The Unexpected FUBAR Season 1 Twist That Raises A Lot Of Questions
This post contains spoilers for Netflix's "FUBAR."
"It's totally FUBAR," muses Arnold Schwarzenegger's CIA veteran Luke Brunner, after his spy cover and that of his team is completely blown at the end of Netflix's "FUBAR." The season finale embraced chaos to end things on a cliffhanger — dangerous arms dealer Boro (Gabriel Luna) is presumed to be dead after Luke leaves him to die in an underground bunker, but the man returns to disrupt a wedding ceremony. The personal and the political are at odds until the very end, as Luke's ex-wife, Tally (Fabiana Udenio) is about to marry her new flame Donnie (Andy Buckley), and Luke finally has a chance to come clean about his past and win her over before she goes through with the marriage.
After Luke confesses to Tally, Boro bursts into the scene, holding a gun to Tally's head while demanding that Luke and his daughter Emma (Monica Barbaro) — who is also a CIA agent — shoot one another. Although the situation is de-escalated, thanks to a rather pointy medal that Tally uses to stab Boro in the thigh, the gang learns that they need to evacuate ASAP as their identities are compromised. Amidst all of the chaos, it is easy to overlook a surprising twist towards the end, where NSA analyst Tina (Aparna Brielle) receives a suspicious phone call indicating that she might've been a plant all along.
As Tina is the one to arrange an emergency evacuation vehicle for the gang, things might take a dark turn for the core group in question, their lives being in danger at every step of the way. What does this reveal mean, and how does this impact the future of "FUBAR," if a second season is greenlit down the line?
Tina's arc so far
Right after Luke and Emma's stint in Guyana, the duo, along with the rest of the CIA attempt to put together a plan to zero in on Boro. As a means to strengthen their efforts, Tina is introduced to the team as a gifted analyst from the NSA, who helps them with crucial leads along the way. Tina is set up as a sweet, innocuous addition to the gang, whose gifts are an asset to the Boro operation.
After all, she was the one who provided Luke and co. with the possible involvement of Moldovan scientist Dr. Karl Novac, which turns out to be a key aspect of Boro's plan to retrieve usable remnants from the stolen nuclear sludge. Moreover, after Barry (Milan Carter) — Luke's handler — develops a crush on Tina, she quickly evolves into someone we can trust, as she seamlessly integrates herself into the core gang of spies.
In the show's sixth episode, titled "Royally Flushed," it is hinted that the CIA has a Russian mole responsible for leaking information and being involved with Boro himself. While this thread is quickly discarded and almost forgotten amidst the chaos, we circle back to it towards the end. Tina hastily receives a call, saying that this is not a good time to talk, and then proceeds to communicate in Russian about a plan set in motion. This is all the confirmation we need regarding Tina being the Russian double agent, and the reveal casts a lot of doubt over her true allegiances, and her relationship with Barry, which had only appeared genuine and endearing right up until this moment. Is Tina actually double-crossing the Russians for some reason, or does she intend to carry out her role as a CIA infiltrator?
Hints of betrayal
When Luke and the rest of the gang discuss the traitor in their midst, they address the mole with the codename Songbird, whose primary agenda is to expose the real identities of the agents. In the finale, this is exactly what happens — in fact, it is Tina who relays the news to the group, and it is unclear whether her own identity has been compromised like the rest of them.
So far, SVR, the Russian intelligence agency Tina works for, had struck up a deal with Boro to reveal the identities of the agents he knows to be Finn Hoss and Danielle DeRosa. However, Boro's death definitely changes things and hints toward a grander plan in motion with Tina at the center. Now that the SVR has accomplished its goal, it remains to be seen whether Tina will continue to deceive the CIA to extract further intel in the future.
However, did the Tina twist reveal really come out of the blue? Earlier, Tina dresses up as Carrie Kelly, the first female Robin, as a gesture that underlines her interest in Barry, and the fact that she adores his nerdiness instead of being put off by it. While this seems like a harmless romantic gesture, her dressing up as Robin foreshadows her status as Songbird, functioning as a clue that feels a tad heavy-handed in hindsight.
Unless a potential second season sets up Tina as a formidable antagonist, it is likely that she might have a change of heart about her double-agent status, leading her to side with Luke and co. in the end. If that's not the case, we have a super-smart rogue security expert on our hands, who can wreak real havoc with just a click of a button.
"FUBAR" is currently streaming on Netflix.