This post contains spoilers from Ponies season 1 episode 1 from this point forward.
It's time to saddle up for what could be your next favorite spy thriller series! Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson team up for the Peacock original series Ponies, in which they play American embassy secretaries who find themselves thrust into the world of the CIA following a tragic even involving their husbands. The series finds the "persons of no interest" diving into a shocking conspiracy.
Ponies takes place in Moscow during the year 1976 and begins with Chris Grant (Louis Boyer) and Tom Hasbeck (John Macmillian) on a case. Chris covertly meets with a man and informs him about a potential leak, offering him two options to proceed. Tom warns Chris that the situation has turned dangerous, forcing them to pull the man away before he can decide.
Abruptly, we then meet Bea Grant (Emilia Clarke) while shopping for eggs at a street market. Twila Hasbeck (Haley Lu Richardson) approaches to give her backup and get a fair price from the vendor. It's their first meeting as embassy wives, and they're fast friends. Meanwhile, Chris and Tom are involved in a car chase. Before the man is shot and killed, he writes a message in a blank card.
How Bea and Twila become CIA operatives in Ponies
Before the embassy Christmas party, Bea and Chris catch up at home. She feels insecure being a secretary and housewife while he's off saving the world, but there's a lot of love between them. It's a different scene at Twila and Tom's apartment as they argue about the imbalance in their relationship. Bea and Twila catch up during the Christmas party, but they're pulled out of the room.
In the bathroom, Dane Walter (Adrian Lester) informs them that Chris and Tom have been killed in an aircraft crash that had no survivors. They're given a cover story and they are being sent back home to be with their families. Back home in Rhode Island, Bea finds the card the Sergei had written his message in before dying. Again, Twila has a much less warm homecoming in Indiana by her MIA mother's boyfriend compared to Bea being welcomed by her Russian grandmother.
Even the CIA isn't sure who was responsible for Chris and Tom's deaths. Bea and Twila reunite at the CIA for their husbands' memorial. None of their questions are answered, and they commiserate later at a bar. They both have the urge to return to Moscow, though Bea wants to find answers about Chris' death. She shows Twila the card, which she knows isn't her husband's handwriting.
Realizing that they have the power to solve this mystery, they track down Dane and plead their case to return to Moscow in a official capacity. He's not forthcoming to their faces, but he brings the concept to George H.W. Bush (Patrick Fabian), who begrudgingly agrees to bring Bea and Twila in as operatives for their current mission. He's still not sold, but he's willing to roll the dice.
In January 1977, Bea and Twila return to their apartments in Moscow. Naturally, being back in these spaces without their husbands bring up difficult emotions. During their briefing with Dane, the receive their covers. Bea remains an embassy secretary and Twila gets her first assignment as a secretary, too. They aren't too pleased to not have an immediate assignment as spies.
After their day shift, Bea and Twila sit in the backseat of a car with Dane. He explains that the KGB is on their tail, but because they're following him, not them. He shows them how to spot them and informs them that they have been trying to turn a Soviet agent codenamed CK Solar for a year. Dane calls Bea in to interact with him to gain Russian intelligence. Twila will be the lookout. When there's a lipstick mark on her door, it's time to meet with CK Solar.
Dane and Twila run into Andrei Vasiliev (Artjom Gilz), and he's suspicious of their cover that they were having dinner together. He mentions the loss of two of Dane's men. The next day, Twila brings a speaker to the market and asks the vendor to identify music wired inside. Twila learns that it's Morse code, which will need to be translated. Later that night, Bea and Twila notice the lipstick mark on her door.
As they prepare for the drop, Andrei asks one of his men for information on the Americans, but when he doesn't get exactly what he wants, he puts fear into him. Bea brings the book to a pub and says her code phrase to the wrong man. Sasha Shevchenko (Petro Ninovskyi), a nervous young man, approaches her and asks about her code phrase. They're both nervous. Andrei arrives at the bar and spots them chatting, Twila gives Bea the signal to leave, but she ends up talking to Andrei. Unfortunately, he immediately suspects that she's American.