Multiple Robert Downey Jrs. is just the tip of the iceberg in The Sympathizer trailer

It’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on in The Sympathizer trailer, which seems to be the point of The Sympathizer (premiering April 14). The buzzy new Max series from Robert Downey Jr., Park Chan-wook, and A24 spans genres and tones, tilts from dramatic to satirical, and tackles the tricky history of the post-Vietnam War era—all with a mysterious, unknowable spy (Hoa Xuande) at the center. The fact that Downey plays several different menacing avatars of American imperialism is just the tip of the iceberg for The Sympathizer’s many layers of mystery and deception.

“Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, The Sympathizer is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over,” a synopsis for the series reads. The new trailer highlights “The Captain” (Xuande) and his dueling loyalties—or perhaps lack of loyalty would be more accurate. And his chameleon-esque qualities don’t go unnoticed, not by love interest Sandra Oh, nor by Downey’s CIA spymaster.