Online Series Review: ‘Spy/Master’: Ruthless yet Fascinating Romanian Spycraft

Not Rated | 6 episodes | Thriller, Spy Drama | May 19, 2023

Romania’s Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu refused to participate in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. That should probably count for something but, in general, he was just standoffish enough to annoy Moscow, but not sufficiently independent to prompt any action. He was basically the paranoid psychopathic equivalent of Yugoslavia’s Marshal Tito.

Nevertheless, it would make sense that the KGB would want to keep close eyes on Ceausescu (Claudiu Bleont) and his Lady Macbeth-like wife, Elena (Elvira Deatcu). That was the job of Victor Godeanu (Alec Secareunu), the fictional head of Romanian counter-intelligence and a KGB mole. As the dangers of exposure grow, Godeanu requests asylum from the United States rather than his Soviet masters, in writer-creators Adina Sadeanu and Kirsten Peters’ six-episode “Spy/Master.”

CIA officer Frank Jackson (Parker Sawyers, L) and Victor Godeanu (Alec Secareunu), in “Spy/Master.” (HBO Max)

Both Ceasescus completely trust Godeanu, but that means most of his colleagues in Romania’s intelligence agency, the Securitate, resent his influence. Godeanu also oversees a smuggling operation on the side, because that was the only way he could afford to give his beloved daughter Ileana (Alexandra Bob) the opportunities he thought she deserved, while living in a socialist state. Unfortunately, when one of his couriers is arrested, Godeanu’s bureaucratic enemies follow the connections back to him.

Spies and Counter-Spies

Fortuitously, the Ceausescus dispatch Godeanu to Bonn, Germany, where negotiations for the repatriation of ethnic German Romanians have stalled. German negotiator Ingrid Von Weizendorff is a major reason why. Unbeknownst to West Germany and the CIA, Von Weizendorff (Svenja Jung) is a double agent for the East German Stasi. She is also Godeanu’s former lover, who is privy to his secret KGB loyalties.

Godeanu understands this trip represents his best opportunity to defect, but the potential implications for his daughter trouble him greatly. In contrast, he has little concern for his less-than-loving wife, Adela (Andreea Vasile).

Godeanu hand-selects the local CIA officer Frank Jackson (Parker Sawyers), because of his hard-charging cowboy reputation. Jackson’s maverick tendencies almost ended his career, but bringing in a big fish like Godeanu should put him back on the fast track. Yet, Jimmy Carter’s reluctance to approve any covert operation, out of fear it could destabilize the delicate Camp David peace negotiations between Israel and Egypt, jeopardizes Godeanu’s plans.

Von Weizendorff (Svenja Jung) is a double agent for the East German Stasi, in “Spy/Master.” (HBO Max)

“Spy/Master” is more than a traditional spy-vs-spy Cold War thriller. It is a case of spy-vs-spy-vs-spy-vs-spy, when the Stasi complicates the KGB-Securitate-CIA battle to take possession of Godeanu and the secrets in his head, with its own agenda. The depiction of rivalries within the Warsaw Pact and inside the Ceausescu regime is rarely seen so explicitly in other espionage dramas.

Ruthless Characters

The writing is smart but somewhat cynical, presenting Godeanu as a jaded survivor instead of principled rebel against a corrupt system. Secareanu portrays him as such a slippery anti-hero, so that viewers can never feel fully comfortable with his hardboiled persona or place total confidence in his motives and intentions, but that makes him a fascinating character.

(L–R) Alec Secareunu, Alexandra Bob, and director Christopher Smith on the set of “Spy/Master.” (HBO Max)

Ironically, American actor Parker Sawyers is best known for playing Barack Obama in “Southside With You,” but his character, Jackson, would be much more at home working for Reagan’s hawkish CIA director, William Casey. Sawyers looks ultra-slick going about Jackson’s spycraft, but he still projects a steeliness the agency could probably use today.

Bleont is creepily neurotic as the deranged, Napoleonic-like Nicolae Ceausescu, while Deatcu plays Madame Ceasescu with stone-cold ruthlessness that is scarily true to the historical record. Plus, Ana Ularu provides a ferociously intense nemesis worthy of the resourceful Godeanu as Carmen Ularu, the Romanian field operative out to trap him.

There is a lot of intricate plotting worthy of John le Carre in “Spy/Master,” but series director Christopher Smith always keeps the action easy to follow. It helps that English often serves as the lingua franca for this shadowy spy world. It is also a vivid, richly detailed period production, recreating the dubious patterns and fabrics of 1978 Romania and West Germany.

Throughout all six installments, there is absolutely no nostalgia for communism, either as an ideal or in practice. As presented in “Spy/Master,” it is a debatable question of which was more brutal: the KGB, the Securitate, or the Stasi.

However, Carter (never seen on-screen) and his appointees also take plenty of hits for their short-sighted fecklessness. Although not precisely based on a true story (it takes inspiration from several episodes of Cold War history), the series is staunchly faithful to the era’s social and geopolitical dynamics.

“Spy/Master” is far more cerebral than Bond movies, but it is still bingeably grabby. Each suspenseful episode escalates the stakes, while keeping viewers hooked. Highly recommended for fans of realistically grounded espionage thrillers.

“Spy/Master” tells a story about Romania’s spy agency during the Cold War. (HBO Max)

The movie is presented predominately in English.

“Spy/Master” starts streaming on HBO Max on May 19.

‘Spy/Master’ Director: Christopher Smith Stars: Alec Secareanu, Claudiu Bleont, Svenja Jung, Parker Sawyers, Ana Ularu Running Time: 6 episodes MPAA Rating: Not Rated Release Date: May 19, 2023 Rating: 4 out of 5