The Spy (2019) s01e01 Episode Script

The Immigrant

1 [RAINFALL.]
[THUNDER ROLLING.]
[SPEAKING FRENCH.]
How was Damascus? I need to talk with the Israeli Prime Minister.
Merci.
[CICADAS CHIRPING.]
[GASPS.]
[TELEPHONE RINGS.]
[WOMAN.]
Hello? - Did we hear from the frog? - Yes.
[BANGING AT DOOR.]
[BANGING AT DOOR.]
Rabbi Endebbo? Yes.
Come with us.
[MAN.]
Thank you for coming this late.
[SIGHS.]
This is George Seif, Radio Damascus.
A few minutes ago, our beloved president, Amin Al-Hafez, asked me to read this announcement.
The Zionist spy, Eli Cohen [RABBI ENDEBBO.]
You did good.
Now sign your name.
My poor boy, you do not remember your name? You do not know who you are.
[MORSE CODE BEEPING.]
[OVERLAPPING VOICES.]
[BROADCASTER.]
nuclear weapons Aah! [BELL DINGS.]
[SPEAKING HEBREW.]
[WOMAN.]
Husband, I love you more than anything in the whole world.
But if you come home late tonight, I will kill you.
Nadia.
[EASY LISTENING MUZAK PLAYING.]
[NADIA.]
How much did it cost? [ELI.]
That is none of your business.
[NADIA.]
It's too expensive for me.
Nothing is too expensive for you, mon amour.
Now hurry up if you don't want to be late.
[NEWS BROADCAST PLAYING.]
It was so cheap.
It was half It was half-price.
I love it.
Hey, what happened? [BROADCASTER.]
and death in the Middle East Another attack in the north.
battle heavily damages Tiberias on the Israeli-Syrian border.
Israeli Premier inspects the ruins.
This farming settlement or kibbutzim, lies in an area claimed by both nations.
The fighting erupted quickly when Syrians allegedly fired on Israeli farmers operating tractors.
Israel used tanks, mortars and aircraft to counter-attack.
- We don't have to go.
- Syrian officials claim - 70 Israelis killed on the ground - It's fine.
and five warplanes shot down.
Israel claims six Syrian MiGs.
[GUNFIRE ON TV.]
Israel supplied this film, reportedly showing the dogfight in the sky Heartbreak Hotel Blue Suede Shoes Waltz away with all my blues Take my trouble, take my pain Come on aboard that Mystery Train My boy Elvis Real rock - My boy Elvis - I'll get this for you.
Real rock - Little gravelly, ooh, sing for me - Come on.
And the kids.
I mean the kids.
It's just so terrible.
Really.
Did they say how many casualties? - I mean - There you are.
- Hi.
- I've been looking for you all night.
I'm here with Nadia.
You remember her? - Oh, Nadia! - Hi.
- Oh, hey! - Hello.
You know my wife is absolutely infatuated with you, right? - Thank you so much.
- I mean, come on.
Could you get us a tonic water with a lemon twist, please? Arik, this is Eli.
Nadia's husband.
- Oh, my God.
- [CHUCKLING.]
I am so sorry.
- I - I mean, really, Arik? Really? - No - No, no, no, it's fine.
- It's fine.
- No, I'm absolutely horrified.
Welcome.
- Ugh! - Please, please, don't worry.
Um - It's because of the waistcoat.
Uh - No.
I'm fine, and to prove it, I'm going to get us all a round of tonic water.
- No, no, no.
- I'll come with you.
No, no, no.
With a lemon twist.
- [LAUGHING.]
- "Oh, the ki the kids! The kids, I c I care so much about the kids.
" - [CHUCKLING.]
- Okay, stop it.
- We're being unkind.
- I know.
They were nice to invite us.
Well, they invited us to add color to their party, Nadia.
That's it.
What color is that? Brown.
Oh, not that again.
That's not true.
She invited us because she likes me.
She's my friend.
She's your friend? You fix her dresses.
You're her employee.
That's all.
You're her maid.
Did I upset you? Nadi? I didn't mean she's not your friend or she doesn't like you.
That's exactly what you meant.
You think that because they have money No, no.
It's not because of that.
It's because they think they're better than us.
- Who? - All of them.
Everyone.
With their stupid parties and their childish music.
[SIGHS.]
They have no idea what I did in Egypt.
They think I'm just another immigrant.
How would they know if you don't tell them? You sit quietly in the corner and expect everyone to guess.
Well, they could ask.
You know what they see when they look at me? I know what I see.
They see an Arab.
That's it.
Jewish, yes.
But just an Arab.
You're my Arab.
Come on.
Aah.
- Eli.
- Hmm? Can you do me a favor? Yes.
Can you get me some tonic water with a lemon twist? [BOTH LAUGH.]
[RUMBLING.]
Down! - Get down! - Down! - Everyone, get down! - [MISSILE SCREAMING.]
- [SIREN BLARING.]
- Everyone down! Everyone! [NEIGHING.]
[MAN.]
I'm sick and tired of burying my sons and daughters Cigarette? - There has to be a solution - I quit.
and I want to know what it is.
And if you can't give me the right answers, I'll fetch someone who'll give them to me.
Jacob, this can't continue like this.
It cannot! Bring me a solution! We need to send someone there as soon as possible.
- It doesn't work that way.
- Then make it work that way.
We have no one in there to tell us what's going on.
We're completely blind and deaf.
I understand, but what you're talking about takes time.
How long? Syria's not like Egypt.
They're paranoid, suspicious.
To build a reliable cover, train Uh We're talking at least two years.
You have six months, not a day more.
Impossible.
You wanna go in there and tell him that right now? I'll walk with you.
Come on.
Let me know the moment you identify an asset.
We've made this mistake once before.
Come with me.
I want to show you something.
Come with me.
Okay? I'm not supposed to show it to you.
Nathan.
It's fine.
In the past five months, there were four attacks from the Syrian Golan on our villages.
- The attacks are escalating.
- I know all this.
Shut up and listen! These aerial images we got from our American friends show us the exact locations from where the Syrians are shooting.
What are these dots here? You tell me.
Definitely heavy equipment.
Tanks? Dan these were taken one hour before and after the most recent attack.
No dots.
Where'd they go? We think underground, but we're not sure.
So these attacks My God, they're not random.
It's a diversion.
The Syrians are trying to make us look the other way.
Yes.
Why? What are they up to? We have no idea what they're building, but I can assure you we're not going to like it.
The Golan is one of the most guarded places in the world.
The Syrians don't let anyone in there.
Not even their own.
We need eyes and ears on the other side of the border.
I understand that, but We owe our people the right to live in peace and security.
In this land, that right doesn't come without a price.
And sometimes the price is high, as you very well know.
Look, at least before you say no to me, consider all the people we are responsible for.
Not just the one.
[MAN.]
Show me that one again.
[TELEPHONE RINGS.]
Mm.
Anything interesting? Parents from Aleppo, grew up in Alexandria, immigrated to Israel three years ago.
Applied here twice already.
- And we disqualified him because - We don't like volunteers.
Too eager.
And also because of his brother, Maurice Cohen, analyst, Egyptian desk.
Oh, he smuggled Jews from Egypt to Israel.
- That's good.
- Yeah, including his whole family.
He joined them only years after.
He stayed to help.
Yes arrested in connection with the Lavon Affair.
So he's got a record in Egypt.
Okay, then.
I'll keep looking.
Do you want me to send everyone home? Close the door? I thought we stopped doing that.
Something about your husband.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Just get me some coffee.
Right.
Okay.
And close the door.
[RINGING TONE.]
[WOMAN.]
Hello? Mrs.
Burek, I'm sorry I'm calling this late, but I tried a few times.
- This is - I know who this is.
Please don't call here anymore.
[DIALING TONE.]
[TYPEWRITER KEYS CLACKING.]
[CARRIAGE RETURN PINGS.]
[CAR HORNS BLARE.]
- [JACOB.]
That's him? - [DAN.]
Mm-hm.
Explain the significance of this again.
I can teach anyone to transmit, to make a bomb, to go undercover.
But a true agent has instinct, and that cannot be taught.
He either has it or he doesn't.
So you gave him the wrong address.
An operative should sense that something is wrong, and that he's being watched.
But there must be dozens of other windows facing him.
And even if he knows this is a test, how could he possibly know that Unbelievable.
Took him too long.
[DOOR SLAMS.]
Do you know who we are? [ELI.]
Yes.
If I'm right, I applied to you twice before.
You rejected me twice, too.
Circumstances change.
We want to offer you the opportunity to do something important with your life.
Do you consider yourself a patriot? I love this country with all my might.
If your country needed you to quit your job, would you do it? To do what? If your country needed you to quit your job, would you do it? Yes.
If your country needed you to lie to your friends, your family, your wife, would you do it? Yes.
If your country asked you to risk your life, would you do it? I already have.
Nothing about this conversation is hypothetical.
Tomorrow morning, you will get up, pack your lunch, kiss your wife goodbye, and come here without telling anyone.
You'll begin working with me and my team.
In the next few days, you'll go through a series of tests, and if you pass, you'll go through a period of training.
If, after that, you're found to be a good fit for us, then we might hire you.
To do what? [NADIA SINGING IN HEBREW.]
Ow! - What? - Ow Mmph! Again! I'd like to kill this machine.
Before it kills me.
Thank you.
Come with me.
What? Eli, no.
I can't.
Really, I have to finish this dress.
- After.
- Eli, come on.
After.
[STARTS ENGINE.]
[DAN.]
Surveillance.
Two of my agents are following us right now.
They've been following us for a while.
I want you to spot them before we get to that juice bar.
Don't let them see you know, that way you have an advantage.
Zig-zag, in different directions.
Change your pattern, and check the reflections whenever you can.
Keep Keep walking.
T-55, Russian.
Combines a high-velocity cannon with exceptional long-range endurance.
[PROJECTOR CLICKS.]
MiG 17, Russian.
This model has an entirely new, thinner, and more highly swept wing and tail plane for speeds approaching Mach 1.
So who? Um Not good enough, again.
You're not paying attention.
Our goal is 25 words a minute.
Go.
[MORSE CODE BLEEPING.]
[GROANS.]
[MAN.]
Faster.
Faster! Run! [PANTING.]
Come on, keep running! Keep pushing! [MORSE CODE BLEEPING.]
Stop.
- Fourteen words.
Three mistakes.
- Again.
Um Lieutenant Afif Al-Bizri.
Colonel Co I I mean, Colonel Afif Al-Bizri.
[PROJECTOR CLICKS.]
[TRAINER.]
Run! That's good.
One, two, three, four The man in the brown shirt and short sleeves.
Again.
Stop.
Forty-five words.
Zero mistakes.
I can do better.
Ahmed Suidani, head of secret police.
T-55 tank, Russian.
120 millimeter mortar shells, go.
[PROJECTOR CLICKS.]
The man with the green cap, and the older woman by the vegetable stand.
Both wrong.
Tomorrow you try again.
There's no room for mistake, Eli.
No room for mistake.
[DOOR SLAMS.]
He spotted the both of you.
You're getting sloppy.
Sorry.
I'm looking for my husband, Eli Cohen.
Is this not He needs to head up from the north.
- From the south or the north? - I couldn't spot it.
His father.
He needs passage.
Do we know where they're sending us? Everyone out! Don't knock.
Let's all go.
Not you.
Eighty-eight.
[SIGHS.]
He's cementing his cover.
Everything is moving according to plan.
We need to move him faster into Buenos Aires.
- It's the perfect time to get in.
- I can't agree to that.
Last I checked, you work for me.
His cover is not yet secured.
Cover is never perfect.
People are dying while we wait.
He's of no use in Damascus if he's not secure.
- Think of the risk of sending him.
- The Prime Minister spent his morning consoling a mother who lost two of her children.
A nine year-old girl who lost both her parents and both her legs.
A Swedish volunteer who lost her eyesight because she came to this country to help pick tomatoes.
Don't lecture me about risk! You've had six months.
I need my agent.
Are you working on your cover? I didn't see you there.
- I thought you were done for the day? - I am.
I'm just studying some more.
This is all so confusing.
They seem to have a revolution every two months.
We like to joke that the leader is the first Syrian officer to get to the radio in the morning, tell the people he's president.
[CHUCKLES.]
Tomorrow I'm scheduled to hand in your report to Jacob.
What does it say? It says you passed all the exams, and that you're ready to be operational.
Thank you.
Don't thank me yet.
You have 24 hours to think about it.
And I want you to really take your time and think about it.
If you come back and say yes, I'll hand in the report and you'll begin working undercover.
But if you say you've decided you don't want to pursue this, I will amend the report.
Say that you've been found an unlikely candidate.
You want me to say no? This is your life we're talking about.
I want you to know you're not obligated to do this.
It's a bit late for that.
Twenty-four hours.
Let me know.
[CICADAS CHIRPING.]
[DOG BARKING.]
[DOOR OPENS.]
[ELI.]
Hello? Nadi.
What? You okay? Your mother told me once that when a man brings his wife flowers, he's cheating on her.
[LAUGHS.]
That sounds exactly like my mother.
- Who are you cheating on me with? - What Do you mean I went to the store today to visit you.
They told me you haven't worked there for months.
I'm sorry, I should've told you before.
I just wanted to make sure that they offered me the job before I got you excited.
[SIGHS.]
Yeah, but you want this? To be What is it again? I will be a buyer for the Ministry of Defence.
I'll be traveling all around the world purchasing supplies, furniture, maybe even weapons for Israel.
- Is it dangerous? - What? [CHUCKLES.]
No.
No.
Eli, if this is about money, I can get another job.
No, I will not have my wife work two jobs.
You're a primitive man.
I'm your primitive man.
This is the opportunity for me to give you the life that I promised you, Nadi.
[SIGHS.]
Will you be gone for a long period of time? Working for the government, it has so much potential.
If I prove myself over the next few years, who knows, they might even make me an ambassador, and that means that you will be Mrs.
Ambassador Cohen.
[KETTLE WHISTLING.]
So why did you go to visit my old work? I just happened to be nearby.
That's all.
[SIGHS.]
Then say yes, Eli to the job.
Say yes.
[HORN HONKS.]
[BRAKES SCREECH.]
[CONDUCTOR BLOWS WHISTLE.]
Uh Der Spiegel, bitte.
Shalom.
My name is Salinger.
Welcome to Zürich.
[SIREN BLARING.]
Take your clothes off, Eli.
[CHUCKLES.]
What is it? Oh, it's nothing.
It's stupid.
My wife and I, we We write each other letters and we leave them in silly places.
Read it and give it to me.
I'll read it later.
There is no later.
Eli, I love you more than anything in the whole wide world, even with that stupid mustache.
She said she loves my mustache.
Hm.
Get dressed, Kamel.
I will wait outside.
[CAR HORNS BLARING.]
How's the not smoking? Great.
Should try gum.
I'll take that under consideration.
He's arrived.
He's getting debriefed as we speak.
Good.
Very good.
What's that? So I guess Mrs.
Burek is uninterested in my bribes? You shouldn't have done that.
What happened to him was not your fault.
Maybe.
He knew the risks.
We lost an agent.
It happens.
You know, the first time I saw Mrs.
Burek was when I delivered the bad news.
Before that, I didn't know what she looked like.
It was easier that way.
Clean, efficient.
It's company policy.
Can I ask you something? Sure.
- Buenos Aires - Hm.
It's way above my pay grade, and maybe I shouldn't even ask this question, but aren't we risking him being exposed to more people than he should be? That's exactly the point.
Argentina is the most important Arab expat center.
It's the ideal place for Eli to create relationships within the Arab community in a more controlled environment.
It's a calculated risk.
[SIGHS.]
My name is Kamel Amin Thaabeth.
My name My name is Kamel My name My name is Kamel Amin Thaabeth.
I was named after my father, Amin Thaabeth.
My mother's name is Sa'id Abrahim.
They were both born in Damascus, but moved to Beirut looking for work.
That is where I was born in 1915.
Eventually my parents moved to Buenos Aires where my father owned a very big textile factory on Legazzi Street.
Number 74.
Four.
That is where I live now.
Legazzi Street.
Number 74.
When my father passed [IN ARABIC.]
May he rest in peace business, and, I'm proud to say, it became one of the most prominent textile companies in South America.
My mother [IN ARABIC.]
May she rest in peace I do not have any brothers or sisters.
I had an older sister, but she passed away when I was three years old.
So just me.
I've never been to Damascus myself.
But I fell in love with it through the stories my father told me.
I am the biggest patriot of my beloved country.
I feel it is now time for me to come back to contribute in whatever way I can.
I believe that I can make a difference.
My name is Kamel Amin Thaabeth.
[RABBI ENDEBBO.]
We don't have much time.
Please.
Sign your letter.
[LOCK TURNING.]
[SIGHS.]

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