Slow Horses’ second season has centered on the pursuit of Russian cicadas, or sleeper operatives. In “Old Scores,” the Slough House gang attempts to protect London from a terrorist strike while the true motivations behind the Russian plot are revealed. While Louisa (Rosalind Eleazar) and Marcus (Kadiff Kirwan) attempt to flee the Glass House, Lamb (Gary Oldman) pursues Nikolai (Rade Serbedzija), and the other disgraced agents go on the hunt for Andre (Marek Vasut) on foot.
The gang members feel as though they could all be killed at any minute now that Min has cleared the way, adding to the suspense in this segment. It adds an additional degree of suspense to an often predictable conclusion.
Slow Horses Season 2 Episode 6 recap
The conclusion begins with these two grizzled old men conversing about their unfinished business with Nikolai and Lamb. Lamb knows Nikolai wants him dead because he’s already killed one of his guys, but Nikolai begs him to come back to his office for a nice discussion. Nevsky was killed by one drop of radioactive poison, according to the former KGB spy; just think of what he could accomplish with a bomb of the substance. That is a sufficient threat, so Lamb offers to meet Nikolai at the Russian’s workplace.
In the meantime, London’s streets are crowded with terrified demonstrators and office workers running from the approaching attack. Standish moves in the opposite way, in the direction of the peril. Marcus and Louisa are stranded inside the targeted building, and Lamb has ordered her to go and rescue them. Even with military helicopters on either side, the plane is still flying into the city.
In the space where the encounter took place, Marcus and Louisa are entrapped. They are confined inside by Pashkin and Piotr. Webb is still breathing, but his injuries has knocked him out. Kyril, the only security man to protect Pashkin, is still alive, although his wound might be deadly. Louisa tries to help, but she ends up torturing the man to get information. According to Kyril, their goal was to shut down the Glass House so they could infect Nevsky’s computers with a virus. They then intended to empty his accounts. Nevsky was without a thumb, which explains why; they required it to access the accounts. The Russians then took his passwords in exchange for a swift demise, giving Nevsky his rifle so he could eventually shoot himself. After reading this gruesome but accurate narrative, Louisa despises the Russians even more.
Shirley walks the streets without knowing where Andre is. That doesn’t matter since Roddy is still keeping an eye on him after following him aboard a train bound for Tunbridge Wells. Shirley makes the decision to commandeer a motorcycle and ride it to their destination. After spending days at their workstations, these unexpected heroes are now in the field.
River speaks awkwardly to Alex’s family members back at Upshott as they are still reeling from the several surprises they have been presented with. River finds himself by the airplane hangar after deciding to give them some distance. In yet another stunning turn of events, River finds that all the bomb-making supplies are still there and undamaged in the hangar. Everything was a scam and one giant diversion. In reality, Nikolai and Alex wanted the city to be shut down for another reason, but they wanted it to appear as though they were bombing the city. This explains why River was first spared. River fears that he is repeating the same mistake and that everything is occurring again.
River phones Diana and says that the bomb is a fake, disregarding the repercussions. Although MI5 has their targets fixed on Alex’s plane, it might already be too late. They will have to use any measures required to bring the plane down if she doesn’t communicate with them or divert it within the next few minutes. It is irreversible. As Diana asks Judd for the last say, tensions are at an all-time high. That coward lets Diana make the decision!
The train is becoming even more tense. Our innocent Roddy is trying to find Andre, but he’s already gone. A pursuit ensues as Roddy avoids Andre’s blows and his poisonous weapon, concealed in a ring, as he searches the aisles for the Russian spy. Roddy successfully defends himself and flees, hiding in the restroom of the train. Shirley enters the carriage as it approaches the station and attacks Andre, sparing Roddy’s life. They are shot at by the cicada, but they are unharmed.
Marcus and Louisa had managed to get away on their own when Standish returns to the Glass House and climbs the stairs to warn them. The two discover Piotr dead on the ground and Nevsky’s severed thumb. It appears that Pashkin killed his security man out of avarice in order to obtain some jewels. Louisa returns to Kyril with a photo of Piotr and requests his assistance. What was the plan of action? Pashkin intended to flee using an air ambulance. Rushing to the roof, Louisa confronts Pashkin. When she inquires as to why he killed Min, his response—that he was simply in the wrong location at the wrong time—makes Min’s passing slightly more tragic. When Louisa tries to attack Pashkin, the Russian pulls a gun. Marcus fires first, killing Paskin and preventing Louisa from being killed as he prepares to fire.
Slow Horses Season 2 ending explained
In the Slow Horses Season 2 finale, it was announced that Lamb and Nikolai would finally face off. With guns lifted, the two veterans salute one another. Lamb acknowledges that he was aware the threat was untrue, but he insisted on seeing it for himself. Lamb is nonetheless impressed because Nikolai spent years duping everyone. He then employed Upshott as the ideal diversion. Nikolai is most interested in learning about the victim Lamb killed. The opposition’s undercover agent Charles Partner is then made public. Charles was a traitor, and Lamb killed him as a result. Lamb laments the loss of Dickie, and Nikolai laments the death of Charles. The last thing the dying Russian wants to know is whether Charles’ death was his fault.
Jackson Lamb, the impolite commander of Slough House, acknowledges that he made the error rather than Nikolai. The Russian agent then admits that he wanted to get revenge for Charles’ death and that he had first tried to degrade Lamb and his staff on the job. What more can you do, Lamb quips, considering how humiliated the gang already is. Then Nikolai adds more details, saying that he was in charge of ensuring Nevsky’s death and recovering the money he had stolen. Pashkin entered the plan at that point.
The sequence is then cut into a few others to heighten the tension. Andre arrives on a tranquil country road. River steps out of the aircraft and runs across the grass. Andre then knocks on a door while holding a firearm in hand. Gunfire can be heard as River’s grandfather David Cartwright answers the door. David, though, emerges triumphant by shooting Andre first. Lamb is ahead of Nikolai by one step, he realizes. Lamb was warned that they would attack David. Lamb declines to shoot Nikolai despite his request for a fast demise of his own. In the end, the Russian spy ends his own life.
Judd receives a summary of the entire saga from Diana. Judd is frustrated by the entire situation and wants to blame River for it all. Diana thinks it’s preferable to conceal everything and tell lies. Instead, they choose to place the blame on the Prime Minister, citing the need for improved defense systems. Lamb calls Diana afterwards and requests that Min Harper receive a good send-off. Diana declines, however. Attending Min’s little funeral service, Louisa swiftly leaves while sobbing uncontrollably. Lamb had originally intended for Min’s service to take place at another church in the city, where the gang gathers. They erect a memorial in memory of the slain comrade, and Lamb then posts a letter for Dickie, but the writing soon hits the ground. Dickie held a special place in Lamb’s heart. He most likely understood the efforts Dickie made to be successful as an undercover spy for all those years, which should at the very least be acknowledged or rewarded.
