As the fifth episode of The Ipcress File begins, a guard brings food to Harry Palmer (Joe Cole) who is still being held in a cell. He tries to eat it, but the guards spray him with high-pressure water. General Cathcart (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) learns that the Enhanced Radiation Weapon Program is to be discontinued and a treaty to ban all nuclear testing will be drawn up. At the Aldermaston Nuclear Weapons Laboratory in England, Professor Dawson (Matthew Steer) surprises the guards when he shows up naked. Jean Courtney (Lucy Boynton) goes to the place where he is being held and learns that he has lost his intelligence. She is told that this is sometimes the result of viral encephalitis. The doctor believes the prospects of recovery are limited.
Major Dalby (Tom Hollander) tells the Minister (Paul Higgins) that he can’t remember anything between the abduction and return. The Minister encourages him to move on because the Americans are allies. He also says JFK will be visiting next month and his disruptive theories will not be welcome. Instead, he should focus on fending off the vultures circling his department. Dalby can start with the defector Dr. Polina Lavotchkin (Anna Geislerova). Captain Skip Henderson (Corey Johnson) decides to visit Harry in his cell. When Palmer asks whether he killed her, Skip says no and instead claims Palmer did. When Skip gets the word, they’ll tie Harry to a 200-pound concrete block and drop him into the ocean. Harry jokes he has put his mind at rest.
He is warned the next time he hears the door open will be the last time. Jean and Dalby talk about Palmer’s suspicions that Dawson was on the island and the fact that he is now missing. Karen is dead and it may or may not be a suicide. Jean is confident the Americans know where Harry is, but Dalby insists their hands are tied. He hopes Harry is alright although he says Corporal Palmer is not worth the special relationship. Paul Maddox (Ashley Thomas) watches a report about JFK welcoming home members of the Cuban exile brigade and how many felt he had not given the Bay of Pigs invasion sufficient military support. He leaves and goes to Bastian, Virginia where he meets an old friend. The man says he is a cripple, Mary’s gone, and he is broke because the invasion wasn’t officially sanctioned.
When he went through his stuff, he found a picture of them in the army with a group of other men. Paul admits he regularly thinks about how it could’ve been different. His friend believes they only needed one squadron to march all the way to Havana. Paul mentions the picture of JFK he has on the wall as both reveal they voted for him. Maddox is asked to load his .38 with one round since it is hard to do it with one hand. Dalby watches from another room as Alice (Anastasia Hille) and Chico (Joshua James) question Polina. Later, Jean tells Alice she’d like to find a place to live since she is tired of living with her parents. She tells her it is only her and she isn’t getting married. Alice gives her the keys to number 41 at Lavender Gardens. Jean mentions that is Palmer’s, but Alice says he won’t be needing it for a while.
Alice admits they likely won’t see him again. Paul sits down with Cathcart to talk to him about the atomic bomb program. Cathcart complains that they backed down in the face of communist aggression. He reveals that the word disappointed only scratches the surface since he gave seven years to that project. He tells Paul it was impressive how his technique ensured the loyalty of the asset they didn’t trust. The General finds it interesting to be able to shape how a man thinks and what he does. Paul says he was damaged in the process, but the General says it worked. Maddox asks what he wants. Cathcart goes on a rant about learning as much as he can about people before he says he wants to talk about the English spy. Cathcart learns that Palmer is offshore outside of any jurisdiction. Officially, he disappeared.
It will stay that way unless Paul’s department can find a use for Harry. Cathcart believes there will be a use for a guy like that since he is ex-military, discredited, and has a criminal record. He says there is no one to stand up for him if things go wrong. He is a disturbed and dangerous man capable of perpetrating a heinous crime. Once Paul threatens to call the FBI, Cathcart asks what is stopping him. Cathcart argues there is an impediment to the defense of the nation so he wonders what Paul is willing to do about it. After that, Paul sits around and looks at the picture from his army days. Henderson enters Harry’s cell. Jean enters Harry’s apartment while they prepare Harry for the upcoming execution.
He is told he is going to go to sleep. When he wakes up, everything will be different. Harry is knocked out with drugs. Dalby watches as Polina is asked about living in Moscow and working at the institute. She says it was frightening sometimes and you had to know who to trust. When Chico asks if she had a boyfriend, she says no one special. She is asks to tell them about her dates. Jean is surprised to get a visit from Deborah (Tamla Kari) who wants to know where Harry has gone. Jean says the Americans have control of the island and their official statement is that they can’t find him. Deborah knows they were spying for the government so she asks how that works. Jean says they gather intelligence and use people. She goes on to say they lie to people and manipulate them until they begin depending on them when they really shouldn’t.
Deb asks if she is good at it. Jean says yes. Harry wakes up in a different cell as he moves around groggily. He sees a picture of Mao Zedong on the wall nearby. Then, he is roughly hauled out of the cell by two guards and put in a chair. Some type of liquid is placed in his mouth. A Chinese man welcomes him to China and tells him their American friends have been very kind. He knows about Harry being in Korea and killing a lot of men in one night. He wants to take Harry back to those days and make him feel like he did back then. The man asks Harry if he sees the enemy as the projector shows something in front of him. He is told he’ll feel a pain deep within his soul over and over again. When he is ready to kill the enemy, the pain will stop. Polina is asked if she is concerned about the consequences of her actions since the government could punish the brother she left behind.
She doesn’t believe her brother will be impacted since he lives in Moscow. He is a respected member of the party too, but Chico doesn’t think that’ll stop them from punishing him. Later, Chico tells Dalby he thinks Polina is lying about something. Factually, it seems plausible. However, it doesn’t feel right emotionally to Chico. Alice agrees that she doesn’t trust her. Dalby tells them to focus on the facts and he will make a decision based on the facts. Then, they begin discussing her brother who will most likely be harmed. The Soviets will issue a note confirming he has been arrested. After that, they’ll have to decide whether to tell Polina or not. Although it is painful, it’ll be over for Harry soon and he’ll get to go back home. He’ll go to sleep. When he wakes up, it’ll be a big surprise because he’ll be back in England.
The man suggests he can live with Deborah and Pete. Paul meets with Jean to tell her he feels they have unfinished business. He believes they should continue the conversations about her abilities as an intelligence officer. When she asks about Palmer, Paul says he knew she would so he came prepared. Palmer is given more drugs. Paul shows Jean a file regarding 26-year-old Karl Davitz who had a fine career ahead of him. He was supposed to fly out of Sopinofu three days after the test, but got drunk and the circumstances are still under investigation. He woke up at noon and missed his flight although evidence shows he boarded the Convair C-131 as planned. Before they knew about it, the plane was already in California. Once there, someone used the Lieutenant’s passport to board a flight from San Francisco to Mexico City.
From there, he changes to Madrid. Paul suggests he ditched the passport and got a new one but is most likely in England somewhere. Moments later, Harry sits down with Deborah and Pete (Mark Quartley) before telling them about his adventure in China. He thinks they tried to hurt him and he has a feeling they want him to hurt someone. Deborah says he is a gentle soul so he won’t do anything. Pete agrees it has been a long time since he hurt anyone besides the guy in Beirut. Harry is surprised they know about him, his children, and the doctor. They begin calling him a killer, but Harry denies it. Soon, he realizes he is talking to two of the Chinese people.
He is told he is nothing but a killer waiting for a victim before we see that he is still in the Chinese prison. Dalby visits Polina and unplugs the camera and microphone. He sits down as he tells her they won’t harm her brother because his value as a lever of extortions against her depends on him being alive. He confesses he miscalculated because he thought it would be a clear break. Polina offers to go back, but Dalby thinks he can resolve it by paying somehow in what he calls a quid pro quo. When she asks what payment, Dalby explains that Stok is a pragmatist so he thinks they can reach an agreement. He refuses to let her go back and instead says he’ll do whatever is needed. Back in his cell, Harry finds a little piece of metal that he squeezes between his fingers.
Jean sits down with Dawson who can’t remember anything that happened or who he was with. He is shown a chair he drew and asked whether it is where he sat. Jean questions whether it started at Radley’s place. She leaves and visits a house that has a projector in the middle of one of the rooms. Chico tells Alice they’re thinking the same thing. He knows Alice has loyalty to Dalby because he brought back her husband’s wedding ring after he buried him by the railway. She’d prefer they not stray into personal matters, but Chico is convinced Dalby is not telling them something. She says Dalby knew people in dissident circles when he was in Moscow since he was an intelligence officer.
Some of those dissidents were friends of Polina. Their contacts overlapped, but they never mentioned each other. Alice went back through his reports from 1952 and there is no mention of Polina. Chico learns Dalby was already married and they are thinking the same thing. Meanwhile, Dalby tells his wife he is going to Vienna although it has nothing to do with trade discussions. He finally tells what he does for a living while describing himself as a spy. She asks whether there is anything else he’d like to tell her about. Jean looks at a booklet about conditioning models and their benefits created by Radley and Karen Newton. One section contains information about key vectors towards subconscious cognitive triggers.
The first letter of each spells out IPCRESS. It describes the techniques used to control the subject. She remembers the page from Karen’s diary that Harry gave her. As Karen talks about using LSD, amphetamine, and amatol to control the subject, we see her working on Professor Dawson. The combination produces a disordered cognitive state similar to sleep deprivation. Such psychological distress renders the patient amenable to suggestion. Then, new beliefs can be embedded and future behavior controlled. Harry is told the pain will stop when he kills his enemy. Karen admits the therapy carries a risk of chronic cognitive impairment, but this could be due to drug withdrawal. They recommend restoration of stimulus and medication can restore cognitive function.
While undergoing the treatment, Harry squeezes the metal causing his fingers to bleed. Dalby goes to Vienna where he meets with Stok. Gregor (David Dencik) knows this won’t be easy for him since he is a patriot. He believes Dalby knew in his heart that they would be having this conversation since he knew it was a trap. Dalby was hoping they could come to a sensible agreement. Gregor suspects that Dalby wants him to release Polina from her duties to the Motherland. He can also guarantee that her relatives will be left to the quiet enjoyment of their lives. When Dalby says that is what he wants, Gregor reminds him he had his chance to purchase that freedom, but instead picked violence. Stok insists he forgives him for that.
Now, the price has gone up because he is already in possession of Polina. Dalby will be like Maclean or Burgess meaning he’ll send him every secret that comes across his desk. He will betray his country so he can live in peace and harmony with the woman he loves. When Dalby is discovered and has to flee his homeland, Stok will be there in Moscow to greet him with a kiss on each cheek and a medal on his chest. He guarantees that this always happens. Dalby will get a decent apartment where they can meet, talk, drink, and play chess. When Dalby returns to Polina, he tells her it is shocking that Stok asked him to do the unthinkable, but it doesn’t seem unthinkable now. He is confident there is a way out of this, but he is clever enough to know there is no way out.
Polina recommends he go home to get some rest because he will think clearly, but he isn’t going home. He never imagined what he’d do for her. Jean begins administering drugs to Dawson in hopes of rehabilitating him. Harry continues going through treatment on his own while squeezing the metal between his fingers even harder. When his head drops, the guards are instructed to take him away. Once the blood is discovered on the chair, Harry begins fighting with the guards. He knocks out both and escapes in the lift. Harry makes it outside before reaching the fence. He climbs over the barbed wire and jumps down on the other side. As he runs through the nearby woods, guards begin chasing him with dogs. Jean continues treating Dawson as his behavior comes erratic.
Jean tells him she wants to know everything that happened to him. Harry continues walking until he exits the wooded area and finds something surprising in front of him. Paul calls General Cathcart to tell him they have a problem. Harry looks around as he sees buildings and people walking around. Dawson tells Jean they can make you do whatever they want.
The Ipcress File Review
Although it isn’t perfect, The Ipcress File has been pretty entertaining from start to finish. Since I’ve never watched the original, I can’t make an accurate comparison. It seems most complaints compare the series with the original so it is best to enter this without prior knowledge. The story and its twists and turns make the series exciting.
The cast has been great from the main characters to the secondary characters. Overall, I’ve enjoyed it and can’t wait to see how the series ends. The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Recaps of The Ipcress File can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support Reel Mockery by following this link.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
