Hot Love in the Cold War: Decoding All the ‘Ponies’ Romances in Season 1

The Cold War may have been quite literal in Soviet-era Russia, but Peacock’s new spy thriller Ponies is thawing it out one steamy romance at a time.

Bea (Emilia Clarke) and Twila (Haley Lu Richardson) find themselves in a bind. After finally getting their shot at interrogating the ruthless Andrei (Artjom Gilz), a shocking betrayal frees the blond bombshell and leaves them with guns in their faces, holding hands, and ready to accept their fate. In other words, love is put on the back burner (literally) as relationships go up in flames, others are revived, and one may be headed for divorce.

Here’s where love lands after the first season of Ponies:

Bea and Andrei

(Peacock)

If we are being generous, we could call the finale a lovers’ spat between Bea and Andrei. The epitome of an enemies-to-lovers arc, these two had us hook, line, and sinker in the bathtub. But in the finale, they hit a rough patch when he hears her speaking American and realizes she’s a spy and has been playing him — all while at an Elton John concert, as all great love stories are. Sure, Andrei spends most of the finale trying to capture Bea and Twila. And let’s not forget, he has killed plenty of people. But in the end, when he’s tied up and demands a cigarette, you better believe she lights that thing with a fiery confidence and then places it between his lips in a way that you wouldn’t describe as platonic. Plus, he’s alive! And the world is literally burning around them in the finale, so things aren’t cooling down.

Bea and Sasha 

(Peacock)

This poor boy has been put through hell, not only as an informant but also in Bea’s general vicinity. In the finale, in an attempt to flee Andrei’s wrath, Sasha is stabbed in the chest and nearly dies. Cradling him in her arms, Bea dreams in fast forward of taking him back to America and nursing him back to health. She promises to take him to see the Rockettes and even tells him her real name. It had all the makings of a final exchange before death, but thankfully, Sasha doesn’t die from the knife in his chest. He gets extracted and taken god knows where. Though something tells us he will be back to collect those Rockettes tickets in due time.

Bea and Chris

(Peacock)

The OG relationship that started it all for our heroine is about to come roaring back into her life with the realization that Chris is, in fact, alive. Don’t forget, though, he was the KGB’s informant. He was also cheating on Bea (with Sasha’s sister, no less), whether it was for the job or not. So in a strange turn of events, Andrei may be a better match for Bea (if you ignore all the killings) given that Chris has a lot of explaining to do to his wife. Perhaps even more surprisingly will be what Chris thinks about the Bea he is inevitably about to reunite with because she isn’t the same wife he left behind.

Twila and Ivanna

(Peacock)

Talk about another enemies-to-lovers. Twila’s relationship with her market girl Ivanna (Lili Walters) goes from hostile conversations and transactional exchanges to a genuine connection built through sass and an evening moonlighting as sex workers. By the time Twila is willing to give in to the heat that has been brewing between them, the two barely make it to the bathroom sink before one of them is going down on the other. In a nice contrast to the fiery but conflicted scene Bea shares in the bathroom with Andrei (and the images of Sasha and Chris), Twila and Ivanna’s sexual encounter is one of self-exploration and assuredness. But let’s not get crazy here. This is still Russia, where queer relationships are still illegal. So just temper expectations about what could come of this relationship once Twila does as she promises — comes to find Ivanna if she survives the Andrei problem.

Twila and Tom

(Peacock)

Sadly, it seems Tom (John Macmillan) may actually be dead. BUT, never fear. With Chris’ sudden resurrection, and plenty of unfinished business between Twila and her husband, maybe the series will pull another surprise survivor out of its ushanka (Google it) just to keep our leads on their toes. If Tom is, in fact, dead, can Twila get a little romance back in her life in Season 2? We love her budding friendship with Bea. But with all due respect, Bea is juggling three guys. She isn’t likely to have much free time for Twila if things ever settle down.

Cheryl and Ray

(Peacock)

Maybe the biggest question mark lingering beyond our PONIEs is the revelation that doting, devoted, and always peeved Cheryl (Vic Michaelis) is actually the KGB’s mole in the CIA. After shooting the nanny and giving her husband, Ray (Nicholas Podany), a hard time for his innocuous interest in her, Cheryl manages to get the detonator into the CIA offices and ignite it to destroy the shampoo bottle tapes and allow the KGB to invade and steal files. Don’t forget, she runs that office like the Navy, and now we know why. How will poor Ray react when he finds out the mole he’s been trying to smoke out is in his own house? Something tells us the world’s biggest Elton John fan will be playing “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” on a loop.

Ponies, Season 1, Streaming Now, Peacock