How well do we know our close fellas or loved ones? Is it possible to know everything about someone? I believe we only know things; one share or will share. But beyond it, there are their hidden secrets, a past life, and an identity we are not aware of. While many of us spend our lives in the shadows without bothering, Segev Azulai in Hit & Run gets obsessed with his wife’s past life.
Creators of the famous Israeli series, Fauda, Avi Issacharoff, and Lior Raz, teamed up to screen an espionage thriller drama, Hit & Run. It narrates the tale of an Israeli Tour Guide, Segev living in Tel Aviv, who is knocked out with a tragedy. The following turn of events unfolds the secret life of his second wife. Did Danielle love Segev, or was it just a cover-up? Let’s dig deep.
‘Hit & Run’ Plot Summary
The inciting incidents begin with an underlying tension between Segev Azulai (Lior Raz) and his second wife, Danielle Wexler (Kaelen Ohm). Danielle is a professional New York-based dancer who is going to visit the states for an upcoming audition. Segev fears Danielle will leave him and his daughter, Ella (from first marriage), if she cracks the audition. On the contrary, before leaving, Danielle persuades Segev to settle in New York. Their conversation is left stranded as Danielle leaves for New York the following day.
On her way to the airport, Danielle gets mysterious texts from someone. She even stops for a bit at Batsheva Dance Company to hand over a paper chit to her best friend, Syd. While an air of eeriness builds around Danielle, she is suddenly hit with a speeding car outside a coffee shop. Danielle dies after that.
Segev and Ella mourn Danielle’s death. In the meantime, Segev’s cousin in the police department, Tali Shapira (Moran Rosenblatt), investigates the case further. Segev is attacked by a masked man inside his house who worries for his daughter Ella’s safety. Later, Segev finds unknown text on Danielle’s phone sent from a burner phone.
Tali finds out that the car that ran over Danielle was reported stolen. The CCTV footage discloses two assassins from America who quickly left Israel after the accident. Segev tries to plunge further, but someone plants a bomb in his house to kill him. He quickly recalls his dark past and connects the dots when he learns about the two hitmen from the states. Segev concludes that his nemesis, Issac Katkov, may have killed Danielle. He instantly flies to New York to stop Issac from hurting his family by all means necessary. The American land will take a deep look at Segev and Danielle’s past lives, revealing riveting mysteries.
Who was Danielle Wexler?
Danielle Wexler was an alias used by CIA agent Sophie Dreyer for her covert operation in Tel Aviv. The CIA had planted her to extract intelligence from the Israel Intelligence Agency. For her Espionage mission, Sophie lured an NSC Agent, Assaf Talmor (Lior Ashkenazi), and initiated a secret affair to obtain intelligence. However, during her stay in Tel Aviv, she fell in love with Segev, and the emergence of feelings lead to her death.
The U.S. and Israel had been allies since the formation of the Jewish State. The CIA was supposed to work with Israeli intel and not behind their back. Segev found an NYT article in Sophie’s U.S. apartment. Segev’s journalist friend and past lover, Naomi Hicks, deduced that from the past 18 months, there had been some tension between the two countries that led to a strain between the NSA and Israeli SIGINT National Unit.
Later, it was disclosed that Sophie found out about Assaf through this article. He tried to threaten his fellow countryman to speak publicly about the article. Through Assaf, Sophie got hold of some confidential intelligence which she encoded in her Diary. While extraction, her cover was blown, and she required an immediate evacuation. Nevertheless, Sophie mailed her Diary but stayed back in Tel Aviv for 72 hours to convince Segev to come with her. The stance led to her death.
Who killed Danielle Wexler?
When Segev unveiled Danielle’s real identity and her connection with the CIA, he believed her agency killed it’s agent. But during the end episodes, Mossad’s Stealth team attacked Segev and his best friend, Ron Sharon (Gal Toren). In the combat, Ron was killed, and Segev got hold of one agent who conversed in Hebrew. Segev quickly concluded that the dead man was a Mossad Agent.
Later, when Segev was in jail, a Mossad enforcer, Tamir (Igal Naor), came to see Segev and threatened him to hand over Sophie’s Diary. Tamir subtly hinted in the end that Mossad killed Danielle Wexler, aka Sophie Dreyer, in an orchestrated Hit & Run accident.
“If she had left the country immediately, we never would’ve found her. Killing Danielle may well have been a poor decision, but such is life.”
Tamir
What was in Danielle’s Diary?
Assaf Talmor used to work for the NSC. A week before Danielle’s death, NSC reported a security breach where someone stole classified intel from them. Tamir investigated the matter and discovered that a CIA agent, Sophie Dreyer stole the intel with the help of their agent, Assaf Talmor. While Assaf was innocent, Tamir speculated that the stolen intel was still out, hidden somewhere, probably with Segev.
Segev located Danielle’s Diary in her apartment and scrolled through dance notations she scribbled on the pages. Segev and Naomi decoded the message and discovered the formation of four words, “Chronos,” “Cheetah,” “Cobra,” and “Rat.””
From a source, Naomi figured out that these words are coded call signs. The first family, Chronos, is POTUS. Cheetah’s the daughter, and Cobra’s the son-in-law. But who was RAT? R-A-T was an acronym for Remote Access Trojan, a piece of spyware used by hackers. Naomi discovered that Israelis were spying on the White House through RAT.
In the end, Tamir confirmed the theories. He disclosed that their illegal actions led to a discovery of a devastating national security crisis in America. The president’s son-in-law was selling secrets to a foreign adversary. Mossad wanted to use this information against their allies to bargain or something nefarious. Danielle’s Diary was proof of Israel’s malicious affair. Thus they tried to procure the notebook, while the CIA wanted it to find out Israel’s intentions and methods.
‘Hit & Run’ Ending Explained
Tamir abducted Naomi and threatened Segev to hand over the notebook in exchange for her life. Segev got guns and ammunition from Issac and infiltrated the Israeli safehouse in New York.
In the meantime, Tamir called CIA agent Martin. He cracked a diplomatic deal with Martin to bury the affairs for damage control. However, in the heat of the moment, Martin shot and killed Tamir, while Segev injured Martin. Segev and Naomi escaped with the Diary and walked separate ways for each other’s benefit. Before leaving, Naomi asked the riveting question, “Why did Danielle wait to leave the country after her cover was blown?
The most straightforward answer would be, she waited to convince Segev to leave with her. She knew that she wouldn’t be returning to Tel Aviv, and thus, Segev and Ella would soon turn into a buried past. Segev disregarded the states, but a man couldn’t avoid his destiny. He returned to the country he didn’t want to come to and now might have to stay a little longer.
Detective Newkirk raided the Israeli safehouse and found Tamir’s dead body. However, Martin was missing. Probably, Martin didn’t die, or the CIA extracted him out of the safehouse. Whatever the case, the CIA and Mossad would hit back at Segev to acquire Danielle’s Diary at all costs.
In Tel Aviv, Tali discovered the dead body of Segev’s first wife, Shira, while his daughter, Ella, was missing from the secluded farmhouse. Either the CIA or Mossad abducted Ella to threaten Segev further and recover the notebook from him.
Hit & Run Season 1 ended on an infuriated Segev screaming out loud on the Bridge, probably a war cry against the agency who kidnapped his daughter.
‘Hit & Run’ Season 2
An upcoming season of ‘Hit & Run‘ (if intended) will follow the friction between Segev and the intelligence agencies. He will try to save his daughter from their claws and return to his peaceful life in Tel Aviv or somewhere safer.
Another exciting clause to look out for in Season 2 will be Naomi’s decision to publish the article on Danielle’s Death and the conspiracy around it.
Hopefully, the remaining characters will assemble again to carry forward the narrative and the chaos for a peaceful end. The upcoming turn of events will translate better.
Hit & Run is a 2021 Israeli Television Series created by Avi Issacharoff & Lior Raz for Netflix.
