Anna Maxwell Martin's Star City Colonel Raskova Is the Most Terrifying TV Villain of 2026

A Chilling Transformation from Pemberley to Star City

If you thought you knew Anna Maxwell Martin from her radiant turn as Elizabeth Bennet in the miniseries Death Comes to Pemberley, prepare for whiplash. In Apple TV's Star City — the gripping For All Mankind spin-off — Martin plays Colonel Raskova, head of security at the Soviet space program. And she is, without exaggeration, one of the most terrifying villains on television this year.

Where Elizabeth was warm, witty, and empathetic, Raskova is cold, calculating, and utterly remorseless. The contrast is so stark that watching both performances back-to-back feels like stepping into two different dimensions. But that's the hallmark of a truly gifted actor: Martin disappears into each role so completely that you forget you've ever seen her play anyone else.

The source text, Screenshot (550).png, details how Martin's portrayal is built on subtlety — a clenched jaw, a fleeting look, the way her bun stays perfectly in place until the very moment her control begins to slip. It's a performance that rewards close attention.

The Making of a Monstrous KGB Officer

Raskova is not a mustache-twirling villain. Her evil is bureaucratic, efficient, and terrifyingly calm. Throughout the first season, we see her do unspeakable things — shooting an innocent cosmonaut point-blank in Episode 1, ordering the death of three cosmonauts on a secret Venus mission in Episode 6 — all with the same even tone she might use to discuss a supply order.

What makes her so chilling is the lack of emotion. Martin plays Raskova with a near-emotionless face, but her eyes are constantly calculating. She is always three steps ahead, always figuring out the most ruthless way to protect the Soviet Union (and her own reputation). As the article from Screenshot (550).png notes, she uses her jaw to convey annoyance, her eyes to map out her next move. She barely raises her voice — until she does.

The Breaking Point in 'Awl in a Sack'

In Episode 6, titled 'Awl in a Sack,' Raskova finally loses her cool. After discovering that the mole she's been hunting is cosmonaut Valya Mironov (Adam Nagaitis), and that he's currently on a nine-month mission to Venus, she orders the depressurization of his module to kill him. When the Chief Designer (Rhys Ifans) refuses, she screams at him — the first time we see her composure crack.

The scene is masterfully played. Martin shows a flash of hurt in her eyes when the Chief Designer calls her a monster, but it's gone in an instant. Then she pulls a gun on an engineer and forces him to depressurize the entire ship, killing all three cosmonauts — Valya, Sasha Polivanov (Solly McLeod), and Lakshmi Chadha (Priya Kansara). The moment is gut-wrenching, and it's proof that Raskova would rather destroy everything than admit failure.

The Perfect Blend of Control and Chaos

What makes Raskova so effective as a villain is the slow burn of her unraveling. Star City spends six episodes showing us a woman who is always in charge — her uniform is pristine, her hair never out of place, her voice never wavering. But as the mole hunt spirals, and as her superiors in Moscow lose faith in her, we watch the cracks form.

In Episode 4, she is told that the Second Directorate is taking over the investigation. The scene drips with misogyny as a younger male officer is placed above her. Martin's reaction is subtle — a tightening of her jaw, a barely perceptible shift in her posture. From that moment on, every move she makes is more desperate. She arrests an innocent cosmonaut to force a confession. She tears apart Star City looking for her mole. She screams. And finally, she kills.

The detail that says it all: in the final minutes of Episode 6, as she forces the depressurization, a strand of her hair comes loose. It's the first time since we've met her that her bun isn't perfect. It's a tiny visual cue that tells us everything — she is losing the control she values above all else. And that makes her even more dangerous.

A Career-Defining Performance

Anna Maxwell Martin is no stranger to critical acclaim. She is a two-time BAFTA winner for her roles in Bleak House and Poets of the Fall, but Colonel Raskova is a departure from her usual period-drama elegance. It's a performance that demands attention not through grand gestures but through the restraint of every muscle in her face.

For fans of For All Mankind, Star City is a must-watch expansion of that universe. But for anyone who loves great acting, Martin's work here is the reason to tune in. She doesn't just play a villain — she becomes one, and she makes you believe every cold, calculated step of the way.

New episodes of Star City stream Fridays on Apple TV. Don't blink — you might miss the moment Raskova's control shatters completely.

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