The dramatic opening of Season 2, Episode 6 of 'Slow Horses' heralds the final showdown, aptly mirrored in the chapter's ominous title. Jackson Lamb boldly confronts Nikolai in his own lair, aware of the intruder's relentless probing within Slough House. With the veneer of secrecy shattered, Lamb confronts the depths of Nikolai's nefarious schemes, realizing the assassin's insatiable desire for his own demise.
Unfazed, Lamb calls Nikolai's bluff, wielding the knowledge of Catherine's collaboration as a tactical card. He proposes a face-to-face meeting, hoping to avert a violent confrontation. Prior to this, Lamb reaches out to Catherine for an update on the volatile situation at Glasshouse.
Outside, chaos reigns supreme as Louisa and Marcus find themselves trapped within the building's confines, held captive at the mercy of Pashkin and his ruthless henchmen. Adding to the mounting tension is Alex's impending arrival, his plane loaded with a ticking time bomb, hurtling towards their destination.
Inside Glasshouse, Webb lies unconscious, his body marred by wounds yet seemingly stable—a fate far more merciful than that of Pashkin's henchman, who's subjected to Louisa's unyielding interrogation, a twisted form of justice. Louisa, unrelenting, rips open his wound, extracting vital information: Glasshouse's closure is but a prelude to Pashkin's sinister plan—to unleash a virus upon Nevsky's digital fortress. The password, extracted through coercive means, sealed the doomed man's fate with a swift and brutal end.
Unmoved by pity, Louisa snatches away the tourniquet, leaving him to his grim fate, blood slowly seeping away.
Meanwhile, Shirley's call to Ho reveals a serendipitous twist—he too is aboard the same train, tailing Andrei Chernitsky from afar, his patience tested as the locomotive chugs towards Tunbridge Wells, each mile marking the countdown to an uncertain resolution.
Meanwhile, River's realization hits him like a ton of bricks. The vast containers brimming with liquid and the intricate web of electrical equipment still linger within the warehouse's confines, where he had stumbled upon Chernitsky's clandestine activities. Suddenly, the truth dawns on him with stark clarity—a truth that sends chills down his spine. Alex has been the bait, drawing attention away, while River's frivolous bomb threat stands as a mere charade. This elaborate ruse was meticulously crafted from the outset, to grant Pashkin and his cronies solitude and allow Victor to maintain his iron grip on the proceedings. The hoax, an intentional distraction to steer gazes away from the Glasshouse, has inadvertently placed the decision of Diana's fate in the balance, as Alex, unyielding in his flight, leaves her to contemplate whether to bring him down.
Fortunately, Alex preempts their dilemma, his voice firm as he directs the plane's course, diverting it to a safe haven at an airbase. A collective sigh of relief escapes their lips, but Roddy finds himself in a precarious position as Chernitsky, aware of his pursuer, gives chase. Amidst the chaos, Shirley appears, her intentions noble but her efforts thwarted as they find themselves cornered within the train's toilets, narrowly escaping a hail of bullets from Chernitsky, who departs with a nonchalant stride.
Back at the Glasshouse, the gruesome sight of a severed thumb rests on Nevsky's desk, a grim testament to the emptied accounts. Louisa, relentlessly seeking answers, unwittingly steps into Pashkin's trap, the cunning fox still lurking within the premises. Catherine's breathless warning echoes up the stairwell, but the danger is closer than they think—Pashkin perched atop the roof, his exit strategy intricately planned with an air ambulance on standby.
Louisa confronts Pashkin, her voice laced with anger and confusion. "Why did you kill Min?" she demands. Pashkin responds with a shrug, his tone dismissive. "He saw something he shouldn't have," he says, summing up the tragedy in a chilling phrase. It was a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But just as Pashkin prepares to silence Louisa with a bullet, Marcus emerges from the shadows, his aim true, and Pashkin falls, his life extinguished. As his body crumples, diamonds from Nevsky's once-secure vault spill across the floor, glistening in the harsh light, a macabre testament to the treachery that surrounds them.
With every agent dispatched into the field, Jackson Lamb finds himself alone, armed with a packet of savory salted crisps and a pistol trained directly at Nikolai's impending arrival. As the two adversaries confront each other, guns lowered in a moment of revelation, Lamb acknowledges he's been hoodwinked by none other than Popov in disguise. Popov's sole motive: vengeance for Charles' untimely death.
His elaborate scheme involved weaving a web of deceit, using false intelligence about the bombing to ridicule and professionally emasculate both Lamb and Slough House, mirroring the humiliation he himself had endured. Lamb, unfazed, reminds Popov that they're already part of the humiliated lot, hence their presence in his team.
Popov's lips curl into a sinister smile as he taunts, revealing his ulterior motive—he awaits a call before terminating Lamb's life, seeking two names from the FSB linked to Charles' assassination as recompense for aiding in Nevsky's demise and the recovery of stolen funds. One name is Lamb's, the other, River's esteemed grandfather.
Just as tensions escalate, Chernitsky bursts through the door, gun in hand, only to be felled by a bullet from River's grandfather, David Cartwright, who had been forewarned of this eventuality by his own son. With Popov's plot unraveling, Lamb, instead of exacting vengeance, vents his fury by unleashing a barrage of shots into the floor, steadfast in his refusal to take a life.
Realizing the endgame has arrived with no escape in sight, Nikolai, now stripped of all pretenses, presses a bullet to his temple and ends his own life.
To salvage the chaos and restore order, Diana urges Peter Judd to address the nation on television, crafting a narrative that glosses over the truth—a Russian sleeper agent's activation, slipping past the watchful eye of authorities—and instead blames a harmless radar malfunction for the city's lockdown. For the harsh reality, she knows, would hardly resonate with the public's ear.
Diana, with determination etched on her face, ultimately retraces her steps to her office, where Jackson Lamb patiently awaits, poised for the post-mission briefing. To her relief, news arrives that Webb has miraculously survived his harrowing encounter with Pashkin, but the shadow of loss lingers heavily as Min's fate, alas, was not as fortunate.
At Harper's solemn funeral, Louisa gracefully appears, offering her heartfelt condolences amidst the hushed reverence. The Slow Horses, united in grief, find solace by paying tribute to Min, his nameplate solemnly placed within the church's sanctity.
As they exit, Catherine pauses, a fleeting moment of quiet respect for Charles' memory etched in her gaze, while Lamb, with a mix of nicotine gum and nostalgia, affixes a note to the wall. It's a modest, yet poignant homage to Richard Bough, the words "Dickie Bow, a Joe who served unseen" etched upon it, a testament to a life lived in the shadows. Yet, alas, the fragile tribute soon succumbs to gravity, its fall mirroring the bittersweet conclusion of this episode.
