As Slow Horses Season 4 barrels toward its finale, the penultimate episode, “Grave Danger,” reveals exactly how MI5’s security breaches remain its human cogs. “Bad” Sam Chapman’s (Sean Glider) already spilled that Harkness (Hugo Weaving) and his gang got the “cold bodies” from David Cartwright (Jonathan Pryce) in exchange for a young woman. Who else has Harkness exploited to get ahead of the Dogs?
RELATED: Catch up with our recap of the previous Slow Horses episode, “Returns”
“Grave Danger” opens with Molly Doran (Naomi Wirthner) returning home to her flat. There’s a knock at her door, and Harkness is outside. He tells her he’s there about the leak. When she asks for ID, he shows her the gun he has tucked in his waistband.
Slow Horses, “Grave Danger”
At David Cartwright’s house, Flyte (Ruth Bradley) and her Dogs have River (Jack Lowden) in custody. Flyte questions him. He replies flippantly. He offers to answer all her questions if she promises to protect his grandfather. She won’t promise, stating he’s in no position to bargain. The camera Patrice (Tom Wozniczka) planted in David’s stone wall captures River getting into the Dogs’ car and leaving.
Inside Molly’s flat, Harkness watches the live feed from the camera. Molly asks who he is. He replies with his name but then clarifies that she knows him as Mitch Philpott. She remembers that he called her up under that name, claiming to want to connect with David Cartwright and Sam Chapman. So she’d given him their addresses. Reflecting on the details of old ops they discussed, she deduces that he’s ex-CIA.
When she asks what he’s after, he explains that he needs her fingerprint and access codes to track River’s journey to intercept the Dogs before they reach the Park. She claims she doesn’t remember the access codes because she never uses them. Harkness describes the torture he’ll visit on her to get the codes he knows she remembers.
RELATED: TV Review: Slow Horses Season 4
In the Dogs’ car, they handcuff River to the grab handle. Flyte looks through Bertrand’s passport and asks where River got the photograph of Harkness with Robert Winters (Zachary Hart), Bertrand, and the rest. River insists on talking to David first. When he tells her David’s at Standish’s (Saskia Reeves), she blows her top, telling him Lamb (Gary Oldman) already tried that lie. She gets out, slamming the door, leaving River looking confused.
Reporting In
Flyte gets on her phone to Taverner (Kristen Scott Thomas). She fills her in on apprehending River and losing David. Taverner instructs her to bring Bertrand’s fake passport directly to her after taking River to the basement.
Back in the car, River peppers Flyte with questions about David, Taverner, and why Flyte didn’t tell Tavener everything. Flyte answers by repeatedly telling him to shut up.
Taken for a Ride
In London, David Cartwright becomes agitated in the back of a black cab driven by Lamb. Standish sits with him and tries to calm him while Lamb questions him aggressively about France.
RELATED: Dark Comedy Thriller Bad Sisters Season 2 Gets First-Look Image and Premiere Date
Louisa (Rosalind Eleazer), Longridge (Kadiff Kirwan), and Dander (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) ride a double-decker bus. While Longridge and Dander squabble about their respective vices, Louisa gets a call from Isobel Cartwright (Anna Wilson-Jones). Louisa fills her in on River and David’s circumstances. Isobel has no interest in her father but asks Louisa to remind River she exists when she sees him next.
At Slough House, Roddy (Christopher Chung) calls Moira (Joanna Scanlan) down to his office. As he messages his online girlfriend, Kim, he tells her that she was sent to Slough House because she received a duty log report that named a higher-up for soliciting prostitutes. Moira didn’t know the Met code name, Galahad, was for Claude Whelan (James Callis).
Team Meeting
Dander, Longridge, and Louisa return. Louisa calls a meeting upstairs and orders Roddy and Moira to join them. Once everyone’s in the room, she tries to organize everyone to figure out a way to support River in the field.
Coe (Tom Brooke) puts his earbuds in. The others call him out on it. He responds that there’s nothing they can do to help River because they’re all screwups. Roddy shares that Coe was in Psych Eval. Dander calls Psych Eval a BS unit. Coe responds by giving an evaluation of her.
RELATED: Shrinking Season 2 Trailer Makes ‘Jimmying’ a Thing
Getting back on track, Marcus points out Patrice was wounded. Dander says he’ll go to a backstreet doctor. Louisa figures there’s no way to track backstreet doctor patients. Moira offers intel that the Park has a list of doctors who’ve lost their licenses that undercover agents get in case they need emergency care. She offers to make some calls.
At the Park, Taverner visits Whelan to let him know River’s inbound. Whelan shares that the passport River’s been using has visited several places where high-ranking individuals were killed. Seeing the connections, Whelan’s changed his stance on complete transparency. He believes in keeping everything Agent Giti (Kiran Sonia Sawar) has learned top secret and hidden. They decide to keep the Cartwrights quiet by keeping whoever shot Bertrand out of jail.
River Takes Flyte
In Molly’s flat, Harkness accesses the Park’s tracking system using her codes. He finds the two vehicles carrying River and Flyte. In the cars, River’s talking to Flyte about her distrust of Taverner.
RELATED: Apple TV+’s Disclaimer* Trailer Boils Over With Secrets
Flyte’s silent initially but shares that she left the Met because of the corruption in the system. Now, she’s discovered that MI5 is just as bad. River protests that he’s not like Taverner and Lamb. Everything he’s done recently has been to protect his grandfather. Flyte scans the photo and sends it to Giti. She calls Giti and instructs her to find out who the people in the photo are and take the information to Whelan.
Torturing the Old Bastard
Lamb pulls the taxi to a stop near a church. He takes David for a walk, promising Standish that he probably won’t harm the old man. In the churchyard, David asks why Lamb’s brought him to his wife, Rose’s, grave. Lamb reminds him that it’s David’s fault that the shoppers at Westacres died. Also, he asks about David shooting River, upsetting David. Standish tries to reassure him that he didn’t kill River.
David tries to excuse his actions, saying everything he did was for his daughter. He tells Standish Frank Harkness stole his daughter. Before that, he presented David and MI5 with a list of people who deserved to die of “preemptive assassinations.” Harkness planned to create a deniable assassination squad made of killers raised from birth.
RELATED: Slow Horses Season 4 First Look Images, Cast Info and Premiere Date
David shares that Isobel was infatuated with Harkness. He tried to keep them apart, but Harkness lured her away to France. David sent Harkness the cold body passports, weapons, and cash in exchange for Isobel. Now that David can connect Harkness to Westacres, he’s on the kill list.
Father and Son
At Molly’s flat, Patrice knocks on the door. He didn’t get David’s location out of Chapman but has Chapman’s phone in case David calls. Harkness admits him to the flat. He introduces Patrice to Molly. Looking at Molly’s expression, he intuits she’s concerned he’s going to kill her for knowing their faces and names. He reassures her that he plans to use her to send a message.
RELATED: 5 Cozy Mystery Books Only Murders in the Building Fans Need to Check Out
Harkness shows Patrice the computer file on Slough House and tells him the team that bested him is made up of MI5’s rejects. Patrice looks ashamed and asks to be punished. Harkness grabs him by the hair and admonishes him for self-indulgence. Molly watches as Harkness reminds Patrice emphatically that they are the only ones left. He needs Patrice to do the job. Harkness kisses his forehead, promising they’ll rebuild the team.
No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy
At the Park, Giti reports to Taverner and Whelan with the identities of the men in the photo based on the cold bodies’ passports they use. Taverner commends her work and instructs her to get their descriptions public as soon as possible. Giti leaves, and Whelan hangs his head. He wonders if hiding this is even possible. Taverner tells him it isn’t.
From the window of Molly’s flat, Harkness eats an apple and watches Patrice beat up a bunch of garbage men and steal their truck.
At Slough House, Roddy finds Patrice on CCTV entering and leaving a backstreet doctor who died falling down the stairs earlier that day. As Louisa’s leaving, Roddy lets her know the Dogs picked up River.
RELATED: 5 Spy Thrillers to Check Out if You Love Slow Horses
Out in the hallway, Louisa calls Lamb. She lets him know about River and that Chapman’s probably still in danger. Lamb tells her Standish is bringing David to Slough House. He passes his keys to Standish. He’s going to check on Chapman.
Louisa lets Longridge and Dander know that David’s inbound. They all head upstairs, leaving Roddy and Coe alone. Roddy returns to chatting with Kim. Coe informs him she’s a bot.
Still in Molly’s flat, Harkness tracks the Dogs’ cars, noting there are only three minutes left. He bids Molly farewell, adding that she’s outlived her purpose. He turns her wheelchair so she faces the wall, making a grand gesture of saying goodbye. There’s a bang, but Molly isn’t shot. She turns around. He’s gone. There are five envelopes on her table, addressed to Mike Peterson, Jim Lanford, Claude Whelan, Jean Fraser, and Natalie Hensley.
Endgame
In the Dogs’ car, Flyte and River discuss Lamb. Suddenly, a garbage truck slams into a car in front of them. The way out is blocked. River sees Patrice getting out of the garbage truck. Both Dogs in the front seat are quickly shot and killed. Patrice comes after River.
RELATED: Read our Slow Horses Season 4 recaps
Flyte gets out and shoots at Patrice until she runs out of bullets. Patrice attacks her. River, still cuffed to the car, tries to help. They get a few punches in but Patrice slams Flyte’s head into the car, knocking her out. Patrice grabs a gun and shoots the cuffs, freeing River. With a gun to River’s head, Patrice steals a car from a stunned driver. He throws River into the trunk.
A new episode of Slow Horses Season 4 drops weekly, every Wednesday through October 9, on Apple TV+. The first three seasons of Slow Horses are available now on the streaming service.
- SHERLOCK Could Return Confirms Producer Sue Vertue - October 2, 2024
- SLOW HORSES Recap: (S04E05) Grave Danger - October 2, 2024
- SHRINKING Season 2 Trailer Makes ‘Jimmying’ a Thing - September 28, 2024
