Hanna – You’re With Us Now

By: Kelly Kearney

Hanna, now going by Mia Wolff, is chosen for a killer mission to take out a journalist whose sole mission is to out Utrax’s secrets. Along with Jules, Sandy and Clara it seems the team of trainees will be required to use everything they have learned at The Meadows and try and fit in with their real world while also plotting to take out their targets. There is just one problem. The secrets and lies that surround Utrax and their founders, The Pioneers, starts to test the limits of loyalty for two of the trainees.

Tacitus Must be Stopped

When the episode begins John Carmichael (Dermot Mulroney) gets word that a whistleblower by the name of Tacitus has leaked some disturbing a project ending secrets about Utrax to a Scottish journalist in London. He lets Leo (Anthony Welsh) know the plan to stop the spread of information when he says, “Time for these girls to do what you trained them for.” The time for simulations is over. The trainees are going to test their assassin skills out in the real world, but is the real world ready for Mia Wolff? In between winning capture the flag games and working out, Hanna (Esmé Creed-Miles) has been diving into literature with the ironically chosen classic ‘Metamorphosis.’ She is going through her own stages of growth as she starts to accept her new identity. So much so that she agrees to a secret mission John offers her. To team up with Jules and stop a journalist, Nicola Gough (Valene Kane), from leaking sensitive information in an article about their trainee program.

Later that day Mia and Clemency (Yasmin Monet Prince) talk about this high stakes mission in London. Maybe it is a bit of Clara peeking out, but Clem is not too happy that her friend leaving. Hanna steps away from her new identity long enough to remind Clara she had the option to leave and chose to stay. She shouldn’t be surprised over this murder for hire gig. That was always a part of their service to America. Mia talks a big game, but Hanna heads to the showers to retrieve her and Clara’s fake passports hidden under the floor tiles. She may be giving this Mia life a try, but she is also keeping her options open.

With the passports tucked away in her bag, Mia and Jules (Gianna Kiehl) say goodbye to their friends and board a plane to London. The two trainees will be entering the world of higher learning while pretending to be exchange students who never met.

The Target is in Sight

Meanwhile, Marissa (Mireille Enos) is being held in an unknown location thanks to her failed attempt to rescue Hanna and Clara. With a bag over her head she is taken to a familiar interrogation room called Camp G. Apparently, this is where she interrogated Hanna, which is fitting because this faceless man behind a screen has a similar plan in mind. He wants to know about teen assassin she’s been helping. When Marissa stays quiet he orders her to be beaten and starts barking out a litany of questions having to do with Hanna and who they’re both working for. Again, the stubborn woman won’t talk until he orders her to reveal the identity of Tacitus. With a crooked and swollen lipped smile she says, “Yeah, he’s my dog.” There is no beating too brutal to make Marissa talk and at this point. It’s almost like she is enjoying the power she holds over her captors. She certainly doesn’t seem afraid, which is odd considering the lethal company she keeps.

At the same time Marissa is getting the proverbial snot kicked out of her Jules and Mia are leaning to adapt to the posh school life in London. Immediately Jules immerses herself in philosophical debates of…well, everything, while Mia plays wallflower with an attitude. Within a day or two Mia plans a meet cute at the café with Jules who is talking to a mutual friend. She gets an invite to join them after Jules does a grade-A job of pretending like she is always happy to meet new people.

Back at The Meadows Sandy (Áine Rose Daly) is extremely salty over Mia joining her gal pal Jules on the mission. What does she have that Sandy doesn’t? Apparently nothing because John calls her into his office to let her know she will be accompanying Clemency to Barcelona for Part B of the job. While Mia and Jules take out the reporter Clem and Sandy will “intercept” (Utrax talk for kill) the whistleblower and steal his briefcase. Inside are stolen secrets that could destroy The Meadows and John, but Sandy doesn’t need to know all of that. She is just happy to be heading out into the real world, especially after John gives her a nurturing pat on the back. Nothing gets this girl’s killer juices flowing like praise from a parental figure.

One Step Closer

In London Jules clues Mia in on the details of a little chat she had with Leo about Tacitus. Clem and Sandy are headed to Barcelona to kill him and his teenage daughter, Kat (Angela Sari). This news draws Hanna out from beneath Mia’s mask. She doesn’t want Clara involved in this and doesn’t trust John and Leo at all. Her loyalty is wavering.

Later that day Jules manages to grab an invite to her professor’s party and conveniently that woman’s wife is Nicola Gough.  Jules asks Mia/Hanna to tag along but she gets held up when she’s approached by Marissa’s friend, Stephen (David Avery). He tells Hanna that she is in danger and he wants to help her before it’s too late. Hanna is already worried her fears about John and Utrax using them are true, so Stephen’s concern gives her pause. Only it doesn’t last long and she tells him her name is Mia and runs off.

When she does make it to the party Jules is mingling with some famous feminist author while she zeros in on Nicola. The reporter is downing glasses of wine in the kitchen and offers the curious college kid some advice on a career in investigative journalism. They get cut off when Nicola has to take a private call. Hanna takes that as her cue to eavesdrop and hears enough of the conversation to know Nicola is talking to the source. With that she takes off through the house snapping photos of anything and everything she can find related to the article. She texts it all back to John, who is listed in her phone under “Dad.” Both girls continue to mingle and wait for their kill orders, which eventually come with a time and place. The next morning they need to stop Nicola from getting on the train headed to the airport.

With Part A going nicely, Sandy and Clem kick off Part B. New university student Sandy is doing a decent job of fitting in with her peers, unless they mention anything about the movie Grease, in which case, she is lost. Clemency is also fitting into the Barcelona scene by pretending to take a gap year and flirting with the local guys. It seems their training has paid off, especially Sandy’s pick pocketing classes, which comes in handy when she is ordered to get close to Tacitus’ daughter.

What’s not working out too well is Mia and making sure she does not revert back to Hanna. Her gut says something is off with this entire mission and maybe Stephen is the key to figuring it out. After she tracks Stephen down he explains the actual purpose of the trainee program. The Meadows isn’t creating soldiers – it’s training young girls to kill other children that a group called The Pioneers have labeled problematic. They are trying to play God by ridding the world of kids that could grow up to be dregs on society. Tacitus has lists of child targets they intend to kill and that is why John wants him stopped. The world cannot know about this.  With that horrifying truth, Hanna agrees to help him take down the entire operation.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Jules spots Hanna with Stephen and reports back to Leo who then tells John everything. Hanna has to die, but when Leo asks what secret is that she is dying for John refuses to answer. We do get series of flashbacks that hint to the possibility that John and Tacitus, otherwise known as Bob Gelder (Mark Bazeley), had some drinks and talked about work. Were they colleagues or friends? Was john the source of information and is he now trying to cover his tracks before the Pioneers kill him too?

There are Bigger Forces at Play

Over at Camp G Marissa is still not talking and the evidence is written all over her battered and bruised face. Even the fake guards sent in to break her out wind up beating her to make it look authentic. She does get a tip that she will be released or rescued soon, but for now the torture continues.

In the morning the plans starts to converge. Nicola packs and kisses her wife goodbye as she heads to the train station. Jules hands Mia a book with a hidden gun inside. In Barcelona, Sandy and new friend Kat go swimming in a rooftop pool and talk about her dad and his upcoming visit. He will be flying in that day and Sandy, along with Clemency (who is also hanging out at the pool) are all ears.

Back to London and Jules meets Hanna at the tube station to go over the plans. Mia is supposed to kill Nicola before she gets on the train. As the two are talking a train pulls up to the platform and that’s when Hanna makes her move. She turns on Jules, points the gun at her, minds the gap and backs up onto the Tube. Jules smiles and waves as the train pulls away and that’s when she realizes she was set up! The four other people in the car attack her and it’s a total brawl with fists, kicks and gun fire. Hanna manages to take them all down just as they are pulling up to the next stop and now it’s a race against time to stop Jules from killing Nicola. Hanna sprints back to the station just as Nicola enters with Stephen not far behind. He follows Jules down to the platform knowing the hit is about to go down. Everyone is rushing to this one platform and then all of a sudden Jules turns to Stephen and stabs him in the gut! He falls down bleeding and Jules keeps walking. As Hanna is running down the station steps she sees Leo stop Nicola and say, “I’m sorry.” Then, he steps aside to let Jules shoot the reporter in the head! They both get lost in the chaos of the crowd as Nicola bleeds out and people scream for help. Hanna was only a few seconds late and devastated by what she sees. Running up to her body like she is trying to help, she takes the woman’s phone and one last look before she runs into the crowd and disappears.

The episode ends on a cliffhanger as we see Tacitus makes his way through airport security while an armed and ready Clemency watches from the airport’s lounge. With one down and two to go, John’s plans to stop whistleblower and save his own hide seems imminent. Just as long as Hanna doesn’t get to Barcelona first.