The Agency episode 5 ending explained- Why Martian didn't fight back? Will Daniela crack under pressure?

The Agency episode 5, titled Rat Trap, was released on December 20, 2024, on Paramount+ with Showtime and December 22, 2024, on Showtime. It gets plunged right into the chaos from the very first shot with Martian, barely clinging onto his cover as Paul Lewis while Osman closes in on his real identity.

Disclaimer: The article contains spoilers for The Agency season 1 episode 5. Reader's discretion is advised.

While getting beaten by the goon Osman hired, Martian didn't fight back at all. This is to prove to Osman that he is only a civilian named Paul Lewis, a teacher by profession. He also took some lessons on how to behave like a civilian in a fight and repress his CIA agent instincts. Daniela, on the other hand, did not crack under pressure, later realizing it was a test interrogation by the CIA to check her.

The most important disclosure in The Agency episode 5 was Martian's vulnerabilities regarding his identity. His alias is not foolproof, and Osman is just a step away from everything. He also has an idea now of how threatened Sami is by Osman.

At headquarters, Danny is suddenly kidnapped, raising the stakes by providing a vision of the darker, personal costs of their work. It was all just an exercise to check whether she would reveal any important information about her covert operation.

Osman discovers Martian's mistakes and makes a critical move toward exposing his identity. Meanwhile, Owen is sent on his field operation to Minsk in pursuit of the operative Coyote, who has gone dark. Inexperienced, Owen commits one mistake after another, almost blowing the mission.

As tension boiled over, Osman met with a mysterious Chinese contact to hire him to take out a key player. It remains to be seen who Osman is on to and how Martian can get out of this mess as the tension boils over.

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Why Martian didn't fight back in The Agency episode 5? Who is Eric Zheng Huang?

In The Agency episode 5, Martian meets Sami at a London restaurant, unaware that Osman is watching her closely. Osman joins their table under the guise of being a colleague who has been driving Sami to her UNESCO lectures.

However, his poorly veiled curiosity about Martian raises suspicions. Osman interrogates how Martian met Sami and his activities in Ethiopia while vaguely describing himself as an "organizer." Sami diffuses the tension by cutting the conversation short.

After Osman leaves in The Agency episode 5, Martian questions Sami about him but learns little. While Martian suspects Osman is investigating his secret mission in Ethiopia, he later realizes Osman views him as a threat to Sami’s safety, suspecting her of passing information to Martian.

Martian checks into a lodge, crafting a convincing setup as a teacher-turned-novelist. Meanwhile, he tails Sami and Osman to a private building owned by a Chinese businessman, Eric Zheng Huang, tied to Beijing and African warlords. Martian deduces that a covert China-Sudan deal is being brokered in London but remains uncertain about Sami’s role.

Osman hires a goon to verify Martian’s cover. The goon attacks Martian, testing his reactions. Playing the victim, Martian avoids suspicion initially but falters by not filing a police report after the assault, tipping off Osman that he’s a spy.

Osman enlists a Chinese assassin to eliminate Martian and possibly Sami, suspecting her as the leak. Adding to the stakes, the goon finds Martian’s daughter Poppy’s student ID, suggesting Osman may target her next.

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Will Daniela crack under pressure? Why was she kidnapped in The Agency episode 5?

Daniela interrogation scene (Image via Amazon Prime Video)

After Daniella rebuffs advances from her new research supervisor, Reza Mortavezi, Daniella proceeds to pursue him professionally at the Institute of Geology lab. Events unfold as their relationship begins to strengthen, but then there is a dramatic turn, and Daniella is forcefully abducted by a group of men and women outside the workspace.

She is taken to a deserted apartment, where she is tortured with a degree of brutality by an interrogator who wants to know her involvement with Mortavezi. He insists Mortavezi is a spy with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a banned group in the UK. Hours wear on, pushing Daniella to the limits with extreme physical and mental abuse.

Finally, it is disclosed that her abduction was staged by Naomi, her CIA handler, after being subjected to torment. The whole kidnapping and torture were part of a sting operation to test Daniella's loyalty, to see if she would reveal any sensitive information about her undercover mission in The Agency episode 5.

The CIA had this brutal exercise to make sure Daniella would keep her operation secret and assess her ability to withstand interrogation. She passed the test, and Martian gave her a B+; after the interrogation scene, some chemistry seemed to develop between the interrogator and Danny.

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Catch The Agency episode 5 on Amazon Prime.