Dhruv Trivedi
‘In from the Cold’ follows former Russian secret agent Jenny Franklin, who gets unexpectedly pulled into a dangerous mission after her secret identity is revealed. Blackmailed by the CIA, Jenny reverts to her body morphing spy persona and takes on a deadly conspiracy involving the assassination of Spain’s Prime Minister.
To unravel the conspiracy, the former Russian agent uses her skills to befriend the man at the center of the plot — Felipe Calero. However, it is then revealed that Felipe himself is in touch with a shadowy figure named Gideon. If you’ve been watching ‘In from the Cold‘ and are curious about Gideon, then you’re in the right place! Let’s take a closer look. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Who is Gideon?
Gideon is introduced as the powerful shadowy powerbroker responsible for supplying Felipe with the explosive needed to carry out the assassination. Fortunately, by the time Felipe meets Gideon’s representative, Jenny is able to befriend the tycoon and gains access to the meeting. She is introduced as Sara (which is how Felipe knows Jenny) to Gideon’s representative, Damian, who seems to take an instant fascination with Jenny.
The secret agent is then seen following Damian, and it is revealed that she and Gideon’s representative go way back and know each other from their younger days in Russia. This is the first hint that Gideon is, in fact, someone from Jenny’s past. Unfortunately, Damian’s connection with the secret agent doesn’t go down well with Gideon, who then uses a mysterious mind-control technique to use Damian to hunt Jenny.
Damian is subsequently killed, and Jenny uses her body morphing ability to take on his appearance and supply a fake explosive to Felipe. However, Gideon then kidnaps Jenny’s daughter, Becca, leading the single mother/secret agent to go on a rampage and kill Felipe and his brother. In search of her daughter, Jenny arrives at Becca’s practice rink, where she finally comes face to face with Gideon and realizes that the mysterious criminal is her former Russian handler, Svetlana.
As soon as Gideon is revealed to be Svetlana, Jenny’s chances of success begin to appear less favorable. Through frequent flashbacks, we know how domineering and sharp Svetlana is. In fact, it is the old handler that trained Jenny (then called Anya) to be one of Russia’s most legendary spies. It also seems like Svetlana has been using Gideon as an alias for some time since Chauncey claims that his disastrous Marseilles mission (which led to his dismissal from the CIA) was also derailed by the same shadowy criminal. In this vein, Svetlana briefly explains her plot to use her mind control technique to start a nuclear war in which Russia emerges as heroes and the United States as enemies.
Gideon’s dastardly plot is brought to an end when Svetlana is shot by Jenny while trying to get away. Interestingly, even while moonlighting as a terrorist financier named Gideon, Svetlana continues to use her original name to work as a private investigator for rich clients. In a blink-and-you-miss-it conversation, Chauncey reveals that Svetlana informed the CIA about Jenny’s secret identity. Thus, it seems like the Russian handler was keeping tabs on her former underling and also plotted to involve Jenny in the conspiracy all along.
Read More: Is In from the Cold Based on a True Story?
