A Spy Among Friends Season 1 Episode 6 Recap

No Man’s Land – The episode begins with Sir Roger Hollis (Adrian Edmondson) asking Nicholas “Nick” Elliott (Damian Lewis) where he’s been. Nick claims to have visited James Jesus Angleton (Stephen Kunken) before he returned to Washington. Sir Roger asks when he last saw Sir Anthony Blunt (Nicholas Rowe). Nick says Blunt was at his club for lunch. Sir Anthony admits to regretting his decision to let him go to Beirut when someone knocks on the door. He says Blunt has resurfaced before ordering him to be at his office at 9am tomorrow morning.

Donald MacLean (Daniel Lapaine) tells Kim Philby (Guy Pearce) that Guy Burgess (Thomas Arnold) sent him a peace offering, “It’s A Battlefield” by Graham Green.

Sir Roger tells Nick that Lily Thomas (Anna Maxwell Martin) claims Kim told him about Blunt working for the KGB. Nick admits to receiving the intel from Kim on the balcony in Beirut.  Sir Roger reminds him that the intel from Beirut, MI5’s domain, is counter-intelligence. Nick suggests the SIS and MI5 are having a “pissing contest” for the minister.” Lily says Kim destroyed any chance of a contest. Nick tells her that he thought she was off the case. Miss Harbinson (Lucinda Raikes) alerts Sir Roger of an important call. Sir Roger orders Nick to wait in the ante-room while Lily stays put.

Kim asks Maclean to deliver a letter for him. Maclean suggests there is little time for friendships in Beirut. Kim tells him that he and his KGB pals can read it. Maclean assures him that the KGB agents are his friends as well.

Jane Sissmore (Lucy Russell) greets Nick before they enter Sir Roger’s office.

Kim says it began in February 1934, in Vienna. In a flashback, Litzi Friedman’s (Morgane Ferru) with Kim until she appears to leave upset. Nick asks if someone recruited him. Kim admits to falling in love before opening the window.

Back to the present, Sir Roger, Nick, Lily, and Sissmore listen to the recording from inside the Beirut flat. Sir Roger asks who opened the window. Nick says Kim did. Sir Roger says Kim probably knew it would be harmful to the recording equipment. Nick suggests an open window in a Mediterranean climate should have been considered when choosing a flat. Sissmore tells him that is “utter nonsense.” Nick admits to knowing Tim was guilty before he went to Beirut. Sissmore tells him that he sounds like a man who accomplished what he set out to do. Lily says if Nick was successful, Tim would be there right now. Sir Roger asks if they’re supposed to believe his account of what happened inside the flat. Nick asks if he’s saying MI5 cannot alter the tape. Sir Roger says the reason he allowed Kim to escape Beirut isn’t on the top.

In a flashback, Kim gives Nick some documents. After scanning the documents, Nick says he severed ties with the Soviet Union when the war ended in 1945. He warns him that it’s his funeral before walking out on the balcony. Nick asks, “What’s Russian for cheese.” Kim asks if he’s trying to get him killed. Nick says that’s a thought. Kim assures him that he doesn’t mean it. Nick says why he shouldn’t before asking if he knows why he made the statement about his severing ties with the Russians. Kim suggests he was trying to protect their relationship. Nick tells him to try again. Kim says he said it to protect him.

Back to the present, Nick says Blunt, Maclean, Burgess, and Kim were working with KGB. Sir Roger asks if he thinks there more. Nick says isn’t that what they’re all thinking.

In a flashback, Kim claims it was a loyalty that he gave Maclean and Burgess insider information. While handing him a list of names, Nick asks which are KBG spies. Tim says he testing him before leaving.

Back to the present, Sir Roger asks what names were on the list. Nick says Tim Milne (Steven Elder), Guy Liddell, Patrick Spence, John Cairncross, Roger Hollis, Mark Sunderland, and Anthony Blunt. Sir Roger reminds him of what he said about Kim giving Blunt on the balcony. Nick admits to being concerned that Blunt was “chickenfeed.” Sissmore tells him that he and Kim had dinner later that night. Nick claims he feared it would tip off his friends once they realized he was in Beirut. Lily says that is also why he allowed Kim to go home.

In a flashback, Eleanor Philby (Justine Mitchell), Miles Copeland (Charles Hagerty), and the other guests greet Nick. Kim tells his guests that the British intelligence services sent Nick to Beirut… Nick says to assess his liver before they step away for some air. Kim gives him some documents.

Back to the present, Nick claims he never saw Kim again after that night.

Angleton tells a panel that his suspicion of Kim and Harold Adrian Russell being KGB spies has been confirmed. He says if the British intelligence services have been penetrated, so has the CIA.

Sir Roger tells Nick that Blunt claimed to have only worked with the Soviet Union when they were allies with Britain during the war. He says Blunt told him now, so he’d be in the best position to protect the queen. Nick suggests Blunt wanted to bury the story. Sir Roger says a distraught Blunt contacted him today, claiming Nick stopped Angleton from interrogating him at a Buckinghamshire CIA safe house. Nick assures him that Kim would be killed by the KGB if they knew he gave up Blunt. Sir Roger suggests they should leak it to the Soviet Union.

Lily asks Sissmore what impact Nick and Kim’s games have on the world. Sissmore says like the game she and Nick are playing on Sir Roger.

Sir Roger asks what were the other names on Kim’s list. Nick asks if they can handle Angleton’s witch hunt that he’s preparing for right now in Washington. He suggests if someone, other than himself went to Beirut, it’s questionable who would be accused next. Sir Roger gives him some documents.

In a flashback, Sir Anthony Blunt and Sir Roger Hollis’ names are circled on Kim’s list.

Back to the present, Sir Roger asks Sissmore and Lily if they have any more questions. Lily says, “No.”

Flora Solomon (Anastasia Hille) claims Kim told her that Nick’s dangerous because he’s far more switched than he appears. She suggests Nick’s a step ahead of Kim.

Lily reads a letter to Nick from Kim who suggests they try to salvage their friendship.

When Nick pulls up to the gate, Kim approaches. Nick leads him to the back of his car where he removes an umbrella from the boot. He says, “Never judge a man by his umbrella” before returning to his car and pulling away.

Lily reminds Nick of his refusing to believe Sir Roger’s guilt before asking why he’s changed his mind. She suggests Kim was always one of them. She tells him that Kim has used him for 23 years and nothing will change.

Kim waits on Nick at a bar. When a car passes, he rushes outside to find an umbrella.

Nick asks Lily if she’s leaving MI5 to be a better wife. He assures her that he never allowed Kim to flee Beirut. She tells him that he forced Kim to flee. He assures her that the Russians will never be able to trust him. She suggests it will kill him. He asks why Sissmore told him about her leaving MI5. She says Sissmore believes he’s intrigued by her.

A man escorts Lily to the office where she debriefed Nick as the episode comes to an end.

 

A Spy Among Friends Finale Review

On the balcony in Beirut, Kim Philby told Nickolas Elliott that Sir Anthony Blunt was a KGB spy. Kim fell in love with Litzi in 1934, when he also started delving into communism. Nick opened the window inside the flat to create interference for the recording equipment. To protect Kim, he says he stopped spying for the Russians at the end of the war in 1945.

Kim was loyal to Maclean and Burgess which is why he tipped them off. Burgess, along with Maclean who hadn’t blown his cover, fled to the Soviet Union.

Blunt tells Sir Roger that he only spied for Russia to protect Her Majesty. Nick suggests he was trying to bury the story. Nick prevents Angleton from interrogating Blunt in Buckinghamshire.

Kim gives Nick some documents with a list of British intelligence agents working with the Soviet Union. Blunt and Sir Roger’s names were circled.

Nick doesn’t meet with Kim but secretively stops by to leave him an umbrella.

Nick finds out that Lily’s leaving MI5 to focus on her marriage. Before the episode ended, she returns to the office where she debriefed Nick.

While the show lacked personality from the start, there were moments when it was allowed to shine through. Something was missing in Kim and Nick’s relationship. Lily and Nick, on the other hand, made a true connection.

The show had a powerful cast, they just didn’t capitalize on it. The actors didn’t get to show their full potential onscreen.

The overuse of analepsis (flashback) and prolepsis (flashforward) created nothing but confusion, probably what it was intended to do. Generally, flashbacks provide insight into what led up to a specific event, but not in this case. The repetitive dialogue didn’t help matters.

The finale deserves a 5. Get more A Spy Among Friends recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link.

 

A Spy Among Friends Who Is Galina?

Despite saying very little, Galina is one of the more intriguing characters in A Spy Among Friends. When Kim Philby arrives in Moscow, he is housed with Galina who is tasked with looking after him. Much like Anna Maxwell Martin’s Lily Thomas, Galina is likely a fictional character created specifically for the show. Initially, I thought
Galina might become Philby’s wife but that wasn’t the case although he did get married after moving to Russia. Philby married Rufina Ivanovna Pukhova who worked as a copy editor and survived cancer. They did not meet until Kim had defected. They were married in 1971.

What Happened To Kim Philby?

Kim Philby disappeared from Beirut on January 23, 1963. His disappearance was noticed when he failed to meet his wife for dinner. When he arrived in Moscow, he quickly realized he wasn’t going to be a colonel in the KGB as he previously believed. Nevertheless, he lived better than most in the Soviet Union at the time receiving a salary of 500 rubles a month while the average salary was around 80 rubles a month.

He was guarded and kept under house arrest. Any visitors he received were screened by the KGB before being allowed to speak to him. In 1967, Philby was interviewed by Murray Sayle of The Times in Moscow making his defection more of a public scandal. He stayed busy by writing memoirs which were published as My Silent War. Kim Philby continued reading The Times, was a big fan of cricket, and regularly listened to the BBC World Service.

In the early 1970s, Philby found work as part of the KGB’s Active Measures Department where he helped create fabricated CIA and US State Department documents.

He would prove to be a valuable asset because he helped ensure that the correct diplomatic and idiomatic English terms were used in these efforts. Kim died in Moscow in 1988. He received several awards posthumously, including the Order of Lenin, Order of Friendship of Peoples, Order of the Red Banner, and more. There were rumors that Philby suffered from depression and sometimes self-harmed. However, his wife denied rumors that he has committed suicide. Rumors of possible suicide attempts were never confirmed.