Tehran – Season 2 Episode 1 “13,000” Recap & Review

13,000

Episode 1 of Tehran Season 2 starts in Evin Prison, Tehran. A prisoner receives some clothes, but inside the fabric, he finds a pill with a note reading 13,000. Rocking back and forth, he begins counting up to that very number.

It’s been two months since Tamar has been on the run and she’s trying to live under the radar with Milad. Right now, they’re stuck in Tehran but the risk of being spotted is an ever-present danger. When Milad leaves the apartment, he’s watched by dangerous, shadowy men as he communicates with Azizi, a drug dealer. Milad is under pressure to sell his drugs but is clearly feeling the heat.

In his absence, Tamar is approached by several men at the apartment who tell her that the time has arrived for them to go. Taken to an abandoned warehouse, Tamar is sat in front of a laptop, where she communicates with Yulia, who happens to be in charge of Mossad.

Tamar is tasked with fronting an operation to save this prisoner. Two months ago, 15 pilots were sent on a mission to destroy the Iranian reactor. That mission failed. Thanks to Tamar, 14 made it back. Her new mission is to save the final pilot left behind. Tamar has terms though, and wants Milad to be extracted after this operation.

In North Tehran, news reports overlap this to inform us that General Qasem Mohammadi’s motorcade is en-route to the Supreme Leader’s office. There are rumblings in the political stratosphere, given General Mohammadi has just been appointed Commander of the Revolutionary Guards just last week. Off the back of this, he’s about to receive his Major General insignia.

Ali shows up to see Faraz, feeding back that he’s been unable to spot Milad and Tamar. Faraz is a man possessed and adamant that the pair are still in town. Ali reminds him that he has other targets to follow but Faraz is determined to gain revenge over what happened in season 1.

Remember the man counting up to 13,000? Well, he collapses on the ground, foaming at the mouth when he reaches the fateful number. At the same time, all the powers goes off completely. So in order to take this prisoner to safety, they’re driven out to a different hospital – Ayandegan. This is, if you’ll remember, the hospital we saw glimpses of at the start of the episode.

When Faraz catches wind of what’s happening, he relays that on to Ali, realizing that this is Tamar’s doing. He urges Ali to get to the hospital and find the pilot. Ali does just that and hurries there, where he learns the prisoner is about to be taken into the OR. Only, he’s got the wrong man.

Ali and the other guards race through the hospital, desperate to find the real pilot, who happens to be with several agents. With Tamar organizing traffic and Yulia overseeing proceedings, it’s touch and go for a while but the pilot is eventually taken to safety.

With the mission a success, Yulia shows and gives Tamar instructions on getting to safety. That includes taking a long hallway all the way down until she heads outside and into a taxi driven by a man who’s about to take her wherever she needs to go.

Before she goes, she rings Milad, who confirms he’s go the money and is about to pay off Azizi and then they’ll be able to go. When Milad realizes Tamar has “gone back to them” (Mossad, that is) he’s unsure what to do. Unfortunately, in his deliberation Faraz happens to spot him and decides to follow in his car.

Meanwhile, General Qasem Mohammadi gives his big speech and sends ripples all the way through the Mossad ranks. After the incident in the hospital, and the pilot being saved, he kills the four high-ranking prisoners – including Arezoo, Tamar’s aunt – and promises no mercy for the traitors of the state.

The Episode Review

Tehran returns with an exciting opening episode to kick off this new season. With Tamar and Milad trying to lay low, their whole operation is made all the more difficult by General Mohammadi sending a message to them all through killing those prisoners. That will almost certainly see Tamar and the others desperate for revenge, and it sends a clear message to Mossad as well.

The entire chapter is nicely shot too, with a pretty dramatic and gripping story so far. With Faraz still hellbent on finding Tamar and the conflict far from over, the rest of the season looks like it’s going to be quite the dramatic affair. We’ll have to wait and see where the rest of this one goes but for now, Tehran gets off to a good start.