The Agency episode 4 recap: delicate negotiations

In present-day scenes in The Agency, Martian withholds pertinent information from his superiors. However, in flashforwards, the agent is candid to an unseen woman about his actions and the participants in this topsy-turvy story, like Sami (Jodie Turner-Smith). It's clearer in The Agency episode 4 that Martian’s face in these scenes is beaten and bruised, with medical equipment beeping in the background. We still don’t know who he is talking to or how he got there, however, this episode answers questions about why Sami is in London and who has been following her — and Martian.

After successfully getting Charlie (Edward Holcroft) to safety, Bosko (Richard Gere), Henry (Jeffrey Wright) and Martian have a different diplomatic incident to handle — a meeting with Belarus officials to help locate the still-missing Coyote (Alex Reznik). Elsewhere, Danny (Saura Lightfoot-Leon) faces a challenging first day on her new mission.

Read on for our full The Agency episode 4 recap.

Negotiation tactics

In the flashforward, Martian explains Sami’s role in top-secret meetings between Sudanese and Chinese officials. A civil war has been raging in Sudan for years, with peace talks rejected until now. American intelligence is unaware of this negotiation or that China is brokering the deal.

Martian describes Sudan as a “triple play” as they have oil fields, gold mines and a home port on the Red Sea en route to the Suez Canal. The entire country is at stake, and Sami is an expert who understands the region and its history. Martian explains Sami was “fighting for the survival of her people” and “to end a bloody war.”

Back in the present, the CIA preps for their meeting with the Belarusians about locating Coyote, but a congresswoman calling Belarus a “puppet state” and “lapdogs of Putin,” make things awkward.

Henry and Martian agree there will be at least one KGB agent in the meeting, but they tell Bosko they only want to observe, promising not to say a word. Henry immediately breaks his promise, correcting one of the Belarusian dignitaries before Martian joins in. They identify who in the meeting is the man they need to work with, so Martian invites him to a nightclub in Soho the following night.

Later when they meet, Martian gets the ball rolling to get Coyote back using a stolen bike metaphor. Martian tells Henry that he took his number and then finds out that Henry was the one who got the congressman (who owes Langley a favor) to make the statement about Belarus to lead them down this path.

Osman's role

During a negotiation break, Sami receives unwanted attention from a man but handles it fine. Osman (Kurt Egyiawan) comes to help, interrupting to tell Sami that her husband is on the phone, sending a clear signal to this other guy.

Osman is a Sudanese Mukhabarat intelligence agent who runs security and is not an employee of Sami’s jealous husband. “I have one role here. To guarantee the secrecy of these talks,” Osman emphasized earlier. That is why he has been closely monitoring Sami and who she is meeting with.

Threads overlap the following day when Osman follows Martian and his daughter Poppy (India Fowler) at a shopping mall. Martian and Poppy are making a fresh start at the father-daughter dynamic, and as part of the fun, Martian shows Poppy how to lose a tail (though he thinks Osman is CIA).

Danny's mission

Naomi (Katherine Waterston) briefs Danny that the Institute of Geophysics is hostile ground filled with enemies and targets. As only one student is picked to go to Tehran, Danny will face stiff competition to win that spot. Danny gets an intro to Reza (Reza Brojerdi), who runs the exchange program.

Later, Danny is giving a lecture, which Reza comes to observe. At the end of the class, he invites Danny to a black tie event and asks her to say a few words on the technology behind “distributed acoustic sensing.” But Danny knows nothing about her so-called specialist subject and panic calls Naomi. Danny thinks she can learn 25 pages before the event, but hasn’t memorized it when Reza arrives.

In the car, Reza starts caressing her neck and thigh, clearly crossing a line. Danny says it isn’t a good idea. Reza says she is too nervous to give the speech and asks her to get out of the car. It's good she got out of that predatory situation, but it is unclear how she will get picked to go to Tehran now.

Scars and threats 

Martian continues to keep secrets during sessions with Dr. Blake (Harriet Sansom Harris), who asks when the last time Martian had sex and with whom. Martian omits his most recent encounter, saying he can seal his emotions in a box and bury them. Dr. Blake responds that “wounds become stories” and asks about the gnarly scar on his hand, which he claims was an avocado pit accident.

A flashback reveals how Martian got the scar. When Sami was leading a protest against the military, Martian was hurt trying to find a way to get Sami to safety.

In the present, Martian arranges to see Sami at her hotel but stops dead when he sees Osman at her door. Luckily, Osman does not see Martian. Martian makes a hasty exit as he tries to untangle who Osman works for.

Sami tries to brush Osman off, but he grabs her and pushes her into the hotel room. Osman stressed that details are his business, so because Martian made Osman and gave him the slip in the shopping mall, Osman thinks the American is not just a teacher.

“His name or his life,” Osman demands. Sami tearily tells Osman her secret boyfriend’s name is Paul Lewis. How soon will Osman find out that Paul is an alias? And will Martian tell Henry about this monumental mistake?

Episodes of The Agency are streaming on Paramount Plus with Showtime.