Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers for “Midnight Feast,” the sixth episode of HBO’s “The Regime,” now streaming on Max.
For Herbert Zuback, all it took was public humiliation, imprisonment, murder, and a mental breakdown to gain some clarity.
At the beginning of the fourth episode of HBO’s The Regime, the tortured soldier (played by Matthias Schoenaerts) is sleep-deprived and barely contained in prison. Every day, Zuback is forced to listen to a daily speech from Chancellor Elena (Kate Winslet), who turned on her loyal right-hand man in last week’s episode by making him the subject of the country’s ridicule during the lavish hero banquet, calling him a “butch” and sexually harassing him harshly until he lost his temper and nearly lost his temper. To kill her.
Now a prisoner, Zuback refuses to sleep so as not to dream of the woman to whom he has dedicated his life. But suddenly, he is faced with the truth when he learns that he shares this prison with disgraced former Chancellor Edward Kiplinger (guest star Hugh Grant), whom Elena defeated in the election seven years ago and then imprisoned – despite telling the country that he was. Of living an extravagant life on taxpayer dimes. After a few meals of illicit food and alcohol, Kiplinger begins to tear down the façade of Elena’s world for Zuback, telling him about the lengths she has gone to to cling to power, including dragging him to a mountain house to “shoot a little fantasy.” From his so-called glamorous life she can present to the masses and keep public sentiment in her favour.
Courtesy of HBO
At first, Zuback is resistant to these revelations, and begins to question his loyalty to Elena, until Kiplinger attempts to recruit Zuback to join the planned coup against her government. In the final confrontation, Kiplinger feels Zuback slipping again under Elena’s influence, and degrades him to the point that Zuback kills him.
“To feel, again, that he’s going to suffer some kind of emotional and intellectual abuse by someone else is very exaggerated in that moment,” Schoenaerts says. diverse. “He just lets his emotions get the best of him, and gets the job done.”
After learning that Zoback has murdered the charismatic previous occupant of her throne, Elena summons him back to the palace where they consummate their attraction — and the power dynamic — right in front of the staff, as well as her terrified husband Niki (Guillaume Gallien). .
With only two episodes left of The Regime, Schoenaerts spoke to him diverse About Zubak’s death and Zubak’s rebirth in prison, and whether Kiplinger has a chance to influence him – and whether the volatile Elena can be trusted. Schoenaerts’ answer to the last question is simple: “No!”
Elena tore up Zubac in every way last week. She calls him “the butcher” and allows him to be insulted at the hero’s banquet. Why would she put him in his place at that point in their relationship?
I can’t speak to her motivations, but I think it comes with her natural desire for power, and building someone up only to destroy them is kind of the best thing to do as a power-hungry individual. This completely destroys him, because when he ends up in prison, he’s in the darkest place he’s ever been. It’s rock bottom.
But the beautiful thing about this episode is that we see Kibinger trying to get under his skin and disrupt his loyalty to her, but that does not happen. I find that one of Zuback’s very beautiful traits is to remain loyal to love, even though this love is what drags you to the lowest place in your life. It’s deep.
How did the scenery of this episode change for you? Because this narrow, dungeon-like prison is far from the pleasures and sunshine of Elena Palace.
It’s literally the darkest place for him, but it’s also a place where he can be reborn in some way. It’s a kind of Zubac death, this rebirth. I really interpreted it that way. It was nice to have a change of scenery for sure, but I’m someone who likes fresh air and big spaces. Being cooped up, so to speak, has caused me some anxiety. But then you let yourself be fed by that, and you use it in the character. I really liked episode 4 and its photography. Really all the episodes have their own DNA, narrative, and face.
Zubac gets a different sparring partner during his imprisonment: Elena’s former opponent, Kiplinger. What was it like working with Hugh Grant?
loved it. I was excited to work with Hugh. He came in the ninth or tenth week of shooting, and I can imagine that it is not easy to join a team that has already developed its own language and rhythm, because you have to find the right pitch for yourself. But from the first rehearsal, he was locked in with us. We had a great time together. I really enjoyed it, and it’s really funny in a weird way. And he’s a really generous partner in the scene. It was so much fun.
Do you think Kiplinger’s attempt to turn Zuback against Elena will succeed, even for a moment?
Yes, I think the hurt and confusion he’s in, makes him very vulnerable. It allows yourself to rewrite and recode someone’s mind. But fortunately, Zuback reconnects and stays on track with his true conviction for Elena. He is not losing that battle.
But he shows some sympathy for Kiplinger after Elena beats him up. Zuback lets go of some of that aggression toward him, though he eventually turns on him.
Because he realizes that the intention is not sincere. We can say that Zuback’s emotional intelligence is strongly developed, and they are, along with Agnes (Andrea Riseborough), the most ordinary people in the series.
Imagine these two being the most normal people on the show? What kind of show is that!
When Zoback kills Kiplinger at the end, do you think he did it to himself or did he do it for Elena?
To some extent, there may be an altruistic element to it. But I think it was the amount of hurt he had already suffered from Elena, and then here he was going through the same thing again from someone who didn’t care deeply about him. That’s what sends him over the edge. As Zuback said: “I love you, but I don’t love you.” Feeling again that he or she is going to suffer some kind of emotional and intellectual abuse at the hands of another person is too much at that moment. He just lets his emotions get the best of him, and finishes the job.
The final scene of the episode shows Zubac being brought to Elena, and without saying a word, they begin tearing each other’s clothes off in this almost animalistic display of affection in front of everyone.
Which is almost like an introductory scene. Is this really happening or is it just in Zuback’s head after he finally got some sleep?
It’s a very surreal moment, and a direct callback to the end of last week’s episode where she taunted him by saying, “You’re dreaming about having sex with me.” This entire episode had echoed in his head, and now it was happening.
And I love that dynamic because we always tend to sexualize women, and here we have a reversal. She’s really trying to stir up that animalistic streak in him, which makes sense because he loves her and probably wants to have sex with her. But this is certainly not his main motivation at all. I like the fact that we have this woman who is constantly trying to push this button, and eventually it gives in to her. But not because he really wants to. He doubts she really wants it. It’s reverse psychology, in a way. Give her what she wants.
The dynamic between Zubac and Elena will change after consummating their relationship. What does that mean for the rest of the season?
It opens a can of worms, for sure. But it also opens up a different interaction between them, a different energy. Suddenly, this animalism was embodied. This opens the way for the characters to reveal their true nature. Intimacy and sex just activate a different part of the psyche, pushing them into another set of crazy events.
Can Zuback really trust Elena? She has proven that she has the ability to hurt him deeply for her own gain.
This is a large part of the tragedy within him. He definitely wants to trust her, and he trusts her. But deep down, there is that little red bell that messes with him, quarrels with him, and hurts him. Can he really trust her? of course not! But he loves her, and what he does for that love in these upcoming episodes is what made me love him. To me, that’s what makes him the emotional compass of the series.
This interview has been edited and condensed.