The Crooked Agent
Episode 6 of The Innocent Season 1 begins with Teo arriving at the strip club in Marbella. Now it seems we’re going to get more background over exactly what this despicable man has been up to. He presents a whole suitcase of money to Anibal but remains cagey about his identity. In fact, he gives the man a fake ID with a completely different name. Teo’s undercover work is true and he was trying to get information on Anibal’s operation. He also grew close to Emma as well, pressing her for information. He wore a wire during his first meeting with Anibal but eventually ended up in over his head. He killed Lavanda and then presented the truth to Anibal over exactly who he is, slamming his badge down on the table and demanding the tape back. Back in the present, Teo bundles Olivia in the back of his car and calls her Candance. He tries to strike a deal with her, eventually agreeing to let him drive to her place. There, he asks outright for Anibal’s tapes. With one key already in Teo’s possession, he wants the other and believes Olivia has it. Now there’s some truths that come out from Mat’s side. Olivia learns that Anibal was in the same prison block as her partner. Teo even shows the newspaper clippings regarding the dead man from his block. Teo spins this into showing Mat is really a killer. In order to clear both Mat and herself from any charges, Teo wants the key. This crooked cop certainly gets what he wants, as Olivia hands it over to him. Teo sends Brun out to the safety deposit box though, intent on confirming that the tapes are inside. With Mat wanted by the authorities, he rings Sonia from a phone booth and asks for a favour. He needs her car in order to remain anonymous. Jaime follows Sonia outside though and promises to get the police involved unless she hangs up. Mat is on his own, and makes a risky play to head up to the airport and leave for Marbella. Lorena receives a call from Miguel Torralba, one of the men from the prison. He confirms that Romero’s death can’t be confirmed for certain, but he would have to have been pushed with some force to knock him down. Torralba believes this is another inmate who’s capitalizing from this; is Mat really innocent in all this? Lorena now starts to follow the strands, heading back to Sister Irene. The nun obviously lied about Emma but apparently the SCU told her not to disclose anything. Now she does though, including the truth about Paula, Olivia’s daughter. She told Paula that her Mother was dead – because that’s what she was led to believe at the time. She had no idea that Olivia switched her identity. Back with Olivia, and she spies Teo cracking his knuckles. She immediately realizes what this means and heads to the bathroom, panicking and stumbling to get her gun. Only, he too has a gun pointed to the door as well. A shootout ensues, as Teo’s facade is shattered and his truth is revealed. Bruno returns though and Olivia pleads with him to check out Tape 27. Just as he’s about to do so, Teo shoots his partner in the head to hide the evidence. Olivia manages to make a grand escape, with a really well-shot sequence of her dashing out the window and taking off with the tapes. Teo has her tracked though, eventually listening as Olivia phones Lorena and tells her Teo is involved with the tapes. Unfortunately, he scrambles the signal and seems to close in on Olivia. Meanwhile, Mat is surrounded by officers in Marbella when he touches down at the airport. With him brought into custody, Olivia manages to hitch a ride to Marbella. She heads up to the club, but unfortunately there’s no message left behind for her. Up on the pole though is Kimmy. She’s still working and drinking while on the job too. Kimmy sports three missing fingers, is clearly snorting drugs and in a really rough way. As Olivia heads backstage, she greets her old friend in an emotional reunion.
The Episode Review
Episode 6 picks up the pace as last episode’s revelations subside in favour of a more action-packed episode. Teo’s true nature comes out as Olivia figures this out too and finds herself evading the man as best she can. With Mat now escaping to Marbella and getting picked up by the police, this leaves the very real possibility that he’s going to be framed for these murders. At a punt, it seems Anibal may be responsible for all this, and also the one behind cutting Kimmy’s fingers off. Judging by the emotional reunion at the end, and the state of Kimmy now, it seems we could well be getting a Kimmy-centric episode next time around to fill in the blanks over what happened to her in the past. Unlike some of the other Harlan Coben mysteries, this one hasn’t dragged out its main questions until the end which is a really welcome sign. Instead, the reveals have been consistent throughout the show, answering big questions and then asking more in their place. This works well, building up to an emotional ending that certainly leaves the door open for these final two episodes.
