Through Mud and Blood (miniseries)

Through Mud and Blood
Promotional image for the show.
Genre	War miniseries Drama
Based on	Based on Through Mud and Blood by Malvina Hazen and Endre Orosz
Written by	Nikoletta Barna Sevana Mentsoyan Badri Khurtsilava Malvina Hazen
Directed by	Mihály Mezei Sally Kazbegi Marta Vargas
Starring	Kamila Váradi Tamara Csatár Marcell Somogyi Rudolf Bakos
Country of origin	Ruvelka
Original language(s)	Ruvelkan
No. of episodes	12 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Repega Atanosian (executive) Valerian Javrishvili Arnold Vass
Production location(s)	Ruvelka
Cinematography	Ia Nogaideli Helen Atanosian
Editor(s)	Thomas Assayan Valentin Orbán Martina Kende
Running time	~90 minutes per episode
Production company(s)	RNTC Entertainment
Budget	$120 million
Release
Original network	RNTC
Original release	10 October – 26 December 2020

Through Mud and Blood (stylized SEVR in Ruvelkan) is a 2020 Ruvelkan twelve-part miniseries produced for the Ruvelkan National History Channel and is based on the non-fiction book of the same name written by Malvina Hazen and Endre Orosz. The series first aired starting on 10 October 2020 and is often considered an indirect companion to the Syaran miniseries Damjana.

The series focuses on the experiences of a four-man tank crew known by their callsign of “Specter 5” who are assigned to 2nd Platoon, 1st Company, of the 5th Dragoon Division—a part of Army Group Center—during the Zemplen War. As a character-centric story, Through Mud and Blood focuses heavily on the interpersonal interactions of the crewmembers of Specter 5 and their experiences throughout the conflict. It has become well-known for its brutality and considerably dark tone but was still well-received and an overall commercial success.

Plot

Through Mud and Blood is an account of “Specter 5”, serving as part of the Imperial Army’s Army Group Center, throughout the course of the Zemplen War. Starting with their initial mobilization, the series follows the crew through Operation Aspidoon, the struggles of the war, the eventual lead-up to Operation Homefront, and its eventual conclusion. The final two episodes of the series focus on the characters in the first year after the end of the war and the consequences of their experiences.

Military-Major Malvina Hazen is the series’ central character as the crew’s tank commander and only officer, shown working to accomplish the objectives of her crew (and eventually her own platoon) while also attempting to keep Specter 5 together and safe. While Malvina is the lead, each member of Specter 5 gets their own focused episode which expands and develops their character and background.

Production

The series was chiefly developed by executive producer Repega Atanosian who spent nearly an entire year detailing the plot, individual episodes, and character beats. She also spent considerable time interviewing Zemplen War veterans, including Endre, Viktor, Dorina’s only surviving sister, and Malvina who also served as a writer and consultant.

Historical Accuracy

The depiction of the events of the Zemplen War, particularly the experiences of Specter 5, were extensively researched in order to preserve historical accuracy. Alongside Malvina and Endre’s book Through Mud and Blood, a number of other Zemplen War memoirs were used to help develop the tone and setting.

The production team consulted Elena Varga, commanding officer of the 5th Dragoon Division, and Eliska Hanáková, the overall commanding officer of Army Group Center, in order to get a proper idea of the top-level decisions being made on the front. Various other members of the 1st Company were also interviewed to assist in developing the actors portrayal of Malvina, Dorina, Endre, and Viktor.

Each actor had contact with the individuals they were going to portray with the exception of Tamara who instead met with Dorina’s sister Sára. Malvina, who was a member of the writing team, often visited the production site. Endre and Viktor also made visits and met privately with their corresponding actors. Atanosian did acknowledge that while alterations were made to create the series, most were done so to condense events and, as part of a final accuracy check, veterans saw previews of the series and approved of the episodes before they were aired.

Cast and Characters

Main Cast

• Military-Major Malvina Hazen (portrayed by Kamila Váradi) is the commanding officer of ‘Specter 5’ and later is given command of her own platoon of tanks, but despite this promotion always focused on the lives of her crew. Initially charismatic and fearless, she enters a state of depression when the woman she loves dies in combat during the early stages of the conflict. She later finds herself again as a result of the connection she makes with her fellow crewmates and her desire to see them make it to the end of the war alive. In the post-war period, Dorina’s later suicide has a profound effect on her and she later founds the Dorina Racz initiative to help veterans who struggle with mental health.
• Guard-Master Endre Soós (portrayed by Marcell Somogyi) is Specter 5’s second in command and the crew’s soft-spoken and empathetic gunner. A loner and nerd at heart, Endre spent much of his early life without friends and finds true camaraderie in his fellow crewmates. He develops an unrequited interest in Malvina which, while becoming deeply sexual, never develops further. When their original vehicle is knocked out in combat against Syara, he loses his left arm due to injuries but manages to recover. Despite his condition, he is capable of convincing Malvina to allow him back into the crew with whom he serves until the end of the war. After the conflict, he goes on to marry, have a daughter, and founds a bakery in his hometown of Aszód. He makes a concerted effort to keep in touch with his crewmates and is considered the connective tissue of the four especially in the year after the signing of the Treaty of Aragon.
• Decurion Dorina Racz (portrayed by Tamara Csatár) is the driver of Specter 5 and is characterized by her adaptability; even though she is primarily trained on the KH2 Ghost platform, she has little difficulty learning to maneuver both the Konnik and later Uhlan. She is happily married with two daughters before the start of the war and cares deeply for her husband and children; the death of her family during their eastward evacuation devastates her. She briefly contemplates suicide but is convinced by Endre to stay alive for the crew whom he says is also her family. She continues to serve and, despite several instances of recklessness, manages to keep the crew alive through several close calls. In the aftermath of the war, however, she struggles to cope with peacetime and on the anniversary of her family’s death commits suicide.
• Decurion Viktor Németh (portrayed by Rudolf Bakos) is Specter 5’s loader who is known for both his intelligence and imposing physical build. Viktor possesses a colorful and social personality that is later revealed to be a result of his own personal insecurities and to compensate for his homosexuality that was met with prejudice in his youth. Despite this, he is the perpetually positive member of the crew, finding the best in every situation much to the chagrin of Malvina and Dorina during the early parts of the war. He develops a strong relationship with Dorina, especially after the deaths of her family, and is deeply affected by her suicide after the war. In the aftermath, he advocates for LGBTQ rights throughout Tyran, speaks openly about the mental toil of warfare, and is a motivational speaker.

Supporting Cast

• Milán Vass as Staff Guard-Master Dávid Bálint
• Melinda Kapolcs as Chief Military-Major Petra Kelemen
• Sára Barna as Decurion Fruzsina Fekete
• Vince Vörös as Attila Egyed
• Natália Takács as Regimental Leader Dalita Khorozian
• Nayree Leonidze as Izolda Abkhazi
• Murtaz Sichinava as Guard-Major Mikaiel Kirakosian
• Ármin Mészáros as Chief Staff Ensign Arakel Vratsyan
• Tibor Fodor as Ensign Zaal Tavkhelidze
• Leila Kobalia as Vice Field Marshal Ekaterine Davitaia

In addition, Chief Regimental Commander Eliska Hanáková makes a cameo portraying herself while visiting units of Army Group Center in episode six.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Main character	Original air date
1	"Case Black"	Mihály Mezei	Nikoletta Barna and Malvina Hazen	Malvina Hazen	10 October 2020
Military-Major Malvina Hazen and the crew of the KH2 Ghost ‘Specter 5’ are running exercises with their division at Camp Újfehértó west of Debrecen when the Imperial Armed Forces initiates Case Black, a mobilization plan in the event of an invasion following Syara’s launch of Operation Aspidoon and the official start of the Zemplen War. The 5th Dragoons are attached to Army Group Center and ordered to assemble at Camp Sarkad as part of the 1st Debrecen Front. Endre and Dorina both express concern for their families as they are natives of Aszód and Balatonalmádi respectively. At Camp Sarkad, they are briefed by their Division commander that Ruvelka has no desire of yielding territory to Syara prior to the Chancellor’s public proclamation of intent. The crew of Specter 5 discusses amongst themselves how they agree with the aforementioned position but also understand the consequences. A general withdrawal of Imperial Forces from the border begins in preparation of a strategy of defense-in-depth.
2	"Pillars of Devastation"	Mihály Mezei	Nikoletta Barna and Malvina Hazen	Malvina Hazen	17 October 2020
The 1st Debrecen Front moves westward at a consistent pace making only a few stops to refuel and rest before eventually arriving at the eastern outskirts of Balatonalmádi. Linking up with local units of the Territorial Defense Forces, Specter 5 begins preparing their vehicle for combat. The ongoing Battle of Balatonalmádi proves difficult for Army Group Center, which is still awaiting for the bulk of its forces to arrive. The spend the night inside their tank at the ready and Dorina mentions that she hopes her family made it safely out of the city; Endre responds that he had recently gotten a communique from his sister that mentions she and their parents are stuck in Aszód. A sudden breakthrough of Syaran forces north of the city forces the 5th to rapidly mobilize to counter and cover another general retreat eastward, en route Malvina makes a comment about the various pillars of smoke rising from downtown Balatonalmádi.
3	"Blood and Steel"	Marta Vargas	Badri Khurtsilava	Malvina Hazen	24 October 2020
Barely arriving in time to meet the oncoming Syaran forces, Specter 5 is forced to forgo their usual hull-down position to immediately engage oncoming enemy infantry and armor. The subsequent combat is intense and constant, the radio chatter between the tanks of the 5th Dragoons is nearly incomprehensible as target callouts fail to cease. Casualties for the Division begin to sky rocket, but they are forced to remain in position and hold; Specter 5 is eventually forced to use smoke rounds to engage enemy light armor and trucks before being relegated solely to their machine gun. With communications to their command structure severed, Malvina makes the decision to retreat to the predetermined rally point but as Dorina begins to maneuver their tank, they are suddenly struck by an anti-armor round that punches through their Ghost and knocks it out. Endre, though conscious, is severely wounded and the crew is forced to abandon their tank and retreat on foot before being picked up by a passing Territorial Defense Forces’ APC.
4	"On the Footsteps of Death"	Sally Kazbegi	Sevana Mentsoyan and Malvina Hazen	Dorina Racz and Endre Soós	31 October 2020
Very few personnel of the 5th Dragoons survive the encounter at Balatonalmádi with Specter 5 being the only crew not to lose a man in the battle. Without a cohesive unit or a vehicle and a severely wounded Endre, the crew is sent further east where they will be reassigned. At Camp Sarkad, Malvina learns that her long-time crush who had been serving with the Imperial Fusiliers had been killed in action and Dorina receives news that her family died during the evacuation of Balatonalmádi. Endre loses his left arm as the result of his injuries and the crew’s morale falls to an all-time low. News of the war is grim as Ruvelka is on the backfoot on all fronts. Dorina considers suicide over the knowledge that her husband and daughters have perished; she reconsiders after Endre finds her in their crew tent handling her handgun and the two talk. That evening, Endre finds Malvina smoking in the vehicle yard and brooding over the loss of her love interest. Endre admits to Malvina that he has long held feelings for her and the two have sex in a nearby tank. Although she admits she’s unsure how she feels about Endre, she decides they can be intimate for now. Several weeks pass and they are eventually assigned a new vehicle, a KT3 Konnik, as part of a reformed 5th Dragoons. They decide to name their tank “Khatia” after Dorina’s youngest daughter.
5	"Crystal Silence"	Sally Kazbegi	Nikoletta Barna	Dorina Racz and Malvina Hazen	7 November 2020
It is early November 2008 and winter season has begun. Snow has started to fall at Camp Sarkad and the crew of Specter 5 continues to train in their new vehicle. While taking a brief break, they witness a flight of attack helicopters fly overhead to Malvina comments that they appear empty and are returning to base to reload and rearm. Dorina makes a passing comment that she hopes the Air Force has been giving the Syarans hell. New divisions of troops that include every range from Imperial Fusiliers to Territorial Defense Forces have been arriving at a consistent pace since the start of October leading the crew to discuss the possibility that an offensive is in the works. News that Acrea has entered the war also reinforces this idea, but it is likely they won’t see the Acrean Divisions in the central front for another few months. In private, Malvina mentions to Dorina that she appreciates her dedication to the crew and hopes she understands that they are all there for her; in response Dorina confronts Malvina about her relationship with Endre and mentions she hopes she doesn’t disappoint him. Orders to mount up come through and Specter 5 falls in with the reformed Division.
6	"Cimmerian Shade"	Marta Vargas	Badri Khurtsilava	Malvina Hazen	14 November 2020
Operation Szablya begins on the night of November 23 despite the potential impending blizzard. Over the sound of their idling engine, Specter 5 hears the roar of supersonic aircraft and the rotors of numerous helicopters above. When their orders to advance come through, Specter 5 is forced to use thermal and IR imaging as visuals are severely hampered by snow and darkness. Maneuvering with the limited visibility proves difficult, but not without its advantages. Infrared strobes, pre-deployed by units of the Imperial Fusiliers and Imperial Army Jaegers, mark a clear path for the 5th Dragoons allowing them to take up offensive positions against Syaran armored formations. In coordination with infantry and air forces, the 1st Debrecen Front begins a concerted attack on Army Group Beta beginning a rolling offensive that slowly pushes the Syarans back. Despite seeing success on their front, other portions of the Ruvelkan offensive fail to gain more momentum and after nearly a month of fighting, the offensive is halted for the Winter Solstice. The news receives a mixed reception across all units; Dorina believes they must keep the initiative whereas Endre doubts there’s enough forward momentum to continue. Viktor eases the tension among the crew by making fresh coffee, a luxury that Specter 5 has not enjoyed since Case Black.