At the heart of the story sits a small, ambitious mobile game studio that is rapidly growing. The startup is steered by a twenty-year-old prodigy from South Korea named Sang, a charismatic leader whose confidence sometimes borders on self-assurance. One afternoon, a group of schoolchildren with technical talents arrive for a meeting, but the moment the doors close, gunshots ring out inside the office. Sang falls, and his assistant Elayne, played by Brittany O’Grady from White Lotus, is stunned to witness an angelic schoolboy shoot Sang as the doors slam shut.
Into this chaos steps Regus Patoff, a mysterious figure who appears with no clear backstory or online footprint. He calls himself the new boss and imposes his own methods, radiating an unsettling blend of charm and menace. Together with colleague Craig, portrayed by Nat Wolff, Elayne tries to pierce the veil around Patoff’s past and present: who is he, where did he come from, and why do his management techniques seem to poison the atmosphere of the entire office?
The character of Patoff remains central across the series. Showrunner Tony Basgallop, known for works like Home with Servants, is credited with recognizing Waltz’s standout talent. Patoff combines a devilish allure reminiscent of classic antiheroes, the culinary nuance found in contemporary thrillers, and the quirky bravado of unpredictable millionaires—yet this particular figure remains a fictional creation crafted for the show’s universe.
Some viewers argue that Patoff resembles a satire of a real-world tech magnate, drawing parallels to a certain high-profile entrepreneur. The original novel by Bentley Little, released in 2016, predates a lot of the current public discourse surrounding tech leadership, making the comparison a matter of interpretation rather than a direct mirror. Either way, the series invites debate and interpretation, with an 8-episode arc that moves at a brisk pace without losing its bite.
The Advisor invites a half-hour rhythm that carries four hours of screen time into a tight, suspenseful ride. Questions arise early: What happens if all remote workers, including a staff member in a wheelchair, are told to come to the office within an hour? What if personal lives start becoming human levers in the hands of a new leader? Where does manipulation end and partnership begin, and how long can the staff tolerate the pressure before exhaustion or resistance sets in?
As Elayne and Craig dig deeper, the show spins a broader, sometimes surreal web. A Moscow businessman’s fate is hinted at after meeting Patoff, and a jeweler reveals a pattern of doctors requesting gold-preserved anatomy models—an eerie nod to secrets kept behind the server room’s walls. The series gradually uncovers how Regus compiles sensitive data on employees and what knowledge lies hidden in a seemingly ordinary corporate archive. A church scene hints at an exorcism rite, suggesting a possible extraterrestrial influence behind the unsettling events.
These threads help the narrative blend genres, shifting from biting satire of toxic leadership to mysticism and dark humor about human frailty. Yet the plot leaves several clues ambiguously unresolved, keeping crucial questions unanswered and delivering a finale that leaves fans oscillating between curiosity and speculation. The glass staircase—flickering within the office’s frame—emerges as a symbolic reminder of history’s fragility, a visual cue for Patoff’s own fears about instability and control.
Even with a controversial ending, the viewing experience remains electric. The ride stays unpredictable, and when the internal navigator falters, the best option is to buckle up and let the journey unfold, taking each twist as it comes without needing every answer laid out in advance.