**SPOILERS** On December 18, the final episode of Berlin Station Season 2 aired in Canada. A third season has now been announced, although it is not clear who will be returning. The first five episodes of Season 2 were fairly uneven, as I described in an earlier post. But as in Season 1, the pacing and excitement really picked up towards the end, making it fun to watch, even if it wasn't always plausible or palatable. I think that all of the talent are capable actors, but the writers and directors take things to places that often don't work for me.
Episode 6: The Right Hook: Directed by Sarah Pia Anderson; written by Nina Braddock and Bradford Winters.
This episode is once again a little slow, as Steven Frost and Robert Hirsch take a trip to Norway to follow a lead on the money. This side-trip has some beautiful scenery but is really annoying, taking us away from the main action in Berlin and unfortunately adding to the implausibility of the whole plot.
I find myself also not believing that BB Yates would actually try to save Robert's job — maybe for sentimental reasons?
Episode 7: Right and Wrong: Directed by Sarah Pia Anderson; written by Zach Craley.
Starting from the previous episode, April Lewis is now playing a significant part in the action and it's good to see Keke Palmer do well with the additional screen time. Apparently, though, April is not quite sure whether or not to let a murder take place. Really?? I understand that Hector DeJean is unbalanced and has extremely questionable morals and so is a good wild-card character, but I find it harder to believe the same of April Lewis.
Still not feeling the BB Yates/Robert Kirsch "We'll always have Berlin" thing or the Steven Frost thing.
I do like the Valerie Edwards/Joseph Emmerich story-line. Throughout, with both of them, we see the struggle between their beliefs and their real feelings for the other person. Michelle Forbes does an excellent job of moving between the loving woman and the devious no-nonsense spy.
Ends in a bit of a cliff-hanger, as we are not sure whether Hector has in fact shot Katerina Gerhardt.
Episode 8: The Righteous One: Directed by Guiseppe Capotondi; written by Tony Basgallop.
Lots of tension in this episode and a good pace is kept from start to finish.
Apparently, Hector DeJean has had a crisis of conscience and does not complete the murder. Instead, he has a chance to be a hero and try to stop another would-be shooter. With that chance failing, though, he has the means to see that justice is done (although his motives are personal).
How is BB Yates still here? She missed her flight and no one is having a problem with this? How does she have intelligence that presumably she shouldn't have if she is on the outside?
I enjoyed the Robert Hirsch character a lot more in Season 1 than in Season 2. They've toned him down and made his personality pretty bland, unfortunately.
Good tense scenes with Daniel, Hector, and the shooter, and then later Robert and April. Interesting ending, leaving me wanting to know how the season ends.
Episode 9: Winners Right the History Books: Directed by Guiseppe Capotondi; written by Bradford Winters.
This final episode of the season keeps the exciting pace going, with so many plot twists and turns that they are hard to keep up with. They also didn't make a lot of sense!
A lot of the dialogue is pretty bad, this being Bradford Winters' doing, I guess.
Steven Frost finally has some usefulness, leading to the neat way that Hector is saved and sent off into the sunset. Clever.
I have a hard time watching Joseph being in such a humiliating position as Valerie's intelligence asset, but I suppose it makes sense.
To have the whole season plot boiled down to a ring of international "super-Nazi's" is pretty stupid….
So, Season 3? I don't know. I think part of the reason I am not so into this show (even though the pace is exciting) is that I don't particularly like the Daniel Miller character. I'm not sure why that is exactly, but maybe partly that he is less decisive and confident than makes sense to me. I'm sure I'll watch the third season if Richard Armitage is in it. Although, really, if it involves scattering the station's spies to all different parts of the globe as they try to track down the various "super-Nazi's", that doesn't sound too great to me.
← Merry Christmas and Happy Richarding!
I liked reading your impressions ofbthe last 4 episodes. I thought the first 5 episodes moved really slowly and was struggling with watching the rest. I'm glad i did because i really wound up liking the season.
I also really liked Valerie and Josef's relationship most of all. The acting between them was fantastic. I have a question tho for you pls. Was their final scene in a safe house? Why/how is he now her asset as you say? I missed that… he turned out to not be involved in Katarina's murder, so what made him become a CIA asset? Thx so much for any insight.
ps… i'm also surprised that no reviewers that i've read even commented about Heino Ferch's role, since it was such an important one and so well acted. Not to mention that he's very handsome! I hope we see more of him next season.
Thanks and welcome. I agree that, just like in the first season, the excitement and action of the show really picked up in the second half.
Valerie and Josef were really good together and both Michelle Forbes and Heino Ferch were excellent in their roles here.
Yes, I believe the last scene between them was in a safe house. She essentially blackmailed him by threatening to reveal to the public that he was actually working with Ganz's terrorist group to arrange bombings (even though he claimed he wouldn't have actually let the bombings happen).
I would like to see more of him too, but I might have trouble seeing him in the humiliating position of being Valerie's asset.
Well that's true… it could make for some good tension if he is not submissive. I think it might be better if there were one writer for the whole season instead of changing every couple of episodes. But let's hope for good things from season 3.