Al Pacino leads a group of Nazi Hunters in 1977 New York in this new series by Amazon.
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spoilers ahead
It is 1977 New York and young Jonah’s grandmother is killed in a break in. He discovers that it was not a random killing, but revenge. She has been secretly working with millionaire Meyer Offerman on a team who’s sole purpose is to hunt Nazis and bring vigilante justice to them. As Jonah enters this world, a plot to start the Fourth Reich puts them all in danger. It involves corn syrup.
Al Pacino has got to be one of the most consistently great actors alive. The man has a tremendous amount of gravitas from a lifetime of film work, but he always finds little ways to surprise me. His Meyer is mysterious, funny, dangerous, and kind. Just a well written and better acted character. I loved the twist at the end, executed flawlessly.
Logan Lerman plays Jonah. This guy did a good job. We get that he is in WAY over his head at the start and then marvel as he gets sucked into this world and almost lets cruelty get the better of him. By the end he is a leader.
Lena Olin is “The Colonel”, the leader of the Nazi Fourth Reich. She lives to fight another day in season two, and in the final scenes of the series she is revealed to be… go watch it, or read the final section below.
Jerrika Hinton is Millie, an FBI agent that is on to Meyer’s Nazi group. She has some really emotional stuff in this when she is attacked. She must later decide whether to help Offerman or not. Her set up for season 2 is strong.
Two of my favorite actors together as husband and wife! Saul Rubinek and Carol Kane play Murray and Mindy Markowitz, Holocaust survivors and members of the team. Their story is the heart of this season. Losing a child to the Nazis, they are desperate to stop them now, and find the man who murdered their son. It looks like their story, Murrays at least, ends at season one. They will be missed.
Josh Radnor plays Lonny Flash, actor/master of disguise who fights on the team. This guy was the main comic relief in the show. He was awesome.
In the most chilling performance of the series, Greg Austin plays Travis, an American who joins the Fourth Reich and works his way up the ladder. Excellent work here. His final scene was excellent.
Tiffany Boone is Roxy Jones, a member of the team who has a young daughter at home. She is torn between doing the work with the hunters and helping her community. The show definitely suffered when her character briefly left the team, but she was back for the finish.
Louis Ozawa is Joe, Vietnam vet and RAMBO of the team. His ptsd was a nice reminder of the stuff those vets went through. Ozawa’s last scene in the season was excellent.
Kate Mulvany is Sister Harriet, former MI6 agent who has enlisted with the team. She is something of a wild card and looks to be a mole. I am looking forward to next season’s developments for her.
Dylan Baker is the secret ingredient to so many successful shows. He stole the spotlight every time he appeared on The Good Wife. He was robbed of his chance to be “The Lizard” in Raimi’s Spider-Man series. Here he plays Biff Simpson, undersecretary of state for Jimmy Carter, secretly a Nazi. I loved his character, not as in I support what he says/does, but I love the situations he found himself in. I am hoping he comes back for season 2.
This was a good show. It felt a bit lost at times, but it came together nicely for my taste. The actors were superb, the writing was good especially “A man is like a floor tile. Lay him the right the first time and you can walk over him the rest of your life”. I know that is an old saying, but it was used wonderfully here. I loved how the blackout of 1977 worked into the plot. The concepts of justice and revenge were explored quite emotionally. Pacino’s character, once the full story comes out, is fantastic.
The final scene is what everyone seems to be talking about, Lena Olin’s Eva “Colonel” Braun sitting for lunch with an 89 year old Adolph Hitler while poor Joe sits there shocked. That is a hell of a hook for season 2. I’ll be there for more Nazi killing.
The Skinny from the Fatty 