Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Four of ‘Ponies’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
One particular question that exists in our world because of popular media is… what is it that spies do exactly? Because what we see through James Bond and other intelligence characters, such as Jack Ryan, is a life of adventure and heroism. Where the good guy stops the bomb from arriving, and no one ever knows it, or they keep us from ever seeing a cyber-attack take place. All while blasting off some white-hot rounds from the cool gun of their choice and causing some explosions along the way. Which is fine, it’s escapist storytelling, but it does leave one wondering what the life of a spy is actually like, and that is why Ponies on Peacock is a series of note. Because it is exploring such matters, as evidenced by its next episode.
Because ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ dove into the life and times of a spy through two key storylines. One of which involved Sasha and Bea. Because Andrei opted to drop by Sasha’s apartment, because he was looking for Nadia/Bea, only to find Sasha. Which spooked Sasha rightfully to no end, and that fear grew when he was conveniently attacked after that meeting. That all prompted him to reach out to Bea and talk about leaving this whole mess behind because he was no longer comfortable providing the CIA with photos of technology, and well, that made it clear that a big chunk of a spy’s life involves dealing in and collecting information. To know what troubles are on the horizon in advance so they can be dealt with through bigger channels, and that was nice to learn or be refreshed of, if you knew, and it was nice to see Bea reassure Sasha and get him back on track.
But the other plotline in this story made it clear that battling to get that information is also part of the job. Because Twila and Bea were approached by an older woman named Vera, who wanted to make a deal and offer information, and well, it fell to Twila to make that happen. Which led to most of the comedy in this story, as she and Vera worked out a deal in open spaces in a hilarious manner. Because Twila did not have a clue how to do that or what the protocol was. But she learned along the way to be resourceful and use good people around her to get what she needed. Which prompted her to ask Bea to help create a fake piece of valuable art present at the Embassy, so that it could be swapped out, and Vera could sell the original and get into her new life with comfort.
However, despite the awkward nature of the deal, Twila handled the negotiations well. Because Vera agreed to the deal, and Twila received some information in advance, and it was heartbreaking. Since Vera said she witnessed what happened the night her and Bea’s husbands died, and how they perished because Twila’s husband was feeding information to the Russians. Which took Twila off guard and brought out enough emotion to put Vera into an unfortunate moment of panic. Wherein she perished by falling off of the bridge she and Twila were meeting on. Which bought about a scramble to retrieve her passport and to answer to the brass, for a real mistake was made, and that helped to inform us that mistakes can be made in this job, and they do kill people, and that humanity isn’t always lost in this business.
Since Twila deeply lamented the end of Vera’s life and the cold nature of her end, and was sorrowful that the mission to get more information from Vera was likely over. But Bea might have a solution for that. But before we learn more about how she’s going to sell her grandmother on playing spy, we can celebrate another brilliant tale from this series. Because it really did point out how spy work is not mired in explosions and martinis (shaken, not stirred), and that it has its tedious moments. But there is some sense of nobility to it, since it can save lives and keep bad people from pushing forward with bad plans, and that all just makes this story refreshing in nature. Since it’s just nice to see a different side of this kind of work, and it will be interesting to see what other surprises await us as this amazing season continues. Until next time.
