Confession Absolves Us Of Any Guilt
Gloria is interrogated by the police in episode 2 of Gloria. She is suspected of being the operator of the tape that was replaced with a fake. Her statements about being alone when she mentioned the tape and her shaky hands when talking about it put her in danger. James Wilson and agent Bill watch her every move while she’s questioned.
Wilson has corroborated Ursula’s story, though he does not mention going to the bathroom for several minutes. This combination of interviews and evidence from Ramiro and Goncalo allows Wilson to deduce that it is either in the studio or some time between the hand-off that the tape has been tampered with.
Ursula is also a possible suspect here. Interestingly, she feeds back to Joao what’s happening out in the hallway, worried that she’ll be incriminated for not keeping a better watch on the tapes. Joao tries to reassure her but he too is walking a fine line with the authorities. ..
Ursula is struggling to keep it together as she’s reminded of her time in the war. Between flashes of explosions in the heat of battle to explaining to the other operators what her time in Africa was like, she’s been through a tough time. ..
Henrique even shows up in the morning, checking up on Joao. He’s concerned, making sure he doesn’t make a fool of himself at RARET, and needing to attend a funeral back home. Henrique uses this as an opportunity to gently probe his son over his tour in Angola but Joao is cagey, refusing to open up much.
Joao heads into RARET for his usual coffee, where he gets talking to Carolina. Carolina previously said goodbye to her partner Fernando. Fernando is a soldier and bound to war, heading for the front lines. There’s a pretty creepy moment after this though, when Carolina heads into the street. ..
Ramiro approaches and starts to get handsy with her, telling her that she shouldn’t be sad and that she won’t be alone. His creepiness also extends back home where he ends up assaulting his wife, Sofia, and raping her on the sofa. It’s a horrible scene and her pained turned face, followed by sobbing, makes for an uncomfortable viewing. ..
The tape is still a hot topic though and Goncalo is convinced that it’s Ursula. These “foreign translators” are not looked at fondly by the workers, but Goncalo claims he never actually knew Mia. Now, this is an outright lie, as we find out later in the episode when Joao sees pictures of them together.
Ursula begins to break down, and phones Joao looking for guidance. While they talk, she asks outright about the tape, believing Joao may be the one responsible. Joao shrugs it off but the conversation is awkward at best, leading to Ursula hanging up after deciding not to risk her life for him anymore.
When Joao reports Ursula’s cold feet to his superiors, they promise to take care of her. Joao’s pleas not to harm her fall on deaf ears, as he’s told to focus on events at RARET instead. Through another espionage scheme, a fake passport is planted in Ursula’s desk thanks to an “anonymous tip”, which puts the blame squarely on Ursula.
Ursula is taken to a secret location, where she’s interrogated by agents from the Directorate of Intelligence. She knows she’s in trouble and doesn’t know how to get out. Her partner, Cesar, is also being interrogated and it looks like he might be next. Ursula has no choice but to tell the truth and incriminate herself. If she gets caught, her career will be over and she may never see the light of day again.
The real kidnappers are the KGB, with undercover agent Irina and Alexandre both there to oversee proceedings. It doesn’t take long for her to talk, incriminating Joao. As soon as she does, Irina casually slits her throat and lets the young woman bleed out right there.
The Episode Review
The second episode of Gloria starts to tighten things up at RARET, as James Wilson and the others remain determined to track down who’s responsible for the tape switch and bring them to justice. The only trouble is, it’s actually Joao, who flies largely under the radar thanks to the obvious red herring in Ursula.
Ursula was a KGB agent who died in the war. Her death is a shocking reminder that no one should cross the KGB.
The ending once again leaves things balanced on a precarious knife edge, with questions raised over exactly what’s going to happen next. Either way, this is another solid episode for what’s otherwise been an enjoyable thriller thus far.
