A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES
You should have listened to your beautiful colleague.
- You know the graphic artist's dead? - Why do you think you're here?
We didn't kill him.
Suicide. Hanged himself.
Staging a suicide is easy.
Before we got there.
You're sure?
Autopsy confirmed it.
- He wasn't interrogated? - No.
Did he have something to hide?
Not everything is as complicated as you think.
Sometimes the simplest answers turn out to be right.
Your Polish is improving.
Now I can tell your threats from your bullshit.
Difficult language.
What's this really about?
Even beaten dogs know when to stop barking.
Who is Ofelia? You know her, right?
Is this pursuit of yours worth your life?
I could ask you the same.
I like you. I don't want to see you getting hurt.
Then don't hurt me.
I'm not the only bad guy in the world.
I want that back.
One more question.
Stop barking.
What did you promise Julia?
You should have listened to her.
What did you promise her?
Why are you here?
What happened?
What did you expect?
Show me. Come on!
He didn't have to do it.
He showed me what I mean to him.
I only told him about the meeting.
That you might...
have some new information.
And he promised you?
To get me out.
Through Malaysia to Vietnam, then on to Australia.
It's easier to escape east than west.
And he'll get me a passport.
Didn't know you were so desperate.
You knew.
What else did you sell out?
You're no saint yourself.
Maybe. But did I ever set you up?
We only...
We only traded information on...
on this suicide.
You really believe he'll get you out?
Why would he lie?
You're too valuable to him.
He's going to keep using you to get something more.
Anatol...
I'll manage. I'm a big girl.
Who makes stupid mistakes.
I'm looking at one.
Did the student give you anything?
Say anything useful?
Leave the keys!
It's not on the news yet.
And it won't be.
Not before they invent some bullshit cover story.
It will take a while before they discover it was gas.
Then they'll retaliate.
Good.
- Mac! Effy! - Yeah?
The Central Committee just ended an emergency session.
And?
SB Commander Trojan was just elevated to Minister of State Security.
- Trojan? You're sure? - Yes.
They informed all regional command units.
So he knew. He knew not to get on the plane.
- There could be a million reasons. - No, he knew.
If that's true, then all of our people could be compromised.
- All our sources. - There's no way.
Maciek, he's right.
It took us years to recruit them. We can't just throw it all away.
Would you trust any of them now?
Then we'll have no one.
We'll be back to throwing rocks, and graffiti.
Better than the firing squad.
- We're all ready to... - No!
- Not if it's for nothing. - We just sent this kid to die!
And you want to retreat?
We're not retreating.
- Hello. - Hello, Sub-Commander.
Inspector.
So it's true?
Last one out, first one in.
Not today, apparently. What is it?
Tell me about the Light Brigade.
We don't know much.
They're definitely not the democratic opposition -
that's been eliminated.
They have no political manifesto that we know of.
Some say they're radicals. Like IRA, ETA or the Shining Path in Peru.
- Terrorists. - Or freedom fighters.
Depends on the perspective.
They are anti-communists, nationalists, anarchists,
militant Christians, or all of the above.
The SB considers them a major threat to national security.
What about their leader?
Unknown.
She takes on the guise of Emilia Plater,
heroine of the November Uprising against the Russian Empire.
I remember that from history lessons.
Could this be her?
Where did you get this?
My suicide. I think she's his girlfriend.
Someone in love drew that.
Jesus, Janów. What do you know about her?
Her name's Ofelia. Help me find her.
We take it to Commander Górski.
We have to follow procedure.
If I wanted to follow procedure, I'd have fbrought this to the SB.
Then we're definitely taking it to the Commander.
It was already past midnight.
He took the dog out, as usual.
They say she might have pulled him.
I can't picture that.
Do the Milicja know the driver?
They're looking for him.
The car was abandoned a few blocks down the road.
When I visited you yesterday... the day before...
the Professor gave me the file of an old criminal case he presided over.
What case?
Triple homicide.
Could I possibly go through his other documents?
They're taking everything.
Books, notes, all the files, too.
To the national archive.
I found this in the documents.
That's Piotr.
They were friends?
Yes.
Could he be related to this case?
Kajetan, my husband presided over hundreds of cases.
He didn't tell me about them.
I'm sorry.
So, you know?
I went to see his wife.
I'm so sorry.
How is she?
She's being strong.
Do the Milicja know anything?
They found the car and are looking for the driver.
Listen, if you don't want to go to the ceremony, my dad will understand.
No. We'll go together.
BBI's theory is that the Light Brigade runs the market
on banned books and DVDs to fund their operation.
Can you stop pacing?
Łukasz Ziółek didn't just sell illegal books: he illustrated them.
He designed covers.
But he also worked for the Ministry.
I saw many of his leaflets in Modzelewski's office.
You went to Modzelewski? Jesus, Anatol!
His profile is restricted.
Someone protected him. Who and why?
Stop pacing or send me a memo.
Modzelewski wouldn't help me.
He didn't just say no.
It was a warning.
Look at this.
Look familiar?
That's not a sketch of graffiti.
The woman is real. He drew her portrait.
Get to the point.
I think Łukasz was an SB source inside the Light Brigade.
And he was also important to Uncle.
Enough for him to find me, rough me up and question me in the dead of the night.
So both sides were using the boy.
That's why his file is Level One,
and why Uncle was so relieved when I told him
that Ziółek committed suicide.
He was worried what he might give up in an SB interrogation.
Why would Uncle have links to the Light Brigade?
He's not political. And he's surely no revolutionary.
But he is a businessman.
He supplies weapons to resistance groups in Yugoslavia and Chechnya.
Maybe he started selling here.
Anatol, we're not State Security.
I'm just investigating a potential homicide case.
I have detectives for that.
Who all secretly report to the SB.
What's the best way to draw this Ofelia in?
Solve the murder of her lover.
Give her something. Build trust.
We're not the enemy.
- The enemy is the Party, the SB. - Provided it was a homicide.
Provided she believes it was a homicide.
If we could get to the Light Brigade...
This stays in this building. In this room.
Thanks.
1984 GEORGE ORWELL
This is fiction?
Come with me.
How is your Vietnamese?
- About 500 words. - That will do.
Go to the printer's, to this Hien Sien, and talk to him.
Łukasz always wanted more black.
He said every other press skimped on it.
He always pushed me for more black.
I hated him at first, then I liked him.
It was pride in our work.
He pushed me to be better.
I didn't think he believed these words.
Do you?
I print what they tell me.
This is still an unofficial visit.
I think I agree.
Poland welcomed us when no one else would.
You gave us jobs and an education
when our country had none to offer.
You welcomed our children as your own.
You taught them your language and your culture.
You treated us as equals.
It proved the true Christian nature deep inside you.
And Łukasz, he was a true Christian, too.
He was faithful.
He did not kill himself.
Hello.
I'm looking for information.
ID, please.
Please swipe here.
DESCENDANT OF VICTIMS OF 12 MARCH 1983
What can I help you with, Mr. Skowron?
I got this photo from my professor.
Will you help me identify the people in it?
This is someone's wedding.
And that's my professor.
Judge Żurawski.
He gave you the photo?
Yes.
He called it a keepsake. He wanted me to have it.
- I think that's a piece of history. - Probably.
OK, I'll have a look.
I can see Kazimierz Świętobór, Commander of the Polish Armed Forces.
He was still a lieutenant then.
I know him.
I mean, I saw him once.
This one I don't know.
Don't know this person either.
Don't know, don't know.
Oskar Modzelewski, Minister of State Security.
Of course, not back then.
This one I don't know either.
Ah, that's interesting. This priest looks like Wojciech Adamus.
The Cardinal?
And the Primate.
He wasn't even an archbishop yet.
Whoever was getting married, they must have been important.
Do you have any idea who it might be?
Not yet, but come with me.
No, not here. This way.
Like every national department, we're in the process of digitization.
This will be a huge system, a perfect archive browser.
Practically any information will be available at any time.
Even stuff from the time of forming the Second Republic, but...
to be honest, I'll miss the thrill of it.
Of finding something surprising in the papers.
Come in.
Twenty-seven...
Interesting.
They were...
to be archived next year.
Some type of priority?
What were you looking for?
I was thinking
that the photo might have been taken in the fall of 1982.
Before the bombings?
Yes. And before the Primate Accords.
Both Modzelewski and Świętobór were elevated shortly after.
And Żurawski ended up in the Supreme Court?
Exactly.
This was our section on this period.
Of course, the Party has its own archive, but ours was the largest. Well.
Progress is everything.
GENERAL STAFF HEADQUARTERS
FOR THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN PRESIDENT
FOR THE POLISH PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC HEAD OF THE ARMED FORCES
We do not choose to take these actions...
but feel compelled to do so in defense of our nation.
With your assent, I hereby commit us to this path with a clear conscience...
and a steadfast heart.
Gentlemen, now let us write...
a new history of Poland.
A history of our nation free from the threat of foreign Empire
and the terror of the SB.
God, Honor, Fatherland.
God, Honor, Fatherland!
Start your preparations.
NOVEMBER 1982
Kajtek, Effy! Dinner in five.
Draw me a dragon.
Hi, kids.
Wiktor.
- It's not that bad. - Enough of this.
Just a skirmish. I caught a ZOMO baton as I was leaving.
The kitchen!
- Bumped into a ZOMO baton? - Yes.
- This is not your fight. - It's all our fight.
- Our fight? - They can't stop millions of us.
Millions? What are you talking about? There's a handful of you...
What's his name?
She's a girl.
Girl dragon? Cool.
- But what's her name? - Effy.
Do you have a dragon name?
Yes. Kajtek.
Kajtek.
Karolina Lis.
You're kidding.
Daughter of the Minister of Economy.
Second year law student.
No other data. Not surprisingly, she's closely protected.
And him?
Her boyfriend, Kajetan Skowron.
His parents died on 12 March. He was five.
Brought up by his communist grandma.
State schools, scholarships.
Practically everything the state could give him.
Including a Party princess as his girlfriend.
Jesus, Effy. You kept this a secret?
I was hoping I wouldn't need him.
Why? Who is he to you?
Well, he used to mean everything to me.
If we get to him, we'll get through to her, too,
and then to the core.
This guy is a product of the state - fully indoctrinated.
Because that's all he knows. They took away his home and his parents.
Someone took them away. The state embraced him.
The whole nation did.
My grandma has this picture of him from the funeral on her wall.
Where do his loyalties lie?
Well, let's show him the real Poland. Can you track him down?
- If he's active. - Come.
OK.
There he is. He just texted her.
Do you know this place?
Higher, Kajtek! Don't be scared.
And up!
You should forbid him. He's risking your life and his son's.
- Only Kajtuś matters. - So does my husband.
Will you sacrifice the boy's future?
Wiktor thinks it's a war.
- I lived through real war. - Right.
- You know nothing about it. - Right.
I don't care who's in power as long as there's peace.
Wiktor says that the time is now. The moment...
You'll ruin Kajtek's life. I won't let you.
He's my blood, too.
Mine and your father's.
- I have a right to defend him. - Yes.
Thank you.
Kajtek, come.
Don't go.
- Can Effy come over? - Not today.
Goodbye, Effy.
Kids today are spoiled rotten.
My parents would just send me out into the world.
I had to fend for myself.
Right.
I suppose.
Do you still have the scar?
What?
After you fell off the slide.
After I fell off a slide?
Broke your collar bone. Screamed like hell.
But I dragged you home.
A Milicja officer helped.
When your mother saw you in his arms...
she almost went mad.
She thought they shot you or something.
Effy.
Hi, Kajtek.
You healed fast. Wanted to rush right back out into the world.
I can't believe you remember it all.
Listen, I'm going to a party tomorrow.
I can take you if you like.
OK.
I'll tell you more.
OK.
Cool.
- Bye then. - See you.
I'll meet you here.
Who was the girl?
What girl?
I saw you from the window.
A friend from Uni.
Right.
You look a lot like your grandpa.
I'm proud of you.
It's thanks to you.
In a nation-wide manhunt...
You helped a bit.
...wanted for a hit and run
and fleeing the scene.
Right.
The victim was a retired Supreme Court judge
and long-standing lecturer at Warsaw University,
professor Janusz Żurawski.
The suspect, a resident of Rzeszów, Piotr Wybraniec,
was arrested when attempting to cross...
God!
...the border with East Germany close to Świnoujście.
His student! I have a photo of the two of them.
What photo?
From the Professor's file.
Do you think the Milicja know about it?
What exactly did he give you?
Kajetan, tell me.
- Doesn't matter. - What do you mean by that?
The Milicja must know it all.
Done?
Yes.
Oh. Alone?
And the welcoming committee of Uncle's henchmen?
I come in peace.
One of my agents found the club. Password is, "It hides its true desires."
- Where? - Number Five, under the bridge.
- It belongs to Uncle? - Yes.
What are you looking for?
This boy had more than one life.
One of them was linked to this club.
That's it?
Maybe I'll find a friend of his in there.
I'm coming with you.
You stand out too much. Everybody knows you.
So send Suchoparski.
- Junior? - Yes.
He's not ready yet. If he goes there, he might not be back.
You came back.
But it took me 15 years.
Julia, don't worry.
I'm a different man.
If you do need a way back after all, then...
Afghanistan?
Chechnya.
I heard stories.
How could you?
We're not there.
Why?
What's in it for you?
Don't ever ask a traitor why.
You won't get the truth.
This isn't treason.
Unless we lose.
Politicians know how to get us into war, not how to get us out.
They lit a fire and now it's burning out of control.
I'd rather stop another fire before it starts.
I owe it to them.
And you?
I believe the greatest days of our country are still ahead of us.
If we have the courage to escape the shadows of our past.
But for that to happen...
old men must die.
You mean one old man.
There aren't many men that can set the world on fire.
Should I know what's on it?
The world on fire.
It hides its true desires.
God Bless.
Good evening.
Oh, good evening.
Minister, meet Kajetan Skowron.
Student of law and a friend of my family.
Kajetan, meet Mikołaj Trojan.
- The new Minister of State Security. - Hello.
The new one?
Minister Modzelewski died in a plane crash last night.
How did this happen?
It seems that the whole crew and the passengers lost consciousness
while flying on autopilot.
The plane crashed in a forest east of Moscow.
Twelve people died including the Minister's son.
A malfunction. The plane was depressurized.
Now, Kajetan graduates this year.
I'm hoping he'll be a politician one day.
Wonderful. Another lawyer.
Let's go and sit.
- OK, see you after the ceremony. - Yeah.
You like playing with fire.
Is he complying?
Yes.
Yes?
For now.
We'll see once the Americans arrive.
Good to see you again.
It hides its true desires.
Any luck?
Not for me.
I'd rather stick to Squash, Crab, Fish, Tiger.
No skill required to win.
You prefer leaving everything to luck?
Not always.
Can I buy you a drink?
One more, please.
And two shots, honey.
The left one is mine.
In the glory of flames was born
Our one and true Fatherland
Once broken, now united
Praise be to the Party!
Let the cry amid the rocks be silenced
Let the flame become a bright morning sun
Their sacrifice saved us
And Poland is finally united!
Twenty years ago, on a clear early spring morning,
fate and history tested us yet again.
Men and women on their way to work,
children on their way to school.
God called upon them to make the greatest sacrifice possible.
There it is!
All ours!
Bet everything on the rooster. Quick!
- Everything? - Everything.
OK!
It hides its true desires.
Shall we go?
They didn't make this choice.
It was not their decision to give their lives for the nation.
It was fate...
that chose them.
Their sacrifice changed us as a people.
Their sacrifice changed us as a nation.
And from their sacrifice we have learned three simple truths.
For every sin there is an act of grace.
What is it?
For every act of violence there is an act of salvation.
Bye.
Wait.
And every act of destruction will be followed...
by redemption.
In the darkest of hours
we chose grace and salvation
which led us to redemption.
Let us not forget that there was a time
when our nation was wiped from the map.
You're leaving?
I think so.
Pity.
When our culture and heritage was being erased.
So let us appreciate
what we have managed to achieve.
And as we approach an uncertain future,
let us draw our strength
from the past
but let us not be bound by it.
Let us remember that a new day and a new tomorrow lie ahead of us.
God bless our glorious nation
and protect the souls of those...
that gave their lives...
for us.
Amen.