Who is Oskar in The Regime? And who are his real parents?

The first two episodes of HBO and Sky Atlantic’s new TV series, The Regime, starring Oskar winner Kate Winslet, have viewers hooked on HBO’s new dark satire. But one question everyone’s asking is: Is Oskar Elena and Nicholas’ son? 

In The Regime, Winslet portrays Chancellor Elena Vernham, the ruler of a crumbling authoritarian regime in a fictional European country. The political satire TV series takes viewers into the palace over the course of a year to witness the dysfunctional and shut-in Chancellor be introduced to troubled soldier Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts), with whom she draws a strange connection. The first two episodes show Zubak’s growing influence on Elena as she grapples with a personal illness while trying to hold on to her power as a leader and while those around her become more alarmed by the presence of Zubak. 

While focusing mainly on Winslet’s character, the show has several subplots to keep viewers hooked. As Elena keeps herself locked away from the outside world, this leaves those inside the palace being those most important to her, for a mixture of personal and political reasons. 

Elena is married to Guillaume Gallienne’s character Nicholas, who we discovered in the first episode, abandoned his first wife and child to marry Elena. Despite Nic and Elena having no biological children together, one of the key subplots of the show is how Elena becomes a strange sort of surrogate mother to Oskar (Louie Myneet). But who are Oskar’s birth parents? 

Is Oskar Nicholas & Elena’s Biological Son? 

For The Regime viewers, there is a lot of confusion around who exactly Oskar is and his connection to Elena. 

While Elena seems to act like Oskar’s mother, a passing comment in the first episode reveals that Elena is not Oskar’s birth mother. His birth mother is actually the palace manager Agnes (Andrea Riseborough). 

It’s not revealed who Oskar’s father is, but the show portrays that because Nicholas and Elena don’t have a child of their own, perhaps because Elena is unable to have children because of her mystery illnesses, they somewhat adopt Oskar and parent him along with Agnes. 

As a leader, Elena tries to project that she’s full of grace and control, but as the series shows, she grapples with a personal illness that seems to stem from her own insecurities. This leads her to be somewhat distanced from most of those in the palace, including her husband. However, Oskar seems to be the exception, as the episodes so far suggest that Elena and Oskar have a close relationship. The first episode saw Oskar playing in the Chancellor’s private quarters. We see Elena concerned with Oskar’s health as well as her own as she reminds him that he needs to take his epilepsy medicine. Also, after there is an attempted assassination of Elena, Agnes tells her that Oskar has been asking to see her, highlighting that Elena is a key figure in his life. 

The show’s production notes reveal that "Agnes’s son, Oskar, is treated as a human pet by Elena. Oskar is ‘her son’ when it suits her but shunted back to his real mother when it doesn’t."

How Did Nicholas & Elena Meet?

The main focus of the first episode is Elena’s advisors trying to persuade her to secure a cobalt mining deal to aid the economy. Despite her reluctance, she decides to hold a grand dinner soiree, inviting the CEO of the mining company. At the dinner, Nicholas reveals how his marriage to Elena came about because Elena felt that it would be best for her political campaign if she were married. 

Nic and Elena met in Paris while they were both studying medicine. The two got along well, but Nic was married to another woman at the time with whom he had a child. Nic revealed that he decided to leave his ex-wife and Paris because Elena was “very persuasive.” 

If that didn’t show his devotion to Elena, Nic added that since he left Paris, he hasn’t seen his ex-wife or child since. It further shows how Elena values complete devotion from those closest to her. She wants them to see nothing but her and what she wants.