Slow Horses Ending Explained: Who Killed Cavendish’s Husband? Who Saved Hassan? Is Sid Alive?
The first season of Slow Horses closes with the resolution of the kidnapping of Hassan Ahmed and an initial showdown between Jackson Lamb and first desk Diane Taverner. The Apple series starring Gary Oldman tells the newspaper of a group of MI5 agents (the British internal secret service) “exiled” to a branch office destined for the outcast and incapable: the Pantano. In Season 1, Section Director Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) and his underlings find themselves embroiled in a kidnapping case involving services from neighbors. Confused by the conclusion of the first season of Slow Horses? Didn’t you understand some steps? No problem: let’s retrace the finale together and discover the fate of River Cartwright (jack Lowden) and the other outcasts of the Marsh.
Slow Horses Ending Explained: The Pantano Outclasses MI5
In the latest episode of Slow Horses we see a realignment of MI5: Diane Taverner has failed to place all the blame for Hassan’s kidnapping and Alan Black’s death by beheading on Jackson Lamb’s team and, recalled to order from the first Desk , is cornered. Her plan to rescue the Pakistani ambassador’s influential nephew in order to gain international influence and at the same time persuade the government to give her the funds to wipe out some twenty far-right cells active in the country has failed.
Fortunately for him, Lamb groomed his parents properly, regrouping the group and encouraging them – indirectly – to work on the case. Now that Black is dead, MI5 no longer has a mole within the group of kidnappers to monitor the situation and keep Hassan safe. The priority is to track down the van in which Hassan and the kidnappers are traveling. Roddy Ho and Catherine Standish, who took refuge in a diner with Min and Louisa, prove to be better than MI5. Through a series of subterfuges and tricks they manage to track down the van. Min decides to drive with Louisa to intercept him.
Lamb Does Not Forget Anyone
Cartwright and Lamb are joined by Roddy Ho and updated on the situation. The brilliant hacker had placed a satellite on all his colleagues’ cars a year earlier, so he can now keep an eye on them all and drive them. Lamb cuts off communications to give Cartwright the news of Sid’s death himself, judging Roddy too numb to do so properly. River is shocked and saddened. Lamb confesses that he remembers all the agents lost on the field, so he will remember Sid as well. He reveals to him that after the end of the Cold War there were many settling of scores between groups of agents and that many of his gods were killed. As Catherine told the others, Lamb is loyal to his team and his anger is unleashed when one of his own is unjustly endangered.
The chase of Min and Louisa ends soon: despite having stopped at a gas station to confirm the sighting of Hassan, he has forgotten to refuel! Louisa resumes her colleague, who reveals that he is in love with her, but above all that he finally feels good, useful, committed to doing something. Their car is overtaken by Lamb’s when news arrives that the van has been intercepted by the Dogs. On board, however, there is no Hassan, but only a kidnapper, who is killed by the Dogs, who then plant a gun on the scene to pass an execution for the reaction of the Special Forces in front of an armed man. Taverner made Nick understand that there must be no uncomfortable witnesses to the MI5 mess.
Hassan Saves Himself
Hassan is still alive, but briefly. In fact, Curly intends to film a video of his death by beheading in the ruins of a Norman castle … which turns out to be a whim. In other words, a much more recent building, built in the middle of modern times by English aristocrats who love the Gothic style and the romanticism of the fine ruins. Hassan laughs at this latest paradox and, taking advantage of Curly’s distraction, hides a large stone in his pocket.
Meanwhile, River, Lamb, Min and Louisa have figured out where the kidnapper and kidnapped are. Cartwright reaches out to Lamb, who hands him the gun. River manages to save the boy by shooting the kidnapper, who is wounded but alive. Hassan actually saves himself by hitting the attacker with a stone. The boy is so angry that he wields his ax and contemplates decapitating his attacker, but River manages to make him desist. Min disobeys Hyde Park’s orders when she realizes that they will kill the wounded kidnapper, even if unarmed, to cover up everything. All the Quagmire rebels and shields Curly, saving his life and making the first and second desks go on a rampage.
Sid Was Not Who He Said He Was
Investigating on his own, Roddy Ho uncovers a puzzling truth he shares with River: Sid never exists. He is not present in the archives of MI5, there is no type of recording on her. There will be no funeral for her; she maybe she is not even dead. River finally sets out to clean up reporter Hobden’s garbage left at the Quagmire, staring at her empty desk. Meanwhile, Hobden is thrown under a truck by Nick, on Taverner’s orders: the reporter knows too much and must not reveal the secrets she overheard during her dinner with her brother, whom she witnessed by chance.
Lamb Killed Cavendish’s Husband
In the season finale Cartwright is consoled by his grandfather. The boy saved Taverner’s job, who tried to stab him in the back (and put Sid on his heels), but he was not reinstated in Hyde Park. Grandpa urges him to keep a low profile, awaiting a make-up in Hyde Park.
River is unaware that his grandfather is involved in the secret that Jackson Lamb traded with the compromising photos of Taverner, ending up blackmailing each other with the first desk. Her secret is unspeakable: it was he who killed Catherine Cavendish’s husband, Charles, making it look like a suicide. The real revelation, however, is another: on the night of the murder, Cartwright’s grandfather was also present, who may have given the order to kill Charles!
Lamb was so disgusted by what he did that he wanted to quit the services, but even living as a civilian is unbearable. Charles’s murder is the real reason he is at the Pantano. In the flashback of him killing his colleague and friend, Cartwright Sr. is worried that someone might find out how things really went. Apparently Taverner has guessed the truth and uses this information to blackmail Lamb… he used, because now, with the photos of Alan Black, he has the knife on the side of the handle.
