I was thinking the other day that I must re-watch this. Having had to think up the various answers, I definitely need to.
the character I least understand Possibly the answer to this one should be "all of them". But actually, all of the main characters are set up very comprehensibly. They might be bastards, but they are bastards with personality, and of course that's why it works because if Stirlitz were surrounded by cardboard villains there would be no satisfaction in his beating them.
Which is perhaps why one of the less memorable characters is Allan Dulles. He's well enough acted and written, but the narrative is less interested in him overall, presumably because he doesn't really come up against Stirlitz in a personal way.
interactions I enjoyed the most Stirlitz and Schellenberg. It's partly the way that it is written, but it is acted beautifully by two people with real chemistry. And the Hitler's birthday party scene is a hoot.
the character who scares me the most Müller. He has a torture chamber and he's not afraid to use it, but he's not only a thug, he's an intelligent thug.
the character who is mostly like me Probably a random functionary, let's be honest.
hottest looks character Stirlitz, of course! Preferably in uniform. Schellenberg's dainty ankles have nothing on Mr Flint-and-Steel.
one thing I dislike about my fave character Though it is excellent for conveying inner thoughts and narrative themes, IRL I would find Stirlitz's smoking annoying.
one thing I like about my hated character I bet that at least some Soviet girls looked at the meant-to-be-appalling baby-torturer Barbara and thought that her social life sounded cool.
a quote or scene that haunts me Leaving aside the documentary footage... The scene when Kaltenbrunner tells Müller why he is suspicious of Stirlitz: because everyone with any sense knows what is going to happen to all of them if the Russians make it to Berlin, but Stirlitz just says that everything is fine, and he can't be stupid enough to really believe it. I just find it a great moment in itself, it's got that appalling dread underneath it, but also typical of what makes the series work so well, presenting a human side to Kaltenbrunner even as he is kicking off the investigation of our heroic Soviet super spy.
Runner up, Müller's dream of retiring on a nice little farm, with the moment to run being when the Russians have come and there is fighting in the streets,
a death that left me indifferent I must admit I find Erwin more important as a plot point than a character.
a character I wish died but didn’t None of them in the course of the show, as I can remember. Of course, the viewer knows what is coming to them.
my ship that never sailed Ultimately, it's too close to RPF, and too close to Nazi RPF at that for me to have any interest in actually shipping the characters. That said, I can be considerably amused at the idea that Schellenberg is so egotistical that he thinks Stirlitz's interest in him is more than the admiration of a mere Standartenführer for a department head.
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Date: 2017-04-25 08:55 pm (UTC)the character I least understand
Possibly the answer to this one should be "all of them". But actually, all of the main characters are set up very comprehensibly. They might be bastards, but they are bastards with personality, and of course that's why it works because if Stirlitz were surrounded by cardboard villains there would be no satisfaction in his beating them.
Which is perhaps why one of the less memorable characters is Allan Dulles. He's well enough acted and written, but the narrative is less interested in him overall, presumably because he doesn't really come up against Stirlitz in a personal way.
interactions I enjoyed the most
Stirlitz and Schellenberg. It's partly the way that it is written, but it is acted beautifully by two people with real chemistry. And the Hitler's birthday party scene is a hoot.
the character who scares me the most
Müller. He has a torture chamber and he's not afraid to use it, but he's not only a thug, he's an intelligent thug.
the character who is mostly like me
Probably a random functionary, let's be honest.
hottest looks character
Stirlitz, of course! Preferably in uniform. Schellenberg's dainty ankles have nothing on Mr Flint-and-Steel.
one thing I dislike about my fave character
Though it is excellent for conveying inner thoughts and narrative themes, IRL I would find Stirlitz's smoking annoying.
one thing I like about my hated character
I bet that at least some Soviet girls looked at the meant-to-be-appalling baby-torturer Barbara and thought that her social life sounded cool.
a quote or scene that haunts me
Leaving aside the documentary footage... The scene when Kaltenbrunner tells Müller why he is suspicious of Stirlitz: because everyone with any sense knows what is going to happen to all of them if the Russians make it to Berlin, but Stirlitz just says that everything is fine, and he can't be stupid enough to really believe it. I just find it a great moment in itself, it's got that appalling dread underneath it, but also typical of what makes the series work so well, presenting a human side to Kaltenbrunner even as he is kicking off the investigation of our heroic Soviet super spy.
Runner up, Müller's dream of retiring on a nice little farm, with the moment to run being when the Russians have come and there is fighting in the streets,
a death that left me indifferent
I must admit I find Erwin more important as a plot point than a character.
a character I wish died but didn’t
None of them in the course of the show, as I can remember. Of course, the viewer knows what is coming to them.
my ship that never sailed
Ultimately, it's too close to RPF, and too close to Nazi RPF at that for me to have any interest in actually shipping the characters. That said, I can be considerably amused at the idea that Schellenberg is so egotistical that he thinks Stirlitz's interest in him is more than the admiration of a mere Standartenführer for a department head.