Abhiroop Das
Co-directed by Samanou Acheche Sahlstrøm and Kasper Barfoed, Netflix’s ‘The Asset,’ originally titled ‘Legenden,’ tracks the journey of Tea Lind from a rookie police trainee to a covert agent tasked with dismantling the criminal underworld. Following a string of failures, the Danish Security and Intelligence Service employs a new tactic in their takedown of Miran Shahrani, an infamous drug dealer: by targeting his girlfriend, Ashley. As Tea dons a mask and ventures into their family network, however, she realizes that things are not as black and white as she expected, leading the story to some tricky corners. This Danish Spy thriller tackles the intricacies of familial abuse and the challenges of fighting for justice. In the process, it brings all of its narrative conflicts to a boil, turning the clash of perspectives into an eventual battle for survival. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Asset Plot Recap
The Asset begins with a plane journey gone wrong, as a passenger confesses to being a drug mule, before passing away due to internal bleeding. This passenger turns out to be a long-time covert agent, which reframes his death as the criminals sending a message. Folke, a spymaster with the PET, or the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, is pressured into bringing up a new covert agent, and finalizes Tea Lind for the role. A trainee at the police academy, Tea has a history with drugs and enduring abuse, which makes her perfect for the role of dismantling Miran Shahrani’s drug trade from the inside out. However, instead of tackling the criminal directly, Folke turns his attention to Miran’s girlfriend, Ashley, with Tea donning the persona of a jeweler named Sarah Linnemann to get closer to her. Although the two quickly become friends, Miran’s suspicion puts the crew on the back foot.
Putting her experience to use, Tea realizes that the path to appease Miran is by feeding into his impulses, and soon she becomes his primary means of illegally transferring his money across the globe. What begins as forging jewelry papers, however, quickly takes a dark turn when Tea realizes that he plans on using his girlfriend and children as mules, carrying illegal jewels all the way to Spain. The plan comes to a halt, however, when Ashley finds the jewels hidden in her suitcase, prompting a fight between the couple that nearly turns violent. At the same time, Miran faces the heat from the higher-ups to bring in the money, and when words don’t work, they seemingly kill his younger brother, Bambi, to spell out the message. Bambi’s death changes the family forever, and the harmful effects of Miran’s operations are most visible on his daughter, Sofia, whose changes in behavior are severe enough to trigger a Child Services response.
When Child Services takes Sofia into custody, both Ashley and Miran are left heartbroken, and the true consequences of his criminal endeavors become crystal clear. However, Tea is shocked when she finds out that Folke has constructed the entire turn of events as a pressure tactic to get Ashley talking. At the same time, life hits a new low for Miran when he gives in to rage and murders Monroe, the higher-up responsible for his brother’s death. Ashley, now fully aware of the threat her partner poses to the family, ponders coming clean to the police, prompting Tea to reveal her true identity. While Ashley talks to the police, incriminating herself in the process, Tea learns that Folke intends to put the couple behind bars. Things quickly go south when Ashley reveals the truth to Miran as well, triggering a final cat-and-mouse chase between the police and their target.
The Asset Ending: Who Shot Tea? Does She Live or Die?
In the final moments of the first season of ‘The Asset,’ Tea is shot at, point-blank, by a group of assailants who ambush her out of nowhere. This comes right after a conversation about the future with her former handler, Yasin, setting the stage for a twisted sense of irony. While Tea manages to anticipate the attack and alert Yasin, it is already too late by then, as a barrage of bullets pierces through her car’s window screen. However, Yasin’s quick thinking helps them get out of the scene just in time, granting her the precious moments that ultimately save her life. In the next scene, Tea wakes up in a hospital bed, with both Yasin and Folke by her side. However, neither of them is able to identify the attacker, which opens the room to a list of suspects that is too broad. However, some hints from the scene and the buildup to it hint at the assassination attempt being emotionally driven.
Given that Tea is fresh off the covert mission that busted Miran’s entire illegal operation, it is most likely that the hitmen belong to that circle, hoping to get revenge. This idea is supported by the scenes prior, where Miran’s father meets Sofia and Ashley with mixed emotions. With his connections to the underworld, the patriarch is a likely suspect in Tea’s attempted murder. Yet, at the same time, the scene also directly recalls the death of Bambi, Miran’s brother, which also took place right in front of Tea. Although we never learn for certain who was behind the murder, it is possible that they consider Tea to be an enemy as well and are eager to kill her before the situation worsens any further. Moreover, Miran’s associations with the mafia mean that the list of dangerous people is endless. Thus, while there is no clear answer within the ending, it is likely that the hit on Tea is emotionally motivated.
Although Tea wakes up in the hospital, there is no clear confirmation as to whether she will recover from her injuries. Given that we see a bullet directly pierce her neck, there is a high possibility of a serious injury ultimately taking her life. However, the fact that Tea not only regains her consciousness but also talks indicates that the bullet likely missed all of her vitals. As such, in case of a miracle recovery, it is possible that Tea herself becomes the one to track down her assailants, even when that means getting in harm’s way once again. Additionally, this also means that her attackers’ job is still not over, and a second clash might be in the making. Nonetheless, Tea is now a more formidable opponent than ever, and her insight into the inner workings of Miran’s criminal networks makes her the most valuable player in the game.
Does Miran Go to Prison? Why Does he Spare Tea?
When Miran learns of Ashley’s betrayal, he immediately plans an escape route, one that involves setting his girlfriend up as bait for the police officers. However, one important step in this is executing revenge against his defectors, and that brings him face-to-face with Tea, who is alone and unarmed. He and Nikki force her into a car and then drive into the darkness, eerily mirroring the two other times she has shared a ride with them. While the earlier scares turned out to be all in her head, this time the threat is very real, as Miran wraps a plastic bag around her head and begins choking her to death. Instead of begging for her life, however, Tea devotes her limited time to saving Ashley by relaying to Miran what the police plan to do. Upon learning that Sofia might never see either of her parents, Miran is forced to step back and reflect on his actions before ultimately deciding to surrender to the police.
However, before turning himself in, Miran makes a phone call to the authorities, declaring himself to be the sole perpetrator involved. Going one step further, he claims that Ashley was his prisoner all along and was forced to take on one dangerous mission after another or risk harm. This takes the heat off Ashley, in turn giving Sofia a relatively healthier future. However, the question of Tea’s fate still remains, and Miran ponders whether to kill her or let her go. In the following scene, the police arrest him as Tea watches, confirming that he picked the latter, likely as both a gesture of gratitude and an interest in self-preservation. Although his attempt to let Ashley off the hook is a mix of fact and fiction, it effectively summarizes the abuse he has inflicted upon her all these years. As such, while her liberty is tinged with a loss of family, it nonetheless has a cathartic edge to it.
Does Tea Become a PET Officer?
Despite bringing down Miran and saving Ashley’s life, Tea does not feel satisfied with her job as a police officer, and much of that has to do with the psychological toil she has had to endure. What began as a simple ploy to gain Ashley’s trust and learn insider information becomes a journey of betrayal and manipulation where every step further blurs the line between right and wrong. Over time, Tea begins to see Ashley as a real friend who needs help, and that makes exploiting her for information all the more challenging. To that end, Tea is surprised when Folke offers her a full-time position with the PET, despite the numerous mistakes she has made on her first mission. After thinking it through, Tea turns down the job offer, citing that she is not a good fit for the work involved. Notably, her answer does not point to the physical and cognitive demands of the job, but the moral and ethical quandaries that she is put in.
At the start of the series, Tea is one of the most eager academy students to land a job in law enforcement due to her uniquely complicated background. By the end of the season, however, she has firsthand experience of the pitfalls of this occupation and the harsh environments its agents are forced into. As such, her rejection of the job offer is also a last-ditch effort to save her humanity, even when that comes with her stability and income being compromised. Things change with the assassination attempt, and with Tea now in the hospital, it is possible, if not likely, that the PET will give her their complete and undivided attention. Both Folke and Yasin claim that despite her beliefs, she is, in fact, what the agency needs, and given the narrative trajectory in place, Tea might find herself diving deeper into the rabbit hole against her will.
Who Gave Ashley the Key? What Does She Find in the Room?
In a surprise twist in the ending, Ashley, who now lives with her daughter in a small apartment, discovers a toy that she did not buy. Upon ripping it open, she discovers a key which leads to a room full to the brim with stacks of cash and drugs. It is apparent that this is Miran’s hidden stash of supplies, and now Ashley is the only one with access to it. The fact that she is able to locate the exact room only strengthens the assumption, as it likely calls back to her previous associations with the criminal underworld. Although we do not know who put the key there, it is likely that Miran had hidden them well before the police investigation took center stage. This is consistent with his habit of hiding valuable items in the personal belongings of his near and dear ones, as shown by his hiding cash inside Bambi’s mattress, as well as the red diamonds he stashed in Ashley’s suitcase. Hiding the literal key to the drugs in a children’s toy is also symbolically potent, as it also points to the future of the story.
In the scene prior to this, Ashley confronts Tea for not only breaking the family apart but also stripping away all of their luxury. From the beginning of the show, her obsession with material pleasures has been central to her character, and her present, frugal lifestyle is bound to leave a psychological imprint. Given sudden and complete access to untapped wealth and drugs, a change might be in order for Ashley, with her potentially continuing the family business as its new head. This possibility brings a new dimension to her conflict with Tea, which is presently somewhere between alliance and enmity. However, in the scenario that Ashley gives in to the temptation of illegal wealth, she might come face-to-face with the PET, and by extension, her former friend, once again.
