Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a Prime Video comedy-drama that sees two spies —played by Donald Glover and Maya Erskine — leaving their live behind and being paired up as a married couple by a secretive organization in a new take on the 2005 movie of the same name.
In Mr. & Mrs. Smith episode 1, we see glimpses of the recruitment process and watch as John and Jane get to know each other a little in New York City, where they undertake their very first mission as a couple.
New beginnings
The episode opens with another couple, a man (Alexander Skarsgård) and a woman (Eiza González) sitting down to enjoy a drink on a porch somewhere. But when a black car pulls into a drive, they disappear inside the house and start readying weapons for a shootout.
The woman tells her partner she doesn't want to keep doing this, and he says they'll stop running. But as he starts to lay out a plan, he's shot through the face and falls down dead, and bullets rip through the building. She rushes out and lays down suppressing fire on the car, pinning the attackers down... but then a sniper positioned elsewhere takes her out.
Elsewhere, we see snapshots of John and Jane being interviewed for their new jobs. They go into rooms and sit down opposite a terminal, are asked to put their nail clippings into a tray, and proceed to be asked all manner of questions about themselves, ranging from basic details like height, ethnicity to personal details like their history with special forces organizations, military training, specific personality traits and so on. We see more questions from both of their interviews throughout the episode, including how they really felt about cutting all ties to their past and beginning entirely new lives.
Amidst all the questions, we see them both arriving at their new home in New York City. They arrive separately and begin exploring their new home, but finally cross paths and introduce themselves in a slightly awkward encounter at the lift.
Eventually, they come across a laptop. John finds the password nearby, and they log in and open a chat application, wherein they receive their first assignment. Tomorrow at noon, they are supposed to head to a restaurant and tail a woman, intercept a package from her and then hand it over at a set location they receive coordinates for.
They also open up a pack containing their new IDs, carry permits and their wedding rings, before deciding which rooms in the house they each want and preparing to head to bed. Before sleeping, John drops by to say goodnight, secretly snapping a photo of her so he can try and look her up.
The first mission
John and Jane head out for their mission. They start by sitting down at a nearby restaurant table and keeping watch over the target. John tries to get to know Jane a little, but she's unwilling to let slip many details. They can't exactly work out what could possibly be "high risk" about this assignment, despite both signing up for high-risk work. Eventually, the target gets up and leaves, so they tail her to a nearby park and watch her from a bench.
The target meets with a young man whom Jane bets is her boyfriend, but John thinks he's gotta be her son. On the bench, they set up some of the basic details about their "marriage", like how John always has to win an argument. They spot the target kissing the new arrival, then follow her to the subway; after a short ride, they see her enter Cherry Lane Theatre, and quickly hatch a plan to keep observing the mark. He's going to talk to her and wait outside, while Jane can text back with updates from inside the theater.
They swap numbers, and John reaches to put an earpiece in her ear; Jane pulls back, telling John she is not in this arrangement for the romance. He explains what he was doing, apologizes for not saying anything, and then John runs interference so Jane can sneak into the theater during the performance.
Their target settles in to watch the show, so John and Jane start "chatting" to one another. Briefly distracted, Jane didn't spot her leaving the auditorium, but she gets up to leave soon thereafter. John spotted her leaving the building after retrieving a box from the coat check counter.
They follow the woman through a market whilst trying to plan their interception. Eventually, John pulls away, grabbing a similar-sized brown box and buying an ornament to hide inside. Back out on the street, he hands his box to Jane, before rushing ahead of her, stirs up trouble with a street vendor. With the woman distracted, Jane is then free to walk into her; they both drop their cardboard boxes, and Jane retrieves the package before they both wander off. (The woman later realizes her package has been switched).
They head to the coordinates and find themselves at a large home. Inside, they hand the box over to a woman who is preparing for some sort of party. She opens the box... revealing a fancy cake inside, complaining that it looks a little damage. Bemused, John and Jane refuse her offer of a drink and leave the house. And just as Jane starts wondering why they were tasked with delivering so mundane... the house explodes behind them.
John and Jane pick themselves up off the floor and start fleeing the scene, evading police who spot them by ducking through a garage and then a restaurant kitchen. They decide to split up and meet back at the house, but not before sharing a laugh about how they thought their new employer was "easing them in" to a new job.
Back at the house, they unwind by chatting on one of the beds. Jane is anxious about the fact they could have been caught up in the blast; John reminds her they signed up for 'high-risk' work. He then posits that they have to name the cat that's been roaming the house; she suggests Max, and denies him any other names... because Max is her cat, from before this new gig. The episode then ends with another clip from Jane's interview with the terminal, wherein she reveals that she's fine with starting a whole new life.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is now streaming exclusively on Prime Video.
