Stylishly shot and perfectly paced, Spy/Master is the kind of political thriller that will have you pressing play on the next episode as soon as possible. It starts in media res, losing no time in backgrounders (the artful opening credits efficiently fills you in on Romania’s role in the Cold War) as we follow Victor Godeanu (Alec Secareanu) simultaneously serve the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, work with the KGB behind his back, and cooperate with the CIA behind their backs. There is a lot going on, but by keeping the focus on Godeanu, the series remains gripping through and through. I just wish that, at least in the first three episodes screened for review, the show delved deeper into Godeanu’s motivations for double-crossing and defecting. I get that it’s aiming for a brooding anti-hero in Godeanu, but there don’t seem to be enough heroic traits to justify that title. The show hints that he had a poor upbringing, leading him to learn how “game the system” at a young age: this is a potentially rich backstory that hopefully gets explored more in the future.
Synopsis
During the height of the Cold War, Victor Godeanu, the right-hand man and closest advisor to Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, and secret agent for the KGB, must escape Romania and Ceaușescu before his cover is blown. Helped by an undercover Stasi agent and an up-and-coming CIA agent, Godeanu must elude the KGB and his own country’s spooks, fully aware that his defection is putting his family back home in mortal danger.
Storyline
In Cold War Europe, a top general in Communist Romania doubles as a spy for the KGB in Russia; to protect his cover, he decides to defect to the USA with the help of a CIA agent.
TLDR
Eat your heart out James Bond, there’s a new heartbreaker in the spy thriller cannon!
What stands out
Secareanu (God's Own Country, Ammonite) is a rising international star who continues to impress in Spy/Master. Here, he’s self-possessed and debonair, never allowing the sometimes-cartoonish twists to break his ice-cold demeanor. Godeanu switches languages, breaks into action, commands negotiations, and woos women with ease, but Secareanu never forgets to imbue his role with the sort of dread, guilt, and fear that humanizes men like Godeanu. The characterization is admittedly lacking, but Secareanu is still captivating to watch as he makes wonderful do with what he has.
