The Regime, a political drama series, continues to deliver its best episode yet, with bigger stakes and more interesting plotlines. The country is facing severe sanctions imposed by the West due to the Faban corridor invasion, and Chancellor Elena Vernham (Kate Winslet) seems determined to ignore every issue. Meanwhile, threats around her become more real as her left-wing opponent Edward Keplinger (Hugh Grant) gets closer to her advisor Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts) and foreign enemies approach her right-hand woman Agnes (Andrea Riseborough). The propaganda element of Elena's government is particularly interesting in episode 4, as it becomes more evident than ever. The audience sees how Elena and her authoritarian government maintain strict control over its citizens. The media plays a crucial role in this episode, with Elena's constant radio addresses and the way television and news spin the facts and narrative of the events. In episode 4, The Regime finally introduces a bigger picture of Elena's authority and the stakes in the country. The show introduces Keplinger, a character who can pose a significant threat to the current government, and the United States, which test Elena's inner circle's loyalty. However, the stakes are not as high as expected, as the opposition between Hugh Grant and Kate Winslet is not properly conveyed in the storytelling. The political situation seems too complex and abstract for the audience to understand, as they never see any of it. The biggest issue of The Regime remains its extreme focus on Elena and life at the palace. Elena's husband reminds her that she has not left her palace recently, and neither has the audience. The HBO show tells us about a country plagued by famine and extreme poverty, but we rarely get to see any of it for ourselves. Although some citizens of the unnamed country are finally seen in the episode, they are not thoroughly developed or important for the overall storyline.
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