Michael Fassbender headlines a star-studded cast in The Agency, a new spy thriller that takes on fraught politics, international relations and spy psyches. Adapted from the critically acclaimed French drama The Bureau, the focus on training and handling deep cover agents remains, switching France for London as the base of operations.
The Cold War might seem like old news, but in the world of espionage, this covert conflict with Russia continues, and a crisis in Minsk, Belarus, is unfolding. Dealing with this potential global disaster is only one piece of the puzzle. At the same time, Fassbender’s CIA special agent, code-named Martian, has been pulled out of a long-term operation and is adjusting to life back in London.
Read on for a full recap of The Agency series premiere.
Trouble in Belarus
After spending six years undercover, a no-nonsense Martian is immediately taken to a safe house upon his return to England. Martian appears unrattled but later voices frustration that he was only given 48 hours' notice to pack up his operation.
In a video debrief with handler Naomi (Katherine Waterston), Martian describes breaking it off with his married lover Sami (Jodie Turner-Smith), telling Sami he was leaving Ethiopia for a teaching job in Jordan. But Martian's verbal description doesn’t match the tender, sad scene we see with Sami. When Martian relocates to London, he immediately finds three separate listening devices his new apartment.
In Belarus, a drunk man gets into a car and immediately causes damage to other vehicles in his attempted escape and is arrested. When the scene cuts to the London CIA field office, we learn he is an agent by the codename Coyote (Alex Reznik).
To understand what they are up against, Head of Strategy Henry (Jeffrey Wright) asks Frank (Alex Jennings) to look up footage of Coyote’s “under the influence” interrogation training to make sure the agent is equipped in this incapacitated state. Meanwhile, Coyote’s handler, Owen (John Magaro), goes through their recorded conversations to see if anything is unusual.
Frank hides his concern, but the footage reveals Coyote was six years sober and refused to drink as the training demanded. Frank is sympathetic as he is also a recovering alcoholic. Coyote says if he is drunk, his cover is blown. None of this bodes well, considering how inebriated Coyote was in the footage. Frank lies to Henry, saying the tape of Coyote’s training is corrupted.
When Station chief Bosko (Richard Gere) asks Henry for an update, Henry claims “nothing special” has happened so far with the situation in Belarus.
The Cold War is back on
Martian gathers all the Paul Lewis IDs he used while on his most recent mission but removes the driving license. He asks to see his teen daughter Poppy (India Fowler), who can’t help but make some digs about how much time her dad has been gone.
The following day, Henry catches Martian up on the political climate. Martian observes that six years ago the Russian embassy in London only had three satellite dishes; now they have 30. Henry says the Cold War is back “chilly as f***.” Plus, there is trouble in Belarus. Is this why Martian is back? Nope, Martian has to train a female agent who will be going deep cover in Iran.
At this office, Martian is greeted like a returning hero. Martian meets his handler, Naomi in person for the first time, but is distracted by a news report of a bombing at a university in Sudan.
Martian returns all the old IDs to be destroyed, making an excuse for the missing driver’s license. Simon (Bilal Hasna) must deactivate the Paul Lewis email accounts, but Martian sees a message from Sami saying she still loves him.
New and old opportunities
The first training session with Danny (Saura Lightfoot-Leon) gives Martian a chance to instill an important lesson — “Never rely on the op to make you safe; rely on yourself.” Back at his apartment, Martian is under surveillance by the agency, which is standard protocol in this scenario. Still, he buys a burner phone undetected. He calls Sami and is relieved to hear she is in London.
The Coyote situation continues to spiral as there is no sign of him in custody. Owen explains to an impatient Bosko that Coyote’s phone is still pinging at the police station, meaning his cover is blown or he orchestrated his own disappearance.
During this meeting, Coyote’s refusal to do the under-the-influence training is revealed to Henry. If Coyote has talked, it has enormous ramifications, as roughly 60 percent of all covert ops in Russia and Ukraine might be compromised.
Langley demands an update. Bosko downplays it as a “local problem.” Their boss (Dominic West) explains the “New Domino Theory” suggests the world is three dominoes away from nuclear exchange: “Minsk is a big f***ing domino!” Later, when Frank packs up his office for good, he warns Henry that Martian is “dangerous.”
Losing his tail
When Henry gets home, his wife is chatting to her brother Charlie (Edward Holcroft) on a video call. Henry needs to ask Charlie about a mission. Charlie is in the special ops business and can’t answer specifics, but he is involved with an op with a code name “Felix.” Henry then tells his brother-in-law not to worry.
One concern is Martian knows how to lose his tail, but Martian didn’t factor in that his car would have two tracking devices, so two agents follow him to a hotel where Martian is meeting Sami. The exes make chit-chat, and Martian claims he is writing a book. They head to a hotel room and reconnect in the bedroom.
A flashback to Martian debriefing Naomi in the first 24 hours since he met Sami reveals he didn’t listen to his handler about whether or not Sami is in the game. Martian doesn’t think Sami is an enemy agent, but falling for someone is not advised because “love is blind.” Is Sami a historian, or is she a spy?
New episodes of The Agency premiere Fridays on Paramount Plus and air Sundays on Showtime.
