A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES
Maybe this 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.
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?
Let's split.
THE MOTHER WE SHARE
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.
Swamp hen slips away liquor.
WARSAW 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF 12 MARCH
NORTHERN DISTRICT - SZCZECIN
The boy with the lily!
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 television with tens of millions of 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.
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.
We have no choice.
Let me talk to her. Please. I mean, I...
For God's sake, I'm one of you! One of you!
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?
Depends.
I was given a lot.
She's not bad. I would definitely...
Sorry.
I'm sure she loves you.
Żurawski meant a lot to you.
He taught me something no one else did.
Which is?
The fallibililty 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.
One more thing, don't know if it's related.
Yeah?
Żurawski's wife told me that the guy they arrested, Piotr Wybraniec,
quit University and they lost touch.
She couldn't say more with SB around.
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.
Mrs. Wygołka, here you go.
DECEMBER 1982
Good bye. 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. - Good bye.
Hello.
NATIONAL SPORTS COMMITTEE
- 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.
I can come by in the morning.
OK.
You'll be my chauffeur.
Come.
You're violating my sanctuary.
I suppose if I was meeting my end it would be over by now.
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
JANUSZ ŻURAWSKI
Get me the Szczecin Milicja HQ.
Milicja Headquarters, Szczecin.
This is Inspector Janów, Warsaw Eastern Precinct.
- Badge number? - 04-139.
UNDER SURVEILLANCE
Yes?
Could you please patch me through
to Inspector Bartłomiej Smoliński?
Putting you through.
RECORDING
Smoliński.
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.
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?
I was just on my way up.
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.
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.
I saw this one with Quan Dao.
Benjamin Kras, 26 years old.
Programmer at ULTRA.
Traszka.
Let's go.
ULTRA HEADQUARTERS
In the last three years 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.
Fuck.
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.
Gosh.
Stop it.
You look completely different.
I mean great. Stunning.
Thank you.
No more pink dresses with panda bears.
You remembered?
Well, I guess I do.
Where to?
Central.
Relax. They're your kind of people.
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?
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.
Please.
NATALIA WIECZOREK THREAT LEVEL: 0
Go on.
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.
Please, may I have your attention for a moment?
Thank you for celebrating with us today
the launch of our product in the People's Republic of China.
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!
DECEMBER 1982
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?
Raid!
On the ground!
- 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.
Next.
Andrzej.
Last name?
- Did you see Paweł? - Shut up.
Occupation?
- They must have known. - Quiet!
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?
Excuse me.
It seems we ran out of champagne.
Have a wonderful night, wherever it might take you.
And until we meet again.
I gave you back the keys.
I didn't want to be pushy.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
Kajtek...
Is it about Filip?
I wanted to know more about you, about who you've become.
Is that 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.
So what now?
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
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.
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 this 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
Good evening.
Who is this for?
- Champagne, 21st floor. - Let me check.
Yes?
There's a champagne delivery.
- That's right, send it up. - Yes, sir.
Follow me, please.
Quite a party.
They have stamina.
Can you feel it?
Me too.