BERLIN STATION - A series review

Berlin Station is the brainchild of the American novelist Olen Steinhauer, who is a specialist of detective and spy novels, and as a good spy novelist, Olen Steinhauer has obviously pondered long and deep on John Le Carré's brand of spy novels where gadgets and gunfights are scarce but moral dilemmas and false friendships are legion. 

Berlin Station takes place entirely in Berlin, Germany, where Steven Frost (Richard Jenkins) runs a spy "station" which is coming under fire by Thomas Shaw, a mysterious whistleblower who knows way too much about the CIA activities and who wants to wreck havoc and reveal all the dirty secrets of the agency. 

              

Thomas Shaw is basically a kind of Edward Snowden (but we are past-Snowden, who is mentioned in one of two episodes) except that he seems to have something especially against the agents in Berlin and he keeps leaking more and more info about precisely that station, putting everyone at risk and on edge... 

 

So much so that the CIA must send a special agent Daniel Miller (Richard Armitage) to find out who is Thomas Shaw and to put an end to his activities (i.e. kill him). 

Berlin Station is a rather good surprise. As a spy series, it's not as good as Homeland or The Americans for example, but it's been a while we did not have such a clever story, well grounded in the contemporary world.  

 

However, this is also the first series which – in my opinion – would have been a great movie rather than a good series. After ten episodes, it's a bit difficult to keep track of all the double-dealings and the traps and the false friendships between German intelligence, Mossad, and CIA. Everything eventually comes together rather nicely in the end, but if you don't have a great attention span and leave an episode pending for too long... you might end up lost. Better binge on it. 

The casting is a bit disappointing as well. Granted, Daniel Miller was probably never meant to be a very interesting character anyway, but Richard Armitage is for me not a great actor and it's difficult to keep our eyes on him. Steven Frost is played by Richard Jenkins, whose credentials are proven, but who is a little bit too nice a grandfather for a chief of a ruthless spy station. I know he is supposed to be clueless and overwhelmed by all that happens, but he lacks a menacing edge. 

 

On the contrary, where the series hit the bullseye is with Rhys Ifans (picture above). Playing a wily spy named Hector DeJean, Rhys Ifans steals the whole show, thanks to his sad/angry eyes and his drawl. It's great to see an actor reduced usually to play the supporting parts having such a whale of a time with a dangerous and fascinating character like Hector De Jean. Just for him, the show is well worth your time.