The Recruit (2022) s02e01 Episode Script
Y.N.A.H.Y.A.L.
1
[radio static crackling]
[static ends]
[lights humming]
[Nichka] Who are you?
[Owen] I I don't understand.
Max said that you were dead.
[groans]
- [Nichka grunts]
- [Owen groans]
[labored breathing]
- [Nichka grunts]
- [Owen yelps]
Hey!
- [groans]
- Who the fuck are you?
I'm Owen Hendricks.
I'm a lawyer at the CIA.
Your mom is a
was an asset with the Agency,
which means you need to cut me loose.
- [tense music playing]
- [Nichka] No. [grunts]
- It means I need to kill you.
- No. No, no, no. Do not be stupid.
If we tell your friends
in the Russian mafia
and Russian intelligence
that your mom was a spy,
they'll think you were in on it
with her, and they will kill you.
Oh, then I will need to
bury you extra deep,
'cause you are the only one
who knows who I really am.
Actually, Anderson, the DO works closely
with the OGC on most operations.
- I was personally respo
- [cell phone ringing]
[suspenseful music playing]
Fuck.
[ringing ends]
- Amelia Salazar.
- [Hannah, shakily] Hi.
This is Hannah Copeland.
Y You texted me secretly yesterday
about Owen.
- He's been abducted!
- I'm not sure what you think I can do.
Pull the fucking fire alarm.
[breath trembles]
Or I'll tell your boss you gave me
classified intel that Owen was in Prague.
Let me
make a call.
[disconnect tone beeps]
I'm a little fucked, Anderson.
[tense music resumes]
I'm sure that killing your mom
has brought up some feelings,
but you cannot just kill me.
It's the CIA.
The second I signed on, they
they shoved six microchips up my ass.
Look. There is an SOG team
on its way to rescue me.
If they were coming for you,
they would be here by now.
[tense music continues]
- [handbrake clacks]
- [engine stops]
GPS in the watch Max gave Owen
shows he's in there somewhere.
[music pulsing]
[seat belt clicks]
[Dodge] REDCON1.
[quietly] Move, move.
[Dawn] Four cars. Conservative estimate,
two men per vehicle.
We're looking at
at least eight enemy combatants.
Keep it stealth as long as possible.
If you get to Hendricks first,
isolate him.
No one talks to him until I do.
Hey.
Max said the lawyer's a problem,
so we may need to cauterize the wound.
- [music abates]
- [heavy breathing echoes]
[muffled soundscape]
[breathing heavily]
[tense music builds]
You know, I'm, uh
I'm feeling a little bit lightheaded.
You can lie down in just a second.
Actually
[sniffs] I'm feeling better.
[groans, grunts]
[music intensifies]
[gasps, breathes heavily]
[music swells]
[rapid gunfire]
[man 1 grunts]
[man 2 screams]
- [Owen yells]
- [Nichka grunts]
- [bullet ricochets]
- [Owen groans]
- [Nichka screaming]
- [Owen grunting]
- [both grunt]
- [hip-hop music plays]
- [Nichka yells]
- [Owen groans]
[Nichka yells, grunts]
- [pants]
- [Owen strains]
- Limit ♪
- [Owen groaning in pain]
I ain't got no limit ♪
You can't push me past my limit ♪
- [growls]
- [Nichka grunts]
- Never lose 'cause I'm winning ♪
- [yelps]
- [grunts]
- No limit ♪
[both strain]
[Owen grunts, groans]
Can't take that, sky's the limit
Better watch every minute ♪
- [Nichka grunts]
- [groans]
- [Owen yelps]
- [Nichka grunts]
The greatness I have
Yeah, I made that ♪
[both grunting, groaning]
Never lose 'cause I'm winning ♪
- [Owen rasps]
- Work, stop, put in work ♪
- Jesus, you have strong legs.
- [chuckles breathlessly]
[leather creaking]
- [groans]
- No limit, hey ♪
[music distorts]
- [Nichka pants]
- [soundscape fades]
[high-pitched ringing]
[gunshot ricochets]
- Can't break my limit ♪
- [both panting]
[Dawn] Get off him.
[Nichka's breathing softens]
- [sighs]
- [Owen gasps, groans]
Where's Max?
[breathlessly] Dead inside.
That's her daughter.
Daughter?
Hostiles are down.
No casualties on our end.
Kill her or not?
Not.
Yet.
[Nichka grunts, laughs]
[Owen groans]
[magazine clacks]
[Owen grunts]
Yeah, I'm gonna
need a little bit of help.
Maybe a hospital.
What are What are you doing?
[breathes heavily]
Deciding whether I found you alive.
Let me help you. You definitely did.
And you're gonna win a fucking medal
for saving me.
Right, and you're just gonna keep
all those secrets Max told you about me
out of, what, the
goodness of your heart?
[Owen] I don't care
about your ghost assets.
The money that you're stealing, I I
You know a lot of bad shit about me too.
Call it "mewbidly" assured
destruction, right?
I expose you. You expose my Max stuff.
You get me "disbarged."
"Disbarbed."
Disbarred.
[sighs]
Well, as fun as that sounds,
I think it's gonna be safer for me
to just wait a few minutes
and let you bleed out.
Stupid.
[chuckles]
You lost Max.
Your only hope of
redemption is saving me.
[helicopter approaching]
[hurried footsteps approach]
[man] Over here!
[tense music playing]
Mutually assured destruction it is.
Hey! I got Hendricks over here.
We're gonna need a medic.
[dramatic, intriguing music playing]
[softly] Hey, buddy.
[music intensifies]
[music ends]
[thunder crashes]
[woman in Korean]
You think too much. She likes you.
[man] Easy for you to say.
You were married by my age.
Times are different now.
[woman] Nonsense.
My husband was even more shy than you.
He had no idea
I fell in love the moment I saw him.
Spent my nights wondering
what was wrong with me
that he wasn't making a move.
My point is, Chin Sun might
be thinking the same thing.
So ask her out.
- Or I'll do it for you.
- You wouldn't.
I will!
[gearshift grinds]
What's that ahead?
[brakes squeak]
[idling engine rumbles]
- Maybe an accident?
- [tense music playing]
Back up.
[music intensifies]
Back up! Go!
- [gearshift clanks]
- [tires whir]
Faster! Step on it!
- [gunshot]
- [glass cracks]
Duri! Duri!
Duri! Stay with me! Duri!
[music ends]
Duri!
[gasps] Duri!
- Duri! Duri!
- [tense music continues]
[panicked breathing]
[sinister music playing]
[gasps]
[in English] No.
[softly] Please.
[breath trembling] Please.
[music intensifying]
[gasps] I I work for a South Korean
NGO bringing food to our countrymen.
[in Korean] Get off me! [whimpers]
[in English] No!
[screams]
[shouting in Korean]
[screaming]
- [thunder crashes]
- [scream echoes]
[gasping, grunting]
[yells in Korean]
[screams, grunts]
[in English] Oh no! Oh no! [screams]
- [pounding on trunk]
- [screaming]
[engines powering down]
- [suspenseful music playing]
- [respirator whooshing softly]
[echoing] Hey. Relax. You're safe.
[mutters groggily]
[Lester] Hmm?
[Owen exhales]
Define safe.
[music intensifies]
[hatch clanks, whirs]
[helicopter blades whirring]
[music fades]
- [Owen groans]
- We got him.
- No, I got him.
- [Owen grunts]
You go park the crazy Russian in darkness
till we figure out what to do with her.
And clean her up.
She looks like a horror movie.
[agents chatter indistinctly]
What's the damage? How bad is it?
[scoffs] Well, the asset's dead,
shot up half of Europe,
and just pulled a lawyer
out of a death pit.
I'd say things are less than optimal.
Okay, you can flip Nichka.
Make her an asset instead of her mom.
Not a bad idea.
It might help.
I killed someone.
Dude, I am not a priest.
Do not confess to me.
[scoffs] You're in the wrong business
if you're looking for absolution.
- [Owen] Mm.
- Understand?
Yeah.
And just so I'm clear,
do not confess to a priest either.
You are in the wrong department
for killing people.
[Owen] Is that
Hannah?
[Lester] Yeah, the girl saved you, man.
She contacted Amelia
and got the whole rescue operation
in motion.
Don't tell her about anything
that just happened. Nothing.
For her sake.
Are you okay?
Yeah, I I will be. You saved me.
Yeah, I've had a lot of practice.
You need to quit, Owen.
I know.
I know. I'm going to.
It's just, it's complicated.
[Hannah] So what?
How many deep ends are you
gonna dive into without thinking?
All of 'em.
This time is different.
People died.
- [Hannah] Yeah.
- [Owen sniffles]
And you were almost one of them.
- You need to walk away.
- 100%.
But if I walk away now, then I am
gonna be blamed for everything.
[Hannah] No.
If you don't walk away now,
then you're just gonna find another
way to get sucked back in, and
[poignant music playing softly]
I can't do that again.
- Hannah.
- No.
I'm moving out.
When you get back to DC
I'll be gone.
I don't understand.
You lost the asset but saved the lawyer?
Yes, sir. I'm preparing
a full after-action report.
Why are you talking?
This was your op, and you shit the bed.
[Dawn] Sir, the asset lied to us.
[West] Because that's what assets do.
And only a moron trusts them.
Take a walk, Gilbane.
And start a clear broth diet,
because the CEG
is about to crawl up in there.
[card reader beeps]
Sir, it's not all bad news.
The dead asset's daughter
was an enforcer for the Russian mob.
Like Max,
she has ties to Russian intelligence.
- You wanna turn her?
- Not me, personally.
[West] Forget that. No, you
already sold your soul back to me.
You're gonna take over
Dawn's job in Warsaw.
I want this girl vetted
and in the field ASAP.
Yes, sir.
If you're committed to this path,
then I'm gonna attach one of my people
to Lester's hip.
So when subpoenas start flying,
we're protected legally.
[intriguing music playing]
Um sir, it should be me.
I'm already read in
on several key elements.
Great. We're in business.
And I expect results.
Quickly.
[beep]
[Lester sighs]
- You so owe me.
- [Lester] For sure.
But, hey, look at the bright side.
We'll be 4,000 miles away
when the shit lands on Hendricks.
[music fades]
[somber music playing]
- [door opens]
- [Owen] Hey, ocupado!
- Hey!
- [door closes]
What are you
W We're not supposed to talk.
We got one minute
to come up with a game plan
so they can't hang
this around our necks.
Okay, well, we don't need
a whole minute, obviously.
We just blame Max.
Blame the dead girl. [scoffs]
Not the most original idea.
Okay, then throw the dead guy
in there too.
They were in it together.
[faint muffled voices chattering]
- [Owen] So Max
- [tap squeaks]
and Xander were engaged
in a criminal conspiracy,
and they kept us in the dark
about everything.
And how could I be expected
to execute a successful mission plan
when one of our own was actively
conspiring against the Agency?
Works all day.
Are you gonna try to kill me again?
I didn't try and kill you.
I just briefly didn't try and save you.
But
- Yeah?
- Make no mistake.
Your life will end painfully
if you turn on me.
Yeah. Yeah, I got it.
[sighs]
[whispers] Fucking psychopath.
Jesus! Ah!
[Nichka] That was
a fascinating conversation.
[brushes hands]
Talk about a criminal conspiracy.
- I'm leaving. Thank you.
- [Nichka] You are naked.
And I have kompromat.
Your deal with the small woman.
So what happens to me now?
[Owen] Um
I mean, that's
that's up to your new handler.
But I would imagine
that they'll make you an asset.
[Nichka scoffs]
Fuck that.
Well, it beats them telling Russia
that you're compromised.
Plus, you'll get paid.
How much?
Uh, depends on the intel you provide.
A chatty FSB secretary's
a couple of hundred.
Nuclear secrets add a bunch of zeros.
If you have intel on General Kuznetsov,
you'll definitely see their O-face.
- [distant clatter]
- [man shouts]
- [soldier 1] Negative. Other stall?
- [soldier 2] I don't see her.
Uh, yeah, okay,
I'm gonna have to sell you out now.
- Yo! She's in here!
- [soldier 1] Men's room!
Okay, no need for drama.
- [grunts]
- [soldier grunts]
- ["BILLIE EILISH." by Armani White plays]
- [groans]
- I lied.
- [grunts]
A little drama is always good.
Bitch, I'm stylish, Glock tucked
Big T-shirt, Billie Eilish ♪
Watch on my wrist
But I want that in diamonds ♪
Niggas talkin' crazy
When I pull up, it's silent ♪
Mile high, run that shit back
Bitch, I'm stylish ♪
Glock tucked
Big T-shirt, Billie Eilish ♪
Watch on my wrist
But I want that in diamonds ♪
Niggas talkin' crazy
When I pull up, it's silent ♪
Mile high
Fuck a first-class, I'm the pilot ♪
Put it in perspective ♪
Billie Eilish ♪
Watch on my wrist
But I want that in diamonds ♪
Niggas talkin' crazy
When I pull up, it's silent ♪
Mile high
Fuck a first-class, I'm the pilot ♪
[music fades out]
Sir.
Do you, uh, have a minute?
[door closes]
You wanna know what happens next.
Well yeah.
In the short term, nothing.
Because CEG will be
investigating the failed op.
And like any investigation,
they'll wait until the end
to talk to the target, i.e. me.
Exactly.
Sir, I almost died
three times,
trying to do the job I was tasked with.
So you're planning to blame me?
What? No, not at all.
- You think I'm stupid, Hendricks?
- No, sir.
You've been a wild card
from the moment you started.
And though I appreciate your enthusiasm
and ability to get shit done,
you make me nervous.
You seem to always need to be the hero.
But you're not a hero.
You're a lawyer.
- Sir
- No, let me finish.
Maybe you're telling the truth, and
none of this nightmare was your fault.
But maybe not.
Until I and the Agency
are sure which it is,
you're being benched.
From this moment on,
you will sit in your office
all day, every day.
You will not do any work,
make any calls, send any emails.
You will simply sit on your hands
and count dust bunnies
until we untangle
this mess you've created.
Am I clear?
Yes, sir.
But I'm really not designed
for stasis, sir.
If I'm vertical,
I really need to be doing something.
You will be.
You'll be sitting in your office.
Now go there and do that.
[woman] Yes, I have them right here.
- [man chatters indistinctly]
- [woman] Uh-huh.
The voice printouts.
And what else did you need, sir?
Hey!
[percussive music playing]
[Owen] Hi, Amelia! [chuckles]
Amelia.
I feel like you're avoiding me.
Oh, I am. Everybody is.
You've been rubber-roomed pending
a counterespionage investigation.
Anyone connected to you
is a potential criminal target.
Any idea how long
the investigation is gonna take?
Forever.
It is in nobody's best interest
to clear you.
[pen scribbling]
Can I ask you an honest question?
[scoffs] You can ask.
If the op was a success,
would people actually care about
what went wrong?
Of course not.
The only way to stay out of trouble here
is to win.
[pen scribbles]
I'm guessing that's also the only way
to get out of a rubber room.
Sure. But it is catch-22.
Because you can't get a win
when you've been rubber-roomed.
What, so I'm trapped in this job
in limbo forever, with the
the constant threat of being blamed
for a national security disaster
hanging over my head?
Yes.
You have been very unhelpful.
Sorry.
[Owen] You were going the other way.
["9 to 5" by The Math Club
and Masta Ace playing]
Man, I'm so sick of this 9-to-5 ♪
Tell me, what's a brutha gon' do
In the world when he tryin' to thrive? ♪
I'm dyin' to survive
Stayin' alive is killing me ♪
I thought I loved you
As much as I could ♪
My love was wrong,
I was misunderstood ♪
All along I was so immature, yeah ♪
- [brooding operatic music playing]
- [Owen growls]
[rasps]
[mimics strafing]
[operatic music continues]
[music fades out]
If I put my mind to it, lil' buddy
You know I'mma do it all the way ♪
Roaches hate, I'm makin' moves I
listen 'bout as much as I can tolerate ♪
From here on out, we cuttin' out ♪
The people
who don't contribute to winning ♪
Winning, winning ♪
Raise your glass to everybody Who
was here from the fuckin' beginning ♪
- Beginning ♪
- Yeah! ♪
You talkin' 'bout toast
I'm talkin' 'bout bread ♪
You talkin' 'bout gross
I'm talkin' 'bout net ♪
You hold the false hopes ♪
- [music stops]
- [mail cart wheels rattling]
[cart halts]
Hi. Hey.
Thanks.
Although, technically, you know, I'm not
supposed to be getting mail right now.
"No work for Owen."
Whoa. Hey. Hold on. Wait. Th
This isn't even for me.
[mail clerk] This is office 309?
Uh, yeah, but I'm not
"Bill Bemus."
Not my problem. [scoffs]
[intriguing music playing]
Hey, buddy.
No. Fuck all the way off.
You are the kiss of death.
No, do not come into my office!
- Fine. I'll talk to you from out here.
- [Janus] That's not
Did you know the guy
who used to have my office?
Bemus? He retired. Why?
N No, no, never mind.
- I don't wanna know.
- [Owen] I got mail that was meant for him.
It's a cryptic message from Korea
with a really weird digraph.
And a handwritten note
that feels pretty threatening.
You know where I can get his number?
You can't. He's dead.
I thought you said he retired.
He did. Then he died.
- Of what?
- [Janus] Heart disease.
He was old. Been here since Eisenhower.
What do I do with the letter?
Well, I think in a situation
that's sensitive like this,
you might wanna consider
jamming it up your ass
or maybe slitting your throat with it.
I don't care. Just don't do it near me.
[Owen sighs]
[Janus] Fuck off.
[intriguing music resumes]
- [music lifts]
- Excuse me.
- Hi. Remember me?
- [music ends]
- Maybe.
- All right.
Well, I got something new
for you to look up.
You know, there are other people
you could go to.
Yeah, I know. I just thought
that we really bonded last time, so
[sighs] What is it?
Here.
It's a nonsense digraph.
The country code "RQ" doesn't exist.
Hmm. Oh.
All right. Can you
run it anyway, please?
Why?
Because thoroughness is the first thing
they teach you in law school.
Covering your ass is the first thing
they teach you here.
It'll take two seconds.
I'll go bother someone else next time.
[munching]
Deal.
[keyboard clacks]
- [heavy metal music playing]
- [alarm blaring]
- [man 1] On the ground!
- What what the fuck?
- [man 1] Do it now!
- Whoa. Hey, relax.
All right. I [grunts, groans]
- [gun cocks]
- [man 2] Stop resisting.
[music ends]
I told you to stay in your office.
Yes, sir.
It wasn't a complicated instruction.
There was no math involved.
Yes, sir. But then I
I got that letter and, um
You don't get mail. I made sure of that.
Technically, it, um
it belonged to my predecessor.
Then why the fuck did you open it?
- 'Cause I got bored.
- [Nyland sighs]
That's gonna be etched
on your tombstone.
Yeah, no doubt.
So what did I step in?
What Korean operation
does that digraph refer to?
One so secret, they hid its very
existence behind a fake country code.
All I could get from the director
was that it needs to be handled fast
and kept secret at all cost.
Well, that letter is
definitely graymail.
The number written on it
is a latitude-longitude position
for Paradox Hotel in Seoul.
That's where Agency personnel stay
when they're in-country.
[electronic music playing]
Sir, let me go there,
chase down our graymailer.
Why the crusty fuck would I do that?
Because I know Seoul.
My dad was stationed in Korea
for two years.
But more importantly,
I'm already radioactive.
Who better to send into Fukushima
than the guy
who just walked out of Chernobyl?
If I somehow save the day,
I get un-rubber-roomed.
But if I fail,
you don't get blamed.
[music ends]
What's the over-under on Owen quitting?
Six days. Pot's up to 1,200.
- I'm in for 100 at three days.
- [phone rings]
[Amelia] Mm-hmm.
- [phone ringing]
- It's Nyland.
Well, better you than me.
[phone beeps]
Yes, sir.
I'm looking at him right now.
No, no, no, no. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Yes, sir?
Oh no.
No.
[Nyland] Oh yes.
Yes.
Hendricks has catapulted face-first
into an even more
problematic graymail situation.
He needs adult supervision.
So,
I'm sending you to Korea with him.
Sir, I wish I could go,
but my cat is really sick.
[percussive music playing]
You don't own a cat.
I'm in the process of adopting.
You're going to Korea.
[sighs] Yes, sir.
What do we tell Seoul Station?
[Nyland] Nothing.
Say you're looking into an HR matter.
That'll give you an excuse
to dig through any files you want.
Nail down who has
knowledge of RQSwallow.
Find out the identity of our graymailer.
That's assuming that it's coming
from someone at the Agency.
The the graymail
refers to a joint op,
so it could just as easily
have been somebody at the NIS.
- [intriguing music playing]
- I am loath to admit it, but he's right.
Until you have more information,
play it close to the vest.
Everyone's a suspect.
Yes, sir.
- Thank you for believing in me.
- [Janus clears throat]
[music intensifies]
- [Owen] Listen, I
- Shut up.
- [music ends]
- I think this could be really good for us.
- [distant siren wails]
- [car horns honk]
[distant siren wailing]
[poignant music playing softly]
[girl giggles]
- [gulls calling]
- [girl giggling]
[chuckles softly]
[cell phone vibrating]
[vibrating stops]
Hello?
[Nichka] You told me I would make money,
but all they've done is vet me.
I'm hanging up.
[Nichka] Okay, but know this.
If I don't start getting paid,
I start spilling your secrets.
- Do not do that.
- Then you tell them to pay me.
I have to go now.
Lev's people are mad at me for Prague.
Okay, but
I need my hands free
in case they come looking for me.
[baby crying in distance]
[disconnect tone beeping]
[Russian hip-hop music playing]
[keys jangling]
[floorboard creaks]
[keys jangle]
[lock rattles]
[clack]
[dog barking]
[man grunting]
[groans]
[groans]
[gasps, whimpers]
[grunts]
[music ends]
- [couple chatters in Korean]
- [baby cooing]
- [baby gurgles]
- [parents chuckle]
[serene music playing softly]
- [water trickling gently]
- [birds chirping]
[giggles]
[baby fusses]
[baby whines]
[baby crying]
[crying grows louder]
Are you on a fucking dating app?
- [music ends]
- It's not a
Don't worry about it.
Oh, I'm gonna worry,
because you kidnapped me
into your suicide circus.
So I want total transparency,
because I intend on
getting out of this in one piece.
[hesitates silently]
My dad was stationed in Seoul
when I was a kid.
Yoo Jin was my BFF.
She was my first kiss.
She was the only person there for me
when my dad got blown up.
That's a beautiful story.
If you think about her again
while we're in Korea,
I'll push you in front
of a fucking train.
You understand?
You know you have anger issues, right?
I have everything issues.
All right.
You wanna give me a lay of the land?
What are we walking into
when we land in Seoul?
[percussive music playing]
Well, Owen, Korea is an ally.
We work closely with them
to make sure
we can keep NK and China in line.
But we still spy on each other
like maniacs.
So you better be
on your best behavior at all times.
No problem.
We're so fucked.
[music ends]
[man over PA] Welcome to Seoul.
Please do not be alarmed,
but there will be
a slight delay in deplaning.
We have a small security issue.
[Owen] Um are they coming for us?
Yep. Anytime there's a last-minute
rush job on country clearance,
it sets off alarms.
Oh shi
[man chatters over PA in Korean]
[tense, intriguing music playing]
[in English] Howdy.
[music continues]
[music fades out]
[indistinct chatter over comms]
- [woman] Mr. Ferber?
- [Janus] Mm-hmm.
I'm Grace Cho with the NIS.
Ah, thank you for getting us
off the plane before first class,
but, uh, there really was no need.
That's for me to decide.
Come with me, please.
No. Just him.
Your assistant can wait out here.
- Oh, I'm not his
- Yep.
- I'm not his assistant.
- [door beeps]
[chatter continues over radio]
[door closes]
- [radio trills]
- [Owen scoffs softly]
[Janus] I'm not sure what the issue is.
We went through the proper channels,
got the appropriate clearances.
We just want to understand
what the purpose
of your last-minute visit to Korea is.
[Janus] Not a problem.
I'm more than happy
to reveal internal CIA activities,
as long as you don't mind
giving me dirt on the NIS.
There's no reason to be an asshole.
[Janus] Well, there's always a reason.
But you're the one out of line here.
Since you refuse to answer my questions,
I may have to deny your entry
into the country.
[Janus] Yeah, that's not gonna happen.
The provisions
of the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1953
gives us a right to be here.
And the optics would be terrible.
- [inhales sharply] So can we go now?
- No.
Sit down.
Oh. Do you mind if I sit?
Knock yourself out.
[chuckles softly]
Thank you.
Yeah, it's gonna be a while.
Officer Cho is very thorough.
She won't let your boss go
until she's satisfied.
He's not my boss.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I assumed since he's in there
and you're out here
No worries.
So, uh
what do you do?
Oh.
- I'm a clerk.
- Oh yeah?
- Mm-hmm.
- You like it?
[chuckles] Yes, I, uh, do.
I've always been organized,
ever since I was a child.
My [chuckles]
my wife calls me "anus."
"Anal." Right?
It It means you
obsess over the details.
Exactly.
So have you ever been to Seoul before?
Wasn't in my file?
- Excuse me? What
- No, no, no, no, that's all right.
I actually appreciate the rope-a-dope.
The "rope-a-dope"?
Oh, come on.
You didn't bat an eye
when I said "knock yourself out."
That's a fairly obscure English idiom,
which means you got the whole
"anal-anus" thing wrong on purpose.
Plus, you weren't surprised
when I wolfed down
boiled intestine on a stick,
because you knew that I'd be familiar
with sundae from my time here as a kid.
[chuckles] I'm sorry to disagree,
but I recognized the phrase
from American films,
and I figured
if you were hungry, you would eat.
Nice try, but then there's your belt.
It's frayed at your right hip,
because you normally have
a gun holster clipped there.
Which you obviously took off
before you came over here
pretending to be an office clerk
so that you could interrogate me
through duplicity.
- [chuckles softly]
- [intriguing music playing]
Very good.
I knew you weren't an assistant.
Or a lawyer.
No, I am definitely a lawyer.
Yeah, a busy one,
according to your passport records.
- Yemen. Vienna.
- What can I say?
I'm a I'm a troubleshooter for people
who get into trouble professionally.
And what "trouble"
are you in Korea to shoot?
Just a HR complaint.
A nasty one. [sighs]
Can I have more sundae?
[scoffs]
Knock yourself out.
[upbeat K-pop music playing]
[music continues over stereo]
Man this place has really changed.
[woman chattering in Korean over stereo]
[in English] You know
we're being followed, right?
[Janus] Oh yeah.
The NIS is in the paranoia business.
They are not buying our cover story.
I wouldn't either.
[woman on stereo in Korean] bring
the free end under the first loop
and back through the third loop.
Then tighten gently
[intriguing music playing]
[chatter over stereo continues]
[music fades out]
[in English] Hey. Key to your room.
- Separate rooms?
- Yeah.
You may have literally dragged me
across the globe, but I have needs.
And those needs are my own bathtub,
my own robe and some me time.
Shouldn't we be on the lookout
for our graymailer?
- They're the reason we're in this hotel.
- Oh yeah. Great idea.
Why don't you take the first shift
and wake me up in the morning?
[sighs]
- [card reader trills]
- [door opens]
[door closes]
Oh.
[fanfare music playing softly on TV]
[Owen chuckles]
[woman chattering indistinctly on TV]
That's good.
[groans]
I love bed.
[grunts softly]
[expectant, percussive music playing]
[line rings]
[woman] Good evening, Mr. Hendricks.
How can I assist you?
Hi. Yeah.
Um, there was an envelope
in my room when I got here.
Do you know who dropped it off?
[woman] No, sir. Is there a problem?
Nope. Thank you.
[operatic music playing faintly]
[cell phone vibrating]
[water sloshes]
[music continues over headphones]
[automated voice] Your call
has been forwarded to an automatic
[intriguing music playing]
[Owen] Yo!
Tch-tch!
I know I'm breaking the fourth wall here.
I thought you'd probably be hungry, so
Bibimbap and kimchi.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Honestly, I feel bad
they got you out here watching us.
We're seriously just in Seoul doing boring
legal work out of the embassy, so
It's my job.
And my boss is very demanding.
I hope she didn't give your colleague
too hard of a time.
Ah, it's nothing he couldn't handle.
Is that maedeup?
Very good.
Yes, uh, my wife taught me. She's
an expert. I'm still just a novice.
Yeah, I had a friend when I was a kid
who did it, so
She was the real novice compared to
what you got going on over there though.
Anyway, I'm gonna
let you get back to it.
And, uh, the jet lag
is just catching up to me,
so I'm gonna hit the sheets.
- Good night.
- Good night.
Oh, and, uh thank you
for the bibimbap and kimchi.
[chatter continues on car stereo]
[sniffs]
- [chatter over radio]
- [Owen in Korean] Here.
I'll just be a second.
[people chattering, laughing]
[Korean rock music playing nearby]
[in English] Hey, come on.
[all in Korean] Cheers!
[man] Whoo!
One more shot!
- One more shot!
- One more shot!
Ah.
[rock music continues]
[car horn honks]
[music softens]
[in English] Owen?
[chuckles] Hi.
Uh, how are you?
You look you look great.
I look like the end of a long day.
What are you doing here?
[hesitates]
Um
I'm not really sure.
- Oh.
- [bottles clink]
I haven't seen you in a decade, and
now I find you lurking outside my job?
- This is
- Weird, I know. It's super weird.
Uh, but no, I promise you,
it's not like in a
like in a bad, weird kinda way.
I I I came here to to see you.
- So why didn't you just come inside?
- Because I can't I can't stay.
I have to be somewhere for work.
- Um
- [car horn honks]
[sighs]
Look, I guess I just
I I came here to say, um
you saved me.
When my dad died.
And I was just a kid, right?
I was way too young to understand, um
And then I was gone,
and I just I don't know.
I was in town, and I
just I wanted to say
thank you.
[poignant music playing]
[car horn honks]
[softly] Um
You really do look great.
- [door opens]
- [Owen] All right, relax.
[poignant music continues]
["HOLUP!" by BOOBY fades in]
[music continues loudly over speakers]
[clubbers chattering, laughing]
[cell phone vibrating]
Yo.
You called me. Why?
Something was waiting for me
in my hotel room.
What do you mean "something"?
- Wait. Where are you?
- [Owen] A nightclub.
Got a note from our secret friend
trying to set a meet.
[Janus] You asshole.
That's not a meet. It's a test.
To see how you'd react.
A lawyer would proceed with caution,
go through official channels,
but you just ran into danger
like the thrill-seeking monkey you are.
Listen, asshole, you might be right, but
I need you to tone down the attitude.
All right? This is
beyond time-sensitive.
And unlike you,
I don't hide when the stakes get high.
I get shit done. And I
Somebody's watching me.
It's a woman.
I'm gonna go talk to her.
I'll see you back at the hotel.
Great. I'll be drunk.
[hip-hop music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
- [cell phone vibrates]
- [Janus savoring] Mm-mm-mm. Mm!
[vibrating]
You better be in a cab
on the way back here.
The NIS guy is here. Jang Kyun.
You are all the way to an idiot.
If he sees you,
the NIS will know we're up to something.
If the graymailer sees him,
they'll think you've betrayed them
and release our secrets.
Get the fuck out of there now!
[hip-hop music continues]
[both grunt]
[Owen] Shit.
[in Korean] Sorry.
Sorry.
[groans]
- [clubbers scream, clamor]
- [glass shatters]
- [Owen groans]
- [glass shards clinking]
- [clubbers murmur]
- [Owen grunts]
[in English] It's cool.
[breathes heavily]
- [grunts]
- [man 1 groans]
[clubbers gasp]
- [woman exclaims in Korean]
- [in English] We're even. Hey, we're even.
- [man 2 grunts]
- [dramatic music playing]
[Owen groaning]
- [man 3 grunts]
- [clubbers gasp]
[Owen pants]
- [gasps]
- [man 3 yells]
[screams]
- [glass shatters]
- [clubbers scream]
[men grunting]
[dramatic music intensifies]
[Owen yells, grunts]
[man 2 grunting]
[groans]
- [Owen panting]
- [men shouting]
[clubbers scream]
Oh.
[men chattering indistinctly]
[clubbers gasp]
[man 4 grunts]
[man 5 grunts]
[groans, choking]
[clubbers gasp]
[Owen groans]
[man 6 grunts, groans]
- [men grunting]
- [clubbers screaming]
[Owen grunts, gasps]
[huffs]
Thanks for the assist.
[Jang Kyun] We have to go.
Let's go! Let's go!
- [dramatic music continues]
- [Owen panting]
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Shit!
Shit. I'm sorry. I
- Get in the car.
- [Owen] Ah! Ah!
Fuck!
[grunts]
Fuck!
That was insane!
Dude, you are a badass! How
did you even find me? I don't even
Ah! [grunts]
[echoes] Shit.
- [grunting]
- [soundscape muffles]
[gasps]
[tense music playing]
[sighs]
You're the graymailer.
[slurs] Fuck.
[music fades out]
[dramatic electronic music playing]
[music fades out]
[radio static crackling]
[static ends]
[lights humming]
[Nichka] Who are you?
[Owen] I I don't understand.
Max said that you were dead.
[groans]
- [Nichka grunts]
- [Owen groans]
[labored breathing]
- [Nichka grunts]
- [Owen yelps]
Hey!
- [groans]
- Who the fuck are you?
I'm Owen Hendricks.
I'm a lawyer at the CIA.
Your mom is a
was an asset with the Agency,
which means you need to cut me loose.
- [tense music playing]
- [Nichka] No. [grunts]
- It means I need to kill you.
- No. No, no, no. Do not be stupid.
If we tell your friends
in the Russian mafia
and Russian intelligence
that your mom was a spy,
they'll think you were in on it
with her, and they will kill you.
Oh, then I will need to
bury you extra deep,
'cause you are the only one
who knows who I really am.
Actually, Anderson, the DO works closely
with the OGC on most operations.
- I was personally respo
- [cell phone ringing]
[suspenseful music playing]
Fuck.
[ringing ends]
- Amelia Salazar.
- [Hannah, shakily] Hi.
This is Hannah Copeland.
Y You texted me secretly yesterday
about Owen.
- He's been abducted!
- I'm not sure what you think I can do.
Pull the fucking fire alarm.
[breath trembles]
Or I'll tell your boss you gave me
classified intel that Owen was in Prague.
Let me
make a call.
[disconnect tone beeps]
I'm a little fucked, Anderson.
[tense music resumes]
I'm sure that killing your mom
has brought up some feelings,
but you cannot just kill me.
It's the CIA.
The second I signed on, they
they shoved six microchips up my ass.
Look. There is an SOG team
on its way to rescue me.
If they were coming for you,
they would be here by now.
[tense music continues]
- [handbrake clacks]
- [engine stops]
GPS in the watch Max gave Owen
shows he's in there somewhere.
[music pulsing]
[seat belt clicks]
[Dodge] REDCON1.
[quietly] Move, move.
[Dawn] Four cars. Conservative estimate,
two men per vehicle.
We're looking at
at least eight enemy combatants.
Keep it stealth as long as possible.
If you get to Hendricks first,
isolate him.
No one talks to him until I do.
Hey.
Max said the lawyer's a problem,
so we may need to cauterize the wound.
- [music abates]
- [heavy breathing echoes]
[muffled soundscape]
[breathing heavily]
[tense music builds]
You know, I'm, uh
I'm feeling a little bit lightheaded.
You can lie down in just a second.
Actually
[sniffs] I'm feeling better.
[groans, grunts]
[music intensifies]
[gasps, breathes heavily]
[music swells]
[rapid gunfire]
[man 1 grunts]
[man 2 screams]
- [Owen yells]
- [Nichka grunts]
- [bullet ricochets]
- [Owen groans]
- [Nichka screaming]
- [Owen grunting]
- [both grunt]
- [hip-hop music plays]
- [Nichka yells]
- [Owen groans]
[Nichka yells, grunts]
- [pants]
- [Owen strains]
- Limit ♪
- [Owen groaning in pain]
I ain't got no limit ♪
You can't push me past my limit ♪
- [growls]
- [Nichka grunts]
- Never lose 'cause I'm winning ♪
- [yelps]
- [grunts]
- No limit ♪
[both strain]
[Owen grunts, groans]
Can't take that, sky's the limit
Better watch every minute ♪
- [Nichka grunts]
- [groans]
- [Owen yelps]
- [Nichka grunts]
The greatness I have
Yeah, I made that ♪
[both grunting, groaning]
Never lose 'cause I'm winning ♪
- [Owen rasps]
- Work, stop, put in work ♪
- Jesus, you have strong legs.
- [chuckles breathlessly]
[leather creaking]
- [groans]
- No limit, hey ♪
[music distorts]
- [Nichka pants]
- [soundscape fades]
[high-pitched ringing]
[gunshot ricochets]
- Can't break my limit ♪
- [both panting]
[Dawn] Get off him.
[Nichka's breathing softens]
- [sighs]
- [Owen gasps, groans]
Where's Max?
[breathlessly] Dead inside.
That's her daughter.
Daughter?
Hostiles are down.
No casualties on our end.
Kill her or not?
Not.
Yet.
[Nichka grunts, laughs]
[Owen groans]
[magazine clacks]
[Owen grunts]
Yeah, I'm gonna
need a little bit of help.
Maybe a hospital.
What are What are you doing?
[breathes heavily]
Deciding whether I found you alive.
Let me help you. You definitely did.
And you're gonna win a fucking medal
for saving me.
Right, and you're just gonna keep
all those secrets Max told you about me
out of, what, the
goodness of your heart?
[Owen] I don't care
about your ghost assets.
The money that you're stealing, I I
You know a lot of bad shit about me too.
Call it "mewbidly" assured
destruction, right?
I expose you. You expose my Max stuff.
You get me "disbarged."
"Disbarbed."
Disbarred.
[sighs]
Well, as fun as that sounds,
I think it's gonna be safer for me
to just wait a few minutes
and let you bleed out.
Stupid.
[chuckles]
You lost Max.
Your only hope of
redemption is saving me.
[helicopter approaching]
[hurried footsteps approach]
[man] Over here!
[tense music playing]
Mutually assured destruction it is.
Hey! I got Hendricks over here.
We're gonna need a medic.
[dramatic, intriguing music playing]
[softly] Hey, buddy.
[music intensifies]
[music ends]
[thunder crashes]
[woman in Korean]
You think too much. She likes you.
[man] Easy for you to say.
You were married by my age.
Times are different now.
[woman] Nonsense.
My husband was even more shy than you.
He had no idea
I fell in love the moment I saw him.
Spent my nights wondering
what was wrong with me
that he wasn't making a move.
My point is, Chin Sun might
be thinking the same thing.
So ask her out.
- Or I'll do it for you.
- You wouldn't.
I will!
[gearshift grinds]
What's that ahead?
[brakes squeak]
[idling engine rumbles]
- Maybe an accident?
- [tense music playing]
Back up.
[music intensifies]
Back up! Go!
- [gearshift clanks]
- [tires whir]
Faster! Step on it!
- [gunshot]
- [glass cracks]
Duri! Duri!
Duri! Stay with me! Duri!
[music ends]
Duri!
[gasps] Duri!
- Duri! Duri!
- [tense music continues]
[panicked breathing]
[sinister music playing]
[gasps]
[in English] No.
[softly] Please.
[breath trembling] Please.
[music intensifying]
[gasps] I I work for a South Korean
NGO bringing food to our countrymen.
[in Korean] Get off me! [whimpers]
[in English] No!
[screams]
[shouting in Korean]
[screaming]
- [thunder crashes]
- [scream echoes]
[gasping, grunting]
[yells in Korean]
[screams, grunts]
[in English] Oh no! Oh no! [screams]
- [pounding on trunk]
- [screaming]
[engines powering down]
- [suspenseful music playing]
- [respirator whooshing softly]
[echoing] Hey. Relax. You're safe.
[mutters groggily]
[Lester] Hmm?
[Owen exhales]
Define safe.
[music intensifies]
[hatch clanks, whirs]
[helicopter blades whirring]
[music fades]
- [Owen groans]
- We got him.
- No, I got him.
- [Owen grunts]
You go park the crazy Russian in darkness
till we figure out what to do with her.
And clean her up.
She looks like a horror movie.
[agents chatter indistinctly]
What's the damage? How bad is it?
[scoffs] Well, the asset's dead,
shot up half of Europe,
and just pulled a lawyer
out of a death pit.
I'd say things are less than optimal.
Okay, you can flip Nichka.
Make her an asset instead of her mom.
Not a bad idea.
It might help.
I killed someone.
Dude, I am not a priest.
Do not confess to me.
[scoffs] You're in the wrong business
if you're looking for absolution.
- [Owen] Mm.
- Understand?
Yeah.
And just so I'm clear,
do not confess to a priest either.
You are in the wrong department
for killing people.
[Owen] Is that
Hannah?
[Lester] Yeah, the girl saved you, man.
She contacted Amelia
and got the whole rescue operation
in motion.
Don't tell her about anything
that just happened. Nothing.
For her sake.
Are you okay?
Yeah, I I will be. You saved me.
Yeah, I've had a lot of practice.
You need to quit, Owen.
I know.
I know. I'm going to.
It's just, it's complicated.
[Hannah] So what?
How many deep ends are you
gonna dive into without thinking?
All of 'em.
This time is different.
People died.
- [Hannah] Yeah.
- [Owen sniffles]
And you were almost one of them.
- You need to walk away.
- 100%.
But if I walk away now, then I am
gonna be blamed for everything.
[Hannah] No.
If you don't walk away now,
then you're just gonna find another
way to get sucked back in, and
[poignant music playing softly]
I can't do that again.
- Hannah.
- No.
I'm moving out.
When you get back to DC
I'll be gone.
I don't understand.
You lost the asset but saved the lawyer?
Yes, sir. I'm preparing
a full after-action report.
Why are you talking?
This was your op, and you shit the bed.
[Dawn] Sir, the asset lied to us.
[West] Because that's what assets do.
And only a moron trusts them.
Take a walk, Gilbane.
And start a clear broth diet,
because the CEG
is about to crawl up in there.
[card reader beeps]
Sir, it's not all bad news.
The dead asset's daughter
was an enforcer for the Russian mob.
Like Max,
she has ties to Russian intelligence.
- You wanna turn her?
- Not me, personally.
[West] Forget that. No, you
already sold your soul back to me.
You're gonna take over
Dawn's job in Warsaw.
I want this girl vetted
and in the field ASAP.
Yes, sir.
If you're committed to this path,
then I'm gonna attach one of my people
to Lester's hip.
So when subpoenas start flying,
we're protected legally.
[intriguing music playing]
Um sir, it should be me.
I'm already read in
on several key elements.
Great. We're in business.
And I expect results.
Quickly.
[beep]
[Lester sighs]
- You so owe me.
- [Lester] For sure.
But, hey, look at the bright side.
We'll be 4,000 miles away
when the shit lands on Hendricks.
[music fades]
[somber music playing]
- [door opens]
- [Owen] Hey, ocupado!
- Hey!
- [door closes]
What are you
W We're not supposed to talk.
We got one minute
to come up with a game plan
so they can't hang
this around our necks.
Okay, well, we don't need
a whole minute, obviously.
We just blame Max.
Blame the dead girl. [scoffs]
Not the most original idea.
Okay, then throw the dead guy
in there too.
They were in it together.
[faint muffled voices chattering]
- [Owen] So Max
- [tap squeaks]
and Xander were engaged
in a criminal conspiracy,
and they kept us in the dark
about everything.
And how could I be expected
to execute a successful mission plan
when one of our own was actively
conspiring against the Agency?
Works all day.
Are you gonna try to kill me again?
I didn't try and kill you.
I just briefly didn't try and save you.
But
- Yeah?
- Make no mistake.
Your life will end painfully
if you turn on me.
Yeah. Yeah, I got it.
[sighs]
[whispers] Fucking psychopath.
Jesus! Ah!
[Nichka] That was
a fascinating conversation.
[brushes hands]
Talk about a criminal conspiracy.
- I'm leaving. Thank you.
- [Nichka] You are naked.
And I have kompromat.
Your deal with the small woman.
So what happens to me now?
[Owen] Um
I mean, that's
that's up to your new handler.
But I would imagine
that they'll make you an asset.
[Nichka scoffs]
Fuck that.
Well, it beats them telling Russia
that you're compromised.
Plus, you'll get paid.
How much?
Uh, depends on the intel you provide.
A chatty FSB secretary's
a couple of hundred.
Nuclear secrets add a bunch of zeros.
If you have intel on General Kuznetsov,
you'll definitely see their O-face.
- [distant clatter]
- [man shouts]
- [soldier 1] Negative. Other stall?
- [soldier 2] I don't see her.
Uh, yeah, okay,
I'm gonna have to sell you out now.
- Yo! She's in here!
- [soldier 1] Men's room!
Okay, no need for drama.
- [grunts]
- [soldier grunts]
- ["BILLIE EILISH." by Armani White plays]
- [groans]
- I lied.
- [grunts]
A little drama is always good.
Bitch, I'm stylish, Glock tucked
Big T-shirt, Billie Eilish ♪
Watch on my wrist
But I want that in diamonds ♪
Niggas talkin' crazy
When I pull up, it's silent ♪
Mile high, run that shit back
Bitch, I'm stylish ♪
Glock tucked
Big T-shirt, Billie Eilish ♪
Watch on my wrist
But I want that in diamonds ♪
Niggas talkin' crazy
When I pull up, it's silent ♪
Mile high
Fuck a first-class, I'm the pilot ♪
Put it in perspective ♪
Billie Eilish ♪
Watch on my wrist
But I want that in diamonds ♪
Niggas talkin' crazy
When I pull up, it's silent ♪
Mile high
Fuck a first-class, I'm the pilot ♪
[music fades out]
Sir.
Do you, uh, have a minute?
[door closes]
You wanna know what happens next.
Well yeah.
In the short term, nothing.
Because CEG will be
investigating the failed op.
And like any investigation,
they'll wait until the end
to talk to the target, i.e. me.
Exactly.
Sir, I almost died
three times,
trying to do the job I was tasked with.
So you're planning to blame me?
What? No, not at all.
- You think I'm stupid, Hendricks?
- No, sir.
You've been a wild card
from the moment you started.
And though I appreciate your enthusiasm
and ability to get shit done,
you make me nervous.
You seem to always need to be the hero.
But you're not a hero.
You're a lawyer.
- Sir
- No, let me finish.
Maybe you're telling the truth, and
none of this nightmare was your fault.
But maybe not.
Until I and the Agency
are sure which it is,
you're being benched.
From this moment on,
you will sit in your office
all day, every day.
You will not do any work,
make any calls, send any emails.
You will simply sit on your hands
and count dust bunnies
until we untangle
this mess you've created.
Am I clear?
Yes, sir.
But I'm really not designed
for stasis, sir.
If I'm vertical,
I really need to be doing something.
You will be.
You'll be sitting in your office.
Now go there and do that.
[woman] Yes, I have them right here.
- [man chatters indistinctly]
- [woman] Uh-huh.
The voice printouts.
And what else did you need, sir?
Hey!
[percussive music playing]
[Owen] Hi, Amelia! [chuckles]
Amelia.
I feel like you're avoiding me.
Oh, I am. Everybody is.
You've been rubber-roomed pending
a counterespionage investigation.
Anyone connected to you
is a potential criminal target.
Any idea how long
the investigation is gonna take?
Forever.
It is in nobody's best interest
to clear you.
[pen scribbling]
Can I ask you an honest question?
[scoffs] You can ask.
If the op was a success,
would people actually care about
what went wrong?
Of course not.
The only way to stay out of trouble here
is to win.
[pen scribbles]
I'm guessing that's also the only way
to get out of a rubber room.
Sure. But it is catch-22.
Because you can't get a win
when you've been rubber-roomed.
What, so I'm trapped in this job
in limbo forever, with the
the constant threat of being blamed
for a national security disaster
hanging over my head?
Yes.
You have been very unhelpful.
Sorry.
[Owen] You were going the other way.
["9 to 5" by The Math Club
and Masta Ace playing]
Man, I'm so sick of this 9-to-5 ♪
Tell me, what's a brutha gon' do
In the world when he tryin' to thrive? ♪
I'm dyin' to survive
Stayin' alive is killing me ♪
I thought I loved you
As much as I could ♪
My love was wrong,
I was misunderstood ♪
All along I was so immature, yeah ♪
- [brooding operatic music playing]
- [Owen growls]
[rasps]
[mimics strafing]
[operatic music continues]
[music fades out]
If I put my mind to it, lil' buddy
You know I'mma do it all the way ♪
Roaches hate, I'm makin' moves I
listen 'bout as much as I can tolerate ♪
From here on out, we cuttin' out ♪
The people
who don't contribute to winning ♪
Winning, winning ♪
Raise your glass to everybody Who
was here from the fuckin' beginning ♪
- Beginning ♪
- Yeah! ♪
You talkin' 'bout toast
I'm talkin' 'bout bread ♪
You talkin' 'bout gross
I'm talkin' 'bout net ♪
You hold the false hopes ♪
- [music stops]
- [mail cart wheels rattling]
[cart halts]
Hi. Hey.
Thanks.
Although, technically, you know, I'm not
supposed to be getting mail right now.
"No work for Owen."
Whoa. Hey. Hold on. Wait. Th
This isn't even for me.
[mail clerk] This is office 309?
Uh, yeah, but I'm not
"Bill Bemus."
Not my problem. [scoffs]
[intriguing music playing]
Hey, buddy.
No. Fuck all the way off.
You are the kiss of death.
No, do not come into my office!
- Fine. I'll talk to you from out here.
- [Janus] That's not
Did you know the guy
who used to have my office?
Bemus? He retired. Why?
N No, no, never mind.
- I don't wanna know.
- [Owen] I got mail that was meant for him.
It's a cryptic message from Korea
with a really weird digraph.
And a handwritten note
that feels pretty threatening.
You know where I can get his number?
You can't. He's dead.
I thought you said he retired.
He did. Then he died.
- Of what?
- [Janus] Heart disease.
He was old. Been here since Eisenhower.
What do I do with the letter?
Well, I think in a situation
that's sensitive like this,
you might wanna consider
jamming it up your ass
or maybe slitting your throat with it.
I don't care. Just don't do it near me.
[Owen sighs]
[Janus] Fuck off.
[intriguing music resumes]
- [music lifts]
- Excuse me.
- Hi. Remember me?
- [music ends]
- Maybe.
- All right.
Well, I got something new
for you to look up.
You know, there are other people
you could go to.
Yeah, I know. I just thought
that we really bonded last time, so
[sighs] What is it?
Here.
It's a nonsense digraph.
The country code "RQ" doesn't exist.
Hmm. Oh.
All right. Can you
run it anyway, please?
Why?
Because thoroughness is the first thing
they teach you in law school.
Covering your ass is the first thing
they teach you here.
It'll take two seconds.
I'll go bother someone else next time.
[munching]
Deal.
[keyboard clacks]
- [heavy metal music playing]
- [alarm blaring]
- [man 1] On the ground!
- What what the fuck?
- [man 1] Do it now!
- Whoa. Hey, relax.
All right. I [grunts, groans]
- [gun cocks]
- [man 2] Stop resisting.
[music ends]
I told you to stay in your office.
Yes, sir.
It wasn't a complicated instruction.
There was no math involved.
Yes, sir. But then I
I got that letter and, um
You don't get mail. I made sure of that.
Technically, it, um
it belonged to my predecessor.
Then why the fuck did you open it?
- 'Cause I got bored.
- [Nyland sighs]
That's gonna be etched
on your tombstone.
Yeah, no doubt.
So what did I step in?
What Korean operation
does that digraph refer to?
One so secret, they hid its very
existence behind a fake country code.
All I could get from the director
was that it needs to be handled fast
and kept secret at all cost.
Well, that letter is
definitely graymail.
The number written on it
is a latitude-longitude position
for Paradox Hotel in Seoul.
That's where Agency personnel stay
when they're in-country.
[electronic music playing]
Sir, let me go there,
chase down our graymailer.
Why the crusty fuck would I do that?
Because I know Seoul.
My dad was stationed in Korea
for two years.
But more importantly,
I'm already radioactive.
Who better to send into Fukushima
than the guy
who just walked out of Chernobyl?
If I somehow save the day,
I get un-rubber-roomed.
But if I fail,
you don't get blamed.
[music ends]
What's the over-under on Owen quitting?
Six days. Pot's up to 1,200.
- I'm in for 100 at three days.
- [phone rings]
[Amelia] Mm-hmm.
- [phone ringing]
- It's Nyland.
Well, better you than me.
[phone beeps]
Yes, sir.
I'm looking at him right now.
No, no, no, no. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Yes, sir?
Oh no.
No.
[Nyland] Oh yes.
Yes.
Hendricks has catapulted face-first
into an even more
problematic graymail situation.
He needs adult supervision.
So,
I'm sending you to Korea with him.
Sir, I wish I could go,
but my cat is really sick.
[percussive music playing]
You don't own a cat.
I'm in the process of adopting.
You're going to Korea.
[sighs] Yes, sir.
What do we tell Seoul Station?
[Nyland] Nothing.
Say you're looking into an HR matter.
That'll give you an excuse
to dig through any files you want.
Nail down who has
knowledge of RQSwallow.
Find out the identity of our graymailer.
That's assuming that it's coming
from someone at the Agency.
The the graymail
refers to a joint op,
so it could just as easily
have been somebody at the NIS.
- [intriguing music playing]
- I am loath to admit it, but he's right.
Until you have more information,
play it close to the vest.
Everyone's a suspect.
Yes, sir.
- Thank you for believing in me.
- [Janus clears throat]
[music intensifies]
- [Owen] Listen, I
- Shut up.
- [music ends]
- I think this could be really good for us.
- [distant siren wails]
- [car horns honk]
[distant siren wailing]
[poignant music playing softly]
[girl giggles]
- [gulls calling]
- [girl giggling]
[chuckles softly]
[cell phone vibrating]
[vibrating stops]
Hello?
[Nichka] You told me I would make money,
but all they've done is vet me.
I'm hanging up.
[Nichka] Okay, but know this.
If I don't start getting paid,
I start spilling your secrets.
- Do not do that.
- Then you tell them to pay me.
I have to go now.
Lev's people are mad at me for Prague.
Okay, but
I need my hands free
in case they come looking for me.
[baby crying in distance]
[disconnect tone beeping]
[Russian hip-hop music playing]
[keys jangling]
[floorboard creaks]
[keys jangle]
[lock rattles]
[clack]
[dog barking]
[man grunting]
[groans]
[groans]
[gasps, whimpers]
[grunts]
[music ends]
- [couple chatters in Korean]
- [baby cooing]
- [baby gurgles]
- [parents chuckle]
[serene music playing softly]
- [water trickling gently]
- [birds chirping]
[giggles]
[baby fusses]
[baby whines]
[baby crying]
[crying grows louder]
Are you on a fucking dating app?
- [music ends]
- It's not a
Don't worry about it.
Oh, I'm gonna worry,
because you kidnapped me
into your suicide circus.
So I want total transparency,
because I intend on
getting out of this in one piece.
[hesitates silently]
My dad was stationed in Seoul
when I was a kid.
Yoo Jin was my BFF.
She was my first kiss.
She was the only person there for me
when my dad got blown up.
That's a beautiful story.
If you think about her again
while we're in Korea,
I'll push you in front
of a fucking train.
You understand?
You know you have anger issues, right?
I have everything issues.
All right.
You wanna give me a lay of the land?
What are we walking into
when we land in Seoul?
[percussive music playing]
Well, Owen, Korea is an ally.
We work closely with them
to make sure
we can keep NK and China in line.
But we still spy on each other
like maniacs.
So you better be
on your best behavior at all times.
No problem.
We're so fucked.
[music ends]
[man over PA] Welcome to Seoul.
Please do not be alarmed,
but there will be
a slight delay in deplaning.
We have a small security issue.
[Owen] Um are they coming for us?
Yep. Anytime there's a last-minute
rush job on country clearance,
it sets off alarms.
Oh shi
[man chatters over PA in Korean]
[tense, intriguing music playing]
[in English] Howdy.
[music continues]
[music fades out]
[indistinct chatter over comms]
- [woman] Mr. Ferber?
- [Janus] Mm-hmm.
I'm Grace Cho with the NIS.
Ah, thank you for getting us
off the plane before first class,
but, uh, there really was no need.
That's for me to decide.
Come with me, please.
No. Just him.
Your assistant can wait out here.
- Oh, I'm not his
- Yep.
- I'm not his assistant.
- [door beeps]
[chatter continues over radio]
[door closes]
- [radio trills]
- [Owen scoffs softly]
[Janus] I'm not sure what the issue is.
We went through the proper channels,
got the appropriate clearances.
We just want to understand
what the purpose
of your last-minute visit to Korea is.
[Janus] Not a problem.
I'm more than happy
to reveal internal CIA activities,
as long as you don't mind
giving me dirt on the NIS.
There's no reason to be an asshole.
[Janus] Well, there's always a reason.
But you're the one out of line here.
Since you refuse to answer my questions,
I may have to deny your entry
into the country.
[Janus] Yeah, that's not gonna happen.
The provisions
of the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1953
gives us a right to be here.
And the optics would be terrible.
- [inhales sharply] So can we go now?
- No.
Sit down.
Oh. Do you mind if I sit?
Knock yourself out.
[chuckles softly]
Thank you.
Yeah, it's gonna be a while.
Officer Cho is very thorough.
She won't let your boss go
until she's satisfied.
He's not my boss.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I assumed since he's in there
and you're out here
No worries.
So, uh
what do you do?
Oh.
- I'm a clerk.
- Oh yeah?
- Mm-hmm.
- You like it?
[chuckles] Yes, I, uh, do.
I've always been organized,
ever since I was a child.
My [chuckles]
my wife calls me "anus."
"Anal." Right?
It It means you
obsess over the details.
Exactly.
So have you ever been to Seoul before?
Wasn't in my file?
- Excuse me? What
- No, no, no, no, that's all right.
I actually appreciate the rope-a-dope.
The "rope-a-dope"?
Oh, come on.
You didn't bat an eye
when I said "knock yourself out."
That's a fairly obscure English idiom,
which means you got the whole
"anal-anus" thing wrong on purpose.
Plus, you weren't surprised
when I wolfed down
boiled intestine on a stick,
because you knew that I'd be familiar
with sundae from my time here as a kid.
[chuckles] I'm sorry to disagree,
but I recognized the phrase
from American films,
and I figured
if you were hungry, you would eat.
Nice try, but then there's your belt.
It's frayed at your right hip,
because you normally have
a gun holster clipped there.
Which you obviously took off
before you came over here
pretending to be an office clerk
so that you could interrogate me
through duplicity.
- [chuckles softly]
- [intriguing music playing]
Very good.
I knew you weren't an assistant.
Or a lawyer.
No, I am definitely a lawyer.
Yeah, a busy one,
according to your passport records.
- Yemen. Vienna.
- What can I say?
I'm a I'm a troubleshooter for people
who get into trouble professionally.
And what "trouble"
are you in Korea to shoot?
Just a HR complaint.
A nasty one. [sighs]
Can I have more sundae?
[scoffs]
Knock yourself out.
[upbeat K-pop music playing]
[music continues over stereo]
Man this place has really changed.
[woman chattering in Korean over stereo]
[in English] You know
we're being followed, right?
[Janus] Oh yeah.
The NIS is in the paranoia business.
They are not buying our cover story.
I wouldn't either.
[woman on stereo in Korean] bring
the free end under the first loop
and back through the third loop.
Then tighten gently
[intriguing music playing]
[chatter over stereo continues]
[music fades out]
[in English] Hey. Key to your room.
- Separate rooms?
- Yeah.
You may have literally dragged me
across the globe, but I have needs.
And those needs are my own bathtub,
my own robe and some me time.
Shouldn't we be on the lookout
for our graymailer?
- They're the reason we're in this hotel.
- Oh yeah. Great idea.
Why don't you take the first shift
and wake me up in the morning?
[sighs]
- [card reader trills]
- [door opens]
[door closes]
Oh.
[fanfare music playing softly on TV]
[Owen chuckles]
[woman chattering indistinctly on TV]
That's good.
[groans]
I love bed.
[grunts softly]
[expectant, percussive music playing]
[line rings]
[woman] Good evening, Mr. Hendricks.
How can I assist you?
Hi. Yeah.
Um, there was an envelope
in my room when I got here.
Do you know who dropped it off?
[woman] No, sir. Is there a problem?
Nope. Thank you.
[operatic music playing faintly]
[cell phone vibrating]
[water sloshes]
[music continues over headphones]
[automated voice] Your call
has been forwarded to an automatic
[intriguing music playing]
[Owen] Yo!
Tch-tch!
I know I'm breaking the fourth wall here.
I thought you'd probably be hungry, so
Bibimbap and kimchi.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Honestly, I feel bad
they got you out here watching us.
We're seriously just in Seoul doing boring
legal work out of the embassy, so
It's my job.
And my boss is very demanding.
I hope she didn't give your colleague
too hard of a time.
Ah, it's nothing he couldn't handle.
Is that maedeup?
Very good.
Yes, uh, my wife taught me. She's
an expert. I'm still just a novice.
Yeah, I had a friend when I was a kid
who did it, so
She was the real novice compared to
what you got going on over there though.
Anyway, I'm gonna
let you get back to it.
And, uh, the jet lag
is just catching up to me,
so I'm gonna hit the sheets.
- Good night.
- Good night.
Oh, and, uh thank you
for the bibimbap and kimchi.
[chatter continues on car stereo]
[sniffs]
- [chatter over radio]
- [Owen in Korean] Here.
I'll just be a second.
[people chattering, laughing]
[Korean rock music playing nearby]
[in English] Hey, come on.
[all in Korean] Cheers!
[man] Whoo!
One more shot!
- One more shot!
- One more shot!
Ah.
[rock music continues]
[car horn honks]
[music softens]
[in English] Owen?
[chuckles] Hi.
Uh, how are you?
You look you look great.
I look like the end of a long day.
What are you doing here?
[hesitates]
Um
I'm not really sure.
- Oh.
- [bottles clink]
I haven't seen you in a decade, and
now I find you lurking outside my job?
- This is
- Weird, I know. It's super weird.
Uh, but no, I promise you,
it's not like in a
like in a bad, weird kinda way.
I I I came here to to see you.
- So why didn't you just come inside?
- Because I can't I can't stay.
I have to be somewhere for work.
- Um
- [car horn honks]
[sighs]
Look, I guess I just
I I came here to say, um
you saved me.
When my dad died.
And I was just a kid, right?
I was way too young to understand, um
And then I was gone,
and I just I don't know.
I was in town, and I
just I wanted to say
thank you.
[poignant music playing]
[car horn honks]
[softly] Um
You really do look great.
- [door opens]
- [Owen] All right, relax.
[poignant music continues]
["HOLUP!" by BOOBY fades in]
[music continues loudly over speakers]
[clubbers chattering, laughing]
[cell phone vibrating]
Yo.
You called me. Why?
Something was waiting for me
in my hotel room.
What do you mean "something"?
- Wait. Where are you?
- [Owen] A nightclub.
Got a note from our secret friend
trying to set a meet.
[Janus] You asshole.
That's not a meet. It's a test.
To see how you'd react.
A lawyer would proceed with caution,
go through official channels,
but you just ran into danger
like the thrill-seeking monkey you are.
Listen, asshole, you might be right, but
I need you to tone down the attitude.
All right? This is
beyond time-sensitive.
And unlike you,
I don't hide when the stakes get high.
I get shit done. And I
Somebody's watching me.
It's a woman.
I'm gonna go talk to her.
I'll see you back at the hotel.
Great. I'll be drunk.
[hip-hop music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
- [cell phone vibrates]
- [Janus savoring] Mm-mm-mm. Mm!
[vibrating]
You better be in a cab
on the way back here.
The NIS guy is here. Jang Kyun.
You are all the way to an idiot.
If he sees you,
the NIS will know we're up to something.
If the graymailer sees him,
they'll think you've betrayed them
and release our secrets.
Get the fuck out of there now!
[hip-hop music continues]
[both grunt]
[Owen] Shit.
[in Korean] Sorry.
Sorry.
[groans]
- [clubbers scream, clamor]
- [glass shatters]
- [Owen groans]
- [glass shards clinking]
- [clubbers murmur]
- [Owen grunts]
[in English] It's cool.
[breathes heavily]
- [grunts]
- [man 1 groans]
[clubbers gasp]
- [woman exclaims in Korean]
- [in English] We're even. Hey, we're even.
- [man 2 grunts]
- [dramatic music playing]
[Owen groaning]
- [man 3 grunts]
- [clubbers gasp]
[Owen pants]
- [gasps]
- [man 3 yells]
[screams]
- [glass shatters]
- [clubbers scream]
[men grunting]
[dramatic music intensifies]
[Owen yells, grunts]
[man 2 grunting]
[groans]
- [Owen panting]
- [men shouting]
[clubbers scream]
Oh.
[men chattering indistinctly]
[clubbers gasp]
[man 4 grunts]
[man 5 grunts]
[groans, choking]
[clubbers gasp]
[Owen groans]
[man 6 grunts, groans]
- [men grunting]
- [clubbers screaming]
[Owen grunts, gasps]
[huffs]
Thanks for the assist.
[Jang Kyun] We have to go.
Let's go! Let's go!
- [dramatic music continues]
- [Owen panting]
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Shit!
Shit. I'm sorry. I
- Get in the car.
- [Owen] Ah! Ah!
Fuck!
[grunts]
Fuck!
That was insane!
Dude, you are a badass! How
did you even find me? I don't even
Ah! [grunts]
[echoes] Shit.
- [grunting]
- [soundscape muffles]
[gasps]
[tense music playing]
[sighs]
You're the graymailer.
[slurs] Fuck.
[music fades out]
[dramatic electronic music playing]
[music fades out]