'The Regime' Ending Explained: Elena Vernham's dramatic comeback stuns after heartbreaking sacrifice
Contains spoilers for 'The Regime' Finale
CENTRAL EUROPE, EUROPE: Following a dramatic season finale, HBO's political miniseries 'The Regime' has finally come to an end.
Created by Will Tracy the series, which is set against the backdrop of a fictional nation led by Chancellor Elena Vernham (Kate Winslet), a powerful but unpredictable leader.
Elena appoints disgraced soldier Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts) as her advisor since she fears she is losing control, only to be misled by him, exacerbating her volatile demeanour.
As depicted in the fifth episode, the resistance breaks into the palace, forcing the insane Elena to flee for her safety alongside Herbert.
Elena is now struggling to even stay alive as resistance surrounds her, but in a dramatic twist, Elena turns the tide in her favour in the season finale.
What offer did Elena Vernham get in 'The Regime' Finale?
Elena is distraught after escaping the palace with Herbert to avoid the rage of the resistance soldiers until a glimmer of hope appears.
The couple receives assistance from loyalist Tomas (Karl Markovics), but he, too, betrays them, and in an unexpected turn of events, her former head of security, Mr Laskin (Danny Webb), appears to arrest her.
Despite his best efforts, Mr Laskin was unable to extract much from Elena, and in another stunning twist, Mr Laskin was shot by an anonymous soldier who whisked her away.
Elena is transported to a hotel, where she meets Emil Bartos (Stanley Townsend), who makes her speak with American senator Judith Holt (Martha Plimpton).
Judith makes an enticing offer to Elena, giving her an advantage in winning the civil war, easing sanctions, and improving the friendly relationship through business deals, including the infamous cobalt one.
The catch is Emil knows, that Herebet has a negative influence on Elena and could jeopardise their future relationship, so he wants him gone.
What happened with Herbert Zubak in 'The Regime' Finale?
Later Elena is seen with Herbert, informing him that she has declined the offer. However, Herbet sees her through, throwing doubt on whether she genuinely declined or not.
She attempts to persuade him, and in a dramatic turn of events, they both proclaim their love for the first time.
Later, Herbert is seen waking up, and in another shocking scene, he is shot, signalling Herbert's death.
The scene then cuts to Elena waking up in her palace bed. It's Victory Day again, and Nicholas Vernham (Guillaume Gallienne) is back at the palace, lamenting the terrible year they've just had.
Later, Elena denounces China and blames the civil unrest on Edward Keplinger (Hugh Grant) as she speaks in front of an adoring audience.
Unaware of the fact that Edward has already been killed by Elena, the audience cheers for their counsellor.
In the last moments of the season finale, Elena is shown paying respects to Herbert's corpse, which is resting in a mausoleum previously occupied by her deceased father.
'The Regime' is available to stream on Max