I watched a few episodes of this limited series and have some thoughts.
The nice things I can say are that it is entertaining, well acted and directed, and sometimes beautiful. I don’t regret spending the time to watch.
Beyond that, the premise and execution of the story is a sloppy work of anticommunism and lofty pining for a return of monarchy.
The story establishes itself early on: the Bolshevik revolution happens, and the new government is deciding what to do with all of the old aristocrats. Most of them are imprisoned or killed. But Count Rostov is saved by a mystery party official who advocates to spare him under house arrest, instead, at the luxury Metropol hotel in Moscow.
Thus begins a pattern unbroken for the rest of the show: the Count is a true gentleman, the embodiment of all culture, which the Bolsheviks continually destroy for a false desire for progress. The Count is written as James Bond, an infinitely “cool”, charismatic, and attractive Übermensch who ought to be allowed to explore the limits of human excellence.
Every dialogue between the Count and his jailers can be summed up in an emoji:
The series doesn’t pretend to be historically accurate. Still, it falls flat with trite sentimentality absent any substantive interaction with the outside world. One might say the claustrophobia is inherent to the Count’s confinement to the Metropol, but really it seems that showing the conditions outside the hotel would have too much undermined the premise that the Count is a heckin’ cool dude who wasn’t hurting anyone.
I almost forgot to mention that there is a sort of shoehorned side plot designed to create some dramatic sympathy between the Count and one of the party members who is outspoken against the old aristocrats. This character was cast as a black man, so most reviews on 
make vague allusion to the “casting” which supposedly detracts from the show. I haven’t watched all the episodes yet, but it seems to be preparing a twist à la the ending of God’s Not Dead; except instead of atheism being caused by a hatred of God, the Bolshevik character’s communism is caused by a personal grievance with the Count.
I could say more on the anticommunism, but really it speaks for itself. In spite of everything, in the right directorial hands, it could make for a great story if it managed to present the Count’s nobility brainworms in a negative light which would automatically validate the actions of the Party.
the vibe I'm getting is a high production anticommunist posh Ted Lasso which sounds like the type of slop Americans will guzzle uncritically
Well that's not entirely true, some reviews of the book on reddit are complaining that it's not anticommunist enough
Yeah this is gonna be real popular with the "Everything I know about the soviet union I got from watching Chernobyl 3 times and I won't shut up about it" crowd.
impressed that you can get past the blatant anticommunism you describe. I get too angry and can no longer enjoy the rest of the content
There are a few isolated lines critical of the Count. For example, when the Party council asks what his occupation was, he says that gentlemen don’t have occupations (read: he didn’t have to work for all his nice things). It also makes a point to show that his new room is in the cold attic where the servants used to sleep. But it’s more of a critique of excess, of abuse of nobility. Not a critique of the system itself. I think the vibe is more in favor of benevolent monarchy in which society is believed to benefit when the best-bred individuals are elevated.
this was one of those shows I would have watched in a vacuum, but I assumed it would be anti-communist trash and instead just read the description and moved on.
thanks for confirming my snap judgements. it has freed me up to watch other, different slop. like remake of The Day of the Jackal which is cool, but also slop for different and more nuanced reasons.
