Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Telly addicts

Anyone watching Deutschland 83?

307 replies

Destinysdaughter · 03/01/2016 21:35

Am enjoying it so far. Very intriguing
premise and beautifully shot. I don't mind subtitles, find they make me concentrate more and am very interested in this period of history. Looking forward to see how it develops...anyone else? ( guess most of you are watching War and Peace tonight!)

OP posts:
gingercat12 · 01/02/2016 12:26

Carlos the Jackal worked as part of a team. He did not personally plant every bomb.

Yeah, why did Martin still have some decaff coffee on him later on? Or am I mistaken?

2ManySweets · 01/02/2016 12:40

Otillia, did Ingrid drop Ingrid in it with the Stasi for definite? Totally agree re: Annette feeling the need to "do her duty" but would she drop her fiancé (?)'s mum in it? I thought she dropped Thomas in it to get him off her back in part?

Haven't read the Guardian link yet (thank you Noah) but I too am a wee bit baffled re: the Ku'damm bombing, the guy with the coffee tins and the Carlos the Jackal reference.

gingercat - bang on re Ursula opting out of topping herself and choosing instead to really hit the General where it hurts.

Also; that Alex, eh? I wanted to reach into the telly, pick him up and give him a great big hug when he was all upset after Tischbier inferred he'd be more use in the army. It's evident a huge motivator is the "up yours dad" element. But the building he walked into at the end - who exactly are they? They're not the Red Army Faction. Is he too now going to spy for the East, just like Martin?

I basically never ever want this series to end.

2ManySweets · 01/02/2016 12:41

oops typo:

did Annette drop Ingrid in it with the Stasi....?

OttiliaVonBCup · 01/02/2016 12:49

The books were in Ingrid's house, lots of banned books, that's really bad for Ingrid, she could lose everything because of that.

Lots of people snitched in the DDR, some because of their beliefs, some for career reasons, some for other benefits.

I suppose Lenora could help her, but then again even she might want to distance herself from her sister.

The DDR was a scary scary place.

Perihelion · 01/02/2016 13:02

I thought the decaff coffee tins were detonators. Were spoken about during the wostershire sauce scene. Martin took the other tin off the guy in the tunnel and ripped it up.

2ManySweets · 01/02/2016 13:05

Yes! The Worcester sauce scene!

Credit to the writers; they have a good way of weaving in the amusing hypocrisy of the Stasi enjoying the treats the capitalist West has to offer - Nescafé, fancy condiments...dare I say it even IBM computers?

FondantFancy66 · 01/02/2016 13:16

So glad I found this thread!

Was I the only one who momentarily thought Annette was a spy when she went to report the books?

IPityThePontipines · 01/02/2016 13:32

The building Alex went into was the "East German Diplomatic Mission" or something like that.

Alex was photographed entering the building. I wonder if these photos will be used to blackmail General Edel, in a similar way to the attempted blackmail of Meyer?

Poor Thomas! The idea of having a library like that is such a wonderful, noble thing.

It makes me think that Annett must be very naive as to the actions of the State, because most people know that if you shop one person, it's not just them who gets in trouble, but everyone connected to them.

I wonder if it's because her beloved Martin is serving the State, she feels obliged to do the same?

OttiliaVonBCup · 01/02/2016 13:54

I think Annett's message to Martin/Moritz is about the pregnancy. She was pregnant, wasn't she?

DonkeysDontRideBicycles · 01/02/2016 15:09

After Tischbier bullying him at the hippy place I wasn't confident our hero would get the better of that baddie in the brawl in the underground.

In that sort of world Annett may have felt obliged to report Thomas in case the whole set up was a kind of test of her loyalty. She might think she's protecting the father of her baby.

morningtoncrescent62 · 01/02/2016 15:53

Great episode. I thought for one moment Ursula was going to be next to top herself, and I almost laughed with relief when she decided to do in the fish instead. In fact I enjoyed Ursula a lot this week. I like that she's prepared to cover for her son, no questions asked. I've a feeling she's going to end up forced to choose in some way between sticking by Alex or by her husband. I think she was trying to suggest AIDS just in case it's a protracted absence, though how she thinks she'll keep up the pretence long-term is beyond me.

I've no idea what Annett wants to tell Moritz - he already knows about the pregnancy. Maybe she's not that naive, Pontipines, and she wants to tell him in some coded way about the library, thus effectively warning him to stay in the West and not risk the wrath of the Stasi.

I was Confused by the brawl in the underground. Was Martin trying to stop the baddie from detonating the second decaf coffee bomb? Or was it that his pride was wounded when he realised he'd been used as a stooge to transport explosives, and he responded with instinctive anger?

My money's on Yvonne playing a larger role as things progress. She now knows quite a lot about Martin and she's not stupid. I also wouldn't be surprised if there's another Stasi plant in the Ashram, we're seeing quite a lot of it.

I'm enjoying the coming of age element to the series - it's interesting to see the main characters trying to forge their adult paths in very scary and extreme conditions. If any of them are going to end up as stone-cold, ideologically-driven baddies, I think it'll be Alex.

RockNRollNerd · 01/02/2016 17:53

AgonyBeetle yes - that's exactly how it was when I went on my magical mystery tour by bus from Potsdam - I wasn't very far out but it was clearly not the shiney new centre of Potsdam! It's hard to convey to people what the East looked like shortly after reunification but D83 has got it pretty damn spot on based on my fairly limited experience.

Annett I think wants Martin to know about the baby, I think she also wants to shop Thomas to get him out of the way. I agree though that i don't see how Ingrid can come out of it well though.

I assume Lenora either made some threats or offered some favours/privileges to get the operation/treatment started. I get the impression she can do both and will use whatever it takes to make sure she's always in or ahead of the game. Hence my feeling she's either going to be utterly destroyed when her own house of cards crashes down or (more likely) one of the very few left standing with her life(style) intact at the end of this.

OttiliaVonBCup · 01/02/2016 17:59

Don't underestimate how tough and ruthless Lenora has to be to survive in the position she is.

I think she genuinely believes she did Martin a favour by getting him the spy gig, it a job that comes with a lot of power and privilege and access to western goods, but she will go through dead bodies to keep it for herself, even though she loves her sister and nephew.

She's not the stupidly naive idealist Annett is.

RomComPhooey · 06/02/2016 00:13

I've just caught up. I started wondering whether Alex would really have been allowed to have such floppy hair in the army. Apart from that, I have nothing useful to add this week, though I also liked Frau Edel getting back at her husband through the fish.

Destinysdaughter · 06/02/2016 00:44

I wonder if eventually Martin will get so disgusted by what he's being asked to do that he'll ask to defect to the West. And then be a double agent! If there are going to be more series of this, I can see it going it this way...

OP posts:
justkeeponsmiling · 06/02/2016 21:25

Destiny that's an interesting theory. I think you could be right. I think it will all depend on how/if his mother will recover from the transplant. Now that the op has gone ahead they don't really have a way to persuade him to spy for them do they? They can just force him to carry on by threatening him of course but that may well be less effective than dangling the juicy carrot of "we will save your mother's life" in front of his nose all the time.
Although: maybe this was the point of Anette telling? Now she has dropped Martin's mother in it he might be forced to carry on spying to save her from imprisonment.
Can't believe there are only three episodes left!

IssyStark · 07/02/2016 13:36

destiny the producers originally conceived of three series: 83, 86 and 89. The second series hasn't been commissioned yet (it didn't get strong ratings in Germany but it was up against the Voice...)

Waves hello to other Deutschland fans Smile (no idea why I didn't think about checking telly addicts before today...)

SauvignonBlanche · 07/02/2016 19:57

Access to immunosuppressant drugs would be the next potential 'carrot' to dangle in front of Martin.

IssyStark · 07/02/2016 21:16

Well I wasn't expecting that bit of domestic violence from The General.

Hassled · 07/02/2016 22:01

Damn, that was good. You've got to feel a bit sorry for General Edel, despite the handiness with his fists.

Was Kramer aiming to shoot the policeman before he was shot? So is that his cover blown?

Hassled · 07/02/2016 22:02

Martin's in pretty good form given he had a kidney removed a week ago.

Destinysdaughter · 07/02/2016 22:02

That was another brilliant episode! Tho I did get Kramer and the professor guy mixed up. Was glad he was still alive. But may not be for long...

OP posts:
IssyStark · 07/02/2016 22:08

Kramer v. conveniently dead so can take the wrap for the sex worker's death, plus as Gen. Edel asked him to find Alex, his bosses in the East are off the hook completely. All in all poor old Kramer's death has benefited lots of people except him!

MissWimpyDimple · 07/02/2016 22:14

This weeks episode has me less hooked. I think it's because I can't quite get into Edel Jnrs character.

Feature length finale next week!

gingercat12 · 07/02/2016 22:18

General Edel really liked Kramer (unlike Alex his own son). He will never forgive Alex for having a "good soldier" killed. I know the General will not know the details, but he immediately made the connection the way he looked after his wife told him the news. Also the Edel family are totally beholden to Martin now, whatever happens.

I do not suppose love rat Tieschbier would call Alex to warn him. The Military Police will probably have Alex tested to see if he is telling the truth about the virus and that is how he will find out he is ill.

Swipe left for the next trending thread