WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for The Agency episode 8.
Episode 8 of the Paramount+ political thriller seriesThe Agency"Truth Will Set You Free" results in Martian’s botched CIA recruitment of Samia. Created for American television by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth (Edge of Tomorrow,Ford v Ferrari),The Agencyis an adaptation of the 2015 critically acclaimed French thriller seriesThe Bureaucreated by Eric Rochant. Michael Fassbender leads thecast ofThe Agencyalongside Jeffrey Wright, Richard Gere, Katherine Waterson, John Magaro, Saura Lightfoot-Leon, and Jodie Turner-Smith.
DuringThe Agencyepisodes 1 & 2, Fassbender’s “Paul Lewis” gets pulled out of a six-year undercover mission to help locate a missing Belarusian CIA operative named Coyote.The Agencyepisode 3followed three undercover “Felix” operatives trying to escape Russian-occupied Ukraine. Martian meets a KGB operative named Mikhail inThe Agencyepisode 4who helps the CIA find their missing “bike” inThe Agencyepisode 5.The Agencyepisode 6dives deeper into the CIA’s hunt for Agent Coyote whileThe Agencyepisode 7bringsSamia into Martian’s inner CIA circle, only to backfire in episode 8.
Why Samia Betrayed Martian & Left London
Martian’s big bet to turn Samia backfires hard
Martian’s big bet to turn Samia backfires hard inThe Agencyepisode 8. Martian confesses that he is a CIA operative and had been working undercover during his six years in Ethiopia, which is where he met Samia. Samia is taken aback by such an egregious lie and is unwilling to cooperate with Martian, mostly because it would require her to betray her own country. Martian foolishly banks on the fact that Samia would give up her life, reputation, and family’s safety to become a CIA operative like him. Not only isSamia stunned to learn the truth about Martian but is also perplexed that he would think she would betray her countryand sacrifice her family for him.
Even at the end ofThe Agencyepisode 8 when Martian makes a desperate plea for him and Samia to run away together, Samia still gives him the same answer. At this point, Martian’s ambition is overriding his logic and he is adding even more fuel to the self-destructive fire that he sparked by contacting Samia once she arrived in London. Despite Martian’s expert field experience, he continues to make rookie mistake after mistake for Samia, even getting in a fight with Guo, a Chinese intelligence agent. It’s unclear whether Martian killed Guo or simply locked him out. At this point,Martian is one step away from going completely rogue and has become a massive liabilityfor the CIA.
Where Volchok Is Taking Coyote
He’s likely handing him over to Moscow
Coyote resurfaces in the flesh for the first time in the series since the premiere episode. This confirms that General Novikov was telling the truth to Martian about Volchok having Coyote and sending him to Moscow. Volchok plans to hand Coyote over to the Kremlin as a good-faith gift where he will likely be tortured and forced to talk. Given all the CIA missions and intel that Coyote is privy to, it would be disastrous if the Russians discovered Coyote’s wealth of information. At the very least,Russia could get Coyote to simply confess publicly to being a CIA agent and revealing his business in Belarus, which would greatly damage and restructure the U.S.’s geopolitical strategy in Eastern Europe.
Who Is Martian’s Interrogator Robinshaw?
She is likely an MI5 agent
The name of Martian’s interrogator, which has been hinted at in previous episodes, is revealed to be Robinshaw inThe Agencyepisode 8. The surname Robinshaw is of Irish and Scottish descent, meaning that Robinshaw could be representative of either of those countries or of Great Britain, which would likely make her an MI5 agent. Additional footage of Martian’s face bruised and beaten is revealed as Robinshaw commends him for his expert lying skills and asks him why the Agency is interested in Volchok. This at least proves thatRobinshaw is not part of the CIA and could be an associate of Richardson, who betrayed Martian in the episode by supporting the Chinese.
Why Richardson Gave Guo Intel On Russian Spies In U.S.
He is offended the CIA was hiding information from Britain on their turf
Jim Richardson appears to be playing both sides of the rising tensions between the U.S. and China inThe Agencyepisode 8. After assisting Martian in an earlier episode, Richardson shows up at the “Fishbowl” in episode 6 to ask why the CIA didn’t inform the British about the Chinese deal with Sudan taking place in London. This apparently left a taste of bad blood in Richardson’s mouth, since he handed over intel on two Russian spies working in the U.S. Department of Energy to Guo of the MSS (Ministry of State Security) of China. Richardson could have just told the U.S. but insteadgave Guo something to offer the CIA in exchange for backing off of the Sudan-China dealto improve the UK’s standing with China.
How Volchok Found Out Sylviya Switched His Boots
Volchok is known for having eyes and ears everywhere
Volchok suspected that Alexei wasn’t who he said he was at the end of episode 7, although episode 8 does not reveal what happened to Alexei after he was exposed. Rather than double down on Alexei, Blair switches focus to one of the few access points that the CIA has on Volchok, the best of which turns out to be Sylviya. Blair blackmails Sylviya and gets her to replace Volchok’s boots with identical ones that have microphones implanted in the heel. It appeared that Sylviya completed her remission successfully. As the episode plays out, this turns out not to be the case and Sylviya is killed. Volchok is known for having eyes and ears everywhere, sosomeone or a camera must have spotted Sylviya from afar.
Why Danny & Naomi Visited Rose’s Mom
They encourage her towards assisted suicide
After enlisting Edward’s help to scare Jerome out of going to Iran on the scholarship, it appears that Danny has a clear path to joining Professor Reza in Tehran. However, Danny was not Reza’s second choice as a fellow female student, Rose, reveals that he had asked her after Jerome backed out. Danny convinces Rose to go out and celebrate and learns that her mother who has multiple sclerosis wants to get euthanized in Switzerland but her religious family won’t let her. After discovering this, Noami and Danny pose as associates from Assist UK, who speak with Rose’s mom about getting the procedure. They plan to encourageRose’s mom to enroll in an assisted suicide program so that Rose can’t go to Tehranand Danny can take her place in future episodes ofThe Agency.
The Agency
Cast
The Agency is a 2024 espionage thriller following covert CIA agent Martian, who is recalled to London Station, disrupting his undercover life. As a former romance rekindles, Martian’s career and true identity are jeopardized, leading him into a high-stakes world of international intrigue and deception.
