by Stefan Schwartz.
The site's consensus states: "'The Midges' further complicates things for the Jennings on the domestic front, advances the season's espionage stakes, and sneaks in a beloved character's return - all before concluding in a messy burst of violence.
I guess it's a certain sense of dread hanging over the proceedings, whether it's Oleg listening to the incriminating cassette tape or Mischa standing by helpless as he's shaken down by a stranger who doesn't seem eager to help get him out of Yugoslavia.
And the show works because Philip and Elizabeth are so well portrayed by the writers and actors that we can feel bad about their personal struggles even as we’re watching them do horrible things in support of the Kremlin.
"[10] Mike Hale of The New York Times wrote, "As a love song, it seemed to resonate with an ever closer bond between Elizabeth and Philip, as they confront the challenge of Paige and their increasingly problematic feelings about their jobs.
"[12] Emily St. James of Vox wrote, "Most of the rest of these first three episodes of season five have felt like business as usual, not like the series is on the verge of closing up shop forever (which, again, it will do next year).
But the appearance of Martha feels like a nod to the thought that, yes, all of those balls the series has thrown in the air over the years are going to matter, in one way or another, and there is some sort of plan for an ending.
"[15] Matt Brennan of Paste gave the episode a 9.2 out of 10 and wrote, "It might be fan service — if 'The Midges' has a flaw, almost imperceptible, it's the faint sense that Martha's presence, like Philip's emphatic last line, has been shoehorned into subtler proceedings — but even if Wright's 'special appearance by' credit suggests a one-off, at least for now, the patience with which The Americans approaches even its mightiest revelations pays off in spades.