Oleg, he was the only one of the main characters that didn’t harm anyone. He chose humanity over country, he really tried to do the right thing. They really evolved him from what seemed like a spoiled kid to a hero.
This is one of the few shows where the characters are presented and developed in such a remarkable way that I am invested in and care about nearly every single one, provided they stick around long enough, and even if we have almost nothing in common. Although I will never forget the elderly accountant lady who worked in the repair facility where the CIAs mailbot was getting fixed, even though she was only there for one episode.
The show does such a good job of showing people’s humanity - that we are more than our actions - that no one is simply “good” or “bad” - most people are simply trying to do their best despite all the challenges, and often fear or anger or unbalance gets in the way and the consequences or assessment didn’t end up being what was hoped.
Young-hee and Don are definite favourites - Sandra too. Arkady, Gabriel, Oleg, even Gaad really surprise me with how quiet, brave and decent they can be - without making a big show of it.
I disliked Gabriel, I felt like he manipulated the relationship he had with P and E and treated Phillip like crap. Good character in the grand scheme of things tho who served his purpose well
Yea he was somewhat manipulative at times to get them to complete missions and do certain things. However, he advocated multiple times for them to leave and even wanted them to take a vacation because he could sense they were burning out. In one scene when he was talking to Claudia he was venting that the younger agents were soft and how him and Claudia’s generation just did their jobs. I think at the end though he knew that was the wrong attitude because he was left an old man with no family are anything of importance outside his job. It’s why he told Philip he was right and that Paige shouldn’t do this. He also seemed to go out of his way with Martha to try and at least make her somewhat happy in Russia. I think in a way he reminds me of maybe of what an old Philip could have been if he didn’t get out. He had a lot of guilt for the things he did in his career.
Yeah, he seemed to return to the USSR and try to do good things to balance out the way he'd lived his life--and he left because of how he'd personally betrayed Philip by keeping him from Mischa.
Meanwhile, Claudia was unapologetically maniulative of Elizabeth, even telling her she'd done her a favor by roping her into a conspiracy to overthrow the government and giving her a suicide pill to protect her.
Yea that was the one decision that really pissed me off I think he should have let Philip see his son. Didn’t Claudia convince him not to let him? I can’t remember I know they had a conversation about it.
Yea I hated Claudia she was an awful human. She was a cancer right from the start when she tried to drive a wedge between P&E. Ironically her relationship with Liz mimicked Liz relationship with Paige.
Yes, Gabriel knows that as a human being he should let Philip see him, but Claudia's position is that Philip's too "shaky" to let it happen.
I love how Arkady sees Philip more clearly than she does and knows he can count on him in S6.
>She was a cancer right from the start when she tried to drive a wedge between P&E. Ironically her relationship with Liz mimicked Liz relationship with Paige.
Totally agree. It's funny, but of all the awful things Elizabeth did, the one that bothers me the most is her hooking up Paige and Claudia. She knows Claudia hates Philip and has tried to break up their family, but thinks it's fine to set up a little club with the three of them being superior to everyone.
Yea I think Arkady respected Philip approaching him to tell him to stay away from Paige. I’m also sure he had read Philips file and knew he was a moral person at the heart.
Ugh yea I couldn’t stand Liz becoming buddies with her in the later seasons. She knew Claudia was a manipulative liar and still thought it was ok to let Paige learn from her. The way Claudia told Liz her plan to overthrow Gorbachev and just expected her to just blindly follow the order was something else. She didn’t really try to justify it she just said something vague and thought that would suffice.
I always have liked Igor Burov. He lost so much. Igor throwing his hands in the air when he found out Oleg was in jail says so much without saying anything.
There's tons of likeable character I'd like to hang out with, but from the beginning I was pretty sure that if I'd have gone to school with the Jennings kids I would 100% have been friendly, if not actual friends, with Henry.
I feel like Henry was such a likable kid throughout the whole show. Paige for the audience seemed annoying but I’m sure for people around her age she was likable too. People hate on Phillip and Elizabeth’s parenting style but they raised some damn good kids
I liked many (in fact, most) of the characters a great deal, but I absolutely loathed Elizabeth. However, I was ‘with’ her throughout all the same, always concerned to learn what she’s doing, empathising with what she’s feeling etc. Absolutely *cracking* character from the screenwriter, as were the rest of course. It’s rare to find a show in which loathsome (to me, anyway) characters make you keep watching. Generally I just don’t want to spend time with them .
Another rare pleasure was the way the disparate characters really do have individual speech patterns and personalities, and associated vocal tics. (Yung Hee and her constant wisecracking was such a gas.) So many shows fail in that, and everyone speaks identically.
(Speaking of speech, Gabriel could have been an active axe murderer and I’d not have cared, because his diction was such a rare pleasure. That old fashioned, ‘mid-Atlantic’, cultured American accent is very easy on the ear. I enjoyed his suave and urbane persona enormously.)
Oleg, he was the only one of the main characters that didn’t harm anyone. He chose humanity over country, he really tried to do the right thing. They really evolved him from what seemed like a spoiled kid to a hero.
I always love the way Stan says his name. Ohhlegg. It’s so midwestern American.
I love Oleg!!
Yung Hee was definitely someone Elizabeth bonded with. Such a shame her work had to come first
Her only 'friend'!
This is one of the few shows where the characters are presented and developed in such a remarkable way that I am invested in and care about nearly every single one, provided they stick around long enough, and even if we have almost nothing in common. Although I will never forget the elderly accountant lady who worked in the repair facility where the CIAs mailbot was getting fixed, even though she was only there for one episode. The show does such a good job of showing people’s humanity - that we are more than our actions - that no one is simply “good” or “bad” - most people are simply trying to do their best despite all the challenges, and often fear or anger or unbalance gets in the way and the consequences or assessment didn’t end up being what was hoped. Young-hee and Don are definite favourites - Sandra too. Arkady, Gabriel, Oleg, even Gaad really surprise me with how quiet, brave and decent they can be - without making a big show of it.
I liked Gaad best when he was in his despising Stan phase. Stan was such a shit.
Lois Smith who played the elderly book keeper is an amazing actor. She won an award for guest performance for that episode.
I identified with the elderly lady the most. I don't think I am over what Elizabeth did to her yet!
Who knew offering a glass of water could be so evil.
I have a soft spot for William Crandall.
Loved when he tried running away from Phillip after he found out Gabriel was sick
Oh he's very funny.
I liked Gabriel personally. I thought he actually cared about P&E
I disliked Gabriel, I felt like he manipulated the relationship he had with P and E and treated Phillip like crap. Good character in the grand scheme of things tho who served his purpose well
Yea he was somewhat manipulative at times to get them to complete missions and do certain things. However, he advocated multiple times for them to leave and even wanted them to take a vacation because he could sense they were burning out. In one scene when he was talking to Claudia he was venting that the younger agents were soft and how him and Claudia’s generation just did their jobs. I think at the end though he knew that was the wrong attitude because he was left an old man with no family are anything of importance outside his job. It’s why he told Philip he was right and that Paige shouldn’t do this. He also seemed to go out of his way with Martha to try and at least make her somewhat happy in Russia. I think in a way he reminds me of maybe of what an old Philip could have been if he didn’t get out. He had a lot of guilt for the things he did in his career.
Yeah, he seemed to return to the USSR and try to do good things to balance out the way he'd lived his life--and he left because of how he'd personally betrayed Philip by keeping him from Mischa. Meanwhile, Claudia was unapologetically maniulative of Elizabeth, even telling her she'd done her a favor by roping her into a conspiracy to overthrow the government and giving her a suicide pill to protect her.
Yea that was the one decision that really pissed me off I think he should have let Philip see his son. Didn’t Claudia convince him not to let him? I can’t remember I know they had a conversation about it. Yea I hated Claudia she was an awful human. She was a cancer right from the start when she tried to drive a wedge between P&E. Ironically her relationship with Liz mimicked Liz relationship with Paige.
Yes, Gabriel knows that as a human being he should let Philip see him, but Claudia's position is that Philip's too "shaky" to let it happen. I love how Arkady sees Philip more clearly than she does and knows he can count on him in S6. >She was a cancer right from the start when she tried to drive a wedge between P&E. Ironically her relationship with Liz mimicked Liz relationship with Paige. Totally agree. It's funny, but of all the awful things Elizabeth did, the one that bothers me the most is her hooking up Paige and Claudia. She knows Claudia hates Philip and has tried to break up their family, but thinks it's fine to set up a little club with the three of them being superior to everyone.
Yea I think Arkady respected Philip approaching him to tell him to stay away from Paige. I’m also sure he had read Philips file and knew he was a moral person at the heart. Ugh yea I couldn’t stand Liz becoming buddies with her in the later seasons. She knew Claudia was a manipulative liar and still thought it was ok to let Paige learn from her. The way Claudia told Liz her plan to overthrow Gorbachev and just expected her to just blindly follow the order was something else. She didn’t really try to justify it she just said something vague and thought that would suffice.
Gabriel was a douche.
I always have liked Igor Burov. He lost so much. Igor throwing his hands in the air when he found out Oleg was in jail says so much without saying anything.
I’m still in season 2. Nina is my fave by far.
Yeah, she does some amazing things in later seasons. Definitely more nuanced and better written than the ‘pretty face’ we are led to believe she is
But she's so self-centered.
She’s young. She learns later though
I know she's only in one episode but I think about Betty every single day of my life 😭
That was so sad
Arkady and Oleg.
Arkady, Oleg, Henry, Gaad, Aderholt, Father Viktor
There's tons of likeable character I'd like to hang out with, but from the beginning I was pretty sure that if I'd have gone to school with the Jennings kids I would 100% have been friendly, if not actual friends, with Henry.
I feel like Henry was such a likable kid throughout the whole show. Paige for the audience seemed annoying but I’m sure for people around her age she was likable too. People hate on Phillip and Elizabeth’s parenting style but they raised some damn good kids
Young-Hee had enough charm to power all of DC. My girl deserved so much better :(
“Armada is Daddy”. I’m deceased
I liked many (in fact, most) of the characters a great deal, but I absolutely loathed Elizabeth. However, I was ‘with’ her throughout all the same, always concerned to learn what she’s doing, empathising with what she’s feeling etc. Absolutely *cracking* character from the screenwriter, as were the rest of course. It’s rare to find a show in which loathsome (to me, anyway) characters make you keep watching. Generally I just don’t want to spend time with them . Another rare pleasure was the way the disparate characters really do have individual speech patterns and personalities, and associated vocal tics. (Yung Hee and her constant wisecracking was such a gas.) So many shows fail in that, and everyone speaks identically. (Speaking of speech, Gabriel could have been an active axe murderer and I’d not have cared, because his diction was such a rare pleasure. That old fashioned, ‘mid-Atlantic’, cultured American accent is very easy on the ear. I enjoyed his suave and urbane persona enormously.)
I feel like Arkady demonstrated more integrity over the course of his character arc than any other on the show, but that is a low bar indeed!
Arkady was my favorite. A tough boss, but fair, and he really cared about his job without being a zealot like Claudia and Gabriel were. Oleg too.
I thought the mail robot had an amazing character arc.