In the previous episode, Tamar figured she could only survive if she had leverage over Mossad. She managed to break into Marjan’s apartment and left with all the crucial files on her computer. In episode 2 of Tehran season 3, Tamar held Nahid at gunpoint and instructed Faraz to break into Mohammadi’s office. Tamar was simply trying to survive, and most of the time, it came at the cost of risking someone else’s life. In this episode, we witness the brief emotional moments when Tamar couldn’t help but grieve the loss of the love of her life. She had been so busy just trying to survive that she didn’t get the time to mourn Milad’s death or at least sit with her feelings for long enough.
Spoiler Alert
Why did Faraz agree to break into Mohammadi’s office?
Faraz didn’t really have much of a choice. His wife was held at gunpoint by a Mossad agent who claimed that the Iranian authorities would find out about his involvement in Mohammadi’s death if he failed to cooperate. Now, Tamar already knew that Faraz would agree to do anything to protect his wife, and that he feared getting caught for Mohammadi’s murder. So, Tamar lied about an email that Marjan had sent to Mohammadi. She claimed that Mossad had ordered her to hack Marjan’s laptop; they were apparently under the impression that Marjan had ignored the red light on Mohammadi and not Faraz and Tamar. After hacking into the laptop, Tamar discovered that Marjan had a fail-safe to be sent automatically in case she was betrayed. Tamar claimed that the mail had been sent, and although it appeared blank, the attachment consisted of a malware virus that would not only infect every IRGC computer, but also expose evidence against Faraz and pose him as the traitor. Faraz calmly asked Tamar to delete the mail, but she explained that she could not access it remotely, and that was why she needed Faraz to manually access it from Mohammadi’s computer. Faraz called her bluff, but Tamar continued lying and tried to convince him that whatever she told him was true. Faraz bought her story, but he reminded her that there was heavy security and, of course, passwords protecting his system. Tamar confirmed that she would manage to bypass all the security remotely if Faraz managed to connect her to Mohammadi’s system.
Faraz couldn’t afford to put Nihad’s life at risk, so he had no choice but to agree to Tamar’s condition. He had no idea Mossad would rather have Tamar dead; he also didn’t know that Milad had died in the car blast and Tamar was operating alone. If he knew the entire truth, he perhaps would’ve never agreed to the condition and instead found a way to frame Tamar. But here he was, ready to bypass security and walk into Mohammadi’s office. He felt guilty, but he couldn’t risk getting exposed and losing the life he’d built. Faraz managed to sneak into the office of the deceased commander, and Tamar instructed him to connect his phone to Mohammadi’s computer so that she could crack the passwords. Faraz did as he was asked, but soon he figured out that Tamar had tricked him. Tamar needed access to Mohammadi’s computer to find out about the nuclear weapon that Iran was secretly building. As soon as Tamar accessed the high-security files on the computer, an alarm went off. Faraz panicked; he heard the security guards approaching the office, and he had to immediately flee the room through the back door. Before leaving, Faraz ensured that no fingerprint traces were left behind. He realized that Tamar had indeed tricked him to get access to the files that she needed, and she ended up putting him at immense risk.
Who is the Owl?
Yulia’s trusted local agent, the Owl, was assigned to ‘take care’ of Tamar. As soon as she walked out of Faraz’s apartment, the Owl knocked her out and loaded her onto the back of his truck. When Tamar regained consciousness, she found herself tied to a chair. The Owl ran an antique store as a front and worked for Mossad. He was a merciless killer, and he didn’t hesitate to almost cut Tamar’s finger off when she refused to share any information that she’d recently collected with him. Tamar was adamant about directly sharing whatever she’d learned from Marjan’s computer with Yulia. But after Tamar betrayed her trust, Yulia refused to speak with her and wanted the Owl to handle her instead. When Tamar refused to cooperate, Yulia asked the Owl to kill the hacker. Tamar blurted out that she knew where and when the final shipment for the nuclear weapon that Iran was building would come. Tamar said so because she needed to survive, and Yulia chose to let her live another day because she could live with her conscience if she killed Tamar even though she could help them with the nuclear weapon situation. Considering Iran was clearly breaking all rules to build nuclear dominance, Yulia couldn’t afford to let go of one of their most capable agents. The Owl established that from henceforth he would be Tamar’s contact, and if she had to communicate anything to Yulia, it’d have to be through him. He predicted that Tamar had no clue when or where the final shipment would arrive, and she’d just blurted it out to protect herself.
Tamar shared all the details she’d gathered from Marjan and Mohammadi’s computers. The Owl recognized Ramin Ghasemi, the man Tamar saw at the PersCargo terminal. Apparently, Ramin had connections everywhere and could ‘bring anything into the country.’ The next morning, Owl and Tamar met again, this time as collaborators. Tamar learned that Ramin held a table at the market thrice a week, where people came to him with their problems. It was obvious that Ramin was playing a key role in importing the nuclear weapon parts, but the question was if he knew exactly what he was bringing into the country. Considering how deeply he was involved, it will be quite surprising if he had no clue what he had gotten himself into. Tamar was tasked with gathering information on Ramin.
Is Faraz in trouble?
Faraz was in a strange position; he was no longer the honorable man that he once prided himself to be. He had faltered, he had plotted against and murdered Mohammadi, and now he could be put behind bars and possibly killed if he was found to be the one who’d broken into Mohammadi’s office. Considering Faraz was the head of security the day the general commander was killed, and the fact that he seemed too invested in the computer that was taken away from Mohammadi’s office after it was hacked, one could arrive at the conclusion that he wasn’t as loyal as he posed to be. A team was assigned to scan the hard drive, since they believed the device was hacked. Faraz figured he only had six hours before the scan was completed and the team would find out that his phone was used to hack into the device. He couldn’t access the computer, and he wasn’t allowed into the room where the scan was taking place, so Faraz had pretty much run out of options. But he felt hopeful when Larijani assigned him a task. Larijani had taken over Mohammadi’s role and moved into his office. Larijani is a clever player who cannot be trusted. He likely does not trust Faraz at all, but he wanted Faraz to believe that he still had faith in him. Perhaps because if Faraz was convinced that the authorities didn’t suspect him, then he perhaps would not take any radical step. Larijani asked Faraz to communicate with Eric Peterson and his team; he believed Faraz’s confidence and sternness would build just the right ‘don’t mess with us’ image that Larijani wanted to convey to the foreigners. Faraz informed Peterson and his team that they were allowed to continue with their inspection of the nuclear facility.
Towards the end of Tehran season 3 episode 2, when Peterson removed the surveillance camera from the facility, he was immediately handcuffed. It was quite clear that Larijani had found out about the device that had been installed in the facility, and he wanted Peterson to get back there so they could catch him red-handed. Maybe it was Nico who’d exposed him, or perhaps they’d overheard his discussions or found the device at the facility, and they figured out the truth. Regardless, Eric Peterson might end up being trapped in Tehran longer than he’d wished for. Meanwhile, Nihad was desperately trying to find a way to leave Iran. She was tired of constantly living in fear, and although she’d requested Faraz to consider moving to Norway, where her sister stayed, he thought it was a ridiculous plan. Considering Nihad had already started looking for a VPN to connect with her sister, it is quite evident that she does not intend to stay. Considering how adamant Faraz was about staying in Iran, she might just have to leave by herself. But was she ready to make such a drastic decision?
Will Tamar end up in prison?
Tamar approached Ramin’s table with confidence. She assertively asked him if he could import a medication meant for pregnant women with endometriosis. One of the women in the shelter was in desperate need of medication, especially because taking her to a hospital wasn’t really an option because of her abusive husband. Tamar had promised to help her, and Ramin seemed just the right person for it. She figured it was just the perfect excuse to start a conversation with him as well as get a favor out of the situation. Ramin was impressed by her confidence and invited her to have lunch with him. Tamar lied about studying in America, and when Ramin stated that America was the reason for Iran’s economic condition, she insinuated that people like Ramin were actually responsible for creating a scarcity and then selling products for high prices. Ramin reasoned that importing anything into Iran was a challenge, and he simply charged for the risk involved in his line of business. From their conversation, it can be surmised that while Ramin supported the regime, he was aware of the faults and the cracks in the system, and he mentioned that most of what he did was for ‘survival’ and that he ‘wished’ things were ‘different.’ He promised to help Tamar and asked her to meet him again the next day. She later reported to the Owl that Ramin always noted down his shipments in a notebook, and she was instructed to get hold of it.
During the ending of Tehran season 3 episode 2, Tamar noticed a young couple right outside the restaurant. The friendship and the love that they shared reminded her of Milad. She was devastated when the armed guards got violent with the couple just because they’d embraced each other publicly. The woman was harassed for not covering her head; the man was brutally assaulted. Tamar felt uneasy watching the romantic moment take a violent turn. A reminder of how love had no place left in this unforgiving world. Tamar couldn’t hold herself back; she stopped the guards from assaulting the woman and ended up being forcefully taken away from the scene by the guards. She was dragged into an IRGC van, and the Owl watched the scene unfold from a distance. If Tamar ended up in prison, she had to be killed. Mossad won’t take any risks, considering the operations Tamar had been involved in. The Owl might try to intercept the van and rescue Tamar, since she’d already established a connection with Ramin, and the operation was crucial. The third possibility is of Ramin stepping in. He was impressed by Tamar, aka Sara’s straightforwardness, and he also seemed quite distressed watching her being dragged away by the guards. Maybe he’ll use his influence to get her out of prison, and it might as well deepen their connection. A lot of people were seen taking videos of the incident, and this can actually pose a real challenge. Tamar was recognized, and her photo was widely circulated, so if a curious mind manages to connect the dots, it really won’t be surprising. Life is never easy for Tamar, and it is just the second episode!
