Summary
Episode 7 toils with Tamar’s personal life as she has to pick the mission over emotions in a tense and well-paced chapter.
This recap of Apple TV+ series Tehran season 1, episode 7, “Tamar’s Father” contains significant spoilers.
We will be recapping every episode — check out the archive.
The opening
“Tamar’s Father” starts with Ali in the office. He finds out which station can link to the military satellite — he’s slowly uncovering a conspiracy. As for Tamar, she wakes up and remembers the danger she put Milad through, giving hope to the audience that she cares. Tamar asks her squad leader Mohammed if she can talk to Malid, but her request is denied, and she’s told that Milad should be grateful that he’s still alive. Their argument is brief as Yael joins the squad.
Seeing Tamar trying to working with her chain of command adds a new dynamic to the story — she feels less in control, less free.
Tamar’s father
Tamar also does not know about her father in episode 7, which adds a dangerous element to the narrative.
Gorev learns that Faraz has Mordechai, Tamar’s father. HQ believes they have a hotel location based on carpet patterns. Meanwhile, Mordechai tries to tell Faraz that his daughter only works on computers. He also says it’s impossible that Masoud is a spy. Faraz raises the fact that secret agents do not look like secret agents. Mordechai accuses Faraz of ruining the country and Faraz gets annoyed and tells him to be quiet. Faraz has a call with Gorev; he gives them until midnight to release his wife, or he will execute Mordechai.
Ali continues to pursue his hunch
Ali meets substation engineer Parham Kasrayi and asks him questions. The engineer is acting nervous — Ali raises a serious vulnerability in the servers. Parham tells Ali that they are just backups. Ali explains that a foreign agent is trying to hack into their military systems.
From lovers to enemies
Episode 7 brings that awkward moment between Milad and Tamar — they’ve gone from lovers to enemies, and the latest chapter shows a massive difference in communication with each other.
Tamar tells Yael that they need Milad to finish their mission as Parham does not trust them. Yael reluctantly agrees. Tamar visits Milad in his cell and takes the tape off his mouth. Milad instantly tells her to leave as he feels they are going to kill him. He states that she is an Israeli agent and that everything they did together was an act. Tamar is compounded with guilty and apologizes, claiming if Karim didn’t show up, none of this would have happened.
Tamar tells Milad that Parham has called off the malfunction and asks for his help. Milad tells Tamar to get out and spits in her face — he says he’d rather die before helping her. Mohammed walks in and starts punching him.
Love does strange things
Gorev speaks to Faraz’s wife Nahid and asks her to calm her husband down before he does anything reckless; he claims that Faraz is mentally stable. Nahid raises the point that Faraz is doing what he’s doing because he loves her. Gorev talks about his deceased wife that he loved and starts singing their favorite song. This is clearly emotional manipulation tactics.
Nahid gives in and rings her husband Faraz; she talks to him about Mordechai who he has kidnapped — she tells him to let him go and that she’s in no state to get on a plane. Meanwhile, Israeli HQ tracks the cellphone. Faraz tells his wife that he cannot let the man go and promises to get her out of the situation she is in. Nahid feels tired and asks Faraz to talk normally like a couple. She sings to him. HQ gets the location.
HQ clearly understands how Faraz’s mind works, and they are trying to impede his conscience.
Speaking to his heart
Episode 7 is a painful chapter for Tamar who has to continue asking Milad for help — there’s always this sense that deep down she does have feelings for him, but her purpose in this world has a higher meaning.
Yael tells Tamar that it’s easy to get swept up, referring to Milad. She tells her not to forget who she is and encourages her to speak to Milad’s heart. Tamar meets Milad again and tells her that his family is also at risk. She also tells him that he hates the regime he is under, and he has to help her. Tamar asks Milad to ring Parham and tell him everything is going to be okay.
Milad rings Parham and tells him not to call off the malfunction. He then reminds Parham of the video of him and that they will share it with family and the military guard. Parham reopens the malfunction. In a twist, Ali is in the office with Parham — after the phonecall, they arrest him.
Milad tells Tamar that he’s the free one and that her soul is black as she leaves his cell.
Tamar learns about her father
With their mission nearly complete, it’s time for Tamar and the crew to leave; however, Tamar gets a photo of her father who has been kidnapped by Faraz. She breaks down in tears. She confronts Yael about it; she tries assuring her that they are dealing with it as Tamar sobs.
The ending
Tamar and her squad get on with the mission. She’s struggling to find the system while en route and ends up throwing up at the side of the road. Ali can see a van in the distance. Yael updates HQ on Tamar’s emotional state.
Meanwhile, Faraz points his gun to Mordechai’s head as agents arrive at the hotel room. Mordechai is on the floor but alive as Faraz escapes the hotel.
Military planes are launched — Gorev radios to Nevo and tells him the planes have taken off and he’s going to tell the PM that the mission is going to go ahead without failure. Meanwhile, Mordechai is released, and he rings Tamar — it’s an emotional conversation between them as Tamar cannot stop crying.
Yael then gets a call from Gorev — he tells her to initiate the evacuation procedure at the safe house and have Mohammad get rid of Milad. This brings an explosive finale for next week!
Tehran season 1, episode 7 toils with Tamar’s personal life as she has to pick the mission over emotions in a tense and well-paced chapter. Episode 7 is strongly about personal choices and how character decisions can have a resounding impact.
