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Berlin Station Season 2 Episode 1 Review: Everything's Gonna Be Alt-Right
Carissa Pavlica at October 15, 2017 10:00 pm. Comments
No time was wasted trying to explain to new viewers who is who or what happened during Berlin Station Season 1, and I appreciate that.
There was never a lot of emotional baggage or wasted scenes before, and Berlin Station Season 2 Episode 1 jumped right into the fray of the latest operation in Germany.
An alt-right political candidate intends to win in her run for office, and she'll ensure her victory by taking on a violent partner to...swing the election? I'm not sure, but I like the possibilities.
There are quite a few new faces in Berlin. BB Yates is the new station chief. She's brought in when things have gone so bad they need somewhat of a cleaner to get things working right again.
I would have thought she would be a play by the rules type of gal, but if she has rules to live by, she appears to have written her own book. That became apparent when she was playing along with another new face, Richard Hanes.
Hanes is an ambassador and voice for the president. From what he was saying, the president wants things to roll smoothly for the alt-right candidate, Katarina Gerhardt. Something about that doesn't sit well with viewers, nor does it sit well with Yates and Robert.
Robert was practically turning inside out in his skin while Yates assured Hanes everything was going to be fine, just fine. They'll do whatever the president wants. Then she told Robert afterward he needs to pay a little better attention because she was blowing smoke up Hanes' ass.
Like any skilled intelligence operative, she'll make nice with the people above her and then do what she thinks is right for her station. There wouldn't be intelligence if their only job was to do exactly what they were told.
Yates and Robert are already finding a working groove that feels better than how things ended between Robert and Steven Frost.
Steven is still not sorted out. He hasn't been fired, but he doesn't appear to have a functioning role within the CIA, either. Hanes offered him a job spying on Berlin Station, and unless I've lost my own ability to sniff out a rat, Frost is a rat.
Frost wasn't pleased to hear a "bull" was brought into to fix the mess he'd already made of the station. What kind of a buffoon would admit he'd left the place in such utter disarray?
It's the best place to be, I guess, when being recruited to spy on the group you left behind. Was he ever a good spy? His conversations with Robert left little to the imagination. From assuring Robert he'd told Hanes to stick the job offer up his ass, his next line of questioning was nothing but alarm bells.
Frost just finished saying Robert was the very best. Why would he suddenly be willing to turn on his new station chief and give up information about current ops to Frost?
Frost is a desperate man. I can imagine at some point this season he'll be on the wrong side of Berlin Station and wishing he'd made any other decision than the one I think he's already made.
With Yates came April. She's a young agent willing to do just about anything to get ahead. While she seems competent, she took a chance that put Valerie onto the radar of Gerhardt's top advisor. He knows where she lives.
He only knows about Valerie because she had to put herself into his line of site to keep April safe. Could they have waited five minutes and tried again? As it happens, yes. Joseph Emmerich was only dropping off some papers. Valerie not vacating made more of a mess than necessary.
Oddly, I liked Emmerich. Even while standing in front of Valerie, his threats weren't as I'd have expected. Maybe he'll be vital in helping bring down Gerhardt. If so, then I'll apologize to April and her first mission snafu.
Daniel is deep undercover as Trevor Price. The team has already discovered the man who will be helping Gerhardt with her violent tendencies, and his name is Otto Ganz.
Much like Philip Jennings on The Americans, Daniel has taken on a new identity to get in with Otto's daughter so Trevor can get close to Ganz. The hot guy always has an in with the young daughter, right?
There was a lot of discussion about how far the team needed to be willing to go to get Daniel what he needed to prove to Ganz he was the guy he needed on his team, and it's a conversation I'm sure happens every day in government.
So how is Daniel supposed to convince Ganz he can provide him with weapons if he can't put them in his hands?
While there are no easy answers, in this case, Lena Ganz admitted she had no money to pay for the guns Daniel curated, so they went nowhere. That's not likely to happen again as the story progresses.
What I'm most interested in now is what kind of violence could help secure Gerhardt the election. Top on my list is Ganz and friends acting like a group of left-wing crazies and shooting up the town, somehow proving the need for a woman like Gerhardt in office.
Typing that proves how little I know of German politics. The exact opposite would hold true between the right and left in America. Any gun violence would propel the left into position rather than make the right look like the clear winner.
There isn't any violent scenario in connection with an election that makes any sense to me. What about you guys? Are you latching onto a plan that is escaping me?
Even if getting the guns was a test for Lena, it's inherent to the overall plan. It has to be, or else Trevor Price wouldn't have brought in his old friend Andrew Chevalier.
Daniel: I need you to listen to me very carefully. Twelve years ago in Chechnya, you created the identity of a gunrunner named Andrew Chevalier, and I need you to wake him up right now.
Hector: How did you find me?
We'll get to that later. The people behind me will kill us if you don't play along. My name is Trevor Price. Look pleased to see me, maybe you can go so far as to hug me. Just don't fuck this up.
Hector: If they don't kill you, I will.
I was wondering how they were going to bring Rhys Ifans back into play, and his entrance couldn't have gone any better. Ifans and Richard Armitage have such a great working relationship on screen that the loss of that duo would have been an incredible shame.
Who knows how long Hector will be around? Living the quiet life in the middle of Nowhere, Spain can't possibly suit him. He's going to have an itch scratched that will bring him back into the fold in some way or another even if he made more of a mess of his agency than Frost made of the station.
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Berlin Station is back and firing on all cylinders. The new characters made themselves at home instantly, and the action began without a hitch. There is no doubt this now seasoned spy drama will be as good as or better than its freshman season.
What did you think of "Everything's Gonna Be Alt-Right"? Hit the comments with your thoughts on the premiere, the new characters and the return of Hector DeJean!
Everything's Gonna Be Alt-Right Review
Editor Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5 / 5.0
User Rating:
5.0 / 5.0
https://www.tvfanatic.com/2017/10/berlin-station-season-2-episode-1-review-everythings-gonna-be-al/Zitat:
Berlin Station Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Right Here, Right Now
Carissa Pavlica at October 22, 2017 10:00 pm. Comments
And just like THAT, Hector is back in the game.
Despite having a massive wine cellar at his disposal, Hector claimed to be three months sober on Berlin Station Season 2 Episode 2. I believe he was not only abstinent from alcohol but his incredibly addicting life as a thrill-seeking CIA agent.
That's all in the wind now, thank GOD.
Could Hector have lived his life in Spain without the thrills and chills he had been rushing on for so long?
He didn't seem to be doing too badly. Nestled in the middle of nowhere with a house that met his every need (gorgeous naked woman included), Hector seemed content.
Hector knows his limitations. He knew if he got involved again he'd get involved again. While he can live without it, but when a situation presents itself, it's hard not to press in there. His restraint was notable, however.
At first, he had a hard time remembering Andrew Chevalier. Or he didn't want to remember him. Once Daniel started him down that path, it was easy to get back into a character he hadn't played with in ten years.
What "Right Here, Right Now" did very well was play to Hector's strengths, which also happen to be the strengths of Rhys Ifans. They can both take charge of a scene so what might have felt like a calm and idyllic dinner initially is quickly overtaken with wild bursts of flavor not already on the menu.
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As both Daniel and Hector tried first to seal the weapons deal with Otto, then to discover his terror plan, they were both working Otto and Lena Ganz. Unbeknownst to them early on, though, Hector had the upper hand because Otto was trying to impress Hector.
As a man who was rarely told no, he was enjoying the challenge Andrew Chevalier provided. And while Armando's initial reaction when the fire was lapping at Otto's feet was to release the valve, Daniel knew from Lena to increase the pressure.
The discussion between Hector and Otto, as a result, was a lot of fun.
Not only did we learn why (on two occasions) Otto was buying into whatever the group he belonged to was selling, but that he was going to not necessarily wage a terrorist strike to swing the election, but to start an all-out war.
Hector: They really sold you a fairytale, didn't they, Otto. Something new, something pure. Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this, Otto, but it's all shit. Alt-right, alt-left, they got you marching to the same familiar fuckin' tune. They let you believe you have the power to change your fuckin' nation but it's an illusion, Otto, it's an illusion.
Otto: The pendulum is swinging.
Hector: The pendulum is swinging. Fuck me! Wake up, Otto! Open your eyes! Nothing ever really changes. Democracy rises, Communism falls. Communism rises, Democracy falls. It's the same shit in different coats. The only thing that brings around true revolution is war.
And can I please tell you how happy I am to hear "alt-left" from one of my favorite characters? Ah, God bless Berlin Station for giving me the opportunity to make that quote a "thing" when I've been rebuffed so many times for using the phrase in reviews.
I can die a happy woman.
I hate the alts. And while I realize neither of the alts was used in flattering content by Hector, that he was trying to take the biggest swing at Otto as he possibly could, it still made me smile.
It was a bummer Lena called Otto on his drinking because like Hector, I could have listened to the two of them talk about that stuff all night.
What was completely unexpected was "the goon" Armando being the son of someone important, at least a member of the BfV. Esther wouldn't be running her own son, right? Surely that would be against policy.
Daniel: Holy shit. I gotta call this in.
Hector: Shut up. That Hitler Youth guy's in there takin' a crap or something.
Daniel: Armando?
Hector: Yes.
Daniel: He's BfV. Esther Krug is running him.
Hector: What? And you brought him to my doorstep?
I don't know what other kinds of agents or government officials might work out of The Federal Office for Protection of the Constitution, but Armando's credentials were blown by using his sim card to call his MOM.
Hector figured out fairly easily the Hitler Youth (haha!) was banging Lena, but that didn't stop Lena from turning on the kid when she saw that sim card. The best thing about the fallout of his using it was it proved how much Otto trusted the two men he was getting into bed with.
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He wouldn't have done what he did in Chevalier's house if the trust wasn't sealed. But he didn't share with them what he found out about the kid, so now the four of them all hold pieces to Armando's "puzzle" that is going to get them into a heap of trouble.
When Otto kissed Lena and told her he loved her, it reminded me of when a mob boss knows he's sending someone off to be killed. Was he expecting Lena to get caught in his tiff with Armando? How much does his daughter mean to him?
She wasn't in danger for long, and I laughed out loud when the gang caught up with him racing along the dirt road. First of all, anyone who plays driving games knew Lena was going catch him eventually.
But Hector's commentary was the winner:
Nice parking!
Whether Esther is Armando's mother or not, he must have been out of touch with reality for a long time. Otto said he had been with him "forever," and if Armando thought someone was going to cover his ass after he started spouting stuff like "I'll tell everyone" the truth, he must have been crazy.
My initial thought is this can't end well for Hector. He's been in hiding and isn't exactly going to be greeted with a ticker tape parade. He also just killed someone's son who could identify him.
However, he's also back in it to save the world and has Otto to blame for his indiscretions. Things could turn around by the end of Berlin Station Season 2. Maybe what happens in Europe stays in Europe.
As for the storyline, if you've been paying attention, the right dominated in the recent 2017 German elections. I didn't follow them, nor do I know if the agenda the right used to win was similar to what Otto was feeling.
Otto's word, though crude, probably aren't all that different than what some alt-right groups in the US considered during our 2016 election.
Daniel: What the hell are you doing?
Hector: He trusts me. I can be useful.
Daniel: You're out of your mind.
Hector: I've been out of it too long. It's going to be just like the good old days, right Trevor?
No matter where you sit on the topics, if you take the time to listen, you can hear the despair of groups of people losing their heritage much in the same way newer groups coming into a country are trying to find ways to share and celebrate theirs in their new home.
Their thoughts don't begin as evil, but when history starts being erased or draped in shadows of darkness and one group of people lose what they feel is their identity while others' find theirs celebrated, tensions rise.
Nobody has found a good answer to stop the alt groups from preying on the fears these groups of people on both sides have or how to ensure a melting pot can exist again, but the feelings aren't affiliated with any one country or group.
And until there is less finger pointing and more two-way communication, possibilities like what's erupting on Berlin Station could become a reality. Do we have enough agents like Daniel with rogues like Hector to help us fix our mistakes?
Are you as glad as I am that Hector is back? Was Rhys Ifans on fire? Do you think Daniel and Hector are the perfect partnership? Who is Armando's mother?
Hit me up in the comments!!
Right Here, Right Now Review
Editor Rating: 4.75 / 5.0
4.8 / 5.0
User Rating:
5.0 / 5.0
https://www.tvfanatic.com/2017/10/berlin-station-season-2-episode-2-review-right-here-right-now/Ist die Frage eigentlich ernst gemeint????? Ich habe keinen Zweifel, dass das das Codewort ist und im Zweifel alle Infos an Mrs. Krug gehen.