MI5’s link to Les Arbres and 8 others revealed

Spoilers ahead for Slow Horses season 4, episode 4, “Returns.”

Slow Horses Season 4, episode 4, “Returns,” reveals a lot more about Frank Harkness (Hugo Weaving) and the mysterious Les Arbres compound. As seen in Slow Horses season 4 episode 2 River Cartwright’s (Jack Lowden) investigation into why his doppelganger was sent to kill his grandfather, David Cartwright (Jonathan Pryce), takes him to Lavande. A small town in France, Lavande is home to an abandoned compound, which River later learns is called Les Arbres. Meanwhile, back in London, Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) and the rest of Slough House’s agents try to cover for River, who is effectively facing his own death.

The results of blood tests have shown both Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas), MI5’s second desk, and Emma Fleet (Ruth Bradley), the new head of the Dogs, about River’s plan. As the pair work to track down the Cartwright men, Taverner uncovers another insidious thread. in Slow Horses In Season 4, Episode 3, it is revealed that the WestAcres Shopping Center bombing is tied to MI5 and Les Arbres. The bomber was wearing a cold body pass – one of MI5’s ready-made IDs from the Cold War. In episode 4, the truth about River and Frank’s connection finally comes out.

9

Frank Harkness is working for someone else

The contract killer is tasked with killing anyone connected to Westacres at midnight

Slow Horses‘ Fourth episode opens by revealing a little more about Frank Harkness, the mysterious man at the center of the Westacres bombing and what happened at Les Arbres. Previously, viewers had only seen glimpses of Frank. from afar, Frank instructs one of his assassins to track down and kill both David and the former MI5 head’s Bagman, “Bad Sam“Chapman (Sean Gilder). Later, he also tries to strangle the river in Los Arbes, before burning the place down and with it, any evidence of his past activities. Thankfully, Frank gets more than a few lines of dialogue in episode 4.

After being subjected to a thorough beating, Frank Harkness meets with a foreign official. Slow Horses The details of who the man is are vague, but it is clear that he is a foreign dignitary who wants to quietly cause trouble for the UK. The Westacres bombing was Frank’s clever way of killing a target without attracting suspicion. Of course, it continued A lot Suspicious, so the person who hired Frank is incredibly frustrated. He wants to tie up the loose ends, he threatens to kill Frank on the spot.

Frank is able to talk his way out of his torture and is killed on the floor of a hotel room. He explains that he cannot compromise his involvement either; Clearly, he has some sort of past connection to MI5. The attendant gives Frank and his killer until midnight to tie up any loose ends. That means Frank plans to kill both David and Chapman in the next few hours.

8

Taverner shows up at Slow House to talk to Jackson Lamb

Lamb tells Taverner about the competence of fleet cartwrights and questions

Realizing that Taverner is waiting outside Slow House for a chat, Jackson Lamb decides to leave Chapman and the rest of his crew in the stolen taxi cab while he deals with second desk. Standing in the rain, the pair discuss the fact that Lamb immediately lied to Fleet. Lamb did not need to hide the truth. Instead, he explains that he protects River and doesn’t care much about Fleet’s tactics or opinions. Taverner is clearly upset with Flyte’s lack of progress. Taverner’s frustration is hardly surprising; After all, it’s always lamb and river that cause trouble.

Although Taverner probably doesn’t expect Lamb to reveal David Cartwright’s whereabouts, she still angles for some information. Lamb insists he’s telling Fleet the truth on this one. David was at Catherine Standish’s (Saskia Reeves) apartment. The delicate dance between the two MI5 agents yields very little results for either party. During the chat conversation Lamb assumes that Standish still has custody of David Cartwright. At the end of episode 3, David gave Standish the note to speak with First Desk himself. Realizing that Lamb is getting you nowhere fast, Taverner leaves.

7

Standish returns to Slough House to track down David Cartwright

David is apparently headed to the park to talk to the front desk

While Lamb is out in the rain chatting with taverners, Standish hangs around her old stomping grounds. Standish’s replacement, Moira Tregorian (Joanna Scanlan), offers her some tea. initially, Standish seems put off by the way Moira runs Slow HouseBut is surprised to hear that Moria can not wait to get promoted back to the park. It is possible that Standish’s MI5 days are not officially over. Judging by her involvement in the Cartwright situation, it seems Standish doesn’t know how to walk away. However, things do not go well when Lamb and Chapman return, expecting to see David at Slough House.

Standish explains that she quickly moved David into her neighbor’s apartment while Fleet went to find her apartment. Ever determined to find the first desk and explain what happened, David slips off into the rain. Standish explains that Louisa Guy (Rosalind Elazar) is stationed outside the park to intercept David when he arrives, but Lamb, Chapman and Standish all come to the realization that David, who is navigating dementia, must have gone to MI5’s former headquarters. The park that David once worked in is now a hotel. Before the trio leave, Chapman explains what he knows about Lavender.

6

Chapman explains that he delivered cold bodies, weapons and money to Les Arbres

In Lavender, Chapman extracted a young woman in return for the supplies

Decades earlier, David Cartwright tasked Chapman with making a cop at Les Arbres, the compound on the outskirts of Lavande. Chapman wasn’t told much about what he was doing and, in typical MI5 fashion, he didn’t ask many questions either. Still, he tells in great detail what happened that day. After arriving in France, Chapman drove an MI5-supplied car to the compound. When he got up, a bunch of people came out of the house to search and locate the vehicle. Much to Chapman’s chagrin, the car was full of weapons, ammunition, passports and money..

In the flashback, Les Arbres is only a slightly more lively place. Apart from the armed men, who plan their leader, some women and children are scattered in the compound. What Chapman sees echoes what River discovered in episode 2: Les Arbres appears to be home to a syndicate that is raising child soldiers. In exchange for MI5’s cold body passports and weapons, The men of Les Arbres betray a young woman to Chapman. According to David’s ex-boyfriend, the woman said nothing and finally gave him the note at a gas station.

5

Taverner threatens to fire Fleet

Fleet is tasked with finding David Cartwright before Jackson Lamb

Back in the real park, Taverner calls Fleet into her office. In her typically cold manner, Taverner scolds Fleet for not only her lack of progress, but her insistence on keeping secrets. After Lamb identified the body of River’s doppelgänger as Agent Cartwright himself, Taverner looked at the results of the blood test. how fleet Taverner realized Lamb had lied to them and that River was alive and well. Taverner asks Fleet why she withheld the information instead of reporting it to second desk. Unfortunately, Fleet’s excuses are pretty weak.

Fleete, the newly minted head of the dogs, claims that she wanted to catch River or David before coming to the tavern with the news of the blood test. Basically, Fleet did not want to bombard her superiors with bad or trivial news. Taverner assures Flyte that communication is key. actually, Poor communication is exactly why Taverner did not gel with the first head of the Dogs. While Flyte agrees to do better, Taverner threatens to fire Flyte if she makes another blunder. To make up for what happened, Flyte is tasked with finding David Cartwright before Lamb.

4

Whelan & Giti realize that Adam Lockhead is a cold body

The new first desk doesn’t want to sweep the sins of MI5 under the sofa

After the Robert Winters incident, Claude Whelan (James Callis) wasn’t taking any chances with Taverner. Previously, Taverner blackmailed Whelan, the new First Desk, when she discovered that the WestAcres bomber used one of MI5’s Cold War-era passports. While Giti, a junior agent working in the park, discovers Winters’ connection to MI5Taverner took matters into her own hands and scrubbed every record of the name. She then informed Whelan of what happened, insisting a cover-up was needed to protect MI5 from more damaging reports. Whelan has a much different perspective on the matter.

In episode 3, Whelan approaches Gitty with a new assignment. The first desk works the sharp-witted agent with a search for more ready identities and connections. Of course, the other passport that came into play was the one river found on the body of Betrand, his doppelgänger and David’s would-be murderer. The ID belongs to a cold body called Adam Lockhead. In episode 4, Whelan and Giti discover Adam Lockhead’s cold body and call Taverner out for her cover-up. First and Second Desk still do not see eye-to-eye, with Whelan insisting MI5 come forward publicly with the information.

3

Standish & Chapman find David

Meanwhile, Fleet tries to catch River at the train station

While Lamb runs into the getaway taxi, Standish and Chapman race into the hotel to find David Cartwright before Flyte’s men have the chance. Chapman instructs Standish to cause a distraction while he works to peel David away from the hotel lobby. Although David seems to recognize his former bagman, he does not want to leave the park. Chapman, on the other hand, does not want his connection with Les Arbres to return to MI5. After securing David, Chapman wants to leave the country. As the fleet’s men pull up, Standish races to find a fire alarm and pulls it.

In the chaos of hotel guests streaming outside, Chapman is able to sneak David out of the building and into Lamb’s cab. Meanwhile, MI5 receives a ping on Lockhead’s passport, which Middle River is on its way back to London. Fleet decides to catch River himself and takes a group to the train station. River catches sight of Flyte and her men, which prompts an action-packed chase through the station and onto the London Underground. Frank Harkness, meanwhile, also planned to interrupt River. Instead, he watches the chase unfold. Ultimately, Flyte fails to capture River Cartwright.

2

Chapman leaves to collect his flight fund

Frank’s killer tortures Chapman for information

After ensuring that David Cartwright is safely in the cab, Chapman leaves Standish and Lamb to deal with the mess. Scared of what might happen to him if David talks or his mission to Les Arbres is uncovered, Chapman returns to his office. As he tells Lamb, he’s just stopping by to collect his flight fund. apparently, Hardened MI5 operatives like Chapman all have some money lying around just in case things go south. With MI5 and Harkness on his tail, Chapman knows it’s time to disappear. Before he left, Shopman threw back a drink.

Once he has secured the flight fund from a loose ceiling tile, Chapman hears something strange outside. Gun drawn, he investigates the fire escape when Harkness’ killer comes bursting through the window. According to an earlier conversation, Chapman is one of the targets the assassin must take out before midnight if he hopes to save Harkness’ skin (and his own). Instead of killing Chapman outright, the killer tortures and beats him. Since David Cartwright is the killer’s other target, It is possible Frank’s man wants to break Chapman and gather some information before killing him.

1

River returns home and discovers his connection to Les Arbres

Fleet ends up catching River in David Cartwright’s house

Once he has successfully avoided Fleet and her team, River races to his grandfather’s house. Normally, this would be a massive misstep, but River is on a mission. While in Lavender, he meets Bertrand’s mother, who explains that Frank fathered all the children in Los Arbres with the women he took. At the compound, River encountered a striking mural and photographed it for evidence. Although Bertrand’s mother did not draw the wall, she knew the woman who did. At David’s house, River finds a box of memories and digs through it until he uncovers a few drawings.

After comparing the drawings in the box to the mural in Les Arbres, the connection feels pretty undeniable. While River does not say anything, it is clear that he believes that his mother was one of the women held at Les Arbres. until now, Slow Horses Season 4 really hammered home the fact that David raised River. If River’s mother is being held in the French compound, It would explain why David traded so many weapons and passports to ensure a young woman’s safe passage Home. Before this can be confirmed, the episode ends with Flyte grabbing River.