Directed by Louise Hooper and Sarah O’Gorman, the 2022 Netflix spy thriller “Treason” takes us inside the treacherous world of human intelligence and makes us privy to the characters who find themselves facing the consequences of being a part of this world. Kara Yusova, was a Russian spy, and she had dared to fall in love with an MI6 agent named Adam Lawrence. Kara had provided valuable intel to Adam that had made his career, but still, she was abandoned by him and left to fend for herself. Kara wanted to know who had killed her men in Baku, and she needed Adam to access classified information. She was ready to go to any extent to get justice for her people, though time and again, she was warned to maintain a safe distance from the MI6. So, let’s find out why it was so important for Kara to find out who had killed her people and if she was able to get her revenge or not.
Spoilers Ahead
Did Kara Find Out Who Dorian Was? Did She Get Her Revenge?
A lot of people have empathy, but they lack the courage to display it. Kara knew that whatever had happened in Baku was not right. The people with whom she worked had been killed by a double agent, and she just stood there as a spectator, not being able to do anything. Kara could have let it all go and moved on with her life. Any rational person would have given her the advice that she shouldn’t try to enter the treacherous waters because, once a person entered, there was no way out of it. But Kara wasn’t able to take those deaths as “mere collateral damage,” a phrase that is used more than often in the espionage world. She knew she wasn’t able protect her own people, and that is why she wanted them to have some dignity in death. After the deaths of those five locals, even their families were left to their fates as Adam Lawrence, who was supposed to get them out of Baku, backed off at the last moment. Obviously, Kara might have felt quite attached to those people, but her actions were not the result of just her sentiments. Kara knew that what had happened in Baku was not justified. She knew that it set a very bad precedent and gave a kind of confidence to the perpetrators that they could get away with anything. The world of human intelligence was indeed a ruthless and unforgiving one, but still, there was an unsaid code of conduct that the agents always abided by.
Whoever Dorian was, he had crossed that line, and nobody did anything about it. Kara knew that unless and until Dorian had some compromising intel, no agency would want to waste their resources in order to go after him. She knew that she would have to walk alone and do everything by herself. She knew that the operative agents were nothing but assets for any agency, and they wouldn’t take the extra effort to do something just for the sake of humanity. Justice was considered an overrated word in the spy world, something that the largest democracies were making a mockery of. Kara knew that there was no instant remedy to her problem and that she had to bear all the pain and regret and keep doing her bit in the hope that one day, the scales would tip in her favor. When the world betrayed her trust, Kara stood up to the challenge and made a resolution that she wouldn’t give up until she got justice for the families of the deceased. She had a plan of action in mind, though she wasn’t sure how much time it would take or if it would even work out in her favor or not. Kara had to take the leap of faith and start implementing her plan because she couldn’t think of any other option. Kara had decided to continue providing information to her ex-lover, Adam Lawrence, in order for him to gain the trust of his superiors and advance in the MI6 ranks. It was a very far-fetched plan, but she had the belief that, when the time came, Adam would repay her.
Kara kept the fire inside her alive for 15 long years, and finally, the day came when Adam Lawrence was made the head of MI6. He had been the deputy to Martin Angelis, and Kara had realized that Martin had to be removed somehow in order to let Adam take his position. So, Kara went ahead and poisoned Martin’s drink when he was meeting the president of the Supreme Court in a club. Kara didn’t want to kill Martin Angelis, which is why she used the amount of poison that would keep him out of the game for a few days. Once Martin got admitted to the hospital, Kara approached Adam and told him that she needed some intel on the operation they had undertaken in Baku. Adam was hesitant at first because he knew the implications of providing information to a Russian spy. But then he changed his mind and looked for any information in the official files. Adam didn’t find anything and communicated the same to Kara. Kara knew that it wasn’t possible that a shrewd man like Angelis wouldn’t have any information about such a significant operation that had changed the course of the narrative for MI6. Kara coerced Adam to look further, and he did strike gold and found a secret stash of files in Martin’s house. Though Adam and Kara got to know that a double agent named Dorian had killed those men in Baku on the orders of the Kremlin, it didn’t mention the real identity of the operative.
Their hunt continued, and they decided to raid the facility where Martin was hiding his secret files and use it to their advantage. But unfortunately, Adam got killed by Dede, who was working for the CIA, and even Audrey Gratz, the prime ministerial candidate, decided to back out at the very last moment. Kara had lost hope that she would ever find out who Dorian was and had accepted defeat. It almost felt like divine intervention when Maddy, contrary to her personality, was willing to risk her life and find out who Dorian was. Maddy knew that it was the only way through which she could prove that her husband was not a traitor. Maddy and Kara both knew what the implications of their plan could be if things didn’t go as they had planned. Kara informed the Russian diplomat, Irena Belova, that Maddy had compromising information on every official she could think of. She knew that Belova would contact Dorian, as he was the only one whose cover wasn’t blown up until then. Maddy went inside the government building where the Commons Intelligence Committee was supposed to meet. Just before she was about to enter the chamber, she met Patrick Hamilton, Adam’s best friend, and she instantly realized that he was Dorian. Even after Maddy got to know about his real identity, Patrick was quite sure that she wouldn’t be able to prove anything, as there was no incriminating evidence against him.
What Patrick failed to take into consideration was that there was a person who had waited for 15 years to get revenge on him. Kara had risked her life, but she never even once gave up on her chase. She slipped a photograph inside Patrick’s pocket, which had a poisonous powder all over it. Kara wanted to make sure that Patrick knew why he got killed. She wanted him to repent and regret his actions in his last few moments. As soon as Patrick took out that photograph from his pocket, he started suffocating and, after struggling for a few seconds, eventually died in his car. Kara left the scene feeling as if somebody had lifted a huge burden from her shoulders. She finally got justice for the people who were once her family away from home. Her actions proved that there was still some humanity left in the world and that there are things like family and friends that are worth dying for. Though Kara was going back to Russia she didn’t know whether she would be safe there or not. Irene Belova still didn’t know that Kara had killed Dorian, also known as Patrick Hamilton, and she had planned everything with Maddy. Belova still believed that Maddy was trying to kill Kara and that is why she kept her end of the promise and arranged for a plan to bring Kara back to Russia. If Matt Charman decides to make another season of “Treason,” we will most likely see if Moscow discovers the betrayal or if Kara is able to keep her true intentions hidden from everyone.
