This is quite unique show about some exciting period in European recent history, with, unfortunately, quite ridiculous main character. The context story is very interesting, and a few supporting characters are really charismatic, but the protagonist, Martin, is a pointless, unbelievable, illogical creature, whose existence and doing are almost cartoon-like.
The plot in the Season one. Deutschland 1983, was sort of intriguing - he was sent to a mission in West Germany by his aunt, high intelligence officer, who recruited him to work for East Germany. He is not willing to do that, but he tries to get over with this and go back home. However, the problems in the plot started when he stops doing his tasks and starts posing as "good-doer", as somebody who has consciousness. From that point, this character looks idiotic, childish and pointless. And this is the main problem of the show. How to explain that several intelligence services want constantly to work with the guy who never does anything in the interest of his bosses?
Maybe the point was to present all intelligence services as idiots, but it did not really look so with other characters. His aunt, Lenora, and his father, Walter, looked as very serious agents throughout the entire show, and I watched the show mostly for them. Also, every woman who showed in the show falls for Martin, while he actually never shows any real emotion to anyone. He goes around, messes missions and kills or ruins bunch of people around, and everybody around behaves as if he was someone really important. In the third season, Deutschland 1989, I already laughed at every scene with him.
But the show did not really intend to show him as german type of Forest Gamp parody - it seems that the authors really believed that they did a great thing for real - created a hero. But their hero works for every intelligence, because he is too afraid to reject them, and then betrays all of them, does not do what they ask from him, but does much bigger damage and bloodshed, on his own terms. He is driven by almost Oedipal hatred towards his own aunt, for recruiting him into secret service, while he does not hate his own father, who did the same. Martin looks really like pretentious, misogynist idiot and makes the show looks idiotic at times. Especially the ending of the Deutschland 1989 (Season 3) is confusing. Why is CIA sacrificing their own people in order to protect a useless idiot who can't be trusted anything? I really did not get it. Explanation that a " spy woman from the West Germany", whom he also betrayed, is in love with him, and enables him to stay alive, is one possible solution, but really not convincing. The attempts to motivate Martin's behaviour by his love for his son is also lame. The agent who can be so easily blackmailed within two second because of his son, is laughable. Also the agent who goes to pursue his own justice, to kill whom he believes he should kill, is just a random murderer, not really a hero the show tries to present.
Also, the bad side of the show is its naivety at moments, about the entire story about German reunification, and glorifying the consumerism and freedom of movement. Now we know that the world unfortunately has not solved all people's problems by "tearing that wall". The show is very interesting occasionally, but in my opinion, ruined by the main character, and all this glorification of the "freedom in the West".
The plot in the Season one. Deutschland 1983, was sort of intriguing - he was sent to a mission in West Germany by his aunt, high intelligence officer, who recruited him to work for East Germany. He is not willing to do that, but he tries to get over with this and go back home. However, the problems in the plot started when he stops doing his tasks and starts posing as "good-doer", as somebody who has consciousness. From that point, this character looks idiotic, childish and pointless. And this is the main problem of the show. How to explain that several intelligence services want constantly to work with the guy who never does anything in the interest of his bosses?
Maybe the point was to present all intelligence services as idiots, but it did not really look so with other characters. His aunt, Lenora, and his father, Walter, looked as very serious agents throughout the entire show, and I watched the show mostly for them. Also, every woman who showed in the show falls for Martin, while he actually never shows any real emotion to anyone. He goes around, messes missions and kills or ruins bunch of people around, and everybody around behaves as if he was someone really important. In the third season, Deutschland 1989, I already laughed at every scene with him.
But the show did not really intend to show him as german type of Forest Gamp parody - it seems that the authors really believed that they did a great thing for real - created a hero. But their hero works for every intelligence, because he is too afraid to reject them, and then betrays all of them, does not do what they ask from him, but does much bigger damage and bloodshed, on his own terms. He is driven by almost Oedipal hatred towards his own aunt, for recruiting him into secret service, while he does not hate his own father, who did the same. Martin looks really like pretentious, misogynist idiot and makes the show looks idiotic at times. Especially the ending of the Deutschland 1989 (Season 3) is confusing. Why is CIA sacrificing their own people in order to protect a useless idiot who can't be trusted anything? I really did not get it. Explanation that a " spy woman from the West Germany", whom he also betrayed, is in love with him, and enables him to stay alive, is one possible solution, but really not convincing. The attempts to motivate Martin's behaviour by his love for his son is also lame. The agent who can be so easily blackmailed within two second because of his son, is laughable. Also the agent who goes to pursue his own justice, to kill whom he believes he should kill, is just a random murderer, not really a hero the show tries to present.
Also, the bad side of the show is its naivety at moments, about the entire story about German reunification, and glorifying the consumerism and freedom of movement. Now we know that the world unfortunately has not solved all people's problems by "tearing that wall". The show is very interesting occasionally, but in my opinion, ruined by the main character, and all this glorification of the "freedom in the West".