As the second episode of The Ipcress File begins, Harry Palmer (Joe Cole) returns to Major Dalby (Tom Hollander) with the mug which did not contain Dawson’s fingerprints. Harry didn’t think so because the man didn’t look like a physicist to him. He doesn’t think they wanted to kill him. Someone went to a great effort to match Dawson since even the scars were the same, but the plan wasn’t to kill Harry. He suspects they wanted him to escape and confirm to Dalby that he was dead so he’d stop searching for him. Once he says Housemartin was a decoy, Dalby tells him he exhibits potential. Dalby confirms he has extended his release so he can continue helping.

He gives Harry an envelope with money that belongs to him and asks about his marital obligations. He says that is one way of putting it. After that, Harry gets in bed with Becky (Chloe Harris) while waiting for Mr. Taylor to arrive. They explain this is for the judge. Soon, a photographer arrives, they strike a romantic pose, and the picture is taken. Chico (Joshua James) and Jean Courtney (Lucy Boynton) visit Natalie Lewis while pretending to be council pest control. They barge in and tell Natalie (Gaby French) they want to talk about her boyfriend. When she threatens to call the police, Chico reveals her phone has been temporarily disconnected.

Chico admits they don’t think she has done anything yet. Natalie calls her boyfriend Gregor who is the third undersecretary at the Soviet embassy. They show her photos of Gregor Stok (David Dencik) with his wife and children. In six months or so, his posting here will be over, he’ll return to Moscow, and Natalie will likely never see him again. They just want Natalie’s help. It won’t be anything dangerous. Instead, she’ll just report to them about the things he says and the people he meets with. Natalie admits she doesn’t know what to do before Jean asks whether she has told him about the baby. Then, we join a meeting with General Cathcart (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), Paul Maddox (Ashley Thomas), and others.

General Cathcart complains to the Minister (Paul Higgins) that he is only now telling them about the neutron bomb. Since they feel insecure, they want full sharing of all materials, files, and investigative findings omitting nothing. Dalby promises he’ll have their full cooperation since he doesn’t want to be blown up himself. He is confident his masters will furnish him with all the necessary resources to bring this to a close. Outside of the meeting, Paul tells Jean she should’ve told them. Although they don’t know where Dawson is, they suspect he is behind the Iron Curtain or on his way there. They’re hoping the Stok operation will bring up a lead. On a personal level, Paul is upset that she doesn’t trust him, but he agrees to put a word out.

When she says it isn’t that, he asks about dinner again. She tells him they’d appreciate his help with Dawson without mentioning the possibility of dinner. Harry visits Deborah (Tamla Kari) to talk about their divorce. She has paid the lawyer for what he has done so far and he wants an advance on the rest. Deborah asks him to come back again one day as well as what he is up to, but Harry doesn’t have an answer to that latter question. Alice (Anastasia Hille) tells Jean he wants her to go to the Atomic Weapons Research Centre at Aldermaston to interview all relevant personnel. Chico will continue on the Stok investigation. She won’t be going on her own though. Moments later, she swerves in and out of traffic with Harry sitting next to her.

He asks her what is wrong, but she pretends nothing is wrong. She reminds him he has no experience in training or interrogation. Harry told Dalby that, but Dalby said Jean would show him the ropes. They go to the Research Centre where Morris (Paul Bazely) tells them about the abduction. Jean asks about his statement immediately after the incident when he said Dawson had been under a lot of stress recently, but he claims not to remember that. He claims he was just shaken up because of the crash. He tries to excuse himself. Jean asks about him going to Cambridge in 1938 and joining the Communist Party there.

Once he asks how she knew, Jean admits she was just guessing. Morris claims it is nothing to be ashamed of because he was young and idealistic. After they invaded Poland, he tore his card up. Morris doesn’t know about the professor since they didn’t discuss politics. Jean asks if he has been working with the Soviet Union. Morris says his political past is a matter of record with MI5. He suspects they’re not trusted enough to be privy to their files though. Morris makes it clear they concluded correctly that he is a patriot who is loyal to Queen and country. During a break, Harry tells Jean there is something he isn’t telling them and he believes they’re going to be very unpopular here by the end of the day.

She doesn’t care since she was unpopular at school. He says too clever and beautiful, but she says too stuck up. Next, they visit Mrs. Dawson (Anna Francolini) at her home. She tells them they can skip the sentimental drivel because she is not a grieving widow. Mrs. Dawson doesn’t know where he went. She complains that he left his socks all over the place and toenail clippings in the bedroom. When she is asked about him being a Communist, she admits he was because they all were back then. Harry asks whether he could’ve just run off with someone, but she says he’d only run off with a textbook. He asks about Dawson’s health and whether there were any signs of stress. Mrs. Dawson doesn’t answer and instead says she just wants to know that he is safe.

She believes that is what she is supposed to say. Once they get back in the car, Harry tells Jean that some people are just wrong for each other. As they drive away, Harry notices a suspicious man in a car nearby. They stop for a motel where the clerk tells them not to have sex. When Jean says Harry is a married man, she is told married men are the worst. As Jean is signing in, Harry winks at her. Later that night, Harry disturbs Jean to say he is starving. They go downstairs where Harry shows her how to cook. Once they’ve finished, they sit down to enjoy dinner. Jean tells him about a British prisoner of war named Dalby in August 1945. Captain Dalby was digging ditches on the outskirts of the Japanese city of Nagasaki when he witnesses the explosion of a fission bomb at an altitude.

It killed 30,000 to 40,000 people immediately. Two years later, Dalby is working as an intelligence analyst at the War Office. At this point, the Americans have predicted it will take the Soviets 15 years to develop their own bomb. Dalby believes that is complacent so he convinces them to put photographic plates and filters on all civilian aircraft to collect atmospheric dust. The filters collect plutonium blown in from central Asia while the plates reveal a burst of radiation. Stalin has a bomb and it was Dalby who worked it out although his bosses took credit for it. He told his bosses he wanted to set up a new intelligence unit. As they share another drink, someone takes pictures of them through the window. In the morning, they break into a house.

While they look around, Harry suggests Professor Dawson just ran off with someone and they’ll be happier for it. He finds a card for a psychotherapist named Dr. Theodore Radley. Once they walk back outside, Harry sees a suspicious man in a car messing around with something. He believes it is a car bomb so he pulls Jean to the ground. He apologizes before the bomb explodes. Later, Harry sits down with Dalby to tell him about the egg Benedict. Dalby admits Alice had to spend 30 minutes soothing the temper of the woman where they stayed. Since they had to send her another bottle, they’ll take the cost out of his wages. Harry says he has some expenses of his own to submit. Jean has been given a few days off to recover from her nasty injury.

Dalby says Harry saved their lives, but Harry says it was instinct since he thought he saw a radio antenna. Dalby admits there is a chance Dawson is closer to home than they initially thought. He wonders if Dawson’s previous Communist leanings mean this was a defection. Dalby says they should rule the Russians in or out and keep an eye on Stok. Chico will brief Harry and the Special Branch will begin investigating the explosion. Harry should go to Scotland Yard to look at the mugshots to see if he can find the guy in the car. Jean has dinner with James (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) as they talk about her job. James asks whether something is wrong because she has been hard to get ahold of recently.

Jean says no before blaming it on her working a lot. Pete (Mark Quartley) finds Harry looking through the mugshots and tells him he is a detective now. Once they agree to go out for a drink, Pete thanks Harry for getting the divorce for Deborah. Harry would prefer she marry Pete if she has to marry someone else although Pete isn’t sure he’d feel that way. He admits they were too young and it all pretty much ended when he went after his career. Pete suggests she’ll have a better future now. Chico and Jean work at Natalie’s residence so they can spy on Stok. Jean instructs her to flip a switch when Gregor meets with someone. When Natalie asks for help with the baby, Jean gives her a card and asks her not to ask his name, don’t tell him hers, or tell him who sent her.

Later that night, Natalie calls her at the office to tell her she pushed the switch like she told her to. As for the number Jean gave her, she can’t go on her own because she is frightened. Natalie complains she can’t keep going on like this and can’t trust anyone. Jean says she’ll call her tomorrow so they can sort it out. However, she needs to go home and act normally right now. Natalie hangs up and leaves the telephone booth. Stok talks to the guy who had the radio in the car before the explosion. Harry, Jean, and Chico listen to their conversation from outside in the spy van. It sounds like they’re using football to talk in code. They discuss trading one of the players although that would cost a lot of money.

While their conversation continues, Natalie goes to the bathroom with a clothes hanger with the intention of aborting the baby. The man invites Stok over to look at the real talent before he leaves. Harry gets out and follows him onto the bus. Harry sits down in front of him, gets his attention, and asks whether he happens to sell insurance. He admits he looks like a chap who might. The man asks what type of insurance he needs. Harry asks what happens if someone happens to blow up with a new car with TNT and a radio-controlled detonator. Once he asks if it would be insured, the man says there are some risks that we bring upon ourselves with our behavior. Harry is told to change his behavior to mitigate the risk, but this is his line of work.

The man says his application has been declined although he has enjoyed their meeting. When the man tries to leave, they get into a scuffle. Although the man escapes, Harry manages to get a clump of his hair so they can identify him. Natalie is shown on the floor of the toilet with a pool of blood around her. Later, Harry tells Jean it wasn’t her fault because she couldn’t have known. Jean isn’t sure about that and can’t imagine what it’d be like to be that woman. She tells Harry that one of the good things about him is that he sometimes says nothing. As they work in Natalie’s residence, Harry asks whether Natalie would’ve told Stok. She suspects Stok knew about the bugs and the baby.

Moments later, Chico tells them that the man Stok was speaking to was named Ian Randall (Brian Ferguson). He used to work for MI6 until his massive gambling debts were considered a security risk. He once served in Berlin where he was linked to Housemartin. Dalby believes whoever wanted Dawson hired Randall because it was safer than sending on their own to operate in the UK. Randall may be holding Dawson while waiting for his money and trying to get a higher bid from Stok. Gregor Stok was seen leaving the embassy in the middle of the night.

He went to Amsterdam before booking a flight to Moscow. Dalby instructs Jean to meet with the CIA case officer and Chico to check all transcripts of police interviews and get a list of all of Randall’s associates. If anyone has any ideas, they should feel free to share them. Alice asks for the envelope back from Harry who wonders if he loved her since they’re all human. Next, Harry goes to Natalie’s funeral where he sits down next to Gregor Stok who pulls out a gun. He asks Stok whether he always brings a gun to a funeral. Stok asks if he does before Harry says he is very sorry for what happened. Once they leave, Stok questions whether his body double was good enough. Harry says he was great while showing him the pictures.

He admits he came because he was curious. Stok knows of Harry and likely even sampled his wears before. They talk about capitalism before Stok asks Harry why he doesn’t come work for them. Harry refuses because he doesn’t like cold winters. Then, he tells him they’ve lost a man and want to get him back before he causes a lot of trouble for everyone. Stok doesn’t think he can help and suggests the man might’ve left on his own free will. Gregor says he really has to go to Moscow now. He encourages Harry to bring a gun the next time they meet. Moments later, Paul Maddox tells General Cathcart that they watched their conversation, but their lipreader didn’t have much success.

The General asks Maddox whether he prays, but he doesn’t. Cathcart promises to mention him in his prayers instead. He thanks him and admits his name won’t be written in history, but it won’t be forgotten either. The General says he was pardoned by the lord for crimes he could never imagine. He was entrusted by him with a mission he could’ve never dreamed of. Meanwhile, Jean shares drinks with her family and James who follows her and says they’ve barely talked. He reveals he went to her supposed workplace to ask to speak to her, but they had never heard of her. James asks what is going on and whether she is seeing someone else. He gets forceful with her as Jean refuses to answer his questions.

She gets a call from Harry who says he has been thinking about the code Stok used when talking to Randall. He explains Randall was talking about a valuable person named Harris which happens to be Dawson’s middle name. He also talked about keeping Harris in Chelsea until someone pays a lot of money for him. Randall is still on the electoral roll in Chelsea so he might be keeping Dawson at that address. He admits it is unlikely, but they should talk to Dalby about it tomorrow. She asks where he is and he promptly tells her. Jean says she’ll pick him up shortly. Dalby gets a call while sitting next to Mrs. Dalby (Alexandra Moen). He finishes the call before telling his wife there is a problem at the office. Jean arrives at the payphone to get Harry.

Terry (Gavin Spokes) is in the backseat because he has the firearms. Once Harry signs the paperwork, Terry gets out. They drive to the residence in question and prepare to shoot if necessary, but an older lady answers the door and asks whether they’re from the church. They join Chico and Dalby moments later to tell them Randall moved out six months ago. His room is empty and he didn’t leave a forwarding address. The woman gives them tea. Outside, Harry apologizes to Dalby who says it wasn’t a bad idea. When Harry says they’ve lost him, Dalby agrees while suggesting their man was likely in Moscow within 24 hours of going missing. Although Dalby believes Harry will pretend he doesn’t care, he thinks he does care whether he wants to admit it or not.

Harry tells him about Stok inviting him to work for the Russians before Dalby agrees that the missing scientist worries him too. Anything having to do with nuclear weapons makes him nervous. Once his car leaves, the lady inside tells Randall over the phone that there were four people here and the young couple came first. Randall calls someone else to say there is unwanted attention on him. He is tired of waiting for them to make up their minds so he is packing up the cargo and getting out. They know how to get in touch and the price will increase as he has to wait longer. Moments later, Morris is arrested by a police officer after he is caught making out with another man in the backseat of a car. Harry and Jean go to the jail to question him. He pretends he can’t help them with the disappearance of Dawson.

After Harry asks how long he has been like this, Morris insists he doesn’t know what it is like to be afraid. Harry offers to help him keep his job since he’ll lose it. Morris doesn’t care about that, but he does care about the young man in the cell. He admits he’ll be bad because of the boy’s parents. Then, he is asked about the pills he had on him and where he got them. Harry warns him that he is a Communist, he’ll be up on charges of homosexuality, and nobody is going to read the fine print. Since he’ll also be charged with conspiracy to commit espionage, he should start talking. Harry says they can make it all go away. Morris tells them about the psychiatrist the professor visits for stress.

He gets the drugs from him. When Harry shows him the business card for Dr. Radley, Morris confirms he is the guy. He introduced them about six months ago. It was Radley’s idea because he asked to meet Dawson. Radley runs a clinic using the latest methods and visited him about once a week. There are rumors that Radley can change the way you feel and behave. He can even change who you are. Dr. Radley (Peter Woodcock Simon) is shown watching camera footage of Dawson playing chess before he receives a visit from Randall. As they rush toward Radley’s clinic, Dalby agrees to shut down all routes out. Outside the clinic, Harry tells the officers to stop anyone who tried to leave. They storm into the building and begin looking around.

While Jean finds his medicine and syringes, Harry goes into his office. Then, she finds the camera as Harry watches her on the small television in Radley’s office. Jean walks around the bed where she finds Dr. Radley with a bullet wound to the temple. Randall puts Professor Dawson on an airplane. Harry turns on Dr. Radley’s brainwashing device of sorts that has flashing lights and strange noises. There are also medicine IV drips and a projector. Harry finds an empty reel case that said “Ipcress” on the front.

 

The Ipcress File Review

Through two episodes, The Ipcress File has been entertaining television that gives me hope that interesting, original content can still be created. While there are a few things that irk me, the series is still very watchable and enjoyable. Most of the cast is great in their respective roles, especially Joe Cole and Lucy Boynton. The minor characters are well acted as well.

The story is very interesting with a good combination of humor, suspense, action, and emotion. The scenery seems authentic for the time period so that helps too. Although this is only the first episode, I genuinely enjoy watching The Ipcress File and look forward to the next episode. The episode was good enough for a 7.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Ipcress File can be found on Reel Mockery here. Support the Reel Mockery project by following this link.