Babylon Berlin’s Volker Bruch knows the Season 4 finale isn’t looking for Gereon

(Editorial note: This post goes into detail about the ending of season 4 of Babylon Berlin; It’s a huge spoiler! (“There are spoilers!”))

In many ways, Babylon Berlin Season 4 was the best season yet for Inspector Gereon Rath. Of course, he had to go deep undercover in the Nazi party, which led to him being ostracized by both his colleagues and his girlfriend, Charlotte. He tried to gather all the criminal kingpins of Berlin to declare peace, and ended up playing right into the hands of the man who wanted to kill them all. And yes, as usual, he endured his fair share of dangerous adventures, near-death experiences, beatings, and of course, weird brainwashing sessions.

But he eventually pulls through: he is happy and dancing with Charlotte, now that the Nazi threat has subsided for a while. It is, as Gereon actor Volker Bruch notes, a completely new place for Volker to be.

It’s foolish to say that love conquers all in a story set in the Weimar Republic of Germany, but Gereon can’t possibly know that. For him, he’s just beginning to feel like himself, strong enough to stand up to even his brother, who’s been experimenting on him for years. And with love coursing through his veins, he knows of something better than fratricide. Gereon simply tells his brother that he doesn’t need him anymore.

It may not seem like enough — this is the brother who pumped him up to fight and even kill people. But as Bruch sees it, Gereon’s choice to forgive and move on is something that’s been building over the course of the entire season with Charlotte.

“I think this accepting love thing with Charlotte — the ease of it — is something that gives him strength. Because he’s not afraid anymore,” Bruch tells Polygon. “That moment of realizing that he’s not dependent on fear is really powerful.”

To Gereon it may seem naive (we’ll get to that), but to Bruch it feels like a full-blown side plot development that has caused Gereon great pain.

“I know there’s a lot of speculation about it — what is it? what does it mean? is it real? It’s very real! And his brother… (Gereon) can’t really live without him. He’s a part of him,” Bruch says. “I think he realizes that he can’t let go of his brother by hating him, because that still (ties him to him).”

In Berlin in 1931, that’s about as much as you can hope for in a positive emotional journey. Especially when it seems like Gereon’s brother was one step ahead of him all along and now has a massive army at his disposal. One can only imagine what the deal with these troops will be in season 5 — Bruch deflected all questions, laughing, “Yeah, it’s something we’ll have to figure out.” But as Babylon Berlin Now that the final season has begun, Bruch wants nothing but the best for Gereon, who he sees as being caught between the light Charlotte brings to his life and the darkness of his brother’s troops (not to mention the rising Nazi regime).

“It’s rare that you see him love something, and that something is easy,” Bruch laughs again. “When you play a character for so long, you want him to succeed and be happy. But you know he’s going to go through hell.”