River’s fate and 9 other reveals

Warning: Contains spoilers for Slow Horses Season 4, Episode 1.Aptly titled “Identity Theft,” Slow Horses The season 4 opener picks up where the show’s third season left off. An adaptation by Mick Herron Spook StreetThe fourth Game Slow House novel, Slow Horses Season 4’s story puts River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), one of Slough House’s latest inductees, and his grandfather, MI5 legend David Cartwright (Jonathan Pryce), in the crosshairs of a vast – and potentially very personal – conspiracy . At the end of season 3, River brings the “footprint” file to his grandfather, who suggests they destroy the information Before damning evidence about MI5 was leaked to the public.

Knowing that his grandfather will put MI5’s reputation first, River makes a copy of the file to leak. The fallout sees Ingrid Tearney (Sophie Okonedo) forced to resign from MI5 – a move that ultimately allows Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) to secure the highly sought after “First deskElsewhere, Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) breaks another hard truth to Catherine Standish (Saskia Reeves), who spends the most Slow Horses Season 3 Got it. finally, A ruined stand resigned from Slav House. All of these revelations tee up exciting questions for Slow Horses Season 4 to deal with new schemes.

The opening minutes of Slow Horses Season 4 were interrupted by a violent act

Slow Horses Season 4 could be considered a Christmas watch, if only because Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung), Slough House’s IT whiz, is waiting for his co-workers to show up to a holiday party. After phoning most of his teammates, Roddy gets Louisa Guy (Rosalind Eleazar) on the line, who points out that Slough House would never have an office party and if Jackson Lamb ever organized one Something like this, it certainly wouldn’t. Take place at a fast-food fried chicken joint. After Louisa hangs up on him, Roddy leaves with the headphones and a bag of leftovers.

Behind him, an explosion rocks the city. In typical slow house fashion, Roddy only realizes that something is wrong when passersby start running and screaming. The show then cuts to the scene of the crime: West Acres Shopping Center. According to MI5 intelligence, the car bomber entered the mall, possibly as a suicide. The intelligence agency has identified the perpetrator as Robert Winters, an IT consultant who is something of a ghost. However, this is far from the only shocking development in Slow Horses Season 4’s controversial opening moments.

9

Claude Whelan is the first desk in MI5

Diana Taverner was just a temporary stand-in

When the first desk comes to West Acres, it is revealed that Diana Taverner did not land the permanent Director General of MI5 position after all. Instead, she filled in temporarily in the wake of season 3’s massive MI5 revelations – creating immediate tension, given her obvious ambition.

The new agency head is Claude Whelan (James Callis), who doesn’t seem like the most qualified or competent choice, especially compared to Taverner. Whelan even suggests Taverner continue to attend some meetings in his place Because she is a more familiar face. It’s hard to say if Whelan will last, but again, Slow Horses is not always accurate with its MI5 depiction.

8

River tells Louisa about his grandfather’s dementia

Louisa encourages River to bring David Cartwright to a facility

River and Louisa stop at a pub during their lunch break to drink. At first, they discuss Slough House, with River suggesting that they will be out of MI5 purgatory by this time next year. Louisa, on the other hand, is “Always“Think about quitting.

Luisa mistakenly assumes that River wants to question her, but he actually reveals that he is worried about his grandfather, David, who is showing signs of rapidly progressing dementia. Since it took David over 10 minutes to recognize the grandson he had woken up, Louisa suggests River stop by and discuss putting his grandfather in a facility.

7

David Cartwright protects the river

David does not believe that the intruder is his grandson

Slow Horses Season 4 picks up with David Cartwright, a former MI5 legend who is definitely showing signs of dementia. On the way home, David yells at an unseen person, who he thinks is tracking him. Once inside, David is asleep in an armchair with a shotgun lying across his knee.

When he arrives, it is dark and River knocks, apparently, on his door. David lets his grandson in – but something seems off. David comes to the bathroom with his shotgun. When he heard River say “grams” David explains that the man is not drunk and shoots him in the head.

6

Jackson Lamb identifies River’s body

Emma Fleet calls out to Lamb, who isn’t too upset at the news

Emma Fleet (Ruth Bradley), the new head of the dogs at MI5, calls Jackson Lamb to David Cartwright’s house. Of course, the former agent pressed a panic button, alerting his former employer that something had gone down. When Fleet arrived, her team found River’s body in the upstairs bathroom. Fleet explains that they found River’s ID and wallet on the body, but that they want to go through the formalities of having someone close to the victim identify his leftovers. In typical Lamb fashion, Jackson makes jokes about the situation, noting that it’s hard to identify a face-less body.

There’s no denying that Jackson Lamb’s reaction to the crime scene is funny. Apart from David Cartwright’s confused reaction – he goes from saying the man is not drunk to admitting what he’s done – Lamb’s cool-as-a-cucumber approach is the first major red flag that, perhaps, the body is Not River Cartwright’s. (Of course, the title of the episode is also a hint.) Regardless of what he really thinks, Lam tells Fleet that it Is River. On the way out, the always large and flattened lamb continues to shrug the cold shoulder.

5

Emma Fleet is tasked with finding David Cartwright

Cartwright’s age is Mia since pressing his panic button

Emma Fleet, Duffy’s replacement, is immediately tasked with a tall order: track down David Cartwright, who has been missing in action since apparently murdering his grandson. Jackson Lamb doesn’t offer Fleet much in the way of help, though he does remind viewers (and Fleet) that David once gave him a job.

Since Flyte is an outsider, handpicked by WhelanShe is at something of a disadvantage when it comes to the tight-knit and history-bound agents that make up MI5 (and Slow House). Nevertheless, you search to find Cartwright senior seems to be one of Slow Horses Season 4’s big arcs.

4

Robert Winters mentions his “brothers”

The car bomber threatens more violence from an apparent network of terrorists

In a pre-death video, Robert Winters recorded himself talking about his aims in rather vague terms. The terrorist makes veiled threats about what is to come, but it is difficult to extract any real clues from the video. One line stands out: Winters says that his “Brothers“Come to continue the work he startedSuggesting that there is a network of terrorists out there waiting to strike.

When the dogs attack the Winters’ apartment, a forensics expert sets off a booby trap rigged with grenades, which actually throws Whelan and Taverner for a loop. As if it wasn’t already clear, the scene clearly shows that Slow Horses Season 4 contains many complex layers that need to be unfolded.

3

Slow House grapples with the news of River’s death

Roddy Ho packs River’s belongings while Lusa feels guilty

in the sleep house, Slow HorsesCast of characters adapt to life without standish. Moira Tregorian (Joanna Scanlan), who was banished to Slough House by Whelan, is Standish’s temporary replacement, although she already has a hard time imagining how she will keep the dysfunctional office in order. of course, Moira’s demotion isn’t the only change at Slough House. When Roddy Ho starts disconnecting electronics from River’s desk, the rest of the team asks him what’s going on. Roddy explains that Jackson Lamb texted him and revealed that River was killed by his grandfather the night before.

As Rudy packs River’s belongings, Luisa clutches her head in despair. Louisa Guy feels personally responsible for what happened between River and his grandfather. Based on her earlier conversation with River, Louisa fears that she has steered River in the wrong direction by suggesting he stop by his grandfather’s house at night. No one says much of anything to assuage Louisa’s guilt. With his signature impeccably bad timing, Roddy mentions that he has a girlfriend, which is a spot of bright news – although his colleagues don’t necessarily feel the same way.

2

Lamb visits Standish who is housing David Cartwright

Standish initially lies to Lamb about knowing River is still alive

Perhaps hoping to prove his hanging right, Jackson Lamb heads to Standish’s house to learn more about David and (the real) River’s whereabouts. When Lamb arrives, Standish looks over newspaper articles about the bombing; Clearly, the MI5 operative has not completely given up on her former line of work. Standish seems annoyed by Lamb’s arrival, however Jackson continues to press his former colleague for information, suggesting that she is hiding David Cartwright. Standish avoids Lamb’s line of questioning until he points out that she doesn’t do a very good job of lying about what she knows.

“You’re not in shock when River is alive because you’ve seen him– says Lam after explaining his theory about the dead man in David’s bathroom, who is an impath. Lam pulls her away and points out that he saw River’s car parked outside. Unable to lie anymore, Standish admits that River stopped by, but that he’s gone now. Meanwhile, David is fast asleep in Standish’s bedroom. Lamb bursts in to ask David Cartwright more about what happened between him and the River Cook-like, however Slow Horses Saves the conversation for episode 2.

1

River is alive in Slow Horses Season 4, Episode 1’s ending

The Slow House agent is in France on a mission

While Jackson Lamb’s conversation with Standish confirms that the real River Cartwright is alive, the end of Slow Horses Season 4, episode 1, hammers home this fact. The show cuts to the French countryside. River sits on the back seat of a cab and looks at a woman’s passport.

The driver assures him that they don’t have much further to go until they reach their destination. Although River’s look-alike and the shopping center bombing seem unrelated at first, the end of the first episode suggests that the two incidents may be linked as more than Slow Horses Season 4 unfolds.