The Agency Episode 4 Ending Explained: Martian’s KGB Offer & How The CIA Blackmailed Daniels

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for The Agency episode 4.

Episode 4 of the Paramount+ political thriller series The Agency follows an increasingly audacious Martian and Henry's covert attempts to locate the missing Belarusian operative Coyote. Created for American television by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth (Edge of Tomorrow, Ford v Ferrari), The Agency is an adaptation of the 2015 critically acclaimed French thriller series The Bureau created by Eric Rochant. Fassbender leads the cast of The Agency alongside Jeffrey Wright, Richard Gere, Katherine Waterson, John Magaro, Saura Lightfoot-Leon, and Jodie Turner-Smith.

Despite its promising source material and ensemble cast, The Agency has received mixed reviews, resulting in a Rotten Tomatoes score of 67% after its two-episode premiere on November 29, 2024. During The Agency episode 1 "The Bends" and episode 2 "Wooden Duck," Fassbender's "Paul Lewis" gets pulled out of a six-year undercover mission to help locate a missing Belarusian CIA operative named Coyote. The Agency episode 3 "Hawk from a Handsaw" followed three undercover "Felix" operatives trying to escape Russian-occupied Ukraine, while episode 4 "Quarterback Blitz" extends Martian's narrative in London as he and Henry attempt to win over a KGB operative named Mikhail.

New episodes of The Agency release every Friday on Paramount+.

Martian’s “Bike” Conversation With KGB Agent Mikhail Explained

Martian is willing to pay handsomely for intel on his "bike" aka Coyote

Martian takes the initiative to target the "quarterback" in the room after he and Henry are called to a diplomatic meeting with the Belarusian delegation in London. He spots the silent overseer Mikhail out of the corner of his eye as Henry confronts the tense situation regarding a U.S. Congressman from Idaho – Daniels – who spoke ill about Belarus before Congress. Daniels has stated that Belarus was nothing more than a "puppet state" for Russia and Putin, which Belarus demanded a public apology for from the U.S.

After Martian identifies Mikhail as a potential KGB agent, he slyly sets up a time and place where they can talk one-on-one. Martian takes Mikhail to a nightclub and cuts to the chase, bringing up a Russian MiG-35 fighter jet that mysteriously went missing over the Baltic Sea. Martian connects the jet to a made-up story about his missing bike, which is really an analogy for the missing CIA operative Coyote. Martian informs Mikhail that he is willing to pay "much higher than face value" for intel on his missing "bike." Mikhail seems to catch his draft and takes his number.

How Henry Blackmailed U.S. Congressman Daniels

Henry has his own tricks up his sleeve

Image via SHOWTIME

Henry has his own tricks up his sleeve in The Agency episode 4. Unbeknownst to anyone, even Martian, Henry and Langley (CIA Director) essentially blackmailed the U.S. Congressman from Idaho and forced him – or rather, "suggested" – to make that defamatory statement about Belarus. Henry and Langley figured that this would set up the meeting between the U.S. and the Belarusian delegation in London, which is how Martian could get close enough to scope out a KGB agent with ties to Belarus. The plan ends up working perfectly as intended. It also reaffirms that Henry is operating at a higher level than Martian and is even willing to manipulate him to achieve objectives.

Osman’s “Mukhabarat” Identity Explained

Osman is a secret intelligence agent like Martian

Image via SHOWTIME

At the end of The Agency episode 4, Osman gets violent with Samia and pins her down in her hotel room, reminding her of his "Mukhabarat" rank. Up until this point, Osman could have been a trusted friend or bodyguard to Samia but it is revealed that he has a much bigger role than anticipated.

"Mukhabarat" is an Arabic term for a "secret police force" or "intelligence" in Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine. This is interestingly different from the official intelligence agencies in Ethiopia, making Osman's true intentions with Samia even more suspicious. He is presumably working for Samia's husband – whom Martian discovers she plans to divorce – but may have other connections and motivations that have yet to be revealed, especially regarding the secret meeting between the Chinese and Sudanese at the beginning of the episode.

How Danny Gets The Upper Hand On Professor Reza

Danny now has Reza in the palm of her hand

Image via SHOWTIME

Danny dives headfirst into her undercover mission in Tehran and wastes no time getting on Professor Reza's radar at the Institute of Geophysics. Her mission is to seduce the professor, in a way, and convince him to grant her a prestigious scholarship that, historically, has only ever been granted to men. Fortunately for Danny, Reza finds other qualities that attract him toward her, which she realizes will likely be her best course of action earning his good graces. Danny cleverly deflects Reza's abrupt sexual advances by revealing that he reminds her of her father, which is perfectly awkward. Reza strips Danny of the opportunity to speak at the Institute, which is truly a blessing in disguise, since her unconvincing speech may have fractured her cover.

Why Samia Revealed Martian’s “Paul Lewis” Cover

She is likely not a secret agent after initial suspicion

Image via SHOWTIME

As Osman intimates and hurts Samia at the end of The Agency episode 4, she has no choice but to reveal Martian's cover name, "Paul Lewis." While there was some initial suspicion that Samia could be a secret agent, Osman's harsh and disrespectful treatment of her indicates otherwise. Samia still only knows Martian as Paul Lewis from his 6-year Ethiopian mission and believes he's only an author, meaning that she's quite helpless in all this and truly loves "Paul." Osman will likely discover, however, that Paul Lewis doesn't really exist.

How Martian Got That Scar On His Hand

Martian saved Samia from Ethiopian soldiers

Image via SHOWTIME

A flashback scene reveals that Martian, or "Paul", rescued Samia during a public protest from armed Ethiopian soldiers many years ago. It's unclear whether that was the first time that Samia met Martian but that experience certainly left a mark on them both. Three soldiers were looking for Samia specifically, who was easy to spot in her glowing white dress as she shouted of revolution into a megaphone. Martian killed the soldiers but was left with a wound on his left hand that left a T-shaped scar, likely from one of the soldier's blades.

Why Osman Is Following Martian & Poppy

He was keeping tabs to report to Samia's husband

Image via SHOWTIME

Osman was tracking Martian and Poppy as they shopped at a nearby mall. Martian and Poppy make a break for it in a bout of fun, which was light work for Martian. Because Martian lost Osman's tail so easily, Osman becomes suspicious that Martian is no ordinary person. Initially, he was likely only keeping tabs on Martian to cover all his bases, knowing that Samia had seen him on more than one occasion in London. He wanted to confirm that Martian was just some guy Samia was seeing so he could report back to Samia's husband. He soon realizes that Martian is actually much more of a threat.

What Happened To Martian’s Face?

Martian's cover may be fully blown

Image via SHOWTIME

One of the biggest unsolved mysteries in The Agency episode 4 is what happened to Martian that got him severe bruises on his face. The beginning and end of the episode show him being interrogated with what appears to be a digital lie detector test. He initially recalls the secret meeting between the Sudanese and Chinese, which is why Samia was really in London. Martian doesn't know any of this in the episode, only in the flash-forward scenes at the beginning and end from what appears to be a hospital bed.

The person asking Martian questions has a British accent and is likely a special agent from London, so MI5 or MI6. Since she's interrogating Martian, it strongly implies that Martian's cover gets fully blown in future episodes of The Agency. It's unclear whether Martain had been tortured or received those wounds to his face through combat. What is clear is that he is in very hot water at the end of The Agency episode 4.