The Romanoffs, a Review

Mixed Feelings I’m three episodes in and I have mixed emotions about each one. The first sort of surprised me, but not completely. I loved the interaction between the aunt and the Muslim caretaker. And Aaron Eckhart is always a delight to watch. His moral ambiguities, finally landing on the positive side, were believable and subtle. The second episode was completely different. It still, of course, focused on a supposed Romanov descendant (this time actually spelled Romanoff), but he had zero interest in his family history, other than mentioning at jury duty that his family had all been killed a long time ago “by Bolsheviks.” We did get to see a little more about the modern world of Romanov descendants through the eyes of two spouses (Noah Wyle was superb in his role), which I’d been waiting for, but nothing had really come together yet. I understand it’s basically a stand-alone anthology but there’s very little Romanov to hold it together. The third show was just plain weird for me, at least until the end. I actually had trouble finishing it and almost stopped; I was bored. It was about a miniseries on the history of the Romanovs, with the lead actress clashing with the eccentric (possibly crazy, possibly a Romanov heiress who communes with her dead ancestors, possibly a fake) director. It’s unclear how much of what story was told is actual Romanov history (I’ll definitely research that, because it clashes with what I learned about the Emperor and Empress). The end paid off finally in a shocking and tragic twist. I’m still waiting for the show I saw in the teasers, so am hoping tonight will unveil an episode that doesn’t just dance around the edges of Romanov history and what it’s like to be a Romanov descendant. I will say the acting is superb and the cast is top notch. Just waiting for it all to mesh.