Secrets And Lies
Directed by Matt Earl Beesley
Written by Simon Mirren & Andrew Wilder
Written by Simon Mirren & Andrew Wilder
Gideon: Albert Einstein said, "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as judge in the field of truth and knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the Gods."
A CIA deputy has one of his own men murdered. Gideon, who is a friend of them both, investigates the case, and with the help of two more CIA Agents, gets him to give an incriminating order.
This episode provides examples of:
- Adaptational Villainy: In a way - Hassan Nadir is based on Mohammed al-Khilewi, a real Saudi diplomat who defected to the US with his family in 1994 and accused the Saudi government of both financing terrorists and trying to kill him. In the episode, it is Nadir's wife who defects and accuses Nadir, and Nadir tries to kill her.
- "Ass" in Ambassador: Nadir is a Saudi diplomat who finances terrorists, abuses his family, tortures a man to death, and threatens to kill his wife. All while claiming Diplomatic Impunity.
- Batman Gambit: Summers knows that Nadir will try to retrieve his family himself. Because of that, he hides them in a dock container that has not crossed customs yet - the closest place where Nadir's diplomatic immunity is worthless and he can be arrested for trying to abduct them.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Happens between Morgan and the CIA agent he's asked to follow and interrogate, Gina Sanchez.
- Blatant Lies: The episode ends with Gideon expressing disbelief at a morning newspaper's claim that Bruno Hawks died in a car accident.
- CIA Evil, FBI Good: Played with. The CIA asks the FBI for assistance in locating a mole. While the FBI is never commented on and all FBI agents are heroic, the CIA agents are quite dodging even when innocent, and its spy technology is presented in a scary manner. It is also interesting that while Hawks and his people are CIA, his Real Life counterpart was a FBI agent.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: CIA agent John Summers is tortured by Nadir and Hawks in a failed attempt to make him reveal the whereabouts of Nadir's family.
- Continuity Nod: Mark Gregory, the unsub from the previous episode, is still plastered on the whiteboard at the beginning. Bruno Hawks even asks about him.
- Death Faked for You:
- Prior to the events of the episode, the CIA stages a car accident to fake the death of Aaliyah and her children.
- At the end, Gideon reads a report that Hawks died in a car accident. It is unknown if this means another faked death, or a real death with a faked accident.
- Defector from Decadence: Nadir's wife, Aaliyah, reveals her husband's links to terrorists to Summers and later defects to the US with the help of the CIA.
- Diplomatic Impunity: Invoked almost word by word by Nadir ("Diplomatic immunity, my friend!") and denied by Morgan in the final standoff (the container has not crossed customs, so it's not U.S. soil yet, and Nadir has no immunity there).
- Fake Nationality: Nadir's actor is Iranian, his family's are American.
- Foreshadowing: Early on Gina denies being likely to disobey orders. By the end, she fakes treason, unbeknownst to her boss.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: The episode works more like a spy thriller than a typical police procedural.
- Government Conspiracy: The CIA fakes Aaliyah and her children's deaths, and later either kills Hawks and passes it as an accident, or fakes his as well.
- Hired to Hunt Yourself: Bruno Hawks is tasked with finding a mole in his unit that is none other than himself.
- Loophole Abuse: The container has not crossed customs, so it is not U.S. territory yet, and Nadir's immunity does not apply to what actions he makes inside.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: One possible fate of Hawks, if his death was not faked.
- Mole in Charge: Bruno Hawks is both the leader of the unit and the mole they are trying to uncover.
- Neck Snap: Summers and Hopkins are both killed this way. All the suspects are trained in the technique.
- Post-9/11 Terrorism Movie: Episode, but it still applies. Alludes to The War on Terror several times, but not directly and without referencing 9/11.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Nadir's family is based on al-Khilewi, Hawks is based on Robert Hanssen.
- Spicy Latina: Agent Gina Sanchez, who is no-nonsense but has a Belligerent Sexual Tension with Morgan and almost kills Nadir on behalf of Hawks.
- Uncertain Doom: Hawks may have been murdered and his death disguised as an accident, or he may still be alive and his death been faked altogether. In any case, his fate is not revealed and this is entirely intentional.
- Wham Line: Gideon asking Hawks, "Why did you turn traitor?"
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Hawks tries to have Nadir killed in a shootout to have him silenced about their partnership and escape prosecution for his crimes.
- Gideon: George Orwell said, "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
