True Lies Season 1 Episode 10 Review: Friendly Enemies

True Lies Season 1 Episode 10, “Friendly Enemies,” is this premise at its best without flashy guest stars or gimmicks. 

The episode follows the same mission format as before but presents the strongest version of this repetitive framing. That has everything to do with its prioritization of the ensemble and the choice to pair the team off into two groups to play with their dynamics under duress.

This pattern tells us what we have come to know about True Lies. It is more compelling when it focuses on its characters, not its one-dimensional revolving door of military mania.

The idea to introduce another couple into the mix, who is a mirror image of Harry and Helen, is a brilliant move to punch up the plot.

Emilio and Valentina usher in a dueling plotline that speaks to the double lives of these spies in a way I find immensely compelling.

Helen and Harry struggle to find friends they can be themselves around, and this is an ordinary couple gripe. However, their eagerness to meet their targets as they immerse themselves in the Pérezes’ world taps into a wholesomeness the action comedy does well.

Additionally, these Cuban spies are excellent scene partners to banter off of amid the action. It is nice to have Helen open up about her insecurities as a new recruit and to have the couples acknowledge the stakes as parents undertaking this deadly rescue mission.

What is better than one secret spy couple? Most definitely, two secret spy couples.

The red herring of the episode also elevates the episodic format we have come to expect.

One can presume the Pérezes are not entirely what they seem from Harry and Helen’s initial introduction to them. However, the episode leading us into the central conflict with the presumption they are simply the target and not another operatives team allows the plot to switch up quickly.

It makes for more effective action when the bad guy of the week storms the restaurant and reveals he is there not for Omega but for the Pérezes, who are orchestrating an identical coop with the Taskers as their target. The fallout between the couples is also quite entertaining.

It is excellent to see True Lies further flesh out the concept by acknowledging a team behind the Pérezes, just like the Taskers.

This extra reveal gives context to Luther’s weird beef with a man at the restaurant the night before and also plays into some fun shock value when Emilio and Valentina realize their Gib betrayed them.

Omega Sector and everyone they come into contact with still have ridiculously thick plot armor. But seeing them face more adversity in the line of fire is good.

True Lies certainly pushes for a more thrilling team-up when it has the two groups of operatives kidnapped. We understand the Taskers and their team have become like a second family, and we can easily project those feelings onto the Pérezes’ team.

Seeing Luther, a professional spy, act like a child in the face of his equal because they have differing views on Cuba is entertaining and gives Maria the hilarious task of being both their savior and babysitter.

We also see Gib out of his element as he is taken hostage and tortured for information.

The moment where Harry reveals Gib’s call pleading for his rescue isn’t useless, but Morse code divulging how many exits and men were present is excellent. It frames the intelligence of this team in ways the basic plot often neglects.

“Friendly Enemies” effectively utilizes this round of guest characters and offers a meaningful commentary on its spy couples.

It does stumble a little with its insistence on clunky scene transitions and a concerningly Western approach to every country this show “visits.” I cannot speak on US/Cuban relations at all, but something about the dialogue feels shortsighted.

This episode may not have flashy gimmicks or Matthew Lillard-level cameos, but I love that it gives up a major plot point with the casting of Jane the Virgin‘s Yara Martinez. Because there is no way Luisa Alver will show up and not bring trouble with her.

And although Luther has been a sweet background character for most of the season, Ted Lasso fans keeping up with new episodes will get a good chuckle out of seeing his switch up so fast from Dr. Jacob Bryanson.

From one of the most likable characters on this show to the most disliked on Ted Lasso, it is clear Mike O’Gorman is having a moment. One that hilariously eclipses parts of this True Lies episode.

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True Lies airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on CBS.

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