Having established that River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) is not dead — they wouldn’t dare! — Slow Horses Season 4 Episode 2, “A Stranger Comes to Town,” provides a swiveled perspective, showing us what happened in David Cartwright’s (Jonathan Pryce) house after he shot the man pretending to be his grandson.
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Beginning with David’s shotgun blast, we see the real River driving up to the house in the rain storm. The imposter’s feet hang over the bathtub’s edge with the tap still dripping. River bangs on the door. He lets himself in. David sits near the body, still holding his shotgun.
Slow Horses, “A Stranger Comes to Town”
River calls out from downstairs, wondering where David is. He climbs the stairs and approaches the bathroom. Entering the bathroom, he finds David pointing a shotgun at him and a bloody body in the tub. He tries to convince David to put the gun down. David can’t believe he’s really River because he just shot River. He wants proof. River offers to answer any question only the real River would know. David quizzes him on a meeting he had in 1982 with his KGB counterpart. River knows the story and David puts the gun down, convinced.
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David is distraught. River comforts him and unloads the shotgun. He assures David he can fix this because it’s nothing they haven’t dealt with before (!) then notices the would-be killer bears a strong resemblance to him.
David tells him how the man came in pretending to be River. He tells River that when he called him “Gramps” he knew it wasn’t River. River goes through the dead man’s pockets and although he doesn’t find a weapon, he finds diazepam tablets. Presumably, the man’s plan was to drug David and drown him in the bath.
Clues
He also finds a return train ticket to France and a receipt for a cafe, Le Blanc Russe, in Lavande. There’s a UK passport with the name Adam Lockhead. David becomes upset, saying River’s asking him too many questions. River insists they’re just debriefing. David pulls out the panic button and presses it.
River is dismayed. He tells David they can’t have the investigators come and question him because David’s confused and unwell. David gets angry, scolding River for speaking to his father that way. River corrects him to “grandfather” and David holds his head, realizing his error. He gives River control of the situation and lets him make the decisions.
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River apologizes for raising his voice. He tells David to wait downstairs. Closing the door, he formulates a plan, plants his ID and phone on the body, and then shoots the corpse in the face. Taking a long look at his work, he turns and vomits in the toilet.
Cold Bodies
At the Park, Giti Rahman (Kiran Sonia Sawar) approaches Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) about Robert Winters’s passport. She’s discovered that the passport was originally issued by MI5. Taverner considers this and states that it’s impossible. However, she instructs Rahman to report only to her on this subject until they can unravel the mystery.
She directs Rahman to go to a secure location and collate any information they have on Robert Winters. Rahman wonders if it turns out that it’s an MI5-created identity. Taverner dismisses the idea and sends her to use her office. She promises to send someone to collect her. As she rides the elevator down, Taverner calls Flyte (Ruth Bradley) and orders her to pick up Rahman and isolate her somewhere secure.
You Don’t Blow a Joe’s Cover
At Standish’s (Saskia Reeves) flat, David wrings his hands while Standish and Lamb (Gary Oldman) discuss River’s situation. Lamb tells Standish he lied to Flyte because River obviously wanted people to think he’s dead and had to back him up.
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River’s gone to France with the American dollars from David’s travel cash. Standish also gave him her cash and her phone. He’s removed the SIM card so it’ll only be for emergencies. She tells Lamb she went through his pockets and found the train ticket, cafe receipt, and Adam Lockhead’s passport.
Lamb tries to question David about Lavande, France, but the elder Cartwright is extremely confused. Standish warns Lamb that he’s not well but Lamb believes David is hiding behind his dementia. When David mistakes Standish for Rose, his dead wife, Lamb leaves to find out when and why David was in France.
Lavande
The taxi drops River off in Lavande, saying it’s not really a tourist spot. River says he’s looking for a friend and pays the driver.
In his office, Whelan (James Callis) rehearses a speech with Taverner listening. His timer goes off right at the end. Taverner cautions him that it isn’t the right time to make speeches. She presents him with a folder full of letters of condolences for the families. As he signs the letters, he thanks her for handling most of the work around the bombings but reminds her that he’s the long-range guy, looking at bringing transparency to the agency.
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In Lavande, River tries to speak with some locals but they cross the street to avoid him. A man with a barky dog comes to his gate, and River asks for directions to Le Blanc Russe. He points River down the road to the town square.
At Slough House, Coe’s (Tom Brooke) tapping is driving Longridge (Kadiff Kirwan) nuts. When Dander (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) brings coffee in, he suggests giving Coe some to break the ice. Dander’s not game. She notices a gun in Longridge’s bag and asks about it. Longridge downplays it. Dander asks if he’s gambling again. Longridge admits he owes some money and plans to pawn the gun temporarily. Dander tells him it’s a terrible idea and he blows up, disclosing he needs £10,000 by the end of the month or he loses his house and marriage.
Not Dead
Lamb arrives in Ho’s (Christopher Chung) office and demands he find out everything he can about Lavande. He notices that Ho moved River’s computer and tells him that River’s not dead. When Ho protests he texted him exactly that, Lamb tells him to reread it.
Going upstairs, Lamb tells Louisa (Rosalind Eleazer) that River’s alive. She collapses with relief. Dander and Longridge come in, hearing Lamb. Ho reads the text again. “Be in late. Up all night identifying Cartwright’s body.” Standing in the doorway, Coe points out the text didn’t say River was dead just that Lamb was identifying his body. Everyone’s a bit stunned to hear him talk.
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Lamb fills the Slow Horses in on what happened at David’s house. He reminds them you don’t blow a Joe’s cover. Getting in Coe’s face, he yells the edict once more. Louisa realizes she left a message for River’s mother about his death but she hasn’t called back yet. She wants to know what they can do to help. Lamb tells them to let River deal with it. When he wants help, he’ll ask for it.
Lamb finds Moira (Joanna Scanlan) cleaning up his office. She tells him Whelan sent her, saying Slough House needs a strong manager. Lamb invites her to lunch. While she gets her coat, he tells Dander and Longridge to set his office back to how it was. He can’t work in a tidy office.
Secured and Isolated
Flyte brings a fried egg to Rahman sitting at her kitchen table. Rahman requests tea as well. Flyte receives a call from Taverner who tells her to put Rahman on the phone. Taverner tells Rahman there was a glitch. Robert Winter, without an “s” at the end, was an MI5 identity. Robert Winters, with an “s”, was not.
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At the Park, Taverner hands Robert Winters’s passport to an agent in Molly Doran’s (Naomi Wirthner) archive office, who shreds it. Over the phone, Taverner instructs Flyte to release Rahman now. Flyte informs her that she’s not a babysitter. Taverner is unimpressed and reminds her she still has to find David Cartwright.
Le Blanc Russe
River arrives at Le Blanc Russe and orders a cafe au lait. He asks the barista if he’s seen a man that looks like him in the last few days. The barista tells him the man lives outside of town at Les Arbres. River gets directions, puts some cash down, and leaves without his drink.
As River leaves the cafe and starts walking to Les Arbres, a man in a nearby car reports over the phone to someone. He says he’ll follow River.
In London, Taverner and Whelan board a bus to have a conversation. Taverner informs him that Robert Winters was, in fact, an MI5 “cold body,” a ready-made identity maintained through official channels. Whelan is horrified and indignant that Taverner didn’t bring this to him immediately. She asks what he would’ve done if she had. He says he would’ve begun an inquiry as to how a mass murderer could be operating under an MI5-created identity.
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She notes that’s exactly what she thought he’d do so she’s already destroyed all evidence that Robert Winters was ever connected to MI5. When he protests they can’t cover it up, she produces an order he signed amongst the letters of condolences. He signed the directive to sequester Rahman. Now his signature is part of the cover-up.
Another Old Man to Kill
At David’s house, a man with a French accent approaches the policeman stationed at the crime scene to ask for directions. He wonders about the police tape. The officer tells him the grandson of the house’s owner was killed. The man shakes his head at the tragedy of a young life lost and thanks him. As he leaves, he tucks a camera into the stone wall near the gate.
Getting into his car, he makes a call and reports that David’s still alive. He adds that he’s hidden a camera in case David returns home. Repeating the news that the grandson was killed, he theorizes it was Bertrand because he can’t get ahold of him. The man on the other end of the call tells him that Bertrand’s passport pinged crossing to France. The French man wonders if it could be young Cartwright using Bertrand’s document. That other man promises to take care of him. He directs the French man to hit the second target. The French man acknowledges that the other old man has to die.
Les Arbres
River arrives at Les Arbres, a walled estate around a large manor house. He jumps the wall and takes a look down the lawn to the house.
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Lamb orders a bottle of the house red for himself at lunch with Moira. They have a frank conversation about Moira’s transfer to Slough House. Lamb makes a deal with her. He vows to find out why she was sent to Slough House so she can return to the Park. All she has to do is find out when and why David went to France. She agrees to the deal.
River approaches the manor house. A man watches him from a high window. River breaks a glass pane to get into the house. He moves through the house, noting signs someone’s been there recently. He arms himself with a kitchen knife and heads upstairs. The other man passes behind him, unnoticed. River finds the remnants of a nursery. A painting on the wall catches his eye. Pulling Standish’s phone out, he takes pictures of the painting.
On Fire
Making his way to the top floor, he’s going through some papers and books when he finds a photograph of four men. One is the Westacres bomber. Another is his lookalike. Suddenly, he smells smoke. Running to the stairwell, he sees that the lower levels are on fire. As he tries to get out, the mystery man ambushes him and hits him over the head. They fight, with the older man disarming River quickly and gaining the upper hand.
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A gunshot rings out and the older man jumps back. The man in the car outside the cafe comes in, wielding a shotgun. He shouts in French for the man to get lost. The older man runs off. The man with the shotgun helps River up and out of the building. Once he’s in the car, River tries to thank him but he knocks River unconscious with the butt of his gun and shuts the door. He gets in the driver’s seat and leaves Les Arbres at high speed, the building in flames behind them.
After to two-episode premiere, new episodes of Slow Horses Season 4 drop weekly, every Wednesday through October 9, on Apple TV+. The first three seasons of Slow Horses are available now on the streaming service.
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