Ponies (2026) s01e03 Episode Script

1
Previously on ponies For about a year,
we've been trying to turn a Soviet agent.
Ck solar is highly placed
and working with important
Russian intelligence.
We need to get that intelligence.
We need to get to know
the person who lives there.
You go inside, look
around, tell us what you see.
Find out if he's trustworthy.
You put a phone in my
apartment without telling me?
- So he called you?
- He asked me out!
- Hi.
- Twila hasbeck.
George tall man. I had a great time.
You're very easy to talk to.
- What's your name?
- Syeta.
So what do you think of Moscow?
Whatever you're reading's English,
so I figured you speak it?
Yeah. I'm just here on business.
My company's thinking of
sending more people here
while they expand, but I'm
gonna go home and tell 'em,
"send another guy." I
could never live here.
Not that america's perfect.
- I'm American, by the way.
- It is very American
to strike up a conversation at an airport.
Excuse me. Can you
translate this for me?
It says, "easy virtue,
grave consequences."
This prostitute was found dead in a park.
Metal box of shit! God!
You fuck well, I will
murder you, you useless robot!
Shit! What do you want me to do?
I press it, I pressed the button.
- What do you want?
- Hey.
You need to talk to her.
Well, I have to type up,
like, 15 pages of steno
for Alan right now. This is just
it's twila's method.
The ambassador was
walking down the hallway
and heard her refer to
the xerox machine as a
- cunt.
- What did he say?
Well, he's the ambassador,
so he agreed with her.
He has to be diplomatic.
This is the us embassy.
It is a very serious place.
We can't be referring to
office equipment as genitalia.
Hallelujah! God bless
Jesus fucking Christ.
And now she's brought
Jesus Christ into it.
Aren't you offended?
I'm Jewish.
Okay. I didn't know that.
Christ. Thank you!
Thank you. That's all I
ever wanted from you.
I'm just saying, I don't
want your friendship with her
to tarnish your star, okay?
- That's all I'm saying.
- Here you go.
Great.
No, no. I said double-sided.
- It does double-sided?
- Hey, doll. My office.
Guess you have to make the copies.
Warmed up the machine for you.
Cunt.
Where do you think you left it?
It's in the hotel, I'm sure of it.
Sure. Georgie here got a
little too hungover last night
- and lost his passport.
- No.
Yeah, not hungover. It's jet lag.
Christ, you are such a boy scout.
Hey, remember that time
I drove my parents' car
through the front
window of that friendly's?
Guess I should've called
that jet lag, big guy?
So what do you need me for?
Get to the hotel and find his passport
before someone sells
it on the black market.
Okay. George, do you
remember where you left it?
I'm pretty sure I know where to look.
Do you wanna pick up the receiver,
and then I'll I'll direct you?
- Hi.
- Okay. Is he still listening?
- Whoops.
- Nope.
Okay, I didn't lose my passport.
Listen, just get in a cab, go to the airport,
meet me by the pan am check-in.
I'll tell you everything. Just hurry up.
Good god, she was gorgeous.
It said she was a prostitute.
And she didn't ask you for money?
No. Look, I wasn't just using her.
I know that's how it sounds.
I don't know. I just felt a connection.
You sure she didn't ask
you for money and you just
didn't understand 'cause
you don't speak Russian, or
We didn't really talk.
Wow. Yeah, that's quite
the deep connection you had.
God.
I don't know. I'm a mess.
I just wanna get out of
here, get back to my family,
and forget about this, but
I couldn't get on the plane
without at least doing something,
and I thought you could help me.
- How?
- Well, maybe you could help me
get an anonymous tip to the police?
Tell them, like, where she was that night.
Tell them she was a real
person and not just some statistic.
I hate to break it to you,
George, but, you know,
if you, a wealthy American businessman,
- had sex with a
- Shh! Yes
beautiful Russian woman
at some hotel in Moscow,
the kgb, they already know about it.
The cops, the kgb, it's all the same here.
She probably saw you coming
a mile away and targeted you.
Sir. Sir! They called our flight at last.
- We are boarding.
- Okay. Okay.
Okay. Yeah, you get
on the plane, and I'll
I guess I'll look into this.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
What are you gonna do?
I don't know, but something.
I promise I'll do something.
I'm gonna make sure they
know she was a real person.
Thank you, twila.
Yeah.
- All right.
- Okay.
What the hell?
Your accent is not muscovite at all.
- He'd pick up on that?
- Any idiot would.
- Did you pick up on it?
- I mean
Do you have to throw the peanuts?
Better peanuts than bullets.
Every time I throw a peanut,
imagine how it would feel with a bullet.
Bang, bang.
Well, my family's from
belarussia. Would that work?
Fine. When andrei
asks, you're from Belarus.
- Okay.
- And we also have to account for
her being an old maid.
I'm not an old maid! My husband is dead.
- He was
- he doesn't know that.
Yes, but we should try to match
as much of your cover story
with your real story as
we can, that way you don't
- have to reach for a lie.
- Okay.
So, you have one younger brother.
Your parents work in a bakery.
You've had three sexual partners.
Wait, sorry, what
How did how did you know that?
- He asked. I guessed.
- How did you know that?
You have to speak from a
place of truth as much as possible.
Otherwise, he'll know.
- And if he knows
- Bang, bang.
We'd like you to go in with
more information on vasiliev.
That way you can
guide the conversation.
Ray has acquainted himself
with a dossier on his career,
and Mrs. Hasbeck has read
a dossier on his personal life.
When did I get a dossier?
Yesterday. When I told
you to read it for tonight?
I thought that was just
more orientation material.
No one reads that.
You didn't read the orientation material?
Ray?
Yes andrei vasiliev has risen
quickly within the ranks
of the kgb, and twila and I
both think that he is a
key asset to compromise.
He could be head of the party one day.
He's married and has one child,
and he works in the special office.
That means that he's
practically overseeing
every foreign citizen
living here in Moscow.
In other words, his job is watching us.
So if he's watching us,
was he watching Chris too?
- And Tom?
- Yes.
Well, then presumably
he would he would know
what Chris's wife looks like.
- We don't believe so.
- Why don't you believe so?
Well, firstly, there have been
hundreds of wives at the embassy.
The kgb has shown no
interest in any of them.
Secondly, if he recognized
Mrs. Hasbeck as Tom's wife,
then when she and I ran into him,
I believe he would've flaunted it.
And thirdly, what would be the point
of running this date as an operation?
To kill her?
He knows there are Moscow rules.
Whatever they do to us, we do to them.
If he kills you, we kill his wife.
Hey, hey! Thanks for
covering for me in there.
Sure. I mean, next time,
read what I tell you to read.
Will do, yeah.
So, I was wondering if you
could help me with something else,
- sort of a research project
- I don't really have time today.
I gotta get home to Cheryl.
Cheryl, right. Yeah,
she doesn't strike me as
the kind of woman that likes
to wait around for her man.
Well, what can I say?
She's the boss, and I'm
just happy to be employed.
That is so sad.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Listen, why don't you come
by the office tomorrow?
- I'll see you then.
- I I don't know if this is,
appropriate for the office.
You know, why don't
why don't you look at it and tell me?
- Who is this?
- That's what I'm trying to figure out.
She was a friend of a friend.
- Which friend?
- Some guy I know.
All right, well, I am very
sorry for your friend's loss,
but I would highly encourage
you to stay away from
any and all criminal
activity happening in the city.
You'd encourage us to stay
away from criminal activity?
You're sending be a on a
date with andrei vasiliev.
That is a mission for the state.
That is a completely different thing.
Yeah, see, I wouldn't know,
because you don't send me on missions.
Listen, Dane and I will
have something for you soon.
- In the meantime, just sit
- just hear me out.
What if there's a
connection between the stuff
you guys are working on and
what happened to this woman?
- Why would there be?
- My friend was with her
the night before she died, and
There's things about the
story that just don't add up.
And we don't know it's
not connected, right?
So I just feel like it's
worth it to look into it.
Can I ask why you're so concerned
with an anonymous woman?
I'm an anonymous woman.
Well, I know by now that it is pointless
to try and stop you from doing something
- you're already gonna do.
- Yeah.
You and Cheryl have that in common.
What if they expect
me to sleep with him?
You know? I can see
Dane springing that on me.
He'll use us for that kind of thing.
Well, would you?
Sleep with the future head of the kgb?
- Yes.
- No!
What if he'd tell you all
their secrets if you did?
In what scenario would it be that simple?
Maybe this scenario. I mean,
what if you having sex with
andrei could stop a nuclear war?
- One fuck, no bomb.
- My god.
Okay, I'm gonna teach you something.
There are things you can
do that'll keep him hooked,
at least for a little bit.
If you're strategic enough,
you can drag this whole
thing on multiple dates
before it becomes a problem.
Strategic how?
You gotta flirt with him in
a very specific way so that
he thinks it's gonna happen
the next time every time,
but it just never does.
Well, what, because he's
told me all the kgb secrets
and we've stopped a nuclear
war, so now there's no need?
It's a game of manipulation.
Most important thing is
never be alone with him.
No private places. Always stay in public.
He's gonna try to get you alone with him,
and you're gonna do the
whole, "not yet not now."
Okay? But you can't
play that forever, 'cause
he's just gonna get bored and
he's gonna find someone else.
So you gotta give him
the impression that he's just
driving you crazy down there.
Yeah. You can't stop thinking about him.
He and only he is bringing
out the secret wild side of you.
And in inappropriate places,
you know? Like at work.
You're you're standing
there at your chalkboard
all distracted ever since he called.
And you gotta tell him
stories that create this imagery
in his brain of you being naked.
Yeah, like, "I was trying
on some clothes today."
Or, "sorry I was late
to pick up the phone,
I was just changing."
You know, don't dwell
on it, just mention it.
But it'll work. He'll be
picturing you naked.
Yeah. And, compliment him.
You know, he's a man, so.
But he's handsome, right?
Well, he's a kgb agent.
Yeah. But, I mean, he's
decent-looking. You know?
And he's got this whole
androgynous David bowie thing
going for him, so you just
you can't stop thinking about him.
Well, if I can't stop thinking about him,
then how is it that I get to the date
and suddenly I don't
wanna be alone with him?
- Well, that's the thing.
- You wish you could.
But you just can't. Not yet, not now.
You could just always have your period.
What if he doesn't care?
You're not that kind of girl, are you?
- No.
- But you are the kind of girl
that goes out of her way
to buy Lacy little lingerie
on the black market and
wear it the night of the date
and it's just poking out ever so slightly.
What lingerie?
You don't have any lingerie?
Well, I have this one Red lace set?
And here I was thinking all your undies
had the days of the week printed on 'em.
Well, Chris got it for me.
I never got to wear it for him.
I mean, I was planning on it.
You know, it was I wore it
to the Christmas Eve party,
but
Then he died.
Sorry, be a.
Yeah.
Yes! I'm coming!
Did I wake you?
What's that?
I
I I I couldn't sleep
last night. I was just
I was thinking about
what you were saying
About anonymous women.
You wanna come in?
Well, I I only have an hour and a half
before Cheryl gets back from karate.
Cheryl does karate?
Maybe a dozen women
over the last two years.
All of them murdered,
all of them prostitutes.
That's the common thread.
And none of these articles mention
any of the other articles
or any of the other
women that have died?
Right, because the
newspapers can't print
about dangerous crimes in Moscow.
They can't make these murders
look connected, otherwise
they're implying that there's a
psycho killer loose in the city.
So you think they are connected?
So do you.
But if they print that in the paper,
I mean, they make Moscow look bad.
Moscow is bad.
Sorry.
Be quiet or turn up the music.
Well, what about the cops?
Well, the party line is that
these are individual women
being persecuted for
their poor moral choices.
Wow.
Yeah.
I bet if anyone knows
what's going on here,
it's the women in this line of work.
Maybe. I I wouldn't know.
That's why we're gonna go ask 'em.
Hi.
Very busy. No time for you.
I don't see any customers.
We need some help.
Help does not cost nothing.
Good thing we're buying.
Who's your friend?
He's, more of an acquaintance.
My name is Raymond.
It's very nice to meet you, miss
- Ivanna.
- Cute mittens.
- Thank you.
- My wife knitted them.
I take mittens, then I'll answer questions.
My wife knitted them for me,
so these mean a lot,
and she would kill me
we're looking for a brothel.
How will the wife of your
acquaintance feel about this?
- No, we're
- we're not going for that.
We just need to talk to someone.
What makes you think I
know where brothel is?
I run a legitimate business.
- Wha
- do you?
It's a very cold day.
Where would an important
American man go if he was,
you know, looking for some company
and had some money to spend?
This man has money?
Yeah. And maybe so do I.
Well, if you have so much money,
you can spend more for me.
Like what?
A drink?
For a start. Later?
Deal.
Go here. Talk to Maria.
I also wrote down where
you can get me a drink.
All right.
Okay. We were just wondering,
- if we could ask you
- shower first.
Do we have to shower even
if we're not having sex?
You don't have to whisper
"sex." This is a brothel.
If you don't take shower,
my boss will hear it
and I will get in trouble.
What if we just run it?
Okay.
Is is that all right? All right.
We, wanted to ask a few questions
and see if you, know of or recognize
Just any of these women here.
If any familiar faces
jump out, just let us know.
Take a look.
Do you know them?
Some of these were my friends.
They're all gone.
Yeah, we we wanna
find out who killed 'em.
Yeah. Do you, recognize her?
Did she work here?
- No.
- She would not work here.
She's for If you have,
much more money.
Right. But the the rest of
these women, they worked here?
Here, or like here.
We all move around.
We cross ways from time to time.
Not this one, though.
This one, I don't know.
Okay, yeah.
Thank you.
Evening. We have a change of plan.
Well, he's expecting
me at the movies at 7:00,
so, you know, if I don't show up,
he's gonna suspect something.
You're still gonna show up.
The start of your date
will proceed as planned.
It's the end we need to talk about.
We have intel that
andrei has a second home.
It's most likely a pied a terre
where he likes to bring women.
But it could also be the place
where he goes to conduct
his off-the-books work,
hides compromising material.
If we're gonna find
something that we can use
as leverage against
him, it's gonna be there,
so we need to bug the place.
Or, rather, you need to bug it.
So you need me to
go to his place tonight?
Shouldn't be hard. Guy like that,
he'll probably be trying
to get you back there
before the previews are over.
What are you seeing,
by the way? I love movies.
So you need me to go to his place?
Yes. It's useful to be physically present
if you're gonna be
planting recording devices.
I don't know how to
plant recording devices.
I'll walk you through it.
You'll be taking this purse, okay?
Everything you need is in
here. It's got a false bottom.
Can't you send someone
else to bug his place
- while we're at the movies?
- We don't know where it is.
We know the address of where he lives
with his wife and his
daughter, but not this place.
We'll find out tonight
when he takes you there.
Well, I mean, I just wish
you'd trained me for this,
or, I don't know, you know,
warned me it might happen.
If I had, you'd have fixated on it.
No, I wouldn't.
Come on, sit down.
If you're meeting him at 7:00,
we've only got a few minutes.
I mean, I it
Remind me why you
wanted to do this job.
Look, I didn't say that
I wouldn't do it, okay?
- I just
- That wasn't my question.
You know, it's important work.
Important. To whom?
The world.
My father was a milkman.
He was up at 4:00 A.M.
six days a week for 38 years.
I mean, people need milk, they get milk.
And then one day, he died.
The next morning, do
you know what happened?
- People didn't get their milk.
- No, they did.
Somebody else delivered it.
Do you know why I'm telling you this?
Because at the end of the day
We're all milkmen,
and if we can't do it, someone else will.
It has to get done.
I am replaceable.
- Wrong.
- Okay, then I have
absolutely no idea why
you're telling me this story.
Because milkmen do a necessary job.
It's not the same for us.
If all the spies on their side
and all the spies on our side
were suddenly gone tomorrow,
the world would carry
on working just the same.
Better, actually.
The only reason they
have spies on their side at all
is because we have spies on our side.
So, again, I ask you:
Why are you doing this job?
I don't know what you want me to say.
I want you to tell the truth.
You're here because
you want to be here.
You're here because
of some personal reason
that has meaning for you.
Why else would you be
risking your life for this?
And you are risking your life. For what?
To find out what happened to Chris.
Okay.
And if you found that out,
would you suddenly
turn around and go home?
No.
I
No.
Maybe you're here
because you want answers.
Maybe you're here
because you want revenge.
Maybe you're here because
Your life showed such promise
and now seems so disappointing.
I don't I don't care what the reason is.
All right? That that's for you to know.
But it's for that reason
we are here tonight.
It's for that reason you're
gonna plant this bug.
It's for that reason it is
worth pushing past this fear
to get one step closer to
whatever it is that you
Really want.
Okay, so it's got a false bottom?
- Yeah.
- Right?
- In here. Can you see?
- Okay.
Can you see that? Now this
- Okay.
- Is the power pack.
- God.
- And this
- Hi.
- Hey.
I was just, heading out.
What what are you doing here?
You're going to see that
woman from the market, right?
Maybe. For a drink or two.
How well do you know her?
It's just a drink, okay?
I'm not gonna tell her any state secrets.
Twila. Twila. Look,
I know that you think
that you know people,
that you believe that you
know who you can trust,
but this woman, your friend,
she is driven by money.
She showed herself to us.
I mean, what if someone
gives her more money?
Is she gonna sell you out?
- She would never do that.
- You don't know that.
Neither do you.
What if someone pays
her and she turns on be a?
Twila, what if she tells
someone that there's an American
posed as a Russian woman
in order to go on a date with
a senior kgb official tonight?
That's tonight? No one told me that.
Dean didn't tell you that
because it's need-to-know.
You could get her burned.
I would never put be a in danger.
Why are you telling me this now?
Maybe our boss doesn't think
you need to know, but I do.
Because I know that you
don't want be a in danger.
The cinema. Pushkin square. Tonight.
Hi. Hi.
Wha what are you doing?
I need your help. So I
was supposed to get andrei
on his own so that I could
bug his apartment, but then
we couldn't go to his place
so he said let's go to my place,
but I live at the embassy,
and so I panicked, and so
this is the only other apartment
that I know of in Moscow
wait. You've never been to my apartment.
No, no, no, but I know of
it because you work for us.
Okay, okay. Well, what do you need?
I need to borrow your place
for, like, an hour, maybe two.
Could you just go someplace else?
- What, now?
- -Yeah, kind of.
Fuck! Fuck!
Could you don't you have a balcony?
What, you want me to climb down? No!
I really appreciate it. Could you just
Thank you. Thank you.
Take this. He can't see it.
Ooh, it's cold! My shoes!
Shit.
Hey!
Hey.
Wait, stop! I I'm with nadiya.
Yeah, we've seen each
other before, remember?
- I was eating the kit kats.
- If you're here to kill me,
just do it already.
I'm I'm not here to kill you!
Look, I can't tell you who I
work for, but you're smart.
You can figure it out.
I'm speaking English.
- I'm American.
- Yeah, or posing as American.
Obviously I'm American. I mean,
every other Russian knows
I'm American immediately.
Can we stop walking, please?
No, I actually can't stop moving
- or my feet are gonna fall off.
- What?
My feet.
Fuck Okay, wait. I got an idea.
What are you doing?
What are you doing?
If you get frostbite and
you gotta get your feet
amputated on my watch,
they're for sure gonna fire me.
And I really can't get fired, you know?
Yeah, just, take my socks.
I've got three pairs on.
- Really?
- Yeah. Yeah.
- Okay.
- Thank you.
You want yeah.
There you go.
There you go.
Is she okay up there?
I don't know.
Is this her purse?
Now let's hope he doesn't find it.
Where where did you learn to do then?
What, break into a car?
Well, you know, I was so
young, I don't even remember.
Where'd you learn how to
rewire a Soviet radio speaker?
Well, I like to tinker.
Are you all right?
I'm so sorry.
- Jesus! Thank god.
- Wait, what are you doing here?
Wow, yeah, I, thought you
might need some backup,
but you didn't.
Well, I I think I'm gonna be sick.
I didn't even put the bug anywhere.
Don't worry. We did that.
I'll tell you about it on the way.
- You did? Okay
- Yeah, well
I need to run my feet under boiling water
to make sure they're still
attached in the morning.
Yeah.
Wait.
Thank you.
Anytime.
Well, not really anytime.
It was horrible. Don't do this again.
I'll I'll try not to.
Wow. What a day!
I'm proud of us! We
made some tough choices
in the heat of the
moment and we pivoted,
and we accomplished
a version of the task.
I'm sure that andrei guy does
some shady shit in his car too,
so Dane and ray will be impressed.
Wow.
What? What what are you thinking?
- What?
- God.
He didn't rape you or something, did he?
- My god, no.
- No?
- No, no, no, no, no, no.
- No, we just made out.
Yeah, and it was fine.
He was sweet. I mean,
sweet as someone can be
who's probably assassinating
hundreds of people a day.
Hundreds? We're thinking hundreds?
Well, I don't know, but even if it's one,
it's, like, a lot, you know?
I mean, he could have killed me.
I could be I could be dead right now.
No. He's not gonna
kill you till you guys fuck.
- How reassuring.
- Yeah.
It's so weird, though.
- What part?
- Well, I haven't kissed
anyone new since I was 22.
You know, it's just been Chris, so.
Well, you know, you're doing
this whole thing for Chris.
Yeah, that's also weird.
I'm gonna get us some wine.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
How did it end with you and andrei?
Well, he he wants to
go out again next week.
Look at you!
Got Russian intelligence
wrapped around your little finger.
- And by little finger, I mean
- yep, I can guess what you mean.
Did you wear the lingerie?
- It worked.
- Red, for communism.
Sure.
Okay. Cheers.
That's good.
You know, I will never
get over how the Soviets
just leave their milk out of the fridge.
I know. What could
it possibly be made of
that never goes bad?
But I guess that's why you boil it.
You don't have to boil it.
- Yeah, you do.
- No, you don't.
My grandpa was a milkman,
so I'm kind of an expert.
My god, Dane's dad was a milkman.
No, he wasn't.
That's what he told me.
He told me his dad was
a petty officer in the Navy
and died in a pow camp in world war ii.
That's weird.
So we don't trust Mr. Redford.
What do you mean?
I mean, you stole some
shit from his apartment.
- No, no, no, no. That.
- No, no, I just panicked.
No, I didn't want andrei to see it.
Yeah. No, I'll find a
way to get it back to him.
Why, do you not think we can trust him?
I I mean, I think we
can trust him, right?
Like, he is spying on his
own government for us, so.
Maybe he's double-double crossing.
Like a triple agent. That's a thing.
No, I just I I trust him.
Of course you do. You think he's cute.
- What? No.
- Yeah. Look at him!
Just your type.
Please, no. He looks nothing like Chris.
Wait.
What?
I know her.
Okay?
I think that's his sister?
How do you know her? Who is she?
I
So, someone's been killing
all these women, and
Yeah, she's one of the dead ones.