SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for “Midnight Feast,” the sixth episode of HBO’s “The Regime,” now streaming on Max.
For Herbert Zubak, all it took was public humiliation, arrest, murder and a psychological breakdown to provide him with some clarity.
At the beginning of episode 4 of HBO’s “The Regime,” the tortured soldier (played by Matthias Schoenaerts) can’t sleep and is barely hanging on in prison. Day to day, Zubak is forced to pay attention to a daily approach from Chancellor Elena (Kate Winslet), who turned on his loyal right-hand man in last week’s episode, making him the country’s laughingstock during the lavish Hero’s Banquet, calling him a “butcher” and cruelly sexually teasing him until he lost his cool and almost killed her.
Now a prisoner, Zubak refuses to sleep so as not to dream about the lady he dedicated his life to. But suddenly he is faced with reality when he discovers that he is sharing this prison with disgraced former Chancellor Edward Keplinger (guest star Hugh Grant), whom Elena defeated in an election seven years earlier and was later imprisoned – despite counting to the country he is living an extravagant life at taxpayers’ expense. After a few meals of smuggled food and alcohol, Keplinger begins to break down the facade of Elena’s world to Zubak, telling him how far she will go to maintain power, including dragging him to a mountain house to “film just a little fiction.” ” of her so-called glamorous life that she will be able to distribute to the lots and preserve public sentiment in her favor.
Courtesy of HBO
Initially resistant to these revelations, Zubak begins to question his loyalty to Elena, if only until Keplinger attempts to recruit Zubak to carry out his deliberate coup of her government. In a final confrontation, Keplinger feels Zubak slipping under Elena’s influence and degrades him to the point where Zubak kills him.
“To feel, once again, that he was going to suffer some kind of emotional and mental abuse from someone else is just too much at that moment,” says Schoenaerts. Selection. “He just lets his feelings get the better of him and gets the job done.”
After learning that Zubak killed the charismatic former occupant of her throne, Elena summons him back to the palace, where they consummate their attraction – and power dynamic – right in front of the staff, as well as her horrified husband, Nicky (Guillaume Gallienne).
With just two episodes left in “The Regime,” Schoenaerts spoke with Selection about Zubak’s death and rebirth in prison, whether or not Keplinger had the opportunity to influence him – and whether or not the risky Elena can be trusted. Schoenaerts’ answer to that last question is easy: “Of course not!”
Elena took down Zubak on every approach last week. She calls him “The Butcher” and allows him to be humiliated at the Hero’s Banquet. Why did she put him in his place at that point in their relationship?
I can’t speak to her motives, but I think it comes along with her natural need for power, and building someone up only to destroy them is almost the last thing to do as a power-hungry person. And it destroys him permanently, because when he goes to prison, he’s in the darkest place he’s ever been. He’s down.
But what’s surprising about this episode is that we see Keplinger try to get under her skin and break his loyalty to her, but he doesn’t. I found that an especially impressive attribute of Zubak is remaining loyal to a love, even though that love is what drags him to the bottom of his life. It’s deep.
What was the change of atmosphere in this episode like for you? Because this cramped, dungeon-like prison is far from the pleasures and daylight of Elena’s palace.
It’s certainly the darkest place for him, but also a place where he can truly be reborn in some way. It’s kind of Zubak’s death and this rebirth. In fact, I interpreted it as such. It was nice to have a change of scenery for sure, but I’m someone who likes fresh air and large spaces. Being locked in, so to speak, made me a little nervous. But you let yourself be fed by that and use that for the character. I actually love episode 4 and taking pictures of it. In fact, all the episodes have their own DNA, narratively, and their own face.
Zubak will have a distinct sparring partner during his prison sentence, Elena’s former opponent Keplinger. What was it like working with Hugh Grant?
I liked. I was excited to work with Hugh. It arrived in week 9 or 10 of filming, and I can imagine that it’s not easy to join a team that has already developed its own language and rhythm, because you want to find the right tone for your self. But from the first rehearsal, he was locked in with us. We just had so much fun together. I actually loved it, and it’s funny in a weird way. And he’s a very generous stage associate. It was very funny.
Do you think Keplinger’s attempt to show Zubak as opposed to Elena worked, even for a second?
Yes, I feel the damage and confusion he is facing, it makes him very susceptible. It allows your psyche to rewrite and recode one’s thoughts. But luckily, Zubak reconnects and stays on the right path with his true conviction for Elena. He doesn’t lose this battle.
But he gives Keplinger some compassion after Elena crushes him. Zubak renounces some of this aggression against him, although he ultimately activates it.
It is because he realizes that the intention is not honest. We could argue that Zubak’s emotional intelligence is actually strongly developed and, along with Agnes (Andrea Riseborough), they are the most ordinary people on the show.
Do you think these two are the most ordinary people on the show? What kind of gift is this!
When Zubak kills Keplinger at the end, do you think he did it for himself or for Elena?
To some extent, there is likely to be an altruistic element to this. But I think it was the amount of damage he’d already suffered from Elena, and then here he’s suffering the same again from someone he doesn’t care about as much. That’s what makes him nervous. As Zubak said, “I would love you, but I don’t love you.” Feeling, once again, that he was going to suffer some kind of emotional and mental abuse from someone else is just too much at that moment. He simply lets his feelings get the best of him and gets the job done.
The final scene of the episode shows Zubak being handed over to Elena and, without saying a word, they begin tearing each other’s clothes off in this display of almost animalistic passion in front of everyone.
Which is almost like a meta scene. Is this really happening or is it in Zubak’s head when he finally gets some sleep?
It’s a very surreal moment and one that could be a direct response to the end of last week’s episode, where she teases him by saying, “You dream about having sex with me.” This whole episode echoed in her head and now it’s happening.
And I love this dynamic because we always tend to sexualize women, and here we have a reversal. She certainly tries to trigger that animalism in him, which makes sense because he loves her and probably wants to have sex with her. But that’s definitely not her main motivation. I like the fact that we have this girl who continually tries to push that button and eventually he gives in to it. But not because he really wants it. He suspects she essentially needs it. It’s reverse psychology, in one approach. He provides her with what she needs.
The dynamics between Zubak and Elena will vary after consummating their relationship. What does this mean for the rest of the season?
That opens up a can of worms, for sure. But it also opens up a distinct interaction between them and a distinct power. Quickly, this animalism became incarnate. This opens up the chance for characters to reveal their true nature. Intimacy and sexuality only stimulate a distinct part of the psyche and propel them into another set of crazy events.
Can Zubak really believe Elena? She confirmed that she has the ability to deeply hurt him for her own benefit.
That’s a big part of the tragedy within him. He definitely wants to trust her, and he trusts her. However, deep down, there may be that little pink bell that moves him, conflicts and hurts him. Can he really believe her? No way! Either way, he loves her, and what he does for that love in these subsequent episodes is what made me love him. For me, this is what makes him the emotional compass of the collection.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
