'Hanna' Season 2 Episode 5 explores who is helping Marissa from behind the scenes and her Vesuvius connection
For all the lying and manipulation by Marissa (Mireille Enos) every time she was questioned by John Carmichael (Dermot Mulroney) about Hanna (Esme Creed-Miles), she still failed in convincing the director of The Meadows. In episode 5 of 'Hanna' Season 2, we learn that Carmichael knew everything about Marissa and how she had offered Hanna help. The new identity, the safe house in Paris, the escape route to Canada, and the passport; all of it was tracked by Carmichael's team and he brings all of it up when he interrogates Marissa.
The only question that Carmichael has for Marissa is about who is helping her from the behind the scene. He asks her why she had used a bug on herself and who was tracking her at the moment? Carmichael also asks her how she had managed to debug her apartment with the help of his agents. We saw her identify as Vesuvius on a call with a man, and this man is the one who identifies where she is being held. He seems to know all about UTRAX as well. There is someone who is high up the ladder, someone who is funding Marissa just as there is someone who is funding Carmichael and this episode serves as the turning point.
It is no longer just about Hanna and her fight for absolute freedom, but about power struggle at a higher level. Hanna is just a piece in a complicated game of chess and so are the other trainees. Whose side will these trainees pick? The ones who trained them all their life, or Marissa, who seems to have a way of giving them what they want?
The episode also sees Terri Miller, the operative who arranges the identities of the trainees, understand Hanna. She acknowledges that what Hanna needs is not a fresh identity but an acceptance of her old identity. So Terri manages to orchestrate a loss, to be experienced by Sandy, who happens to be a fellow trainee to bring Hanna close to her team. Terri understands that Hanna, who experienced a loss recently, would be able to help Sandy through the process of grieving; thereby bringing her close to the other trainees. This, she hopes would give Hanna the motivation to take up The Meadows' offer for a fresh start.
Just as Terri had hoped, Hanna does get close to the other girls and even begins to get in touch with her family. Everything about the fresh start that The Meadows offered is fake, and Hanna knows it. However, she is now tired of running, and that is why she decides to stay back at The Meadows. She tells Marissa that she doesn't want to leave. Marissa tries to dispel the illusion that The Meadows helped her build around the idea of 'Home'.
Just when Hanna is convinced to leave with Marissa, Clara, who is now completely convinced that she is indeed Clemency, interrupts the duo. In a tussle between Clara and Marissa, Hanna interrupts to stop but instead fires at Marissa by mistake leading to Marissa getting captured again. The episode ends with Carmichael telling Hanna "You're with us now" but it sounds ominous more than reassuring.
'Hanna' Season 2 premiered on July 3 and all episodes can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.
