Hello Goodbye – As the episode opens, police are arriving at the crime scene. Officers canvas the area looking for victims and the killer(s). A stunned MI5 Agent Emma Flyte (Ruth Bradley) sits up. An officer orders her to put her hands up. She shows him her ID when an incoming call from Second Desk Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) pops up on her phone. Diana asks what happened. Flyte tells her that the convoy came under attack and four Dogs were killed. Diana is shocked to learn one man did all this damage. Flyte points out that the assailant was the youngest cold body in the Les Arbres photo from France. Diana demands to speak to River. Flyte informs her that he was taken. Diana shares the information with First Desk Claude Whelan (James Callis). He insists the attack was to recover River but she disagrees. Diana orders her team to take out the assailant and bring River in for questioning. Whelan changes the orders and tells the agents to kill River as well. She argues that he is making the wrong decision. He warns of what will happen if River has been converted.

Restrained in the boot of a moving car, River Cartwright (Jack Lowden installs a SIM card in a phone when the car comes to a stop. He stuffs the phone into his pocket before Patrice (Tom Wozniczka) opens the boot and orders him to get out. Patrice escorts him to a restaurant where Frank Harkness (Hugh Weaving) is waiting. Taking a seat across from Frank, River says hello Dad. Frank asks how long he has known. River explains how he compared the Les Arbres mural with birthday cards from his mother which were identical. Frank denies loving her and claims to have utilized her to secure funds and a means. River tells him that he wants nothing to do with him. Impressed with River’s skills, Frank offers him a job. River assures him that he doesn’t regret being raised by David Cartwright (Jonathan Pryce). He suggests Yves was declaring war on Frank, not the West. Frank expresses anger toward a deceased Yves for messing up the Westacres bombing. Holding his phone under the table, River secretively dials Louisa Guy’s (Rosalind Eleazar) number. Frank orders him to give it to him. Rive hands him the phone and claims to have called Childline. Frank removes the SD card and drops it into River’s beer bottle.

Catherine Standish (Saskia Reeves) and David arrive at Slough House. Moira Tregorian (Joanna Scanlan) suggests informing Sam Chapman (Sean Gilder) that David is there. Catherine assures her that Sam has bigger things to worry about. Louisa asks Catherine if she called her. Catherine says River has her phone. Louisa tries to call Catherine’s phone to find it turned off. Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) is watching CCTV footage of Patrice’s attack on Flyte’s convoy when Louisa asks him to trace Catherine’s phone because River has it. Marcus Longridge (Kadiff Kirwan) points out that the shooter took out the Dogs. Roddy warns of a shoot-to-kill order for River. He tells Shirley Dander (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) that Kim wasn’t real. A short time later, Marcus tries to buy his gun back but Dancer Blaine (Turlough Convery) increases the price to five grand. At the crime scene, a paramedic is treating Flyte’s injuries when Louisa approaches. Louisa comes clean about being MI5 before asking why the Park orders a shoot-to-kill for River. Flyte claims River was only concerned about David’s welfare and Whelan issues the order. Louisa receives a call from Roddy about CCTV picking River up near Granary Square behind St. Pancras and Dogs are in route. Flyte and Louisa race to St. Pancras.

Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) breaks into Sam Chapman’s (Sea Gilder) office where he finds him dead on the floor. Sam’s flight money is in a bag on the counter. He listens to Sam’s voicemails, one of which is Moira alerting him of David’s return to Slough House. Lamb retrieves a bottle of alcohol before leaving. Patrice listens to Moira’s voicemail from a remote location. Elsewhere, Frank tells River that they can start over in Europe. River curses him and demands he stay away from David. Frank says David can link him to Westacres. River says so can he. Frank explains how he can kill River by cutting his femoral artery and flee before the authorities are alerted. A team of Dogs can be seen outside racing toward the restaurant. Frank orders him to stand up. At Slough House, Marcus tells Shirley that Dancer Blaine upped the price of his gun but he won at horses. She nags him about gambling when a shot is fired. Catherine helps David stand up. Marcus cocks his gun as the door is slammed in. Hearing the racket, Roddy looks up as Patrice shoots at him. He flees up the steps. Marcus yells for the other to run. Patrice slowly ascends the stairs.

Frank escorts River out of the restaurant at gunpoint. River warns the Dogs that Frank is armed. Upon arriving at the scene, Flyte orders the Dogs to lower their weapons. At Slough House, a shootout between Marcus and Patrice continues. A frantic Roddy barges in covered in blood. David retrieves a gun from Lamb’s desk. Outside the restaurant, the scene is sheer chaos. Flyte and Louisa assure the Dogs that River is harmless. River reminds them that Frank is armed. Louisa informs him of the shoot-to-kill order. Frank drops a grenade into River’s jacket, yells grenade, fires several shots into the ground, and flees. River wrestles with his jacket and refuses to let Louisa help. Frank puts a cap on and continues walking. The Dogs aren’t going after him. At Slough House, Catherine assesses a frantic Roddy’s gunshot wound to find nothing but a mere scratch. He warns them that the shooter is the guy who took out River’s convoy. Moira fumbles with the gun and empties the chamber on the floor. Elsewhere, Frank is walking toward the train station with the Dogs in tow. At Slough House, JK Coe (Tom Brooke) calmly makes tea while Shirley frantically searches for a weapon. Settling on a knife, she leaves JK alone with his tea. The shootout continues. Patrice appears to have gotten hit. Shirley throws a pot of water at him. The pursuit for Frank continues. At Slough House, Patrice and Marcus repeatedly shoot at each other. Frank reaches the train station, raises the alarm, and continues walking.

At Slough House, Moira keeps her gun aimed at the door. Roddy convinces David to hide with him in the restroom. Catherine and Moira search for the two missing bullets. At the train station, River is in hot pursuit of Frank. At Slough House, Patrice is hit and slumps to the ground. An injured JK leaves. Marcus and Shirley join Moira, Catherine, David, and Roddy in Lamb’s office. Marcus says Patrice is hit but he is still out there. Shirley insists she go but Marcus refuses. Elsewhere, Louisa and River pursue Frank. At Slough House, Marcus turns toward a noise. The others hear a gunshot. Shirley takes Lamb’s gun. At the train station, River doesn’t see Frank anywhere. At Slough House, Shirley keeps her gun aimed at the door when Patrice shoots the window out. She empties the chamber. Moira holds up the missing bullet. Injured, Patrice throws something through the window, enters the room, and aims his gun at Shirley. Lamb approaches from behind and smashes the alcohol bottle over Patrice’s head. Shirley repeatedly hits Patrice and shoves him to the floor. Lamb tries to stop her from leaving. At the train station, River sits down next to where Frank is sitting. He asks what is it when you are being pursued, stand still. Frank lays his gun down next to River, pushes a button, and congratulates him on a job well done. River retrieves the gun, removes the magazine, recalls how Frank put a grenade in his jacket, and demands Frank not call him son. Flyte detains and escorts Frank away. A server delivers beverages. River drains one of the glasses.

At Slough House, Shirley looks at Marcus’ lifeless body on the floor. Lamb and Catherine work to restrain Patrice. Molly Doran (Naomi Wirthner) calls Lamb and insists he come to her flat to see something. Upon leaving, he orders Catherine to shoot David if he flees. She urges David to come out of the restroom but Roddy makes his stay put. Shirley threatens to kill Patrice. Catherine warns her against doing it while he is restrained. JK says Marcus loved her and wanted her to love herself. She hands the gun to him and walks away. JK shoots Patrice. At the Park, Frank tells Diana that he tried to convince his son, River, to join him in rebuilding. He urges her to fire River. She assures him that it is over for him. He claims to have left a failsafe and asks for a steak. Flyte alerts Diana of a problem. Frank offers her a job. A short time later, Diana arrives at Slough House to find Lamb drinking. She spots five envelopes addressed to the Heads of Services. He says there is a 12-hour deadline on Frank’s release or all five letters will be posted on the Internet. Frank has been doing their dirty work and contemporaries for years. He forces Diana to give Marcus’ family 10 years of wages.

Moira confronts Whelan about his alias, Galahad. She threatens to reveal his curb-crawling if he refuses to let her return to the Park with a pay raise. He agrees. River transports David to Sunny Times Homes, a senior care facility, where his room is waiting. David reminds him that he promised to never put him there. River says it is necessary for his own protection. A short time later, River meets Lamb at a pub. Lamb gives him an account of his movements to sign. River asks if he is trying to get a bonus. They have drinks as the episode ends.

 

Slow Horses Review

The half-baked finale leaves more questions than answers. Too many plot holes and implausible moments to make it remotely believable. The constant switching between scenes altered the story flow and made it a more tedious watch.

The writing, editing, and directing are subpar. The only element that has remained strong throughout is the acting. Apple TV should consider hiring a team of cinematographers and fewer producers and executive producers. It’s obvious that Danny Cohen cannot handle the job alone.

It’s questionable if Diana and Whelan would have allowed Frank to walk free with all the evidence he has against them. I could easily point out the plot holes but it would take too long.

It would be surprising if the series loses a large portion of its audience after this debacle. The finale deserves a 4.5 out of 10.

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