In the tense sixth episode of The Copenhagen Test, titled “Allegiance,” trust shatters as Alexander Hale is forced into an impossible choice. Betrayed by his own agency, he makes a secret pact with the enemy to protect his family, setting the stage for a shocking final command from The Orphanage. This episode weaves between a crucial flashback to Cold War Berlin and the high-stakes present, explaining the deep origins of the vendetta against the mysterious St. George.
Schiff’s Cold War Origin and a Betrayal in Berlin
The episode opens in East Berlin, 1989, revealing how the hacker known as Schiff was created. A young East German man is recruited by an American handler. He is promised U.S. citizenship in exchange for a critical list of KGB agents, with the plan that an American woman, code-named St. George, will extract him from a hotel. However, on the day of the exchange, the Berlin Wall falls. In the chaos, St. George retrieves the key to the documents but leaves without him. The abandoned man is arrested by local police and tortured. This man is Schiff, and his deep-seated grudge against St. George for leaving him behind becomes the driving force behind his entire operation decades later.
Alexander’s Faustian Bargain in the Catacombs
Back in the present, Alexander finds Schiff in the Paris catacombs. Schiff shows him the complete, unredacted file on Project Cassandra, revealing the brutal truth: the biohack causing Alexander’s debilitating headaches is irreversible and ultimately fatal. Schiff insists there is no cure and no way to stop the signals being broadcast from his mind. When Alexander refuses to switch sides, Schiff plays his ultimate card: he presents Alexander with his mother’s wedding ring, proving he has people watching his family. Their safety is now the price of Alexander’s cooperation.
“If anything happens to Schiff, they automatically die.”
With no other option, Alexander releases him. Schiff’s demand is specific: he wants Alexander to find and deliver St. George to him.
The Orphanage Discovers a Traitor in Its Midst
While Schiff shares his past with Alexander, St. George is simultaneously telling Marlowe the same story from her perspective. The Orphanage team pieces together Schiff’s incredible history: after escaping a Soviet prison, he was presumed dead multiple times, changed identities, and secretly infiltrated the CIA. The team realizes he has been a major threat operating right under their noses. They also clear Cobb, Schiff’s nephew, of being a willing accomplice, concluding he was unknowingly used by his uncle.
Alexander returns to headquarters, where a formal debriefing is a setup to test his loyalty. Moira and Parker suspect he is lying about not contacting Schiff. Following protocol, they revoke his office access and secretly bug his apartment.
Coded Warnings and a Family Under Threat
At his bugged apartment, Alexander is met by Michelle, who pretends to be collecting her things. In a moment of silent communication, she uses Morse code tapped on his shoulder to warn him the place is under surveillance. The tension escalates when Alexander’s parents call, insisting on visiting. He diverts them to a dinner at Victor’s restaurant, where an Orphanage agent is sent to watch them.
In Victor’s kitchen, Alexander learns the restaurateur is ahead of the gameโthe area is clean of bugs. He directly asks Victor for help locating St. George outside official channels. Before leaving his parents, Alexander tells them “I love you” in Hakka, a southern Chinese dialect. This emotional, coded farewell alerts both his family and the watching Orphanage that something is very wrong.
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The Point of No Return and a Deadly Order
Returning home, Alexander finds Michelle still there, now cooking soup under the guise of offering moral support. In his bathroom, knowing he is being watched and listened to, he looks into the mirror and sends a clear message to Schiff: “I will deliver St. George”. This is the confirmation The Orphanage needed. Interpreting this as definitive proof that Alexander has turned against them, Parker makes a drastic decision. She sends an encrypted order to Michelle: kill Alexander.
The episode leaves viewers with two burning questions: Is Alexander genuinely working for Schiff, or is this an elaborate double-agent play? And will Michelle follow through on the order to assassinate the man she has grown close to? With the season finale approaching, every alliance hangs in the balance.
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