Upamanyu Biswas
With the walls closing in on Martian, the seventh episode of ‘The Agency,‘ titled ‘Hard Landing,’ finally sees the protagonist move to protect Sami and his daughter Poppy from Osman’s increasingly draconian pursuit. The CIA agent uses his ingenuity to try and pull the wool over his employers. However, regardless of their faith in his actions, the plan’s success relies on many deft touches, continuing his tendency to play dangerous games to get out of a tight corner. Meanwhile, the search for Coyote takes a different turn, as the Agency looks to apply finesse and dexterity to their operations while trying to infiltrate the ranks of General Volchok’s impressive mercenary army base. At the same time, Daniela uses the help of a familiar figure to stop Reza from leaving Iran without her, employing some questionable tactics along the way. SPOILERS AHEAD.
A Familiar Face Returns to Help the Agency in Their Hunt For Coyote
In episode 7, the London Station team wracks their brains on how to recover Coyote before he can be handed over to the Russians. The first plan of action is to break into General Volchok’s inner circle, a daunting task considering the size of Valhalla, the militia force under his command. After much deliberation and pontification on Volchok’s strength and his independence from the Russian government, Martian suggests the use of an inside man, someone who has already played a role in the Coyote investigation—Alexei Orekhov. They force him to take part in their plans, regardless of his refusal to be a lackey for the CIA’s dirty work. Martian promises Orekhov that he and his family will be granted US citizenships in exchange for his cooperation or face being shipped over to Belarus and being thrown to the wolves there. Orekhov accepts, seeing no other option.
After arriving in Belarus, Orekhov sends a message to Volchok, stating he has something vital to talk about. He is abducted by Volchok’s men, who whisk him away to their private military complex. Volchok brings him in and asks him what he meant via his message. Orekhov spins a narrative about his trucking company fleecing Volchok out of thousands of dollars, a revelation he states he wanted to deliver to Volchok personally in fear that he may find out some other way. Volchok vets his story by having him perform with a gun on his head. He is impressed that he does not show any signs of incontinence like so many others. While the interaction seems to achieve what Orekhov and the CIA desire, a private discussion between Volchok and his bodyguard later shows that the general is suspicious of Orekhov’s origins and believes he may be a gift from the “American friends.”
Daniela Uses Underhanded Tactics to Halt Her Mission’s Failure
Ever since she set boundaries against Reza’s sexual advances, Daniela has struggled to make in-roads into her relationship with the professor, which is her only way to land the tickets to Iran like the Agency wants. Her inability to make any headway almost costs her the mission as in episode 7, she learns from Jerome, the scholar working around the clock to be in Reza’s good graces, that he has been chosen to go to Iran with him. Desperate to not fail, the young woman uses the help of her only ally, Edward. Her relationship with her former tormentor has progressed to the stage where they are both slightly more serious about their bond than the casual fling it began as. Daniela asks Edward to rough Jerome up and blackmails him into not going to Iran, which would clear up the battlefield for Daniela significantly.
Although her higher-ups and supervisors may not appreciate the move, Daniela sees the fruits of Edward’s blackmail come to fruition soon. Edward corners Jerome outside the university and proceeds to shove him around, threatening him not to accept the Iran offer, as grave repercussions might follow. When Daniela realizes that his initial efforts did not work and Jerome continues to persist with buttering Reza, she tells Edward to move to “Plan B.” Edward calls Jerome on his phone via his wife’s number. The scholar is spooked by Edward’s threats, fearing that his wife may be in danger. He subsequently bows down to Edward’s blackmail and pulls out of the Iran offer. Later, Daniela and Edward celebrate their victory by having sex, wondering about how serious their relationship is.
Martian’s Dual Lives Converge as He Finally Reveals the Game He’s Playing
In the episode’s beginning, Sami is threatened by a diplomat that if she attempts to slip away from her chaperones again, her female relatives will be harmed and sexually violated as punishment. She informs Martian about her inability to see him anymore, fearing the consequences if she does so. Martian tells her to sit tight and wait for him to deal with the problem. He asks Poppy to stay inside the apartment, a request she takes in bad spirits. Downstairs, he informs the surveillance officer monitoring him, Dozer, to keep an eye on Poppy as he fears someone might be tailing her. Not long after, his daughter disobeys his order and leaves for her university classes, immediately attracting another one of Osman’s men. Dozer does her job and extracts Poppy out of the situation, taking her straight to the London Station.
At the office, Martian is surprised to see his daughter being dragged in by Dozer. News of her presence and of someone tailing Martian reaches Henry and Naomi, who question the protagonist on why someone is following him and his family. After juggling his dual lives throughout the season, Martian latches on to the moment as a crossroads moment, revealing the truth behind Sami’s presence in London. He presents a version of events that avoids citing his personal investment in the topic, stating that it may be in the CIA’s best interests to recruit Sami to keep an eye on the deal being brokered by the Chinese agencies. The potential of such an arrangement working in their favor intrigues Bosko, who gives the go-ahead to bring Sami in, with Martian acting as the contact. The protagonist uses his daughter to corroborate his story by lying during the interrogation.
Dr. Blake and Naomi sit down with Martian to discuss his strategy, following which, Blake is convinced that Martian is in love with Sami. Naomi goes through footage of her old meetings with Martian, where she finds him admitting his love for Sami in a roundabout manner. Meanwhile, in the present day, Sami faces her visa being canceled for not showing up to the conferences she signed up for. She and Osman head over to the university offices to clear up the problem. Once inside the room, Sami is surprised to see the professor leave via a side entrance, only to be replaced by Martian. Sami looks at him dumbfounded, calling him “Paul,” to which Martian replies, “No.” Though it may be his only way to save her, it will be intriguing to see how she reacts to the lies Martian has been telling her from the start and how she responds to the Agency’s plans to recruit her.
Read More: The Agency Episode 6 Recap: Spy For Sale
