Aahana Swrup
‘Kleo,’ a German spy thriller show, revolves around a massive global conspiracy during the 1980s that remains inextricably connected to the titular falsely incriminated Stasi assassin. After season 1, in which Kleo Straub embarks on her plot of vengeance against those who wrongfully imprisoned her, she gains numerous adversaries and scant allies. Among the former, Uwe Mittig retains a distinct level of bitterness toward the former assassin. His hatred toward her—and loyalty toward communism—remains so fierce that after grazing his own death in season 1, he returns to the Stasi to hunt Kleo down once again in season 2. Inevitably, this time around, his misadventures land him in precarious scenarios again, inciting intrigue about his predicament. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Uwe Inadvertently Brings Down Margot
Uwe’s character undergoes a tumultuous fate in season 1, where Sven—Kleo’s ex-cop friend—almost kills him in an altercation. Nevertheless, the bullet wound ends up being non-fatal, leaving him alive. Therefore, once recovered, the former Stasi agent swiftly returns to his old ways, taking orders from his superiors, namely Margot Honecker. Consequently, he becomes a part of Operation Ludsch, in which the GDR and the KGB are working together to retrieve the Raegan-Honecker pact to establish a Soviet Republic of Germany. Naturally, the same puts him on the warpath against Kleo, who is also after the documents.
At first, Uwe’s attacks against Kleo are from a distance as he attempts to get information on her through other people around her. Therefore, as she and Sven continue their investigation, the wrong kind of attention is attracted by the officials behind the operation. As such, Kleo’s former Stasi coworker gets the order to go after Sven, leading to a riveting showdown between the two after he kidnaps the former cop. In the aftermath of their battle, Uwe returns to his boss in defeat. However, after spectacularly misreading the signals, he tries to make a move on Margot, inviting her ridicule.
Throughout the show, Uwe constantly showcases his anger and resentment towards those who make him feel smaller or less worthy by bruising his ego. In fact, part of his rivalry with Kleo stems from the fact that she beat him consistently during their early training days. Therefore, after Margot so brazenly insults him, he snaps and ends up killing her and the rest of the officials at the base house. Since he causes the fall of his own people, he’s almost driven to suicide before he gives up on the idea. In the end, he manages to spin the tale in his favor when reporting back to the KGB and redirects his anger toward Kleo.
Uwe’s Rooftop Showdown Against Kleo
Towards the season’s end, Kleo infiltrates the KGB headquarters by creating a distraction to search for the pact in Chief Nikolai Zhukov’s office. Nonetheless, Ramona—a Stasi agent back on duty under the KGB Head—incapacitates her shortly after. Even though Ramona ends up not being a threat, her theatrics allow Uwe to take Kleo by surprise, leading to a lethal altercation between the two.
Unlike their past fights, this time, Kleo attempts to talk some sense into Uwe by emphasizing how he’s being used as a pawn in the higher uppers’ games. Nonetheless, her arguments mean nothing to him since his opinions are far too overshadowed by his misplaced sense of duty and responsibility. In the end, Kleo ends up cornering him but allows him an option to survive by surrendering. Nonetheless, Uwe remains stubborn, reaching for another weapon—and gets shot for his efforts. At the moment, the shot seems to have killed Uwe, compelling his rival to simply leave the premises.
However, Uwe’s streak of defying death accompanies him into this season as well. Although his death appears final, the mid-credit scene reveals that he’s actually alive, evading a near-fatal bullet yet again. Consequently, it seems Uwe has survived a near-death experience twice in a row and will undoubtedly return to antagonize Kleo in potential future seasons. Whether or not, the assassin would ever be able to stop him for good will rely on how far Uwe’s luck will take him.
Read More: How Did Andi Wolf Die? Did Vladimir Burlakov Leave Kleo?
