Review S02E04- A Question Of Loyalty

[michaellevenson]

A complex tale starts in Warsaw. Sandbagger #2 Mike Wallace is waiting to pick up defector, Mottica, an expert in particle beam technology, a real bonus for SIS to persuade this guy to work for the British. But Mottica doesn't show up, so Wallace returns to the SIS office in Warsaw, doubling of course as something else, to speak to senior SIS man Wheatley, head of the Polish branch of SIS .
Wheatley " can't understand it, Mottica was ok when we checked him last night"
Wallace explodes with anger,
" you checked him! You leave a defector alone 24 hrs before pick up.Mottica was probably under suspicion and you've led the Poles right to him"

W "we were careful, we drove halfway round Warsaw before checking him"
Wallace. " I don't care if you rowed up and down the Vistula"
Mike decides to try again, and goes to Mottica's flat, but no sign of Mottica, but signs of a struggle. On leaving the flat he runs into the Polish secret service, who provides him with a plane ticket and tells him to get out on the next flight.
Back at HQ Burnside is raged,
B " you blew it Mike, Mottica is in jail Wheatly's told us you went back to rectify the situation armed and ran into the Poles"
W " true ,but Wheatley and his number 2 Sherborne ran a check on Mottica last night. If Mottica had been fingered by the Poles it was SIS to blame and I wanted to rectify things"
Deputy Matthew Peele simply refuses to believe Wheatley would have done such an idiotic thing and suspends Wallace while investigations continue. Burnside says he'll quit immediately if that happens.
'C' agrees Wallace can continue, but as Neil has backed him so vociferously, if the investigation goes against Wallace then Burnside will be fired too.
Phew. And that's just one plot in this episode, the other is in Sweden concerning a potential double agent in SIS.
Previous episode
https://www.imdforums.com/threads/s02e03-decision-by-committee.4948/
Next episode
https://www.imdforums.com/threads/s02e05-it-couldnt-happen-here.4956/

 

[michaellevenson]

Peele is going to Warsaw to speak to Wheatley, Burnside is not hopeful and thinks Peele will obviously believe the senior SIS man over Wallace, Peele is slightly put out by this
" Don't forget Neil I was trained in interrogation techniques"
Meantime a problem in Sweden. Pat Bishop, dynamic thrusting, brilliant SIS man is under suspicion of being turned by the Russians. He is the #2 in Stockholm SIS to #1 man Harry Madison, who has evidence that Bishop is secretly meeting British businessman Litman who in turn is infatuated with Swedish girl Gustafson a known KGB agent..Bishop and Litman are meeting in parks, passing envelopes, and Litman is passing it on to Gustafson who in turn is linked to Moscow. Burnside sends Wallace, as much as anything to prove his loyalty and faith to Wallace.
In a coded message from Stockholm Wallace confirms that it's a straight A to B to C route and then on to D ,Moscow. Burnside wonders why B is involved at all, why not A to C , Bishop to Gustafson, and more importantly what is travelling along the route. Burnside goes to see mate Geoff Ross to see if he can borrow Karen Milner to support Mike in Stockholm.
Ross agrees on condition Neil briefs Karen over dinner.
Ross " just helping you out old buddy, you need to relax more"
Burnside reluctantly agrees.
The dinner doesn't go well,

Burnside. " I have a potential double agent in Stockholm, my #2 sandbagger might be fired, and I'm taking you to dinner because I'm undermanned and Geoff forced me to"
Karen " what are you drinking , coke or vinegar?"
Next morning in a phone call Burnside is told the CIA won't let Karen go to Stockholm.
" bitch!!" says Burnside slamming down the phone.
Willie "not her fault boss if Washington says no"
B " use your head Willie, little Miss Muffet went back to Geoff and said no to the assignment. I'm sending you"

Willie and Mike in Stockholm, one follows Litman the other Bishop. Litman keeps a meeting in the park but Bishop fails to show. The question is what alerted Bishop, does he know he's under suspicion?
Karen has followed Burnside on his lunch break to Westminster Bridge, they talk.
Karen is interested in the outcome and knows Willie is in Sweden. She claims she wanted to go, but genuinely the CIA in Washington refused, and pointedly she says, " Geoff would not be happy me talking to you. Think on that"
Burnside pieces it together and tells C.
" I think Bishop is a CIA agent. I don't mean he's switched, but CIA recruited, an attempt by them to infiltrate SIS, Bishop was using Litman to put distance between himself and Gustafson. One day he could be deputy chief, he's that good, then all that UK eyes only material becomes US/UK eyes"
C " so what is Bishop feeding Gustafson?"
B " fake CIA information backed by genuine SIS goodies to authenticate himself"
C " it's incredible. What can we do?. We need the special relationship, we can't risk that just to show them how clever we are. But he must be stopped. Are positive about all this?"
B " sure, Karen Milner gave me a clue. She said Ross wouldn't like her talking to me about it. Ross must have queried Washington about Karen not being allowed to help us, and they told him about Bishop. What we must do is find a reason to fire Bishop without alerting the Americans that we know who he really is"
Burnside checks up Bishop's file and gets an angle.
An awkward conversation with Ross, at CIA LONDON office ,
Burnside" we know Bishop was born Canadian, studied in the States, then returned to Canada to join their civil service. Now Canada is desperate to join the big league of intelligence, it all fits. It'll be too embarrassing to accuse the Canadians , so we'll ask Bishop to go quietly, put it down to experience"
Ross " er.. thanks Neil for telling me"
Brilliant bit of acting here by Bob Sherman, that above line said in a way that conveys that Ross knows that Neil knows the truth and Neil is telling his buddy without actually saying it.
Meantime, back to our original thread. Peele in Warsaw being wined and dined by slimy Wheatly and given a tour of the city. Peele apparently agreeing with Wheatley and his disparaging remarks about the dreadful Burnside.
On return Peele summons Neil to his office,
" I've no doubt at all Wheatley was lying about the check on Mottica. The man is desperate for promotion and will sell out his own grandmother let alone Wallace..Wallace is cleared"
Finally in Burnside's office ,
Willie " It took a lot of guts for Karen to tell you that , it wasn't exactly selling her agent out, but it gave SIS a chance. Nice to think any CIA agent would care "
Burnside " she's a stupid bitch. Put sentiment above her job"
Willie " Jesus!! Why are you saying that. I wonder how much of you died in Berlin last year. Why do you resent Karen Milner?"
B " Because she's still alive!"
10/10