Netflix's The Spy is a thrilling television miniseries starring Sacha Baron Cohen as real-life Mossad agent Eli Cohen, who infiltrated the Syrian government at a high level during the 1960s.
Although Cohen manages to acquire valuable intelligence for Israel throughout the course of his time undercover, he is far from flawless as both an agent, and as a person in general. In the course of normal life, mistakes are expected. But in the world of espionage, even a small human error could make the difference between life and death.
Feeling Like He Has Something To Prove
Cohen begins the series with a clear desire to join Mossad, having had previous experience with smuggling Egyptians safely into Israel. One of the assets he had in this endeavor was the fact that he is both Jewish and Arab.
However, this dual identity also makes him an outsider in Israel, as made clear in the first episode when he is mistaken for a waiter by his wife's boss' husband. Not feeling welcome in a country that has legally become his homeland leads him to want to prove himself, which is why he is so eager to join Mossad in the first place, ultimately leading him to his tragic end.
Not Spotting His Tail From The Embassy
In Eli's training, one of the main focuses is learning how to spot a tail, someone following him. Even when he finally gets it right, Dan lies to him about this, most likely so that Cohen doesn't get cocky.
However, when Cohen steals a camera from the party at the Syrian embassy in Buenos Aires, he attracts the attention of a guard, who follows him all the way to his meeting with Julia, compromising his cover and forcing him and Julia to kill the guard. Had things gone slightly differently, it would've been Eli who never made it out of Buenos Aires.
Joining And Then Leaving The Anti-Israel Rally
When he hears news of a Syrian victory over Israel, and sees that there is a march celebrating the supposed victory, Eli decides to join it, seemingly so that he can see for himself the carnage that has been inflicted on his people.
The problem comes when, disgusted by what he has seen, he decides to leave, and runs into Al-Hafiz's head of security, Suidani, who has never trusted Cohen, and acts as the spy-movie villain equivalent for the show. Eli is unable to properly feign enthusiasm for what has happened, which adds to Suidani's suspicion. This leads viewers to ask the obvious question "why join the rally in the first place?"
Not Securing His Radio Properly
After unsuccessfully trying to get in contact with Israeli intelligence to warn them of an upcoming attack, Eli manages to infiltrate a Syrian base by hopping on the back of a military truck. However, his first attempt comes back to haunt him when the radio goes off, alerting soldiers to his presence and forcing him to flee.
It's only through the luck of meeting a farmer at the border which allows Eli to get his message to the Israeli authorities, which could never have happened had the alerted soldiers managed to kill him. There is a lot going on, but that base is especially dangerous, and yet the first episode seemed to establish that Eli is a skillful spy, making such a simple mistake even more incredulous.
Getting Caught in George Seif's Office
Eli knows that Mohammed bin Laden's project is incredibly valuable, and also knows that his friend, new Minister of Information George Seif, knows the details behind what bin Laden and the Syrian government are planning.
This leads him to infiltrate his friend's office late at night, a move right out of a classic spy film. While Eli successfully manages to get information on what the project, "Shallal," is, this is almost nullified when he gets caught in the office by Suidani and his guards. Had Al-Hafiz not trusted him so closely, this could easily have been Eli's end.
Acting Strangely After He Arrives Home
Eli's mission for him is about helping his country and, both directly and indirectly, his family. He is a man dedicated to service but also needs to keep his work and family life separate. The last time he returns home, however, it's clear that his work has affected him negatively.
His outburst in the department store, combined with his clear anxiety and sleep-talking, clues Nadia in on the fact that he really isn't just a furniture buyer, and although she doesn't learn what he's really doing, it obviously makes her anxious nonetheless.
Letting Kamel Take Over His Life
Undercover work involves assuming an alternate identity of some sort, whether it's state espionage or infiltration of a criminal organization. Just like Eli needs to keep his work and life separate, he also has to keep his undercover identity of Kamel Thaabeth away from his real identity of Eli Cohen.
When he comes home, however, it becomes obvious that over the years being Kamel has ceased to become an act and has instead become who he is. It's fortunate that he is eventually able to reclaim his identity by the end of it, but his last days with his family are compromised by Kamel taking over his mind.
Agreeing To Go Back Into The Field
Eli's handler Dan doesn't want Eli to be sent back because of how dangerous it will become once Shallal is attacked, but is overruled by his superiors because he has been offered the Deputy Defense Minister position. Nadia, however, reminds Eli, and thus the audience, that he does have a choice in the matter, that he can't be forced to do this.
But whether out of a sense of duty, the lingering need to prove himself, Kamel feeling like his real identity, or something else, Eli chooses to return to Syria, and this choice is the last one he makes from a position of safety in Israel, one of the last safe choices he can make at all.
Transmitting During The Power Outages
This is a Cold War spy thriller, after all, where eyes and ears are everywhere. But it seems that Eli's training did not cover this. Eli can't be expected to assume that the power is being taken out specifically so that the spy chatter can be isolated and thus the spies be revealed, but he has to know how the morse-code transmissions work in the first place.
He's been shown to transmit outside of his normal times, so why not wait and transmit when it's safer? Time is of the essence, but putting himself in an unnecessary compromising position benefits no one, and is what ultimately gets him caught.
Taking Unwitting Accomplices Down With Him
By making allies out of Majid al-Ard (his business partner), al-Ard's daughter, and Ma'azi, nephew to the commander-in-chief, Eli is doing exactly what is expected of him, and each of these relationships helps him in his ultimate mission of gathering intelligence for Israel.
Once he is found out, however, these people's association with him leads to their arrest and, in Ma'azi's case at least, torture. There may not have been an easy way to keep them out of it, but in getting himself caught, Eli not only destroys his own life but the lives of everyone he was involved with as well. In this case, it's a significant, if indirect, failure.