We Do Not Discuss The Nation

In the third episode of Gloria, Joao rings Ursula’s place but she’s not picking up. This continues a pattern where Ursula ignores Joao’s calls and texts. ..

Ramiro continues to try and pick up Carolina while this is going on, once again offering her a ride home. Joao shows up to save the day though. While he walks with her, Ursula’s apartment is bugged with numerous books on Marxism and documents to further solidify her as a dirty agent. ..

Wilson tasks Goncalo to visit Lisbon in order to troubleshoot their communications. Joao walks through the hallways and overhears Bill and James talking about Ursula. Earlier in the episode, we saw Bill at the PIDE headquarters and coming up short when questioning them about Ursula. ..

He confirms that the Portuguese didn’t take her off the streets. Now, we know that it was the KGB and Joao overhears all of this, including a communication within the KGB they’ve intercepted mentioning how “Raposa Branca” has left Lisbon and is heading for Moscow. Long story short, this seems to hint that they know Ursula isn’t the real culprit of the tape switch but is being made a scapegoat.

Joao is upset with Goncalo for lying to him and demands to know where Mia is. Goncalo admits he knew Mia was leaving, but denies knowing her new partner. He says they used to be addicts together, but that he’s now clean and Mia is also seeing someone else. They actually said goodbye to one another too, so it seems like her disappearance was all legit and there’s no conspiracy at work here.

When Joao returns home to his parents, he learns that Ursula has been taken care of. He’s also informed that there is a PIDE operative working inside RARET. In a funny twist of fate, before Joao finds out, he’s offered the chance to be an informant inside RARET for the PIDE themselves. When he tentatively agrees, he learns that the other undercover operative happens to be Goncalo! ..

While Goncalo is just a two-bit player, Joao’s family history allows him access to a number of secret parties which, in turn, gives him the ability to find out a lot more classified information.

Secretary of State Joao is the son of a high-ranking government official, which gives him some impressive credentials. Interestingly, when he meets PIDE agent Alexandre later that evening, Joao doesn’t give up Goncalo’s name, pretending to be ignorant about who the other PIDE agent is. ..

Alexandre is also interested in Mia, but he’s not the only one. Joao is also interested in her and he’s tasked with finding out what happened to her. It seems like there’s some mistrust here, especially when Irina watches Joao leave, uttering “I don’t trust him.” We’ll have to wait and see how that plays out going forward.

Cesar is interrogated by the PIDE over what he knew about Ursula. When the PIDE finds the planted evidence in his apartment, Cesar is taken to Caxias Prison. When Anna and James find out, they decide to make a play to turn him to their side. They intend to enact a “prison break” of sorts and use him as an informant. But will he play ball?

Joao meanwhile, remains conflicted, and doubly so as he tries to track down Mia. Given Mia presumably knows a lot of information about the mission, the KGB are after her and want to give her the same treatment as Ursula. In other words, a one-way ticket to the afterlife. ..

As the episode ends, we pan across to the shore where a body is found floating on the water. A body belonging to Mia.

The Episode Review

Gloria returns with another good episode, this time deepening the ties for Joao between the KGB and PIDE. There’s a fascinating dynamic at work now, as Joao finds himself essentially working as a double agent, with instructions from both parties. Given he didn’t oust Goncalo as the spy proves that he’s not fully invested with the KGB’s ideas, despite being politicized by them during the war.

Joao’s ties with the PIDE are loose at best, and it’s unclear exactly how far he’ll go with them. His main drive is finding Mia, but it’ll be interesting to see exactly what she’s been hiding and what information she knows that could incriminate the parties in question. ..

Gloria is a good show so far and although this is a slightly slower episode, it sets things up nicely for an exciting flurry of episodes to come. ..