The Eastern Gate (2025) s01e01 Episode Script
Episode 1
In March 2014, the annexation of Crimea
by Russia shifted the balance in Europe.
The world turned its eyes
to the continent's strategic Suwalki Gap,
a narrow strip of land in northern Poland,
Russia's gate to Europe.
In 2021, a threat of war
became real again.
I'll help you.
It's okay.
- Let's go.
- Right on.
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday, dear Kalinka!
Happy birthday to you!
- Happy birthday to Kalinka!
- Many happy returns!
First, make a wish.
You got it?
Now blow.
- Be careful, it might come true!
- Come on!
Bravo!
It's going to be delicious.
Who goes first?
Easy, easy.
There's enough for everyone.
Even for the seconds.
Is this piece big enough?
Here you go.
- Do you need any help, Consul?
- Thank you, Inka.
Mummy!
EASTERN GATE
I'm so happy
that you'll finally meet my mum.
I'm happy too.
KALININGRAD, RUSSIA
What do you know about her?
Yuliya Petrova.
Studied literature in Riga.
Her father's Russian,
her mother's Latvian.
Welcome to our humble abode.
Ma, Pa, this is my beloved Yuliya.
I'm pleased to meet you.
Thirty years together
is a great success.
People in love know no time.
- Am I right, love?
- Yes, indeed.
Here come our hosts.
Tamara, Nikolay.
Can I steal you for a minute?
Excuse us.
Vladimir Avayev.
His net worth is estimated
at 15.4 billion dollars.
- Gas? Oil?
- The latter.
All the guests here are people like that.
Who was that?
Polina.
They say she was the mistress
of you-know-whom.
And that guy?
The bald one?
General Kozlov.
Deputy head of intelligence
at the Belarusian KGB.
And the supporter of a new Great Russia.
Russia had Bulgakov and Dostoyevski.
Not to even mention
Tchaikovsky and Kandinsky.
We could list names on and on.
And who does the West have?
Jack Kerouac?
Or that Andy Warhol of theirs?
Since when is a picture
of a tomato soup can
considered a work of art?
You're right, General.
You studied literature, didn't you?
- Yes.
- Where?
At the University of Riga.
So you probably have your own opinion
about the superiority
of the East over the West?
Ma.
What?
Is this a banquet or a hearing?
I'm happy to answer.
I don't eat canned tomato soup.
Therefore, I won't put any up on my wall.
And when it comes to differences
I beg your pardon.
Our culture has existed
for a thousand years.
They hadn't had electricity
until 120 years ago.
You passed.
Let's raise a toast
to my wife.
The most beautiful woman
in the world of nuclear engineering.
There are few of us in the field.
Hence the little competition.
Enjoy the night.
In a few minutes, I'll invite you
to see the fireworks in the garden.
Let's go outside!
Losha, here you are!
You promised you'd write
when you're back from Paris.
- I was waiting.
- I was busy.
Yes, I see that.
I'll look for something stronger.
You two can talk.
You're looking good.
If you hear me, tap twice.
Okay.
Safeword:
It's hot in here.
Once you say it,
we're coming in for you.
What a beautiful house.
It's not easy to find a bathroom.
My son has told me a lot about you.
Good things, I hope.
What my son says doesn't matter much.
He's got a feeble character.
Takes after his father.
He spoiled him with all his money.
Today he says one thing,
tomorrow another.
Do you want to hear a secret?
Not one that I'd have to
actually keep a secret.
No. You deserve better.
He'll soon get bored with your beauty.
And your eyes are too pretty for crying.
And the bathroom is that way.
But don't be late
or you'll miss the fireworks.
I'll never get bored with your beauty.
I'm taking you to dinner after the gig.
Focus on it now.
The door on the right.
Is she in the office?
We've got the vision.
Here you are.
I've been looking for you.
I wanted to be alone for a bit.
There's nothing between me and Polina.
She doesn't seem to agree.
We had sex drunk once and that's it.
Maybe for her it was not nothing.
Calm down.
Listen to me.
are the future.
But it's your mother's office.
I know.
Who the fuck are you?
Say the word.
Say the word.
Who the fuck are you?
Who do you work for?
Ewa, say the goddamn safeword!
You're dead, you whore.
Dear friends!
Not all men can boast
a thirty-year-long marriage!
Because not every wife can boast
this much patience!
Adjust the glasses and run!
They'll soon be back.
Was the champagne bad?
She got pretty wasted.
Congrats, Ms. Oginiec.
Give me the aid kit.
Did you have fun?
Ewa, what's wrong?
Fuck.
- We have to notify about this.
- No.
- They'll send someone.
- No.
You're not the one to make decisions!
I'm pregnant, Skiner. It's yours.
- First hospital on our side?
- Braniewo. Seventy kilometers.
Drive.
We finally have the footage
from the glasses.
BRANIEWO, POLAND
Go get some coffee. I need two.
Doctor.
How's my wife?
I drove her here last night
after an assault.
was coming back
- I informed the police.
Of course,
just tell me that she's okay, please.
A bit better. She lost a lot of blood.
And the baby?
I'm sorry.
One more thing.
How are you?
Fine.
- When can I go back to work?
When?
The doctor said
you won't be able to have children.
Did he say when I can get outta here?
You can go, Skiner. Thanks.
Deal with that police thing.
And then go back to the HQ.
My condolences.
Suicide of a child is always
a huge tragedy for the parents.
All in all, he was your son.
Why did he do it?
Why did he kill himself?
What for?
Give my husband some sedatives.
I have checked.
She did not come back home.
She vanished into thin air.
Hi.
WARSAW, POLAND
We've got an issue.
This goes first.
Niedzwiecka. I've heard.
It's a pity.
She was a good consul.
On her daughter's seventh birthday.
- Want some water?
- No, thanks.
Did somebody help her do it?
She wouldn't come up with it herself.
Since the Crimea annexation,
Lange, facts, please.
This is the Polish-Belarusian border
at the Suwalki Gap.
I fucking know what that is.
This is footage from two weeks ago.
And this is from now.
Looks like Russians and Belarusians
are planning some maneuvers.
They have two complete
battalion tactical groups,
must have brought them
from inner Russia.
Here, on the no-man's-land strip
of illegal Syrian and Iraqi migrants,
new ones are coming in.
Too many coincidences.
We have to send our guys to Minsk.
We have our guys in Minsk.
But, as you know,
we also have a mole there.
And now there's a vacancy
See, if a provocation happens now,
before NATO assembles, Russians
will have taken over your Siedlce,
and we'll go down in history as the twats
who failed to prevent the war.
If you fuck this up,
I'm washing my hands of it.
As I understand, you have your people
ready to do it?
- Hello?
- I was supposed to call.
- You could just answer the phone.
- She had no choice.
How is she?
He beat her up.
She needs a couple of days.
I'm moving you both to Minsk.
- Ewa is blown already.
- Tamara Sorokina reported a suicide,
not a murder of her son.
Ewa is clean.
Ewa can't do it now. Let's wait.
No, you'll go alone, Ewa will join you.
You have to find the mole
in the embassy as soon as possible.
I haven't seen them in five years.
- But they're your only family.
- Whom I haven't seen in five years.
Why are you sending me out there?
I still have you, right?
Your nephew got into trouble.
What again?
Helping the refugees at the border.
There's an informant in Minsk.
The same who sold us Kaliningrad.
He supposedly knows who works
for the Russians in our embassy.
When are we going?
I'm going there as a businessman.
I'll meet him to try to learn more
and I'll come back for you.
Ewa.
What are you doing here?
Nice to see you too.
And the dean considered it
exceptional circumstances
and made an offer I couldn't refuse,
which is a leave of absence.
- In the first year!
- You should be glad you weren't expelled.
This guy seems to be deeply insecure
or has problems with self-worth, dunno.
So did you throw paint on his car or not?
He had it coming!
Being a dean doesn't give you the right
to harass female students, Auntie.
So you study law
but do not believe in it.
You take matters into your hands.
What did you come here for?
- What?
She didn't give a shit about us before.
She must be feeling the heat
on her own ass.
Well deserved.
POLISH-BELARUSIAN BORDER
NEAR THE SUWALKI GAP
Let's hope it's not written
in Russian next time.
Fucking hell.
We have the icon of
Our Lady of Czestochowa.
It stopped the Swedish deluge,
it might help with the Russians too.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Ready to swap?
Ready.
Here come our patriots.
Uncuff him.
Fuck's sake, Lange, are you sure?
Skopintsev is worth more
than all of ours together.
Poland wanted to free its oppositionists.
After months of talks,
it finally came to be.
Don't complain.
Don't make me laugh.
Move it!
Let me smoke one of our cigs.
At least they're letting Drawicz go.
I'm staying.
You're only safe in Poland.
I know.
But I have to go back to my wife.
I understand, but this way
you can put her and yourself in danger.
I'll protect her.
We'll eventually bring her to Poland.
I'm sorry.
What a fucking idiot.
We're leaving!
The party's over. Back to Minsk.
See you in Warsaw.
I can now confirm that Mr. Jan Drawicz,
activist of the Union of Poles in Belarus,
was freed today.
He was illegally imprisoned in Belarus.
The regime falsely accused him
of inciting hate
and rehabilitation of Nazi ideology.
The release of Mr. Drawicz is,
without a doubt,
a great success of Polish diplomacy.
Come.
Coffee is ready. Get the cups.
There, on the shelf.
Then you'll help me mix the paint.
I don't know how.
You'll learn.
Hi.
You'll cross at Terespol.
The contact person in the embassy
is Lena Jankulocka.
- She ours?
- Counterintelligence.
Tell her you're from me
and she'll help you.
And this is the informant.
From the Caucasus?
Dagestan.
They call him Golem.
Heroin and underage Asian girls.
Supplies to a lot of dicks in FSB and KGB.
Benjamins make him talk.
When Ewa is back on her feet,
you'll work together.
Good luck.
Sources related
to American intelligence claim
that Russia is financing
far-right wing parties in Europe.
Their task is to break the unity
within the EU and NATO.
Moscow is using their influence
to lobby for waiving the sanctions
imposed after the annexation
of Ukraine's Crimea
and mitigate the impact
of their international isolation.
Hi.
Everything is prepared.
I got blankets and food.
Jasiek.
Record it.
I told you they're here.
What's up, boys?
Taking your pets for a walk?
Easy, gentlemen.
We don't want any trouble.
- We'll leave in a minute.
- Are they fucking off back home?
Are you helping the brownies?
Get the fuck out of here!
Enough!
You'll kill him!
So you dropped out
to save refugees in the woods?
So what?
Should I sit around
and pretend it's not happening?
Do you know how many people went
missing on the border since it started?
And how many died?
I don't, but you'll enlighten me.
You pretend to be stone cold,
but you're not.
You must know.
And you?
Think you'll save the world
by transporting refugees?
You're doing it
to feel better about yourself.
And you fucked them up just because
or were you taking out your own issues?
MINSK, BELARUS
Wozniak?
You've got me confused
for someone else.
We had a meeting arranged.
Golem.
You're not my type.
Fuck.
Mum said you'll be staying with us.
You can't stand me anymore, can you?
No, it's cool.
We'll go bashing up fascists together.
It's not funny at all.
How about that?
- What if I return it, you little shit?
- Go ahead.
I told you she'd be back soon.
Good morning.
- Hello.
It was delicious.
Kiddo, come help me in the kitchen.
You're going to Minsk.
Our consul killed herself.
You'll replace her.
You have to find the mole
in our embassy.
So that Russians don't use them
for a false flag.
Tell me that you understand.
I understand.
Where's Skiner?
You know we never leave our guys behind.
We got this tonight.
Show your face, cuntboy.
Do your thing.
And we'll find him.
by Russia shifted the balance in Europe.
The world turned its eyes
to the continent's strategic Suwalki Gap,
a narrow strip of land in northern Poland,
Russia's gate to Europe.
In 2021, a threat of war
became real again.
I'll help you.
It's okay.
- Let's go.
- Right on.
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday, dear Kalinka!
Happy birthday to you!
- Happy birthday to Kalinka!
- Many happy returns!
First, make a wish.
You got it?
Now blow.
- Be careful, it might come true!
- Come on!
Bravo!
It's going to be delicious.
Who goes first?
Easy, easy.
There's enough for everyone.
Even for the seconds.
Is this piece big enough?
Here you go.
- Do you need any help, Consul?
- Thank you, Inka.
Mummy!
EASTERN GATE
I'm so happy
that you'll finally meet my mum.
I'm happy too.
KALININGRAD, RUSSIA
What do you know about her?
Yuliya Petrova.
Studied literature in Riga.
Her father's Russian,
her mother's Latvian.
Welcome to our humble abode.
Ma, Pa, this is my beloved Yuliya.
I'm pleased to meet you.
Thirty years together
is a great success.
People in love know no time.
- Am I right, love?
- Yes, indeed.
Here come our hosts.
Tamara, Nikolay.
Can I steal you for a minute?
Excuse us.
Vladimir Avayev.
His net worth is estimated
at 15.4 billion dollars.
- Gas? Oil?
- The latter.
All the guests here are people like that.
Who was that?
Polina.
They say she was the mistress
of you-know-whom.
And that guy?
The bald one?
General Kozlov.
Deputy head of intelligence
at the Belarusian KGB.
And the supporter of a new Great Russia.
Russia had Bulgakov and Dostoyevski.
Not to even mention
Tchaikovsky and Kandinsky.
We could list names on and on.
And who does the West have?
Jack Kerouac?
Or that Andy Warhol of theirs?
Since when is a picture
of a tomato soup can
considered a work of art?
You're right, General.
You studied literature, didn't you?
- Yes.
- Where?
At the University of Riga.
So you probably have your own opinion
about the superiority
of the East over the West?
Ma.
What?
Is this a banquet or a hearing?
I'm happy to answer.
I don't eat canned tomato soup.
Therefore, I won't put any up on my wall.
And when it comes to differences
I beg your pardon.
Our culture has existed
for a thousand years.
They hadn't had electricity
until 120 years ago.
You passed.
Let's raise a toast
to my wife.
The most beautiful woman
in the world of nuclear engineering.
There are few of us in the field.
Hence the little competition.
Enjoy the night.
In a few minutes, I'll invite you
to see the fireworks in the garden.
Let's go outside!
Losha, here you are!
You promised you'd write
when you're back from Paris.
- I was waiting.
- I was busy.
Yes, I see that.
I'll look for something stronger.
You two can talk.
You're looking good.
If you hear me, tap twice.
Okay.
Safeword:
It's hot in here.
Once you say it,
we're coming in for you.
What a beautiful house.
It's not easy to find a bathroom.
My son has told me a lot about you.
Good things, I hope.
What my son says doesn't matter much.
He's got a feeble character.
Takes after his father.
He spoiled him with all his money.
Today he says one thing,
tomorrow another.
Do you want to hear a secret?
Not one that I'd have to
actually keep a secret.
No. You deserve better.
He'll soon get bored with your beauty.
And your eyes are too pretty for crying.
And the bathroom is that way.
But don't be late
or you'll miss the fireworks.
I'll never get bored with your beauty.
I'm taking you to dinner after the gig.
Focus on it now.
The door on the right.
Is she in the office?
We've got the vision.
Here you are.
I've been looking for you.
I wanted to be alone for a bit.
There's nothing between me and Polina.
She doesn't seem to agree.
We had sex drunk once and that's it.
Maybe for her it was not nothing.
Calm down.
Listen to me.
are the future.
But it's your mother's office.
I know.
Who the fuck are you?
Say the word.
Say the word.
Who the fuck are you?
Who do you work for?
Ewa, say the goddamn safeword!
You're dead, you whore.
Dear friends!
Not all men can boast
a thirty-year-long marriage!
Because not every wife can boast
this much patience!
Adjust the glasses and run!
They'll soon be back.
Was the champagne bad?
She got pretty wasted.
Congrats, Ms. Oginiec.
Give me the aid kit.
Did you have fun?
Ewa, what's wrong?
Fuck.
- We have to notify about this.
- No.
- They'll send someone.
- No.
You're not the one to make decisions!
I'm pregnant, Skiner. It's yours.
- First hospital on our side?
- Braniewo. Seventy kilometers.
Drive.
We finally have the footage
from the glasses.
BRANIEWO, POLAND
Go get some coffee. I need two.
Doctor.
How's my wife?
I drove her here last night
after an assault.
was coming back
- I informed the police.
Of course,
just tell me that she's okay, please.
A bit better. She lost a lot of blood.
And the baby?
I'm sorry.
One more thing.
How are you?
Fine.
- When can I go back to work?
When?
The doctor said
you won't be able to have children.
Did he say when I can get outta here?
You can go, Skiner. Thanks.
Deal with that police thing.
And then go back to the HQ.
My condolences.
Suicide of a child is always
a huge tragedy for the parents.
All in all, he was your son.
Why did he do it?
Why did he kill himself?
What for?
Give my husband some sedatives.
I have checked.
She did not come back home.
She vanished into thin air.
Hi.
WARSAW, POLAND
We've got an issue.
This goes first.
Niedzwiecka. I've heard.
It's a pity.
She was a good consul.
On her daughter's seventh birthday.
- Want some water?
- No, thanks.
Did somebody help her do it?
She wouldn't come up with it herself.
Since the Crimea annexation,
Lange, facts, please.
This is the Polish-Belarusian border
at the Suwalki Gap.
I fucking know what that is.
This is footage from two weeks ago.
And this is from now.
Looks like Russians and Belarusians
are planning some maneuvers.
They have two complete
battalion tactical groups,
must have brought them
from inner Russia.
Here, on the no-man's-land strip
of illegal Syrian and Iraqi migrants,
new ones are coming in.
Too many coincidences.
We have to send our guys to Minsk.
We have our guys in Minsk.
But, as you know,
we also have a mole there.
And now there's a vacancy
See, if a provocation happens now,
before NATO assembles, Russians
will have taken over your Siedlce,
and we'll go down in history as the twats
who failed to prevent the war.
If you fuck this up,
I'm washing my hands of it.
As I understand, you have your people
ready to do it?
- Hello?
- I was supposed to call.
- You could just answer the phone.
- She had no choice.
How is she?
He beat her up.
She needs a couple of days.
I'm moving you both to Minsk.
- Ewa is blown already.
- Tamara Sorokina reported a suicide,
not a murder of her son.
Ewa is clean.
Ewa can't do it now. Let's wait.
No, you'll go alone, Ewa will join you.
You have to find the mole
in the embassy as soon as possible.
I haven't seen them in five years.
- But they're your only family.
- Whom I haven't seen in five years.
Why are you sending me out there?
I still have you, right?
Your nephew got into trouble.
What again?
Helping the refugees at the border.
There's an informant in Minsk.
The same who sold us Kaliningrad.
He supposedly knows who works
for the Russians in our embassy.
When are we going?
I'm going there as a businessman.
I'll meet him to try to learn more
and I'll come back for you.
Ewa.
What are you doing here?
Nice to see you too.
And the dean considered it
exceptional circumstances
and made an offer I couldn't refuse,
which is a leave of absence.
- In the first year!
- You should be glad you weren't expelled.
This guy seems to be deeply insecure
or has problems with self-worth, dunno.
So did you throw paint on his car or not?
He had it coming!
Being a dean doesn't give you the right
to harass female students, Auntie.
So you study law
but do not believe in it.
You take matters into your hands.
What did you come here for?
- What?
She didn't give a shit about us before.
She must be feeling the heat
on her own ass.
Well deserved.
POLISH-BELARUSIAN BORDER
NEAR THE SUWALKI GAP
Let's hope it's not written
in Russian next time.
Fucking hell.
We have the icon of
Our Lady of Czestochowa.
It stopped the Swedish deluge,
it might help with the Russians too.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Ready to swap?
Ready.
Here come our patriots.
Uncuff him.
Fuck's sake, Lange, are you sure?
Skopintsev is worth more
than all of ours together.
Poland wanted to free its oppositionists.
After months of talks,
it finally came to be.
Don't complain.
Don't make me laugh.
Move it!
Let me smoke one of our cigs.
At least they're letting Drawicz go.
I'm staying.
You're only safe in Poland.
I know.
But I have to go back to my wife.
I understand, but this way
you can put her and yourself in danger.
I'll protect her.
We'll eventually bring her to Poland.
I'm sorry.
What a fucking idiot.
We're leaving!
The party's over. Back to Minsk.
See you in Warsaw.
I can now confirm that Mr. Jan Drawicz,
activist of the Union of Poles in Belarus,
was freed today.
He was illegally imprisoned in Belarus.
The regime falsely accused him
of inciting hate
and rehabilitation of Nazi ideology.
The release of Mr. Drawicz is,
without a doubt,
a great success of Polish diplomacy.
Come.
Coffee is ready. Get the cups.
There, on the shelf.
Then you'll help me mix the paint.
I don't know how.
You'll learn.
Hi.
You'll cross at Terespol.
The contact person in the embassy
is Lena Jankulocka.
- She ours?
- Counterintelligence.
Tell her you're from me
and she'll help you.
And this is the informant.
From the Caucasus?
Dagestan.
They call him Golem.
Heroin and underage Asian girls.
Supplies to a lot of dicks in FSB and KGB.
Benjamins make him talk.
When Ewa is back on her feet,
you'll work together.
Good luck.
Sources related
to American intelligence claim
that Russia is financing
far-right wing parties in Europe.
Their task is to break the unity
within the EU and NATO.
Moscow is using their influence
to lobby for waiving the sanctions
imposed after the annexation
of Ukraine's Crimea
and mitigate the impact
of their international isolation.
Hi.
Everything is prepared.
I got blankets and food.
Jasiek.
Record it.
I told you they're here.
What's up, boys?
Taking your pets for a walk?
Easy, gentlemen.
We don't want any trouble.
- We'll leave in a minute.
- Are they fucking off back home?
Are you helping the brownies?
Get the fuck out of here!
Enough!
You'll kill him!
So you dropped out
to save refugees in the woods?
So what?
Should I sit around
and pretend it's not happening?
Do you know how many people went
missing on the border since it started?
And how many died?
I don't, but you'll enlighten me.
You pretend to be stone cold,
but you're not.
You must know.
And you?
Think you'll save the world
by transporting refugees?
You're doing it
to feel better about yourself.
And you fucked them up just because
or were you taking out your own issues?
MINSK, BELARUS
Wozniak?
You've got me confused
for someone else.
We had a meeting arranged.
Golem.
You're not my type.
Fuck.
Mum said you'll be staying with us.
You can't stand me anymore, can you?
No, it's cool.
We'll go bashing up fascists together.
It's not funny at all.
How about that?
- What if I return it, you little shit?
- Go ahead.
I told you she'd be back soon.
Good morning.
- Hello.
It was delicious.
Kiddo, come help me in the kitchen.
You're going to Minsk.
Our consul killed herself.
You'll replace her.
You have to find the mole
in our embassy.
So that Russians don't use them
for a false flag.
Tell me that you understand.
I understand.
Where's Skiner?
You know we never leave our guys behind.
We got this tonight.
Show your face, cuntboy.
Do your thing.
And we'll find him.