The Defeated (2020)

Watchseries; My tv channel broadcasting this series started advertising with trailers at least six weeks before the screening of Episode 1. On the look-out for entertaining and well-made tv series I told everyone to look out for "Shadowplay" because it seemed like the next 'big thing'. Because the storyline dealt with the very early post-war Berlin, a subject not greatly explored in general cinema and tv, I very much looked forward to watching this series. But unlike many critics here, after 4 episodes, I'm greatly disappointed. So much so that even small details are annoying. So the two brothers make a pledge in the late 1920 to 'watch each other's back' an expression first used in print in a 1974 novel by John Le Carre. On the same occasion a very young Max uses the 'f' expletive and the character is the only in the series to continually repeat same when we meet him as an American policeman in 1946. What's the point? Realistically was this word's usage all the vogue at that time? It doesn't seem in character with the adult Max and is utterly annoying. Enough has been said on the caricature of the Russians as thoroughly evil. It also beggars belief that a lone US cop would be sent to Germany to organise a policeforce but not be given any of the materials needed to get such a project off the ground. And it seems a bit of lazy scriptwriting that so far the main emphasis seems to be on Max finding his brother Moritz.

Things may improve but I may need to soon ring those to whom I so avidly recommended this series and apologise.

My tv channel broadcasting this series started advertising with trailers at least six weeks before the screening of Episode 1. On the look-out for entertaining and well-made tv series I told everyone to look out for "Shadowplay" because it seemed like the next 'big thing'. Because the storyline dealt with the very early post-war Berlin, a subject not greatly explored in general cinema and tv, I very much looked forward to watching this series. But unlike many critics here, after 4 episodes, I'm greatly disappointed. So much so that even small details are annoying. So the two brothers make a pledge in the late 1920 to 'watch each other's back' an expression first used in print in a 1974 novel by John Le Carre. On the same occasion a very young Max uses the 'f' expletive and the character is the only in the series to continually repeat same when we meet him as an American policeman in 1946. What's the point? Realistically was this word's usage all the vogue at that time? It doesn't seem in character with the adult Max and is utterly annoying. Enough has been said on the caricature of the Russians as thoroughly evil. It also beggars belief that a lone US cop would be sent to Germany to organise a policeforce but not be given any of the materials needed to get such a project off the ground. And it seems a bit of lazy scriptwriting that so far the main emphasis seems to be on Max finding his brother Moritz.

Things may improve but I may need to soon ring those to whom I so avidly recommended this series and apologise.

The Defeated watchseries. Glad I ignored the naysayers and tried it. What a great show. Humanity put on show without window dressing.

If you want to get a glimpse of post WWII Germany, the good, bad and ugly - watch this.

First of all, "Shadowplay" is a dumb name for this show. "The Defeated", the show's original title, might have been better. But neither really captures the show that well. Set in post-war Germany shortly after their defeat, the show's early episodes seem to do a decent job of capturing the misery, desperation, and the broken remains of a country and its people who not only lost the war, but had their civilization bombed into submission.

And perhaps that's why a story of a NYPD cop trying to help rebuild and reestablish law and order sounded like a good premise. But that epic-worthy premise gets weighed down by a search for a brother who's gone AWOL, run-ins with Russian military (which is okay if they weren't made into villains), and multitudes of minor story branches that just seem to drag the story into smaller issues that muddle the show and makes the story feel small. What gets lost is the bigger picture, of what is transpiring at the historical level during this time period. This is no Babylon Berlin, which in my opinion, is a masterpiece.

And what's up with the Brooklyn accent? Kitsch does a passable job, but the show can't seem to make up its mind on whether he's a scrappy street cop or a polished NY police brass savvy in the ways of bureaucracy and politics. I suppose it's part of his backstory, but to me, it feels unnecessary, just like all the f-bombs casually thrown in.

Despite all its shortcomings, the show is beautifully shot, the acting is mostly good (mostly the Germans), and there is a main story that makes its way through, I think. It's not entirely a waste of time to watch--if you have the time, that is.

The technical facets to this are excellent. The whole look and design is really full of dust and rubble and a vanquished nation. The actors too show their skill and across the various nationalities all hit their marks.

Where the series falters, and often, is the story and plot. The plot is the mechanism and the story is the overall narrative. It has everything thrown into it from fraternal love, psychological cracks, art theft, Cold War espionage,a bizarre female resistance etc . It is so cluttered as to be a mish-mash of of high drama and incredible, story telling.

It may succeed with some audiences but it seems a little desperate, as if they are not quite sure of what they have and have conceived all manner of subplots to keep this thing spinning so you don't notice that it's, well, a bit nonsensical.

In a way its like the dime novels that had a thrill every few pages to keep the reader hooked but when they finished the book they couldn't remember anything.

I read CarsonTrent's review. I suspect s/he and I didn't see the same program. There is NOTHING black and white about this series. It shows a society divided and under immense stress. It shows characters trying to make sense of the times, while trying to create order. It shows competing political regimes, each of whom thinks they are right. All this with a plot of a brothers love, interwoven by that brother driven to unspeakable horrors because of what he has experienced.

So not the simple pap that reviewers like CarsonTrent want. This is complex drama, not perfect, but certainly worthy of more than trite ignorant niaeve spewing of the worst of the Middle American mind, such as it is.

I don't get the negative reviews here, yes it's far from perfect, but to say it's about white American saviours is a joke considering it's written by Germans. The show paints a good picture of immediate post war Berlin and the premise kept me glued right through the end.

This show is far from "woke" and it's characters for the most part are well written. I'd much rather see more historical shows with the occasional gaffe than the modern trash we have set in the present day.

It's also nice do have a mix of different languages, so do make sure you have subtitles since about 50% of it isn't in English.