It is a rare and extraordinary thing for a TV show to keep you captivated, and hold a following for three solid episodes without telling the audience much of anything. But, if you stayed committed, “The Ribbon Cutter” rewarded patient viewers, and finally we received some answers about the plot at work on The Honourable Woman.
For starters, who knew Nessa could be so subordinate to Ephra? Frankly, I was shocked to hear her say, somewhat pridefully, that she was not used to giving speeches because “ if there’s one advantage to having a darling elder brother it’s that.” Eight years ago, Ephra was the big man on campus and the face of their father’s company, and Nessa was “just” his little sister.
We see a shift after Nessa’s trip to Israel. Before, we had a timid Nessa, content with playing second to the Stein Group, and blissfully ignorant of the company’s actual moves. Then, her whole world is turned upside down when she finds out that there is no European languages department at the school where she thought they’d donated funds, and the money was actually transferred… to Gaza! I think we can mark the change in character to the lone phone call between Nessa and Ephra. She says, “Do you believe in what we are doing? It is not just the results, it’s every step.” The idealized version of Ephra that Nessa held in such a high regard, is shattered. Suddenly, Nessa the dutiful sister is replaced by Nessa, the badass—and dammit, she is going to trace that money in Gaza.
Gaza changes everything. Everything for Atika, for Nessa, for Ephra, for everyone, really. Nessa and Atika’s plan to meet the first guy with information falls through and so, without a plan to execute, they go to meet the other informant. But they never make it to the meeting. In broad daylight, Nessa and Atika are kidnapped.
Nessa’s kidnapping puts some characters in a compromising position (Ephra, Sir Christopher Grieff, Harold Parr), while putting others in a very favorable one (Julia Walsh, Hugh, and, arguably, Nessa herself). The Israeli government, “does not deal with terrorists,” but Ephra so sweetly informs them that indeed they do, and they will again. Julia Walsh finds out Sir Christopher is not so great. And as Ephra’s new confidant, she finds herself armed with information to take over the secret intelligence as Sir Christopher becomes just plain Christopher. Continuing to connect the dots, we now know Julia and Hugh had a brief but passionate love affair, so she gives him her job. Now, much to Angela’s excitement, Hugh must become passionate about something. Harold Parr, who oversaw the transfer of the money to Gaza rather than the European language’s wing, also resigns.
This is all background, so let’s get to the meat of the episode. First, the burnt-faced man, Saleh Al-Zahid is revealed to be Nessa’s kidnapper, and a member of the Fatah terrorist group. And the father of her child…Kasim? In a very drug-induced night, the burnt-faced man—who is not burnt yet—pours his emotions out to Nessa—how he lost his child and his wife and has nothing. I almost feel sorry for him, but then, in a dark and terrorizing moment, he rapes Nessa. She begs and pleads and Atika jumps on him to fight him off, but as his slimy hands are wrapped around Atika’s neck in a firm chokehold, Nessa desperately pleas, “Stop, I’m lying down,”
The rape scene is simultaneously sobering and angering. But before the scene changes, Atika wraps her chains around the beast’s neck, and burns his face.