paigow May 14 Share May 14 Series Finale May 17 / 24 The Count and Anna devise an elaborate plan, with huge consequences should it fail. However, things quickly start to unravel. An inevitable showdown is set between the Count and an old enemy. 1 Link to comment
paigow May 15 Author Share May 15 (edited) Old enemies... B List: A List: Edited May 17 by paigow Link to comment
paigow May 17 Author Share May 17 Rostov: Mos Eisley Spaceport The Kremlin. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. 1 Link to comment
mledawn May 17 Share May 17 I read the book and was still anxious. Enjoyed this ending 2 Link to comment
Haleth May 18 Share May 18 So good but I think it was more suspenseful in the book. Spoiler As I recall, Anna sort of disappeared from the story so it was a huge surprise to see Alexander with her at the end. Plus the frantic hunt for him after Sophia disappeared in Paris was really tense. It was assumed he would try to leave the country to be with her, so again, it was a surprise to see him settled into rural USSR. I guess when your wife is the costar you don’t write her out for a few episodes. Still, loved this. Well done. Mostly. 1 Link to comment
paigow May 18 Author Share May 18 Rostov walked to the Finnish border? How did he not meet Mishka aka Russian Forrest Gump??? Link to comment
paigow May 18 Author Share May 18 I always saw this as a version of Casablanca ; however, surprising that Osip was Louis AND Sam while Anna ended up as Rick at the Paris train station.... Link to comment
ProudMary May 18 Share May 18 15 hours ago, Haleth said: So good but I think it was more suspenseful in the book. Absolutely! Honestly, I found the first two-thirds of the book to be quite tedious. I only kept reading it because it was a book club selection for me. All that changed with the final third of the book being SO suspenseful and full of edge-of-your-seat intrigue! I thought this series did a very good job keeping Alexander's decades at the Metropol interesting, with less concentration on the escape at the end. From a cinematic perspective, that makes much more sense. I enjoyed the series very much and I'm sorry to see it end. I hope it fares well when Emmy nominations open in June. 1 Link to comment
bybrandy May 18 Share May 18 (edited) I also struggled with the first two thirds of the book but stuck with it because of the quality oh the writing. But then in that final third not only was their all the suspense but it felt like so many things from the first 2/3 became important. this does make the first 2/3 more interesting but I found the escape ho hum. Maybe I wouldn’t if I weren’t expecting that. I loved the first 6 episodes. Was mildly annoyed in episode seven but this one really lost the magic for me. Edited May 18 by bybrandy 2 Link to comment
Lonesome Rhodes May 19 Share May 19 It is always jarring when the set-up for a story entails precise details which typically are quite onerous. If everyone is not exceedingly on point, something gets discovered by the bad guy(s) and the protagonists are in deep trouble. We got a ton of this in the first 4 or 5 eps. Then, after the war, it was as if there were new freedoms and the noose of tyranny was eased in the USSR. Anna lost her status, but somehow had enough resources to live very well. Then Stalin dies and we got thrown right back into the horrors of the Soviet way, but the Metropol escaped any consequences. It ws all too convenient. Glebnik's gradual softening/conversion was well paced and consistent. His actions at the very end, to include his actual coming demise, made sense. I did not understand if his wife had been arrested (or worse) and he was on the run for days, or if he was anticipating he would never see her again because he was distancing himself. But, why wouldn't he have tried to broker a deal where he turned himself in, hoping for decent treatment for his soon to be widow? He knew he was a dead man walking. So he heroically attempted a redemption of sorts to help the Count and Anna? Sofia's gymnastics in the rest room were absurd. At a bare minimum, her rising above the stall would have been heard by her hunter, who had just demonstrated excellent hearing capability. TPTB could have staged the escape any number of ways. This choice was very, very, bad. The gunshot was similarly absurd. Nobody came running? Everyone and everything just proceeded normally? Ay yi yi. I do admit the shock of the Count using the dueling pistol was a super cool moment. Now, when the turd Ledevsky(?) was rescued, what are the chances that there would not have been a huge investigation which would have been terrible for his comrades on staff? Pretty much zero. Overall, the series tried to do too much, which was still woefully inadequate, in too few episodes. The book required a master's touch, which was not at all what happened. There were some fantastic moments, especially the early depiction of the chaos of Lenin's tyranny and the super random basis on which many were tortured and/or killed. In the end, I'm glad to have watched it and I am very disappointed in this adaptation of a profoundly intricate story. 2 Link to comment
paigow May 19 Author Share May 19 The Paris escape would have been better if Ethan Hunt left a mask of the chaperone for Sophia... then she could bluff her way out... Link to comment
meep.meep May 20 Share May 20 On 5/18/2024 at 11:18 PM, Lonesome Rhodes said: Glebnik's gradual softening/conversion was well paced and consistent. His actions at the very end, to include his actual coming demise, made sense. I did not understand if his wife had been arrested (or worse) and he was on the run for days, or if he was anticipating he would never see her again because he was distancing himself. But, why wouldn't he have tried to broker a deal where he turned himself in, hoping for decent treatment for his soon to be widow? He knew he was a dead man walking. So he heroically attempted a redemption of sorts to help the Count and Anna? ...... Overall, the series tried to do too much, which was still woefully inadequate, in too few episodes. The book required a master's touch, which was not at all what happened. There were some fantastic moments, especially the early depiction of the chaos of Lenin's tyranny and the super random basis on which many were tortured and/or killed. In the end, I'm glad to have watched it and I am very disappointed in this adaptation of a profoundly intricate story. Glebnik explained that: they always went after the families no matter what deal was struck. There was no getting away from that. He had sent his wife off and Alexander had to do the same with Sophia and Anna. I actually thought this was one of the better adaptations of a novel that I've ever seen. They had to leave out heaps of things from the book, but did so judiciously. The whole premise is ludicrous, but it lets you see the growth in Alexander as well as the sacrifices he has made for others. 5 Link to comment
paigow May 20 Author Share May 20 1 hour ago, meep.meep said: I actually thought this was one of the better adaptations of a novel that I've ever seen. Ultimately, this was a super meta extended commercial for Expedia... Come to Moscow, Live like a king, Get out of Moscow.... Book now 1 Link to comment
lucindabelle June 2 Share June 2 I felt like the ending here was almost like wishful thinking whereas in the book I was 100% sure that he escaped and met up with him. WeirdI felt like the ending here was almost like wishful thinking whereas in the book I was 100% sure that he escaped and met up with him. Weirdly in the book I didn’t place that the woman waiting for him was Anna at all! Link to comment
smartymarty July 2 Share July 2 The book did not have Anna delivering a tape (there was no tape), and yes, her getting into the ceiling was absurd. Also, Alexander had someone dressed like him on a train to Finland to lead authorities off the track. My memory is that Alex and Anna lived in rural Russia after their escape, Alex never wanting to leave "his country." I was disappointed that they changed this ending, particularly too that they made it ambiguous whether he and Anna were successful -- Sophia's voice-over can be interpreted as her wishful thinking rather than what happened (we also never see how Alexander leaves the hotel). I thought that the phones ringing was not only a signal that Sophia had succeeded, but a distraction so that he could leave undetected. These issues notwithstanding, I thought the series was quite good, quite faithful to the book, and enjoyable despite that I'd read the book. 1 Link to comment
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