Deutschland 86

After watching the first season - Deutschland 83 - I was excited to see the second season available on Netflix. Compared to Deutschland 83, this season was a slight disappointment; watchable but not as binge worthy as Deutschland 83.

For those expecting more of the same Deutschland 86 will come as a surprise. Deutschland 86 moved away from its core East Germany vs West Germany Cold War premise and shifted to the Cold War battleground of South Africa.

The episodes didn't flow seamlessly, i.e. the stories seemed jumpy and often only loosely connected. While there was continuity with main characters, e.g. Martin Rauch, Lenora Rauch, et. al. many new persons were introduced and made the story more complicated to follow.

In a nutshell, the plot goes as follows. The Soviet Union is near bankruptcy. Gorbachev is implementing reforms which include cutting financial aid to Warsaw Pact countries like East Germany. In the new environment, East Germany's government is forced to scramble for hard currencies like the Deutsche Marks (remember the West German currency?!) by going 'capitalist.'

Many schemes, legal and illegal but all surreptitious, are concocted by East German leaders. East German blood is sold across the border. East German citizens are used for (often unethical) medical trials by Western pharmaceutical companies.

However, for Deutschland 86 the focus is on smuggling weapons. Not just routine arms smuggling but violating a UN arms embargo against South Africa's white supremacist Apartheid regime (remember black people were legally subhuman until the late 1980s in South Africa?!).

Yes, communist East Germany was selling weapons to 'Free / Capitalist South Africa' so it could suppress Mandela's communist African National Congress (ANC) armed insurgency ... to generate money to keep the Socialist dream alive! Ironic but true. Much of Deutschland 86 revolves around the adventures related to selling arms to South Africa and the shenanigans required to circumvent UN sanctions and hoodwink ordinary communist East Germans.

Deutschland 86 is eminently watchable. Not as tightly knit as the first season of Deutschland. Nonetheless, it reveals important insights into the demise of the East Bloc's communist regimes while still entertaining viewers. For social scientists, Deutschland 86 underscores the importance of pragmatism over ideology.

NB: At the time of writing Deutschland 86 is available on Netflix in multiple jurisdictions.

I have to say I'm disappointed. I fell it was to much removed from S1. Alex's character this season was not utilized enough and story line was shallow in it's attempts to be Nobel. Very few scenes that were intriguing and impacting like S1.

Compared to the first season, it's actually a little disappointing at first - in particular the first few episodes, but it does get better about halfway through and finds its feet well enough....and becomes the familiar show we all know and love.

The Berlin stuff is all good, I found the African parts quite poorly handled and just not very interesting or compelling.

The plot was very interesting with lots of twists, good balance of continuity and variation. No one's "good" or "bad", the characters have so much depth. The setting's awesome, really makes you travel in time. A meaningful and adventure-packed talk about history, adventures, feelings and human nature.

Three years have passed since the events of 'Deutschland 83' and a lot has changed; Martin has been shipped off to Angola where he is teaching German to orphans and changes in the Soviet Union mean the German Democratic Republic must fend for itself. This means that the government is desperate to earn foreign currency; even if it means dealing with ideological enemies... such as shipping arms to Apartheid South Africa despite the arms embargo. Martin's aunt, Lenora Rauch, is working in Cape Town working on the plan and utilises Martin; he sabotages the plan and comes up with another that will see them head to Angola and into danger. Events will ultimately take them back to Germany.

I really enjoyed the first series so was pleased to learn that there was to be more; having just finished the second series I can say I enjoyed it as much as the first. It contains plenty of tense moments, some good action, lots of great characters and the all-important nostalgia factor for those who grew up in the 1980s (but not in East Germany). The story includes many real events such as the bombing of a West Berlin disco and the retaliatory strikes on Tripoli by the United States. The series captured the paranoia of living in East Germany and the dangers involved with trying to get out. Surprisingly there are also quite a few amusing moments; the sight of East German officials at a 'Rocky Horror Show' event at the US Embassy was priceless! The cast do a fine job; most notably Jonas Nay, as Martin; Maria Schrader, as Lenora; and Sylvester Groth as Walter Schweppenstette. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to anybody who watched 'Deutschland 83'... I'd advise watching that first as it serves to introduce most of the key characters.

These comments are based on watching the series in German with English subtitles.