Summary
Herbert’s meteoric rise turns into a brisk fall as his beloved Chancellor turns against him and his populist ideas. There’s also a birthday party for Elena’s dead dad.
At the start of “The Heroes’ Banquet”, it seems like Herbert’s influence over Elena is stronger than ever. He attends council meetings on her behalf and controls what she eats, who she sleeps with, and what political decisions she makes. The only problem is that Nicky was right. Elena slowly starts showing signs of growing tired of her Founding. It’s safe to say, Herbert doesn’t take it too well. But Episode 3 of The Regime isn’t just about the dysfunctional relationship between Elena and Herbet. We’re also treated to a birthday party for a corpse, complete with cake and an illegal annexation of a neighboring country’s land.
Our beloved chancellor can’t stop herself from making terrible decisions, with or without the Butcher.
It’s been two months since Elena started believing Herbert to be the stuff of legends. And now, to Nicky’s dismay, Herbert convinced Elena of the joys of eating dirt. As in actual soil, including the worms.
What is Herbert planning to do with his newfound power?
Now fully in power, Herbert is set to lead the council meeting in Elena’s space. Herbert announces his (and the Chancellor’s) plans to reform the country. He wants to strip land from the country’s elites and distribute it among the working people.
Of course, Elena is not exactly willing to take money from her holding company to pay for this up-and-coming land reform. Meanwhile, the scheming ministers are worried their plan for her to get tired of Herbert might fail.
While receiving her daily briefing, Elena seems less than pleased to hear that her country is barely mentioned in the press since that little intimidation stunt she pulled on a U.S. senator.
When Elena visits her dead father, she starts unraveling. From her monologue, it’s clear she’s not so sure anymore about Herbert or his land reform plan.
At the gym, when Elena mentions her hesitation to go through with the land reform, Herbert responds by breaking her wrist. He tells her she’s “sick in the head” and demands to know “everything.” She then admits to having stolen and hidden billions of dollars, including the money in her holding company.
When Nicky hears about Elena’s injury, he’s beyond furious. She lies about how she got hurt and then tells her husband she’d like to sleep apart for a few nights.
Does Elena hold a party for her dead father?
It’s the day of Elena’s dead daddy’s birthday. His cake even includes a little figurine of his body inside his glass coffin.
In the kitchen, Agnes is growing desperate. She running low on epilepsy drugs for her son and her boyfriend is unable to source any more for her. Deviating from Herbert’s medical regime is now punishable by incarceration.
Upon entering the great hall, Elena is horrified to see who the party guests are. Herbert took the liberty to invite a group of average country citizens. It’s funny as she’s not horrified about celebrating a corpse’s birthday but seeing common people offends her sensibilities. Herbert also wants her to “clear her consciousness” and admit to having stolen from them.
While Elena refuses to admit to her illegal activities, Herbert tries to do just that and gets the guests all riled up. But Nicky and the other councilors stop him by starting to sing Happy Birthday to the birthday corpse.
That night, Elena has a dream where her dead daddy has some choice words for her. He tells her off for being so weak and easily influenced.
Does Elena go through with Herbert’s land reform?
The following morning, Elena attends the land reform meeting. To Herbert’s surprise, she is not interested in the reform at all. Instead, she asks her councilors to start work on a reunification plan with the Faban Corridor.
As for Herbert, Elena sends him to the front line of what’s certainly not an invasion of the Faban.
A few weeks after her successful annexation of Faban, Elena gives a press conference where she denies she did anything wrong.
Upon Herbet’s return, it becomes painfully obvious that Elena is no longer under his influence. She’s unimpressed with his gift, she has no intention of following through with the land reform, and, most egregiously, she started eating normal food again.
Despite Herbert’s disappointment, he’s even less pleased to see the uniform Elena wants to parade him in at the Annexation ball. Agnes helps him get dressed, but Herbert doesn’t understand why she’s being nice to him.
Nicky, however, is more than pleased about the recent developments. Specifically, he’s happy to see Herbert thrown to the sidelines and cares little about the effects NATO sanctions will have on the country’s economy.
The party is going great for everyone but Herbert. Emil is back in favor, and Elena seems to have turned her sights on befriending China. She’s also ignoring all his disapproving grunts. Adding insult to injury, the party’s entertainment includes a skit where Herbert is the butt of the joke.
How does The Regime Season 1 Episode 3 end?
Back at the Chancellor’s apartment, Elena and Herbert are having a lover’s quarrel. He’s not happy about her plans to meet with Emil and talk about China. Naturally, she proceeds to insult him and even admits she lied about their shared dreams. In typical thug fashion, Herbert responds by choking her. Herbert just about stops himself from murdering Elena. Instead, he goes back to the ball and violently attacks Emil.
The following day, Agnes approaches Elena and tells her Oscar has started having seizures again. Elena decides to restart the boy’s epilepsy treatment but essentially removes him from his mother’s care.
The episode ends with Herbert’s arrest while Elena watches on CCTV.
