Episode 1 of Slow Horses' thrilling third season commences in the vibrant metropolis of Istanbul, where Alison's heart shatters into pieces upon discovering her partner, John, snooping through her belongings. He's on a covert mission, desperately seeking a classified file labeled "Footprint," yet his fruitless search culminates in an unfortunate eviction from their shared abode. Little does he know, Alison, a consummate actress, harbors the file within the culinary masterpiece she's meticulously crafting. As soon as he's out of sight, she accelerates her own operation, dialing her contact with urgency, instructing them to rendezvous.
With haste, Alison sprints to the bustling docks, boarding a vessel that ferries her towards her destination. A heart-pumping chase ensues through the labyrinthine streets of Turkey, but Alison manages to outwit her pursuer, reaching the prearranged meeting point unscathed. There, she entrusts the elusive "Footprint" file to a mysterious man, urging him to "disseminate its contents far and wide." However, fate takes a sinister turn as he suddenly grapples her, hurling her over the precipice of a balcony, leaving her battered on the pavement below while he flees with the precious file.
One year later, the stage shifts to Catherine, who's assigned the mundane yet crucial task of overseeing River and the rest of the Slow Horses as they meticulously catalog an endless parade of boxes that have mysteriously materialized at Slough House—the lowliest depths of their profession. Meanwhile, Jackson stumbles into a mandatory medical check-up, only to face the disapproval of his physician, who lambasts his cavalier attitude towards alcohol and nicotine.
In stark contrast, Catherine finds solace in a support group session, where an unexpected figure sits among the attendees—John. Haunted by guilt and barely uttering a word, his pain is palpable to Catherine, who gently encourages him to keep returning. Outside, John seeks Catherine's counsel, confessing that it's been a decade since he last set foot in London, a period marked by his futile struggle to escape the specter of Alison's tragic demise. Drowning his sorrows in alcohol, he solemnly warns Catherine, "The reckoning will come."
Alarm bells clang loudly in Catherine's ears as the realization dawns on her that she's in way over her depth. With John's mention of Jackson Lamb, she makes a hasty retreat through the rear exit, only to find herself snatched away and bundled into the backseat of a car, her fate uncertain.
Meanwhile, Ho reaps the bitter consequences of his attempt to blackmail Marcus into arranging a rendezvous with Louisa at a bar, receiving a well-deserved smack across the face. Louisa, on the other hand, finds herself booting her "dismal disappointment" (a euphemism for her actual, more colorful term) to the curb for indulging in ice cream, little knowing that the missing diamond was concealed within its creamy confines.
Back at the office, Jackson's sharp instincts immediately detect Catherine's absence, prompting him to divide the team into search parties. River, plagued by guilt after his chance encounter with John that he dismissed too casually, realizes he might have inadvertently contributed to the situation. Jackson, displeased, assigns River to sorting files instead. Marcus and Shirley, too, notice Catherine's failure to return home that night, and Shirley meticulously retraces her steps, ultimately arriving at the bridge where she discovers the CCTV cameras have been sabotaged and a telltale hairpin from Catherine's hair lies abandoned on the ground.
At the office, River finds himself in a dire predicament as John's menacing call rings out, accompanied by a chilling image of Catherine held at gunpoint. "Barbican Bridge. One minute, or she dies." The ultimatum hangs heavy in the air, each second ticking like a death knell.
