Summary
The Night Agent Season 2 enters its final stretch in Episode 9, raising the stakes considerably ahead of the finale.
With the end in sight, The Night Agent Season 2 pulls no punches in Episode 9. There’s at least one major death here, several hair-raising set-pieces, an out-of-nowhere turnaround in the Iranian subplot, and some genuine emotional catharsis to seal the deal. “Cultural Exchange” might not have a stand-out sequence like some of the better previous episodes, but it’s a very finely balanced and dramatically effective outing, nonetheless.
As ever, there’s plenty to go over; the episode’s dense, and the stakes are high, so let’s try and break this all down as best we can.
Peter and Noor Break into the UN Building
After a brief flashback to Peter and Rose’s last day together ten months ago to set the scene, we pick up more or less from where we left off. Peter and Noor are breaking into the United Nations building but heading in separate directions – Noor is going to hand the list of Iranian dissidents sheltering in France to a diplomatic connection, and Peter is heading to the upper floors to access the computer of the secretary general. But he’ll need security clearance for that, so Noor points him in the direction of Lars Troost, someone she has worked with before who may be able to help.
Lars can help, but it’s not in the way he expects. Peter swipes a security badge from an IT technician and finds it remarkably easy to access the secretary general’s computer, but the file he’s looking for isn’t there. With a bit of (literal) arm twisting, Lars tells him it will have been filed in the archives downstairs. Despite some recalcitrance from Lars and the small matter of having to slap a security guard around, Peter is able to retrieve the file for Jacob.
Catherine spots Peter on his way out and attempts to give chase, but she’s jumped by Solomon, who leads her to a deserted parking garage and tries to force her into the trunk. However, she spins around and boots him into a protruding pipe a couple of times, ultimately killing him. So long, Solomon. We barely knew you.
Peter hands the file over to Jacob. As it turns out it’s the ICC criminal case file of Viktor Bala, though it’s not entirely clear from this exchange what Viktor intends to do with it. He implies that Viktor has been a problematic client, so he likely stands to benefit from ratting out the location of the mobile lab to Peter. But it also means that Peter has sold his soul like his father before him. He’s Jacob’s man inside Night Action now, and when his phone rings, he’s obligated to answer it. Somehow I don’t think this will stick, though, as Peter immediately calls Catherine with the location of the lab.
Javad’s Just Desserts
After being thoroughly embarrassed in the previous episode, Javad is fuming about Noor having absconded with the files and takes his frustrations out on Abbas. The Iranian hierarchy is a little unclear, but basically, Javad’s boss is Abbas’s boss, so he’s comfortable enough to grab the ambassador by the face to make his point clear.
Haleh is listening to this exchange from outside the door, so is able to call Noor while she’s still in the UN building and give her a heads-up that Javad is heading her way. She’s able to slip out of the building but gets caught by Javad in the midst of a demented right-wing Hagan rally outside. Luckily, she’s able to sic a bunch of MAGA-style losers on him, who’re all too happy to assault a non-white person for any reason at all. Luckily, Javad deserves it.
Sami finds Noor in the confusion and takes her away, back to be reunited with her mother, which is one of the more touching scenes in The Night Agent Season 2, Episode 9. Javad, meanwhile, heads back to the mission, only to be pulled into Abbas’s office. In a grandmaster chess move, Abbas has accumulated enough video evidence of Javad cavorting with Noor to frame him as her traitorous accomplice, and Haleh is perfectly happy to be a witness to his treachery. Clearly, Abbas didn’t get into his position by accident.
Navid Negahaban as Abbas in episode 206 of The Night Agent. Cr. Christopher Saunders/Netflix © 2024
Gas Chamber
A lot of “Cultural Exchange” takes place in the mobile lab, where Wilfred and Rose have already created a complete batch of K.X totaling 15 individual canisters, all of which are packed into briefcases to be taken by Markus and his team to a destination as-yet unknown. Better late than never, Rose suggests that they sabotage the next batch to limit the potential casualties.
This backfires, though, since Markus read through Wilfred’s notes and knows that viable K.X is supposed to be purple. To motivate Wilfred into toeing the line, he stabs Gloria in the stomach, allowing her to slowly bleed out and give her husband a tight deadline for creating more of the weapon.
I must take a moment to say that Dr. Wilfred Cole is a real stand-up guy. When he thinks the battle is lost, he earnestly suggests burning the lab with him and Rose inside it to prevent the production of any more K.X. Rose is understandably not fond of that idea, though, so she instead suggests he synthesizes a knockout gas instead.
This works a treat, KO’ing most of the remaining men and leaving just a couple who’re able to get to gas masks in time. Wilfred and Rose bust out and try to get Gloria and Jesse out of the building while fighting off the two remaining goons, but luckily Peter has arrived by this point and helps them escape. When they all get outside, Catherine and the police are waiting for them.
Rose fills Catherine in on Tomas Bala having been killed by Markus, and Peter fills her on Viktor Bala blaming the UN for covering up the fact that America sold him completed K.X. Despite being locked in the bathroom by Peter only an episode ago, Catherine is receptive. Markus and his team, with Viktor’s blessing, have taken the viable K.X to the UN to enact their revenge, and it’s going to take all hands on deck to stop them.
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