Deutschland 83 S01E08 (Able Archer)

Ursula Edel doesn’t appear in the episode, but her absence is palpable: when Wolfgang (Ulrich Noethen) goes home, he finds it empty. The empty kitchen speaks more than a million words and is a prelude to a coup de théâtre: Ursula has finally had enough and has moved out (now she lives with her sister Renate).

Wolfgang standing in front of the living room window overlooking a huge (empty) garden is a prelude to the final plot twist, the gunshot we can hear in the very last scene. Has he committed suicide? Or is it Alex who has decided to call it quits? I guess we’ll have to wait for a second season to find out 😉

Deutschland 83 S01E06 (Brandy Station)

The deeper we get into Ursula’s family life, the more problematic it shows. She’s desperately trying to protect her son, who’s still missing from the military base and from home. In the meantime, her coping strategy is baking 😉

When her husband (Ulrich Noethen) realizes she’s been lying about Alex, his rage explodes. Poor Ursula (Anna von Berg) is first thrown on the floor, then she almost gets punched for the second time. This is an abusive relationship which makes her sad and frustrated.

Her primary goal is keeping Alex safe, though. Martin/Moritz is the deus ex machina who brings the boy home, just in time for him to meet Werner Freisinger (Philipp Baltus) from the military counterintelligence. You can see how protective she is of Alex: she caresses his shoulder and walks with him into the kitchen.

By the end of the episode, the look in her eyes has changed: she tells Wolfgang about Kramer’s death and you can see she’s more resolute, almost hardened.

Deutschland 83 S01E05 (Cold Fire)

Things get complicated: Alex didn’t show up at the military base and now he may be accused of being a deserter. Ursula (Anna von Berg) receives an alert phone call from her husband but doesn’t answer. She’s apparently calm but drama is brewing inside. She opens the fire weapon cabinet in the living room, but opts for taking a fish out of the tank instead, dropping it on the floor and leaving it there to die. This apparently absurd gesture symbolises the identity crisis she’s going through; she’s worried for her son, but at the same time she’s sick of the whole family situation. Her desperation is shown by the decision to kill a fish.

She doesn’t know where Alex is but she does what she can (getting a fake certificate of illness) to cover for him. She goes to the base and hands it in to Frau Netz (Michaela Caspar). She lies by saying Alex has been infected by a mysterious virus; as a result, Wolfgang’s secretary doesn’t shake her hand. Irony of fate, she’s unaware of the truth: Alex may have really been infected with a virus, the HIV one.

By the end of the episode, she teaches us that lying is not enough: she makes breakfast for Alex, takes it upstairs and eats it, too.

Deutschland 83 S01E04 (Northern Wedding)

As soon as we get to know Ursula Edel (Anna von Berg) better, we realise how complicated and unhappy her life is. It’s her birthday but her husband (Ulrich Noethen) is not coming home; she cooks a beautiful meringue cake but her company is her drunk sister. She spends part of the evening with Yvonne (Lisa Tomaschewsky), who will eventually go back to her commune. The day after, she’s the helpless witness of a fight between Wolfgang and Alex (Ludwig Trepte); she even gets slapped by mistake.

This is the first episode in which AIDS is mentioned: Ursula loves her children very much and really cares for them; that’s why she strongly recommends Yvonne to have safe sex.

Deutschland 83 S01E02 (Brave Guy)

Ursula Edel (Anna von Berg) is a housewife with a complicated family: her husband, General Edel, is often away from home, and the same can be said for her son, Alex, who works in the army; her daughter, Yvonne, lives in a commune. Her sister Renate is often with her, but they don’t get along well because they’re (apparently) very different: Ursula embodies the timeless stereotype of the Stepford Wife, while Renate is a free spirit who likes drinking and flirting.

In this scene, Renate expresses her doubts about Martin/Moritz: she heard him talking on the phone with someone living in East Berlin, but Ursula doesn’t believe her. She tends to focus on the bright side of people, probably as a psychological strategy to avoid coping with her own unhappiness and frustration.

Deutschland 83 S01E01 (Quantum Jump)

When Ursula Edel (Anna von Berg) is first introduced, she’s depicted as the perfect wife and mother. She’s hosting a barbecue party at her beautiful house: she’s kind to guests, affectionate to her husband and patient with her sister, the hot-headed Renate.

This is a tiny bit of meta I dedicate to @amfenster, a fellow Ursula fan ♥