The Thaw season 3 episode 6: What surprising and significant truth did Trepa uncover?

In the tense finale of The Thaw Season 3, Episode 6, Detective Katarzyna Zawieja pushes her investigation and uncovers a surprising and significant truth that shifts the balance of power in the investigation. 

Trepa discovers that certain members of the force have been complicit in the very crime network they are supposed to fight, and that the evidence he’s been working with is tainted by internal betrayal. This revelation forces the team to question loyalties and opens new avenues in the case.

The episode aired on November 21, 2025, and is available to stream exclusively on HBO Max.

The Thaw, season 3, episode 6: The surprising truth Trepa uncovered

In this episode, Krzysztof Trepa Zawieja's trusted and secret life partner faces a pivotal moment. Their relationship has been kept secret throughout Season 3 in order to prevent professional issues, particularly after Zawieja was demoted to patrol duty after a difficult evaluation. 

Trepa delves into leads on police corruption as the fentanyl case heats up, sorting through bribery evidence and information leaks that suggest insiders are helping the drug network. His efforts pay off when he gathers proof linking officers to Molski's operations, but the real shock hits during a quiet moment with Zawieja. 

After the shipboard chaos, Zawieja pulls Trepa aside and reveals she is expecting a child. This news stuns him, given their efforts to keep things discreet amid the job's dangers. The pregnancy ties back to earlier hints of Zawieja's fatigue and missed signs, which viewers might have overlooked amid the crime plot.

For Trepa, it means grappling with fatherhood in a world of uncertainty, especially as Zawieja awaits word on her detective reinstatement, a condition of which is no longer partnering with him. This truth underscores the series' theme of personal costs in policing. It forces Trepa to reflect on his role, balancing loyalty to Zawieja with departmental rules. 

The moment is handled with quiet intensity, showing how private lives bleed into public duties. No dramatic outburst follows - just a nod to their bond, built from the shared trials of the seasons passed. The unraveling corruption around them, this revelation grounds the episode in emotional truth, reminding viewers that detectives are people, too.

Zawieja's high-stakes confrontation with Molski

Zawiej's pursuit of justice reaches a fever pitch as she tracks Molski and Lański to a cargo ship ready to slip out of Szczecin's port. Ignoring orders from superiors, she boards the vessel alone at first, driven by fresh evidence from informant Tomasz Woźniak about the suspects' shocking ties to the missing fentanyl shipment. 

Molski reveals pieces of his motivation, retaliation against dishonest police officers who destroyed his family years ago, during the confrontation that takes place in the ship's dim holds. A vicious hand-to-hand battle breaks out between crates and machinery as La Río, the operation's muscle, tries to subdue her. 

As the ship starts moving, Zawieja radios for backup, but signal issues heighten the isolation. She uses her wits, spotting a weak point in the engine room to stall the engines temporarily. This buys time for arriving officers, including Trepa, to storm aboard. 

The sequence builds suspense through close-quarters chaos, with Zawieja dodging attacks while piecing together how Molski manipulated the drug ring from inside. A key reveal: Molski wasn't just a dealer but a former cop-turned-informant, betrayed by the very force now hunting him.

The clash ends with Molski subdued and Lański arrested, but not without cost; Zawieja sustains minor injuries, echoing her vulnerability from earlier episodes.

Exposing corruption in the police force in The Thaw season 3 

Episode 6 of The Thaw season 3 explores the corruption in Szczecin's police force concurrently with Zawieja's experience. Officers Bogdan Pietrzak and Ada Kamińska conduct an internal affairs investigation after receiving an anonymous tip, and they discover a network of payoffs from the fentanyl suppliers.  

Texts connecting mid-level detectives to La España's crew, tampered logs, and mysterious transfers are among the growing pieces of evidence. Trepa, already suspicious from prior clues, cross-references files and finds his own unit compromised, including a superior who leaked Zawieja's location to Molski. 

The probe gains steam when seized phones reveal the scale, a dozen officers skimming profits to fund off-books ops. Pietrzak confronts a colleague in a tense interrogation room scene, where denials crumble under recorded calls. This exposure shakes the department, leading to suspensions and a promise of overhaul. 

For viewers, it connects to broader season motifs, like how the drug crisis exploits institutional weaknesses, much like the human trafficking in Season 2. Kamińska's role shines here; as a junior investigator, she risks her career by whistleblowing on a mentor. 

The fallout includes raids on implicated homes, netting cash stashes and ledgers. By the episode's end, arrests clean house, but scars remain, trust eroded, morale low. 

Watch The Thaw season 3 on HBO Max.