Shall we play a game?
The year that War Games hit theaters, 1983, was also the year that the world came the closest it had to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis. While that film depended on a computer to figure out the concept of mutually assured destruction, Deutschland 83’s penultimate episode of the season, “Bold Guard,” places that burden squarely on Martin’s young shoulders.
After focusing almost entirely on Martin–and the enormously appealing Jonas Nay–in its earliest episodes, Deutschland 83 has slowly widened its frame to include a larger mix of characters. Last week’s “Cold Fire,” while still centering on Martin’s return back to the West, spent considerable time exploring the stories of Alexander, Annett, and even Ursula Edel. Now comes “Brandy Station,” which brings Alexander to the forefront and feels like the first truly ensemble episode of the series.