‘Babylon Berlin’ Recap: ‘Season 4, Episodes 7 & 8’

7/17/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Liv Lisa Fries as Charlotte Ritter in Season 4 of ‘Babylon Berlin’. (Photo Courtesy of MHz Choice.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episodes 407 and 408 of ‘Babylon Berlin’. To revisit the previous episodes, click here.

More often than not, television shows rarely acknowledge the elements that make them successful and worthwhile within the framework of a story and understandably so. Because we expect the fourth wall to not be broken by characters and the story, unless necessary, and dropping that veil would definitely ruin the experience. But now and again, a show will indeed break that rule and make note, in a manner that actually works and only adds to the experience, as was the case with the next two episodes of Babylon Berlin. Since in the first ten minutes of ‘Episode 8’, the enigmatic Dr. Gregorius outright states, that there is ‘always something going on in Berlin’ and that is a genuine reflection of what this show accomplishes.

For week in and week out, there is so much going on and so much for us to enjoy and once again, there was plenty going on in Berlin. For instance, this is a story that saw Mr. Nyssen, work desperately to save his family, before outright giving up on such a quest. For he was helpless here and unable to do anything to solve his problems. So, he deemed it best to just let things slide and live life to the fullest and well, that brought about fury from Wegener, who stole the diamond and wanted his own payout for it and was willing to work with Gold on getting a check before turning him in, a plan that went nowhere thanks to another fascinating journey that took place in this tale. Specifically, an exploration regarding the rich culture that Nazi Germany destroyed.

For Mister Gold spent a fair bit of time with his extended family and in doing so, was able to see first-hand how there were great prejudices growing in Germany against the Jewish community and he was also able to reconnect and celebrate his heritage and the unity and tradition, and joy, on display there, served as a stark reminder of what will soon be lost in this country, courtesy of raw hate and idiocy. Plus, these episodes further extended the push to hold the right people accountable after that awful trial, courtesy of that sequence with Dr. Gregorius, who was charmed and wooed long enough for the documents he was carrying to get into the right hands and hopefully some good will come from them soon, so justice can indeed be served.

But of course, the centerpieces of storytelling in this block of episodes were once again handled by Gereon and Charlotte. Who saw their bond grow in these stories amid pure chaos. For a gang war broke out in the heart of Berlin, which brought forth great bloodshed on the streets. The kind that was so great that the police had to resort to extreme measures to stop it, after Gereon received quite the horrifying and grisly invitation to meet the brains behind the chaos. Who turned out to be the Armenian, alive and well and it turned out that he wanted the police to help him bring a new agenda to life, one that he claimed would be grounded in peace, by assembling a conference of the greatest gangsters left in the city, to call for a truce and cooperation. An idea that came to fruition, mainly because the Armenian also offered, to end Dr. Schmidt as repayment for making this happen.

Not to mention, in order to keep his case against the SA alive, Rath had to go to extremes to get Stennes out of the clink. Which meant, spying on the right people and getting the right dirt to leverage a release, such as having Gräf follow Wendt about to capture photos of him having sex with Arndt, and that worked and shifted the dynamic of the SA, and left Rath and Gräf feeling regret over going to such measures. But Rath saw it as an end to a means and pressed forward. And while he was handling the city’s biggest messes, Charlotte was working on getting Toni out of the juvenile facility she found herself within and found some concerning evidence regarding Dr. Schwarz. Specifically, his role in helping the youth in this town to suffer greatly in the name of justice and well, it would seem suffering will soon be in play for Schwarz.

Since Charlotte discovered Rudi’s body and the White Hand whisked the good doctor away. But while we wait to see what comes of this, we can celebrate what was another jam-packed pair of episodes. The kind that really did showcase how there is always something happening in Berlin, and well, we are the ones reaping the benefit of that. Since we were treated to one engaging storyline after another. The kind that continues to grow characters big and small and move us through a tense era of history that fascinates and well, we are definitely ready and eager for more. After all, we simply don’t know if the Armenian will honor his word or if he’s playing Rath and clearly… Charlotte is about to break a case wide open without a badge, which means we will be anxiously counting down the minutes to next week’s tales… to see what else is happening in Berlin.

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