Aahana Swrup
Frank Harkness’ return in ‘Slow Horses’ season 6 opens up the floodgates for unpredictable trouble brewing on the horizon. Episode 2 finds River Cartwright on edge about his father’s re-emergence. However, when he and Lamb attempt to follow the man’s trail, it ends up leading them to a crime scene with a dead body and a potential witness to the loss. Meanwhile, First Desk’s Diana Taverner finds herself strong-armed into a media interview with Judd’s benefactor, Damien Cantor, who hardly seems to have the Park’s best interest at heart. Simultaneously, the mystery of the Slough House’s missing records from the MI5 database continues to pose big problems for the agent, beyond just their unprocessed paycheques. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Frank Harkness Delivers a Package and an Assassination
As it turns out, mercenary Frank Harkness had an ulterior motive to attend David Cartwright’s funeral beyond just the unlikely sentimental reasons. This becomes obvious when he picks up a package from a dumpster in an alleyway and knocks on the door of Andrew Nesmith, a former Mi5 agent who recently lost his job at the Park. The ex-agent has been doing some dirty work for Harkness’ employer, stealing files from the agency’s archives. Even though the Park did not discover this theft, his termination was inevitable when he was spotted in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In the aftermath, a recently unemployed Andrew tried to extort extra money from the man he was working for, blackmailing him with threats of revealing his interest in the files to the Secret Services. However, this desire for compensation ends up costing the ex-agent dearly. When Harkness enters his home, it’s not just with the intention of making the delivery. Instead, he’s here to kill the ex-agent for his indiscretion against their shared employer. Unfortunately for the mercenary, as he’s strangling his target, his child, an unexpected addition to the scene, escapes from the premises after witnessing the assassination.
Damien Interviews Diana in an Unfavorable Light
Diana Travern’s tense exchanges with Peter Judd lead to the introduction of a new danger into the narrative. Over lunch, the former politician introduces the First Desk Head to the wealthy man who supplied him with the money that is ultimately forged in these interactions between the two. The businessman owns a news channel that is currently on the rise with its slight right-wing inclinations. Due to the aforementioned money, Judd manages to corner Diana into agreeing to give an interview to the news mogul despite her strict no-media policy. In light of her agreement, even the Head of the Dogs, Emma Flyte, is taken aback by this progression. Regardless, the Director General finds herself in front of a LIVE camera.
The interview is obviously set up to humiliate Diana and trap her into controversial and unflattering questions. Even though she dodges her fair share of scrutiny from the journalist, the interview becomes a stain on her reputation and promises to follow her around. Meanwhile, despite the small win, Damien also faces problems of his own. Apparently, he is the employer behind Andrew’s file theft and Harkness’ ensuing assassination. The fact that the latter let a potential witness flee from the scene is hardly the best news for the businessman. Therefore, the mercenary must now track down the minor and tie up the loose end at any cost.
Moira Becomes the Latest Target in a String of Attacks on Former Slough House Agents
Moira Tregorian worked at the Slough House for a brief period as Standish’s replacement. Since then, she has returned to the Park and prefers to keep her connection to the unfavorable department under wraps. Nonetheless, it’s likely this same connection that turns her into the next victim of the pair of killers who seem to be exclusively going after former members of the Slough House. Yet, this time around, they seem to have been given explicit instructions about how to orchestrate Moira’s assassination. Thus, the duo reluctantly play the part of gas line workers who infiltrate the agent’s house and stage her accidental death.
Meanwhile, after Lamb and River discover Andrew’s murder, they undertake missions of their own. The senior agent goes down to the Park for a conversation with Molly Doran to figure out the truth behind the disappearance of Slough House from the agency’s database. On the other hand, River returns to Roddy, hoping he can trace a dead call he has recently received that he believes is from his father. At the Park, Lamb learns that physical files of his department and its agents are also missing from the archives. This, paired with the recent string of deaths, points towards only one explanation: someone is after the horses. As such, he immediately calls for an emergency, which his agents understand to mean rendezvous at a decided-upon location.
However, while the others go dark and make their way to the safe house, River remains notably missing. Shortly after Lamb’s alert, Roddy had tracked down the phone number for his fellow agent. The call, it seems, was coming from David’s house. Once River learns the same, he abandons emergency protocol and rushes to confront Harkness at his grandfather’s house. Nevertheless, a different surprise awaits him. Apparently, it wasn’t Harkness who had been calling the agent. Instead, it’s Sidonie Baker, aka Sis, a former Slough House agent who was presumed to be dead. In an unexpected turn of events, the agent, somehow back from a likely fake death, has returned.
Read More: Slow Horses Season 6 Episode 1 Recap: Circle of Life
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