A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES
[somber music]
[wind whistles]
Maybe it was providence. Maybe this act of barbarism
saved us from ourselves.
It gave us a moment to reflect on who we want to be as a nation.
For the first time in our history, we were masters of our own destiny,
no longer the playground of empires.
You're too young to remember, but we were on the brink of civil war.
Families were torn apart, people conspired against each other.
We were anticipating a Soviet invasion.
But this misfortune united us...
as a nation...
which now needs a new generation of leaders.
And I hope you'll be one of them.
Remember, it's our minds, not weapons,
that will mark our progress.
[suspenseful music]
[soft footsteps]
[Lis] Our future depends on it.
There you are. You always do this.
- We were just talking. - Very subtle.
Enough speeches for today, OK, Dad?
We've covered about everything we needed to.
I'll leave you two.
He's already started on you?
I think it's just hard on him.
He always gets emotional at the anniversary.
Did you get the duty and honor speech?
[spray can hissing]
Let's split.
THE MOTHER WE SHARE
[train rumbles past]
I'm not sure if this is supposed to commemorate them, or praise him.
That's a little unfair.
Wait until you have to live with it.
Our entire identity is built around the worship of the dead.
Your family's or the country's?
There's no difference.
[pulsing music]
[in Vietnamese] Swamp Hen Slips Away liquor.
[TV inaudible]
WARSAW 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF 12 MARCH
[TV still inaudible]
[Janów laughs dryly]
[music swells]
[engine roars]
NORTHERN DISTRICT SZCZECIN
[engine revs in high gear]
[shallow breathing]
[pulsing music]
[Janów] The boy with the lily!
[chuckling]
[Skowron] What was that all about?
I didn't know what to do.
- I wanted to go to the Milicja. - But you didn't.
Well, you're Milicja.
You did well.
- I didn't do anything. - You listened to me.
How did you even find me?
It was pretty hard.
All I had to do was watch national television
with tens of million other people.
The Minister of Economy's daughter?
Boy, you're in deeper than I am.
The judge was murdered.
What?
The man they caught is his former student.
Let's go.
[ominous music]
[engine revs in high gear]
[Piotr] What are you doing?
Please, don't.
Please. I beg you.
Don't! I beg you. I can still be of use!
Please... I beg you.
I'll do whatever you want.
Whatever you want, I'll do it. Please.
[officer] We have no choice.
[Piotr splutters]
Let me talk to her. Please. I mean, I...
For God's sake, I'm one of you! One of you!
[gunshot echoes]
[babble of Vietnamese voices]
[Janów] Eat up. Best breakfast this side of the Vistula.
So, what's it like to be "the boy with the lily"?
Does it make life easier or harder?
[Skowron] Depends.
I was given a lot.
She's not bad. I would definitely...
Sorry.
I'm sure she loves you.
[Skowron sniffles]
[sobbing]
Żurawski meant a lot to you.
He taught me something no one else did.
Which is?
The fallability of man.
I thought I taught you that.
I was given a lot.
Not sure I deserved it.
Now I don't want to let anyone down.
- Anyone? - People.
The country. Żurawski.
I'd like to turn this tragedy into something positive.
Meaning?
Some kind of contribution.
Be a good citizen.
Are you one?
That depends on what we do next.
We?
I found the people from the photo.
One of them is Cardinal Adamus.
Adamus? Seriously?
He was a bishop back then.
Then there's Świętobór. A general.
Not just any general. He's the head of the entire army.
And today I met the new Minister of State Security.
What new minister?
Trojan.
A plane crashed near Moscow last night.
Everyone died.
Including Modzelewski.
I was just in his office asking for help with an investigation.
Was he also in this photo?
Yes.
The woman at the library said
that the photo was taken in the fall of 1982.
So just before the Primate Accords.
Soon after, everyone in it suddenly rose to positions of great power.
These events could be connected.
Fiolek was a scientist, not a politician.
Adamus and Modzelewski didn't have power then.
They do now.
And three of them are dead.
That night I also talked to Żurawski about my parents,
but I don't think they knew anyone in the photo.
The villa in the photo...
they must have some records, bills, guest books...
Everything you do in this country leaves a trace.
Why not go there and snoop around?
- Come with me then. - I can't get involved.
- I have my investigation. - You're already involved.
You always were.
[eerie music]
[pulsing music]
[pulsing music continues]
[Skowron] One more thing...
I don't know if it's related.
[Janów] Yeah?
Żurawski's wife told me that the guy they arrested, Piotr Wybraniec,
quit University and they lost touch.
She didn't say much. The SB were there.
I'll see if I can get the arrest report. Maybe I can question him.
Thanks.
Stick close to your girl.
As close as you can.
I intend to.
She's your life insurance.
[woman] Mrs. Wygołka, here you go.
DECEMBER 1982
Goodbye. Thank you.
I have a prescription.
We're out.
It will take at least a day. This one is getting hard to come by.
So I should come back tomorrow?
Yes, in the evening.
- Thank you. - Goodbye.
[eerie music]
[inaudible]
Hello.
NATIONAL SPORTS COMMITTEE
[typewriter clacking]
- Good day, Mr. President. - Good day, Ola.
Good day, Maja.
For your lovely son.
And for you.
Thank you, sir.
Such pretty legs should be protected from the cold.
I'll need the final list of athletes today.
- Good day, sir. - Good day.
We're just waiting for the Welsh.
What? It will take the Ministry three weeks to prepare the visas.
Political nonsense.
Maybe they're scared to come after their last performance.
- I'll call them today. - Thank you, Maja.
- Here. - Why?
What will I tell Wiktor?
Just put it in a drawer.
He's an archaeologist. He finds everything.
What will I say when the boss sees I'm wearing them?
He doesn't look at your legs.
I'd prefer the oranges.
Thank you.
INFORMATION SECURITY BUREAU
We have the DNA results.
Traces of Łukasz and seven other people.
Seven?
Either an old mattress,
or he was one horny bastard!
Or a safe house for the whole Brigade.
Get me the profiles of those seven. I want to know who else slept there.
Yes, sir.
I found another one.
Did you learn anything at the printer's?
Just that Łukasz would be the last person to kill himself.
They prayed together for the future of Poland.
Good work.
- Missed me? - How about you?
I thought that with everything that's been happening recently,
we should go away for the weekend. What do you say?
I found a nice spot by a lake.
- Seriously? - Yes.
When did you last leave Warsaw?
Not everyone can travel as much as you.
That's not what I meant. Is it far?
About 200 kilometers. We could drive.
- You mean, I could drive. - Yes.
Do you want to stay over tonight?
I need to keep an eye on Grandma.
Is she OK?
Yes, it's just this time of the year...
- You know... - Sure.
You should be with her.
[phone alert]
[keypad beeping]
I can come by in the morning.
OK. You'll be my chauffeur.
- [she laughs] - Come.
[tense music]
[man] You're violating my sanctuary.
[in Russian] I suppose if I was meeting my end it would be over by now.
[pulsing music]
What's so important?
You're going to like this.
It's about mankind creating something it can't control.
Sound familiar?
You found the source?
No. The courier.
For who? CIA?
I didn't have time to ask.
He wasn't going to give it to me voluntarily.
Moscow doesn't like loose ends.
US AIR BASE IN ALI AL SALEM, KUWAIT
- [helicopter whirring] - [plane flies overhead]
- [American accent] Dana Rolbiecki? - Yes?
Orders from the Sec Def's office.
- I'm to put you on a Herc to Ramstein. - Germany?
I need to escort you to the plane.
- Now? - That's my orders, ma'am.
[typing]
- [picks up phone] - [dials]
Get me the Szczecin Milicja HQ.
Milicja Headquarters, Szczecin.
[on phone] This is Inspector Janów, Warsaw Eastern Precinct.
- Badge number? - 04-139.
UNDER OBSERVATION
Yes?
Could you please patch me through
to Inspector Bartłomiej Smoliński?
Putting you through.
RECORDING
[Smoliński] Smoliński.
[Janów] Inspector Janów, Warsaw East.
Yesterday you grabbed a guy
wanted for a hit and run.
He killed a judge.
And?
I'd like you to interrogate him on my behalf.
It's for an old case.
Why not do it yourself?
What are you saying?
We sent him to you last night.
With whom?
Your escort, I guess.
[Janów] You guess? Who? Any names?
The ones they had on their badges.
You didn't check?
It's your case, man. Not mine.
Aren't you a detective?
- And you're just a BBI shithead. - Fuck you, moron.
Fuck.
You still have that friend up in Szczecin?
Yes, the Commander.
Would you like to go back in the field?
[Janów] I was just on my way up.
[Stępińska] It took you all day to find me and tell me you're OK?
I told you not to worry.
You know how many girls I had watching you, just in case?
- I have the profiles. Hello. - Hello.
Be right there.
So...
now you know what happened.
Did you find something?
Julia...
I shouldn't have gone to Uncle. I won't do it again.
[officer] You know I'll gladly help you if you ever need it.
What do you have?
Excuse me.
Six positives.
But one had no record. A female.
Was it inconclusive?
No, a clean sample. No match in the database.
Try ancestry. Maybe we'll find a parent or a sibling.
And the others?
Six left. Two are a couple over 50, so probably the previous owners.
Plus the youth.
[suspenseful music]
[distant laughter]
I saw this one with Quan Dao.
[officer] Benjamin Kras, 26 years old.
Programmer at ULTRA.
Traszka.
Let's go.
ULTRA HEADQUARTERS
[woman speaking Mandarin] ...we've achieved 90 percent penetration
in the 15-25 demographic.
We expect similar results for the test rollout in Beijing.
By then, our new dating future will be compatible with Mandarin.
We've found it extremely popular here with teenagers.
Thank you for your attention.
Here is your Traszka.
[pulsing music]
[music continues]
[train screeching in tunnel]
[rumble of trains]
[music swells]
Fuck.
[pulsing music intensifies]
[grunts]
[groaning]
[wood splintering]
[Janów] Put him there.
He's bait.
This is in case someone picks up the scent.
I have mine.
This one's unregistered.
- No, I'm not a criminal. - No. You're Milicja. Just unregistered.
Where are you going?
Fix that door.
[soft music]
Gosh.
Stop it.
You look completely different.
I mean great. Stunning.
Thank you.
No more pink dresses with panda bears.
You remembered?
Yeah, I guess I do.
Where to?
Central.
Relax. They're your kind of people.
[door slams]
[key turns in lock of a different apartment]
[Kras] They'll come looking for me, you can be sure of that.
That's not going to stop them.
OK...
You're not SB.
Or from Little Saigon.
Milicja?
No, not enough balls to pull this stunt.
- Though you did find this place. - Did you know Łukasz?
Did you kill Łukasz?
[sighs]
[mimics him]
I know it wasn't a suicide.
Why so sure?
His printer friend said so.
And his parents.
What do you know about his parents?
That they saw no reason for him to do it.
Oh, them? They're not his real parents.
What do you mean?
Don't know much, do you?
You must be Milicja.
CENTRAL DISTRICT
Swipe here, please.
You first.
[beeps]
[computer whirring]
[beeps]
Please.
[beeps]
- [beeps] - [computer whirring]
THREAT LEVEL: 0
Go on.
- [relaxing music plays] - [soft chattering voices]
Thank you.
[Skowron] Thank you.
Nice.
- Whose flat is it? - Angelika Torzecka's.
She's the head of ULTRA.
In the 1980s, she was one of the first programmers.
She wrote the code for the original Traszka.
Here you go.
[man] Please, may I have your attention for a moment?
[Torzecka] Thank you for celebrating with us today
the launch of our product in the People's Republic of China.
[light applause]
[Torzecka] Over the past three years, as Traszkas have become
such a common and valued communications tool for our youth,
we realized that the new generation craves connection.
Young people want to be able to learn from each other,
for creative expression, to flirt.
And to you, who are responsible for
shaping our culture and fortifying our state,
our technology creates ways of fostering the right attitudes
for a whole new generation.
Cheers!
[applause]
DECEMBER 1982
[rumble of traffic]
[man] Our generation is ready to fight. We just need to brace for pain.
There will be pain. They will club us, set dogs on us.
Only the offering of our blood will force the whole nation to rise.
Remember, on your way to work,
to church, wear these wounds as a badge.
They need to know that we suffer, that we sacrifice.
Remember, every scar brings us closer to a free Poland.
Bravo.
Remember what happened to Martin Luther King?
Yes, but passive resistance is the best, tested solution.
It got the British out of India, it changed America.
Soviets only listen to strength. We have to attack them.
- Exactly! - Their streets and homes.
- We don't want another Afghanistan. - Exactly.
- Maybe then the US would help us? - Like they did in '39? Or '45?
[dog barking in distance]
[soft footsteps]
[door slams]
Raid!
[clamor of voices]
[shouting]
[officer shouts] On the ground!
[shouting fades]
[ticking clock]
[door slams]
[knocking]
[knocking continues]
- What happened? - Wiktor didn't come home tonight.
You need to look after Kajtek.
Where is he?
I don't know, Mom. I'll go look.
I knew it would end like this.
- If they arrested him... - Not now, please.
It's all because of the university. And that little Ofelia's father.
You should keep him far away from that whole fam...
Mom, please, tonight just be a grandma.
Nothing else!
The Party will find out.
- Shame. - You're the one who shames us.
[turning locks]
[officer] Next.
[detainee] Andrzej.
[officer] Last name?
- Did you see Paweł? - Shut up.
[officer] Occupation?
- [whispers] They must have known. - Quiet!
[patting down clothes]
[relaxing music plays]
I keep wondering what drew those two together.
Did I say too much?
No.
We're just friends.
Well, used to be.
She's great at stoking Filip's passion.
I've never seen him like this. Were you close?
Once. Our families were close...
- And then nothing for 20 years. - That's long.
But so much has changed in our lives over those 20 years.
I hoped you would tell me more about her.
She comes here practically every day now.
I'm worried it's serious.
Oh... I hope she won't break your heart.
I don't think that applies to us.
No?
You never forget your first love.
It's beyond our control.
I think you might have known my professor, Janusz Żurawski.
Janusz...
Such a tragedy.
He was your professor?
And mentor.
It must be hard for you.
Did you know him well?
We knew each other before he joined the Tribunal.
Then our ways parted. Why do you ask?
[woman] Excuse me.
Excuse me.
[woman whispers]
It seems we ran out of champagne.
Have a wonderful night, wherever it might take you.
And until we meet again.
[doorbell]
[Stępińska] I gave you back the keys.
I didn't want to be pushy.
[soft music]
[moaning]
[sighs]
[panting]
[tense music]
[Effy] What's wrong?
Nothing.
Kajtek...
Is it about Filip?
I wanted to know more about you, about who you've become.
Is this what you wanted to show me? That you go to fancy parties in Central
with people drinking champagne?
- Effy... - Alright, sorry. I shouldn't have.
Then why take me there?
What else is there? Waxing poetic about the past like sad old-timers?
Fine, we don't need to talk about the past.
[Effy] So what now?
[Skowron] I don't know.
When was the last time you danced?
You were there.
Come on, it's better. I'll take you to a cool place.
For beginners.
GENERAL STAFF HEADQUARTERS
[man speaking English] General Hunter, may I present Kazimierz Świętobór,
Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces.
General Hunter.
General.
Let's not waste any time. Let's go see them.
As you wish.
[ominous music]
[loud music playing]
Is this place legal?
No, but they look the other way.
If people are dancing and screwing they're not fighting the system.
And it's for beginners?
Yes, but no one will care how you look. Relax.
- [rowdy voices] - [music gets louder]
[beeps]
[punk band playing]
♪ This is all shit, everything's fucked ♪
♪ Why's it always raining? ♪
♪ Everyone is down ♪
♪ This is shit, this is shit ♪
♪ I really hate this world ♪
♪ This is shit, this is shit ♪
♪ I really hate this world ♪
♪ All the world wars ♪
♪ Arms races galore ♪
♪ A hundred thousand die Barely bat an eye ♪
Feel the energy? Let go!
♪ When will you get tired ♪
♪ Of innocents dying ♪
♪ This is shit, this is shit ♪
♪ I really hate this world ♪
♪ This is shit, this is shit ♪
♪ I really hate this world ♪
[band fades]
Good evening.
Who is this for?
- Champagne, 21st floor. - Let me check.
[phone rings]
Yes?
There's a champagne delivery.
- That's right, send it up. - Yes, sir.
Follow me, please.
Quite a party.
They have stamina.
[Hunter] Son of a bitch.
General Hunter...
I present to you the People's Republic of Poland's nuclear arsenal
for your decommissioning.
[tense music]
- [deep booming] - [splintering glass]
[punk band inaudible]
[rumbling]
[car alarm sounds]
[punk band inaudible]
[rumbling becomes hypnotic music]
Can you feel it?
[whispers] Me too.
[somber music]