Ep 1. Tar Baby

Deutschland 86 is a German television show set in the mid-1980s, during the height of the Cold War. It follows Martin Rauch, a former East German spy who is recruited by the Stasi to go undercover in West Germany in order to gather intelligence. In season 1, episode 1, titled "Tar Baby", the story picks up three years after the events of the first season, in 1986.

The episode opens with Martin Rauch, played by Jonas Nay, living in Angola under a fake identity and working as a mechanic. He is approached by a group of KGB agents who inform him that his aunt Lenora, played by Maria Schrader, has been arrested and that he needs to return to East Germany immediately. When he arrives in East Germany, he learns that Lenora is being held in a high-security prison and that she is suspected of being a double agent.

Martin is tasked with finding evidence to clear his aunt's name, but things quickly escalate when a shipment of banned West German industrial machinery goes missing. The Stasi suspects that Lenora is behind the theft and Martin is sent to West Germany to investigate. He assumes the identity of a businessman and begins a dangerous new mission.

Once in West Germany, Martin's cover is almost immediately blown when he is attacked by a neo-Nazi group. Luckily, he is saved by a group of left-wing activists who take him in and nurse him back to health. He soon realizes that the group is planning a terrorist attack and he must balance his loyalties to both the Stasi and his own conscience. Meanwhile, his relationship with his former lover Annett, played by Sonja Gerhardt, becomes strained as she questions his loyalty to the East German cause.

"Tar Baby" sets the stage for an action-packed season, with political tensions running high on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Martin's mission is complicated by the fact that he is no longer a true believer in the socialist cause and is struggling to reconcile his loyalty to the Stasi with his growing disillusionment with the East German regime. The episode also introduces a supporting cast of characters including Martin's new boss, the mysterious Tina Fischer, and her husband, a West German arms dealer with ties to the neo-Nazi movement.

Overall, "Tar Baby" is a fast-paced and thrilling start to season 1 of Deutschland 86. It sets up the season's central conflict, establishes the stakes and characters, and leaves viewers eager to see what Martin's next move will be.