HBO’s ‘The Regime’ Episode 5 Review - Rebels With A Cause

I was just beginning to warm up to The Regime. Alas, good things don't last for a very long time - a lesson that even Elena ends up learning by the time the end credits start rolling. Episode 5 is strongly infected with tonal issues, making it one of the worst episodes of The Regime. I can almost understand what the show is trying to convey to the audience: When delusion is burst by reality, laughter turns into tragedy. Perhaps this is what the unstable tone signifies. Still, it doesn't make the fifth episode any easier to sit through. The (good) intentions collapse under the weight of (stiff) execution. Without Kate Winslet, The Regime would have probably seemed intolerable. Yet, the actor can do only so much when almost everything exudes a stench of exertion. Like Elena herself, the fifth episode screams at you to shower it with affection.

It all begins on a promising note, with Elena and Herbert taking advice from a dream counselor. They discuss the latter's biting problem. Later, he talks about Elena not supporting him in his dream while he was drowning in the water. Do such trifling matters really require elaborate discussions when the country is on fire? A sane person would say no, but Elena and Herbert are "two little lunatics who fit like a glove." The outdoors are filled with the sounds of bombs and helicopters. These noises are censored inside the palace through Christmas celebrations. A text often informs us how close rebels are getting to the palace. Elena and Herbert, however, are busy displaying amorous actions. It must be true love.

Instead of listening to her ministers, Elena exchanges gifts with Herbert. He gives her a painting; she gives him a gun. They both "appreciate" their presents. This atmosphere of faux kindness is obliterated when Agnes is asked to take a family picture. Elena, Herbert, and Oskar pose for the camera while Oskar's mother is turned into a photographer. Elena not only doesn't see the problems of the citizens but also fails to notice the pain she is causing to the people close to her. Ask her about this situation with Agnes, and she will probably defend herself by saying, "Oh, come on! At precisely 6 pm, Agnes is allowed to have 20 minutes with her son."

One thing that has been consistent about The Regime is that if one episode brings Elena and Herbert together, the next one separates these two characters. Then, another episode puts them together, and then another episode pulls them apart from each other. Given Elena and Herbert ended up in one another's arms in the previous episode, you expect them to have their break-up in the fifth episode. Elena, after all, sees and talks to her husband with longing eyes. Is she regretting the distance between them? Anyway, the break-up doesn't happen. I guess the time for games is over.

Final Score - [4.5/10]