The Widow season 1 premiere recap: Mr. Tequila

Episode 1 of Amazon’s The Widow introduces Georgia, who lost her husband 3 years ago in the Congo but suspects he’s still alive.

The Widow begins with two child soldiers, Adidja (Shalom Nyandiko) and Molisho (Likho Mango), in Namoya, the Congo. As Adidja ascends a tree, she remarks that she can see the entire world. However, this is a show which dances back and forth from place to place, so we next see Georgia Wells (Kate Beckinsale) over in Powys, Wales. We don’t yet know why, but her leg is injured. If that’s not enough, her car won’t start, so she walks all the way into town for the hospital waiting room.

We flashback to 3 years ago, where we learn her husband, Will Mason (Matthew Le Nevez), is late for a flight. Before he heads out to board his plane, he mentions an anniversary gift in the glove compartment (also questioning why it’s called a “glove compartment”). It’s a nice diamond ring. However, because this show’s called The Widow, we know it won’t stay an ideal marriage.

In a more recent time, she gets her leg injury stitched up. On the TV she hears about rioting in Kinshasha, Congo. Her friend, Judith Gray (Alex Kingston), calls her to note that Will’s flight is missing. Incredibly, she thinks she sees Will in some news footage during a riot scene. She meets a journalist, Martin Benson (Charles Dance) to analyze the clip, but he insists she’s in denial that her husband died on the plane.

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Kinshasa, soon after the crash

Sometime shortly after the crash, Georgia is at an airport, presumably to hear about the crash. There she meets a man, Hennie Botha (Bart Fouche), who says her brother was on the plane, too. He also notes they found the wreckage. Soon the Minister of Transport (Alfani Sumaili) arrives to speak about the crash. He says the cause is unknown and only provides vague details. A man in the crowd, Emmanuel Kazadi (Jacky Ido), shouts with hostility at the Minister. He tells Georgia that he lost his wife, adding that a rival politician, Dikembe Rahema, was also on the plane, Emmanuel is suspicious that he’s being treated like a saint despite being bitterly opposed by the present government.

After the crash

At a more current time, Emmanuel meets Georgia again, saying that he has remarried. Georgia also meets Judith, who is skeptical of Georgia’s mission to locate her husband. Judith and a man named Joshua Peake (Matthew Gravelle) discuss Georgia’s obsession with Will, taking a rather pitying tone. Meanwhile, someone smashes Emmanuel’s windshield for some unknown reason, but Emmanuel fights him off. Also, Adidja and Molisho (remember them?) stand outside of a school while a politically charged shoot up occurs in the building.

Who is Hennie Botha?

Think The Widow is a complex winding road? Well, it gets even more turns. While Judith is skeptical that Will’s alive, Emmanuel calls Georgia up with some information regarding Will. Specifically, he has found images of Will with Hennie Botha, who apparently has him at gunpoint. On top of that, Emmanuel’s done some digging on Hennie’s background, saying Hennie has no brother named “Johannes Botha.”

They recall that years earlier, a barman named Mboyo Lipasa (Chris Tummings) referred to Hennie as “Mr. Tequila.” They suspect Mboyo may know more about this “Hennie.” They track the now homeless Lipasa down to Kingabwa. He reveals Hennie’s identity as “Peter Bello.” When asked how he remembers the man’s name, Lipasa suggests he knew the man was no good at first sight

Meanwhile, the artist formerly known as “Hennie” is seen by Adidja and Molisho. When Molisho asks about him, Adidja says the man is none of their business. Peter is meeting with a man named Djamba over what is obviously some dirty dealings. Shortly after this, we learn that someone’s ominously rented a car for Georgia. As a callback to the earlier scene with Will, there are gloves in the glovebox and a not simply reading, “GO HOME.”

Ariel and Beatrix

Mysteriously, some scenes of this episode involve two blind people. Ariel Helgason (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) and Beatrix (Louise Brealey). They are awaiting a “miracle” procedure to regain eyesight. They agree to get a drink and discuss how they lost their vision. While she lost her sight at 14, he says he lost his in a plane crash in the Congo, of which he was the only survivor.

What are your thoughts on The Widow? Let us know in the comments!