Magda ( Natalie Dormer ) is an evil angel of some kind. She knows of a prophecy about a war that will destroy all mankind, and decides to bring it about. Partly as a bet with her sister, like in Trading Places - but without the dollar stakes. Her powers include invisibility, and her plan is to mind-control the mentally vulnerable. She even spends a couple of decades undercover, passing as a variety of human women to influence the right men.
The main story starts in Los Angeles in 1938. There is a plan to build up the road network in Los Angeles, and replace the street-cars and trams with taxi-cabs. Yes, just like in that famous documentary Who Framed Roger Rabbit? . Worse, it will plough right through a Latinx community. Raul Vega (Adam Rodriguez - CSI Miami), a trade unionist, leads the objections. When peaceful means fail, they resort to physically blocking the road's route. Police Chief Ned Vanderhoff (Brent Spiner - Star Trek: TNG ) is ordered to force the road through.
Police Chief Ned Vanderhoff (Brent Spiner - Star Trek: TNG ) is made out to be a bit of a racist. However, since this show features actual Nazis his microaggressions are irrelevant.
Normally this kind of agenda-driven show limits itself to a binary system of races - the oppressor and the oppressed. For example, The Terror (Season2) only showed oppressive whites and oppressed Japanese. However, this show attempts to avoid the binary system that denies the true diversity of the USA. Detective Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane - The Producers (2005) ) turns out to be a closeted Jewish person. He is a conspiracy theorist when it comes to Nazis, and is stalking Richard Goss (Thomas Kretschmann - Stendahl Syndrome ). His friend Dottie Minter ( Lin Shaye ) helps out. They discover the Nazis are interested in a CalTech nerd.
Rio ( Natalie Dormer ) stirs up the Mexicans. Her agenda seems to be to start the Zoot-Suit riots. This show really makes the most of Dormer's talents, like Tatiana Maslany playing a series of clone sisters in Orphan Black . In contrast, Dormer only has to play four characters - an Angel of Death and three of her avatars: the English-speaker, the German-speaker and the Spanish-speaker.
Rio ( Natalie Dormer ) stirs up the Mexicans to take murderous revenge on the eeevil LAPD officer.
With yet another dead cop in the morgue, Detective Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane - The Producers (2005) ) and his partner are under pressure to find the killer.
Police Chief Ned Vanderhoff (Brent Spiner - Star Trek: TNG ) is an optimist, so he lets Detective Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane - The Producers (2005) ) and his partner take first crack at interrogating the suspect. They keep referring to the unknown suspect as the Fourth Guy. However, one of the four suspects is Rio ( Natalie Dormer ) so the final suspect would be the Third Man ...
Of course, nobody investigates Rio. It would be a good idea to focus on her, since she is clearly manipulating the expendable minions. If someone actually looked into her, they might find the truth.
A couple of people start showing an interest in Natalie Dormer . One is the Councilwoman, who knows that Malone is the power behind the throne. The other is Maria the Latinx maid.
Detective Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane - The Producers (2005) ) calls in the debt his partner Tiagpo owes him. He plans to assassinate the conspiracy of Nazis, specifically Richard Goss (Thomas Kretschmann - Stendahl Syndrome ) and his Gestapo bodyguard.
Detective Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane - The Producers (2005) ) and his partner investigate the conspiracy of Nazis. Lewis interviews the Councilman, while Tiago visits Sister Adelaide.
We learn that Tiago, supposedly the most morally upright of the characters, carries a spare gun in an ankle holster. This is not a legitimate self-defence weapon, as he could just carry a Colt 1911 with multiple reload clips like his partner Lewis. Instead, this is probably a throw-down piece so he can plant it on the bodies of any unarmed suspects he executes.
Someone took a shot at Detective Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane - The Producers (2005) ). He assumes it is a conspiracy of Nazis, and that Richard Goss (Thomas Kretschmann - Stendahl Syndrome ) is behind it all.
Brian Dennehy is the man who built the road network in Los Angeles, and replaced the street-cars and trams with taxi-cabs. Yes, just like in that famous documentary Who Framed Roger Rabbit? . This episode is dedicated to Dennehy, so presumably it was the last thing filmed in his decades-long career.
The Mexican-American community celebrates their Day of the Dead. This festival is interrupted by word that one of their own was lynched by racist white-passing heteronormative-acting CIS-looking male-identifying LAPD officers. Rio ( Natalie Dormer ) stirs up the Mexicans, and starts the Zoot-Suit riots.
Richard Goss (Thomas Kretschmann - Stendahl Syndrome ) is after a nerd that Detective Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane - The Producers (2005) ) is hiding. However, when the nerd lets slip that he might be able to invent a nuclear weapon ... Well, nobody seems to care that Heisenberg was going exactly the same thing in the service of the Third Reich ...
Reviewed in our special supplement