The Romanoffs season 1, episode 6 recap: Panorama

Mexico City is the best part of this week’s episode of The Romanoffs.

The Romanoffs is increasingly becoming known for having each episode in a unique and different location, and this week took us to Mexico City. And I have to say, there was something so enchanting about the city being a big part of the episode.

Sure, there were the characters and the story, but the city itself was a huge part of the plot, and it was probably the only thing that made sense and stood out about the whole episode. But let’s dig into the episode and see what went down in this week’s episode of The Romanoffs, “Panorama”.

We meet a man named Abel (Juan Pablo Castañeda) when the episode first begins as his voiceover comments on the women he’s looking at on a dating app. He’s curious about them in their natural state, rather than what they post on social media and apps.

As we come to learn, Abel is a journalist (albeit, not a great one as we come to learn), but based on his character’s introduction, there is something deeper and more profound about him. And it comes out in bits and pieces during “Panorama” but they could have done much, much better.

Credit: Amazon Prime Video

It turns out Abel is going undercover at some sort of treatment clinic that claims to cure the diseases no one else can. When we first see the center, it’s absolutely lavish with concierge and giving off the vibes of a 5-star resort. Abel’s mission is to expose the clinic for making false claims and trying to make money off of people’s hopes.

Abel comes across some interesting people at the clinic, most of whom are extremely wealthy individuals that have the money to throw around as a last-ditch effort. And when he takes the story to his boss, he doesn’t seem very thrilled about Abel covering it, but something changes for Abel when he meets a woman named Victoria (Radha Mitchell) and her 12-year old ill son, Nick, who is a patient at the clinic.

The Romanoffs explores Victoria’s background through the lens of her sick son and her life being completely devoted to his care. In fact, she blames herself for her son’s battle with hemophilia because it’s a genetic disorder, and you guessed it, she’s a Romanov descendant thus she was a carrier of the disease that goes back decades to her supposed royal family blood.

light. Related Story. The Romanoffs season 1, episode 5 recap: Bright and High Circle

More from Amazon Prime

For those who aren’t aware, her son’s name is Nick and the Romanov Czar Nicholas II had a son named Alexei who also suffered from hemophilia–and that’s how we get the Romanov connection for the week.

Abel strikes up a friendship with Victoria and Nick very quickly, who unfortunately believe he is ill as well since he was at the clinic.

He takes them around Mexico City and shows them the beautiful and magnificent sights even though Victoria is concerned it will take a toll on or hurt Nick in some way.

They visit Diego Rivera’s mural, “The History of Mexico”, that depicts, through art, all the moments in Mexico’s history including the plight of the indigenous peoples. Something about his day makes Abel fall in love with Victoria immediately, despite her feeling broken after learning that the center can’t help Nick.

What makes matters worse is she and her husband are separated because he also blames her for Nick being sick which has caused a rift in their marriage. As their day comes to an end, Abel bids farewell to the two, unsure of what the future may hold for him and Victoria (if anything at all). But it appears he has given her his phone number in the case she wanted to reach out to him.

At this point, Abel is completely head over heels but he seems to be fairly composed about it all knowing it’s unlikely to blossom into anything. That is until he gets a call from Victoria asking if he knew where to get marijuana–and she’s in luck, he has some!

He arrives at the hotel, marijuana in tow, and the two share a moment on the roof that is completely romantic but yet nothing actually happens. It’s a bit odd but he tells her in his own way that he’s in love with her, and she tells him she can’t do anything, but the fact that she wants to is hopefully enough to hold him over.

When the two make their way down to the room, Victoria spots her husband who is furious that she brought Nick to Mexico City essentially kidnapping him. It becomes all sorts of messy but also occurs almost simultaneously to a huge episode reveal.

After meeting with a woman that seems to be in the know, Abel learns that the clinic is using stem cells from a woman’s clinic in a very poor neighborhood. Basically, they provide the goods and get paid (most likely, very minimal) and their cells are sent to the clinic for treatment of patients.

Abel sneaks back into the clinic to tell the doctor he knows what they’re doing, and plans to expose them–but the doctor doesn’t seem to care. In fact, he has Abel kicked out of the clinic moments after Abel sees Nick who is there for one last treatment with his dad while Victoria is at the hotel.

Abel heads to the hotel to take Victoria out for the day and takes her to sights outside of the city where she finds peace like she never has before. Perched up on the mountain, next to a stranger who claims to be in love with her, she feels safe. Nothing comes of this fleeting love affair, and even when Abel writes up his experience about everything that has happened, he realizes he isn’t a good journalist and decides to quit.

Perhaps this episode of The Romanoffs was about nothing more than a man’s journey to understanding the place he’s from and unexpectedly connecting to it through an encounter with a stranger, the clinic debacle, and exploring his city through the eyes of others.

Next. House of Cards final season review. dark

I have mixed feelings about the episode, but honestly, if it was just a documentary about Mexico City instead, I think it would have made way more sense.

New episodes of The Romanoffs release every Friday on Amazon Prime Video!

Home/Amazon Prime