Ep 4. The Ribbon Cutter

The Honourable Woman season 1 episode 4, "The Ribbon Cutter," follows protagonist Nessa Stein as she navigates a risky deal with Palestinian businessman Shlomo Zahary. Nessa hopes to secure a contract that will allow her project, The Stein Group, to provide high-speed internet access to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In exchange for the contract, Zahary demands that Nessa publicly renounce her late father's Zionist beliefs.

Meanwhile, Nessa's brother Ephra goes on a personal journey of discovery, seeking out answers about their father's controversial past. Ephra meets with their father's former colleague, who agrees to disclose previously undisclosed information about a secret mission their father undertook during WWII. In addition, Ephra attends a meeting of a pro-Palestinian group his father may have supported, hoping to gain insight into his father's beliefs.

As tensions rise between Nessa and Zahary, their negotiations are complicated by the presence of Monica Chatwin, a British intelligence officer who has been tailing Zahary. Chatwin's own interests in the region cause her to interfere with Nessa's deal-making, leading to a heated confrontation between the two women.

In the episode's final moments, Nessa's security chief Atika is revealed to have secretly met with a Palestinian member of the Stein Group's board, raising questions about where her loyalties truly lie. As the stakes grow higher and the political and personal machinations become more tangled, it remains to be seen whether Nessa will be able to secure the contract and maintain her own beliefs and principles.