Emilia Clarke

In the first episode of "Ponies", a spy show airing on Peacock (you don't have Peacock; neither do we, we just got it for a month because of the Olympics), a character's grandmother uses an Yiddish phrase. So we decided to watch "Ponies".

It's a show about two American spies in the Soviet Union... as opposed to a show about two Soviet spies in America. That would obviously be "The Americans", a show that "Ponies" will always be compared to. (Always? Will it even get renewed?). Both shows have terrible Russian accents from supposed native speakers (although Emilia Clarke tries, G-d help her, and does a much better job than our beloved Keri Russell) and ugly, ugly clothes (the 1970s here, 1980s for "The Americans"). This is where the similarities end.

While "The Americans" was deftly plotted and meticulously researched, "Ponies"... is not. There are plot holes the size of Kazakhstan. Witness:

In one episode, Clarke's American poses as a Russian and speaks of an event that happened "in December, before Christmas". She is talking to a KGB agent, who does note the peculiarity that a Soviet would reference Christmas. But he misses the vital part: Russian Christmas is not in December! It's in January! This is exactly the type of slip-up an inexperienced agent would make! Except it's completely missed by this supposed top agent. He should have been fired (Or worse. It's KGB, after all!) right on the spot.

The Yiddish phrase? "Ponies" took it easy on us. We didn't have to hunt for Jewish clues. In the third episode, Clarke's character openly says "I am Jewish". (In real life, she is goyishe with some Indian descent. Does she pull off playing a Jew? Honestly, it's not that important.)

That being said, "Ponies" is... watchable? And fun? And we're actually hoping for a second season? (Does that mean we'll have to spring for another month of Peacock?)

Verdict: **Not a Jew**.

_February 20, 2026_