Someone has to die in The Regime’s finale. It’s just a simple fact, seeing as Herbert (Matthias Schoenaerts) and Elena (Kate Winslet) are now on the run; they can’t both make it out alive. The real question is: Can either one of them survive the ongoing civil war?
Elena and Herbert escape the palace via underground tunnels that lead them to a nearby empty field. Herbert wants them to move quickly, but Elena wants to stay in one place. Actually, no: Elena would like to retreat back into the tunnels, return to the palace, and hide out within its inner sanctum. Herbert pins her to the ground. “Listen to me!” he screams. “Your government has fallen.” Yelling, as we’ve learned, is the reason why Herbert is as powerful as he is today. He has a really loud voice. This convinces people—like Elena—that he should be in control.
On the flip side, Elena has received all of her power by whining hard enough. She wants Herbert to call a helicopter but has no idea how to actually get that done. After tromping through a barren forest, Elena and Herbert finally stumble on a radio that fills them in on what’s going on in the nation. “The Vernham regime has been defeated,” a journalist announces. “The country is yours.” We also learn that the Westgate resistance has taken control of the palace, which really infuriates Elena. Her next plan: Find Nicholas (Guillaume Gallienne) in Switzerland, and get the hell out of this ungrateful country.
But that’ll be tricky, considering there’s now a 9 p.m. curfew set in place by the resistors. Anyone outside will be shot. Anyone who allies with the Vernham regime will be shot. Anyone harboring Elena will be shot. Elena and Herbert have to find shelter, but that’ll be damn near impossible, considering the nationwide hunt for the idiot in charge.
The pair find a somewhat safe barn to hide out in for a bit of time. Instead of using this space as an opportunity to plan their next moves, Herbert wants to interrogate Elena about her devotion to him—was she really going to make him chancellor? She demands that she is loyal to him, and yes, indeed, she was planning on announcing him as chancellor. But Herbert is upset at the fact that she hesitated in her announcement. Elena insists that she would never betray him. They’re going to have to table this discussion for now, though, because shots at the door warn them that their safehouse is now a dangerhouse.
With no plan and no help in sight, Elena tries a new tactic: She’s going to plead with strangers driving on the street to bring her home and be the savior of the nation. The first passerby listens for a minute, but ultimately rejects Elena and Herbert. The next man, who has a string of Christmas lights wrapped around the interior of his truck, is a little too hyped to see these two. His name is Tomas (Karl Markovics), and, to Elena’s surprise, he’s willing to take them in for the night. Herbert isn’t so sure that this is a good idea, but what other option do they have?
Before Tomas shuttles Elena and Herbert into his home, he runs inside to grab them disguises. Elena looks a bit like Meryl Streep in her tiny glasses and overcoat. They race inside, and Tomas secures them in a room where they’ll be safe from all interruption.
Until Tomas locks the door from the outside. As soon as they’re in, Tomas shouts that he’s actually against them, he’s going to call the authorities, and they’ll be dead soon. Herbert was right not to trust Tomas. Elena panics and volunteers to simply kill herself on the spot. Herbert rips a dagger away from her, insisting that they stay calm.
A soldier arrives with Mr. Laskin (Danny Webb), head of the country’s security service, who has completely turned against Elena and now, in fact, wants to take all her power. The soldier reads Elena a list of all of her illegal charges—a lengthy ramble that includes, at the top, genocide—and Laskin demands that Elena confess guilt in a nationwide address at Parliament, where she’ll also deem him the new Chancellor. Laskin also confronts Hebert, giving him the chance to renounce Elena publicly and save himself. Laskin relates to Herbert: They’ve both been held captive in “her love.” We don’t see Herbert agree to these terms, but when Laskin returns to Elena in the other room, he informs her that the butcher has betrayed her.
After Elena agrees—it takes the threat of poisonous gas to get her on board—the army and Laskin move her outside. Instantly, another army comes through and shoots everyone except Elena, rushing her into a bullet-proof truck. Elena, terrified, is once again left with no other option but to just oblige and carry on. These new guards take Elena to the pristine home of Emil Bartos (Stanley Townsend), who promises that this all isn’t really as bad as it looks: Loyalists hold the mines and most of the country. The rebels only have the palace. They can fix this. Together.
Emil has American diplomat Judith (Martha Plimpton) on the line with an offer: If Elena makes a deal with America and allows them access to cobalt mines—therefore re-establishing Emil’s offer—the American army will step in and handle the protesters. Emil gives Elena some time to think this one over. One caveat: If she accepts this deal and takes her place back at the top, Herbert will need to go.
After a refreshing shower (it’s been a dirty, nasty day) and a glimpse at Elena’s frightening balding head under the wig, she confronts Herbert with the truth. The Americans have come to seize their country—don’t they ever get tired of doing that—and Elena says she’ll never give in to them. They’ll fight to the death! Herbert obliges, saying he’ll fight behind her, but something isn’t right. This feels like a big lie. Elena says Herbert should nap, but before he falls asleep, she says something teary about how scary it is to have control when we all still feel like children. Elena says goodbye to Herbert, and they both have one last dream-filled sleep together; Herbert wakes up to a gun in his face and, seconds later, a bullet in his brain. Rest in peace, Herbert—you really gave it a good go.
Then, we flash forward to a few months in the future. The national nightmare is over. Nicky is back with Elena, his “lovely luscious lady”—okay, maybe the weird animal sex scenes with Herbert were better than this—who is still chancellor. Nicky asks what the whole…that…was all about. Elena has no real explanation, other than: “Yes, I had a little wobble.” Then, she’s off to address her people, ranting about cancerous 5G technology coming from China and the radical left. Home is where the heart is.
After she makes an address to her people—who, finally, love her again—the beginning chords of Chicago’s “If You Leave Me Now” roll in. Elena makes her way down to the palace’s catacombs, where her late father used to lie. He’s been replaced. Instead, Herbert, covered in the nation’s flag, has found his final resting place: He’ll always be beneath Elena, in constant devotion.
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