First, you have to remember that the episodes and not connected and can be watched in any order. Second, the Romanoffs have nothing to do with the show, usually they're just the main character's ancestors, that's it. Third, these are mostly just 'slice of life' stories and, well, they're not all good.
Episode 1: 8/10 - This starts well enough. Takes place in France where a couple has trouble dealing with the man's aunt, they're waiting for her to die to inherit, but she won't die. I thought the episode was gutsy enough to show us a Muslim woman remove her hijab and sleep with a man out of wedlock, which is not something you often see to be honest. Obviously, though, that actress doesn't usually wear a hijab, or else she would never have done it. Anyway, entertaining.
Episode 2: 7/10 - Not as good as the first one, but still entertaining. A couple with marital problem deals with meeting other people while away from each other and where their loyalties lie. The man and the woman are clearly not on the same page and one wants out more than the other. A more comedic episode.
Episode 3: 9/10 - The best episode of the series. If you have to watch one, watch this one. It's almost horror-like, and coincidentally, has the most to do with the Romanoffs out of all the episodes. An American actress goes to the Netherlands (? - i think it was) to shoot a TV show about the Romanoffs and all sorts of weird stuff start happening, the characters around her also start to get progressively stranger. The end is slightly predictable but otherwise this was a great episode.
Episode 4: 5/10 - Blah! A woman with a secret fights with her daughter and wonders about her life and the weight of her secret. Nothing too interesting.
Episode 5: 2/10 - Moralizing! A true push-down-your-throat moral episode. It started with a "wait are they really going there?" premise which would have made it interesting. But nah, this is just typical PC stuff that's trying to pass a message forcefully. Also, no father in the 70s would ever speak to their kid that way just because they asked somebody if they were a boy or a girl. Ridiculous.
Episode 6: 5/10 - A woman travels the world with her son to try to find a cure for him. A journalist tries to expose a clinic for their shady practices. I didn't like the acting from the journalist in this one, felt wooden. The journalist and the woman meet in Mexico, obviously. I don't know, it was average. Nothing much happens.
Episode 7: 8/10 - A very strong episode about a couple going to Russia to adopt. What does it mean to adopt? Can you pick and choose what you get? How is it different than a biological kid? Very good conversations in this episode, although it really doesn't make you want to go to Russia.
Episode 8: 1/10 - Moralizing! Terrible! Cheer for the bad guy kind of episode, because "innocents deserve what they get for not being a minority". At one point in the episode the guy has a conversation with a transexual and says, "They call us trannies, poofs, queers, but we're stronger than all of them! Look at what we've gone through!" Yadda yadda yadda! Has nothing to do with the episode! Poor, poor, oppressed minority. How tough life must be as perfect people that are rejected by the majority! Ugh. I wish Matthew Weiner didn't shove his politics down our throats with his screenplays. Also, isn't Matthew Weiner a straight white male? Doesn't that automatically make his opinion 100% worthless? I mean, shut up and listen, right?
4 episodes out of 8 were good. Overall: 5/10
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