better or worse?

I'm not even really sure. either way it seemed extra dumb. perhaps if the dialogue was better I could've gotten on board with it. but the snotty french model bemoaning the 'insipidness' of models...I'm like, ya I've seen this before. and showing up the night before the match begging elizabeth to come down and get trashed. this was just too easy.

my assumption was that the model wasn't planted because as you said they never made it clear that she was and never reintegrated her into the story.

also, the model was introduced through those other foreign chess dudes (maybe in the 60's it was common for chess nerds to roll with french models??) who helped elizabeth defeat borgov in the end. which isn't to say that the KGB couldn't have still recruited her...but it just made the whole angle extra fuzzy.