The spy thriller is one of those genres that never goes out of style. From political commentary to personal revenge, the genre allows filmmakers to explore multiple possibilities. Of course, the action that usually accompanies it is the icing on the cake for fans of the genre. The latest German Netflix series follows the same lines. The action-packed spy thriller series Unfamiliar, created by Paul Coates, focuses on two former spies, Simon and Meret, and how their seemingly perfect lives fell apart in the wake of a political shift. From the very first episode, it becomes clear that the past is crucial. Sixteen years earlier, in Belarus, Simon and Meret were part of an operation that went wrong, and after all these years, they are forced to confront their past.
The series repeatedly alternates between the personal and the political, as both aspects are deeply interconnected in this case. Josef Koleev, a Russian intelligence officer, feared that the world would discover what had happened in Belarus. For a long time, it is not revealed exactly what happened, and the story is told in fragments. Obviously, that night in Belarus is fundamental to the plot, and the suspense is built around it. Josef's wife, Valeria, was about to become the Russian ambassador to Berlin, and Josef had to eliminate the ghosts of his past so that his wife's political career would not be compromised.
Creator: Paul Coates
Stars: Susanne Wolff, Seyneb Saleh, Felix Kramer
He feared that what happened in Belarus could come back to haunt him, so he hired hitmen to find Simon, Meret, and their then-contact, Gregor, and eliminate them. After Belarus, Simon and Meret adopted false identities and tried to lead normal lives. But, obviously, they couldn't completely abandon who they were. So they decided to create a rehabilitation space where injured agents could contact them and receive immediate assistance. Simon was a doctor, and their small system allowed agents to receive treatment without compromising their operations. The duo preferred to remain in the shadows and not reveal any personal information.
It was a system based on trust, accessible only to a very specific network. One day they received a call from a wounded young man and agreed to treat him. They kept him under close surveillance because, somehow, his wounds and his story didn't quite add up. When Meret noticed the man subtly copying her fingerprint from the glass he had drunk water from, she suspected he was a spy. Although she tried to keep him alive and extract information from him, he proved to be quite cunning, and she had no choice but to kill him.
Simon and Meret eventually discovered that Josef Koleev had returned to Berlin and that he was the one who had sent the young man to their apartment. The couple couldn't simply pack their belongings and leave; they had a daughter who had no idea who they really were. Nina thought her parents were ordinary people. Her father was a chef and restaurant owner, and they were a family like any other in the city. Nina suspected something was wrong when her parents suggested she take a long trip. She thought they wanted her away while they dealt with some crisis. But Nina was determined to prove that she was old enough to handle difficult news and that they didn't need to send her away. Of course, Nina didn't expect to find her parents in the middle of a shootout, facing professional hitmen.
The story of Simon, Meret, and Nina is undoubtedly what holds the series together. The couple had made mistakes in the past, but it's impossible not to empathize with them. This demonstrates that the series successfully conveyed the conflicting emotions of the characters, who weren't saints, but simply human. They were driven by selfishness in their youth, and sixteen years later, when the past came knocking, they admitted their mistakes. Series often shy away from morally ambiguous protagonists, but Unfamiliar doesn't attempt to justify their wrongdoings.
The story of Simon, Meret, and Nina is undoubtedly what holds the series together. The couple made mistakes in the past, but it's impossible not to empathize with them. This shows that the series successfully conveyed the characters' conflicting emotions, portraying them not as virtuous individuals, but simply as human beings. They were driven by selfishness in their youth, and sixteen years later, when the past came knocking, they admitted to their mistakes. Series often shy away from morally ambiguous protagonists, but Unfamiliar doesn't attempt to justify the bad actions.
The plot is interesting, though not entirely unpredictable, but the narrative style proved a bit disorienting at times. The timeline jumps between the past and the present, and it takes time to fully grasp the different perspectives on the same story. The pacing could have been better; there are segments that, in my opinion, dragged on longer than necessary. The series picks up pace when details of the past are revealed, and then the reasons behind the actions begin to make sense. I had the impression that the ending would be conclusive, but, as is the case with most series on streaming platforms, we discovered that there will likely be a second season.
That was possibly the reason for the pacing issue; information had to be withheld and the story further complicated to allow for another season. But, fortunately, the episodes don't drag on frustratingly, and the action and chase scenes compensate for it. The revelation of the mole in the BND wasn't as impactful as the series tries to visually portray.
There were only two people who could have been working for the Russians, and considering that one of them had asked Julika not to visit the safe house the night of the attack, it became quite clear who the mole was. Of all the characters, Julika was the least explored. I hope that in the second season of Unfamiliar we can get to know the character better, because the information we currently have isn't enough to make her relatable or interesting.
Visually, the series relies on somber, dark, and cold tones to create the atmosphere, but, frankly, this has become extremely predictable. Furthermore, the dark tone works in films with a limited runtime, but in series, it becomes a bit frustrating (or is that just me?). Possibly because I've seen too many suspense series with this same visual style, and I clearly don't like it. Unfamiliar is an entertaining spy thriller, but the fact that the ending is inconclusive might annoy some viewers, as many series are doing the same thing, to the point that there will come a time when it will be impossible for viewers to remember the endings of all the series they like. Personally, I wasn't hooked enough by the story to want a second season, but fans of the genre might find it interesting.
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