Subtitles aside, I like the even pace of this show. The perfectly cast Jonas Nay (Martin/Moritz) is an East German soldier more or less forced into spying on the West by his ice-queen aunt Leonora (the excellent, subtly villainous Maria Schrader) who holds Martin's mother's illness over his head as one of the bargaining chips. The spying he does is believable stuff (bugging rooms and so forth) and Nay does a wonderful job portraying a young soldier who is becoming increasingly conflicted over what he must do based on what he's told and not what he actually starts to see for himself. He's also perfectly cast and believable because he's not some glossy pretty boy...he looks like a soldier.
Some of the supporting characters, though, are written too two-dimensional for me. Through no fault of the actors portraying them, there's the dippy and annoying wife of General Edel, Ursula (Anna von Berg), who wouldn't have a clue if it hit her upside the head. She brushes off her (somewhat drunken) sister's claims on an incident and walks around like a stepford wife, baking kuchen and tortes and ignoring the world around her. Then there is the blustery American General Jackson, who's written like the cartoon character Yosemite Sam (he might as well shoot off his pistols every five minutes and call everyone a varmint...again, no disrespect to Errol Trotman-Harewood, who's doing the best he can with that stupid part). Martin's girlfriend Annett also grates on one's nerves because she's too goody-goody and unrealistic.
This show has promise but it would be better for me if they showed a more diverse belief amongst the German characters. Most of them fret a lot over peace and wring their hands, figuratively speaking as they are helpless children of divorce caught between two warring parents (the US and USSR). I suppose that's why I like the doofy general's kid with the crazy bowl-cut hair (Ludwig Trepte) because at least he believes in something, right or wrong and has the stones to act on it. That's the interesting stuff. I hope, if there is a second series, Sundance will carry it here because it's different. Check it out and don't be afraid of the subtitles.
Some of the supporting characters, though, are written too two-dimensional for me. Through no fault of the actors portraying them, there's the dippy and annoying wife of General Edel, Ursula (Anna von Berg), who wouldn't have a clue if it hit her upside the head. She brushes off her (somewhat drunken) sister's claims on an incident and walks around like a stepford wife, baking kuchen and tortes and ignoring the world around her. Then there is the blustery American General Jackson, who's written like the cartoon character Yosemite Sam (he might as well shoot off his pistols every five minutes and call everyone a varmint...again, no disrespect to Errol Trotman-Harewood, who's doing the best he can with that stupid part). Martin's girlfriend Annett also grates on one's nerves because she's too goody-goody and unrealistic.
This show has promise but it would be better for me if they showed a more diverse belief amongst the German characters. Most of them fret a lot over peace and wring their hands, figuratively speaking as they are helpless children of divorce caught between two warring parents (the US and USSR). I suppose that's why I like the doofy general's kid with the crazy bowl-cut hair (Ludwig Trepte) because at least he believes in something, right or wrong and has the stones to act on it. That's the interesting stuff. I hope, if there is a second series, Sundance will carry it here because it's different. Check it out and don't be afraid of the subtitles.