“Slow Horses” season 1 ends with an appropriately named “Follies,” or “a flurry of twists and revelations, in episode 6. The Slow Horses and MI5 are still keeping a close eye on the kidnapping of Hassan Ahmed, but larger games are being played out as well.
A startling disclosure regarding the relationship between Jackson Lamb and Catherine Standish not only provides us with a fascinating glimpse into their pasts but also sustains the narrative until the very end of the season finale. Let’s see if we can remember everything from the sixth episode of “Slow Horses.”
The episode begins with Jackson and River being freed by the MI5 after they successfully use some damning evidence to blackmail Diana Taverner. The head of MI5 then approaches right-wing politician Peter Judd, threatening to expose his numerous extramarital affairs and his links to corrupt organizations.
She requests information from Peter regarding Hassan Ahmed’s kidnappers in return for his quiet. After Zeppo dies in episode 5, the kidnappers—now reduced to just Curly and Larry—move on to a hidden location where they plan to kill Hassan and record it on camera.
When Larry gets there, he leaves Curly behind and helps Hassan escape in their van. Unfortunately for Larry, the kidnappers’ automobile has been monitored by the MI5, who quickly discover him and execute him. Curly locates Hassan in the meanwhile and kidnaps him once more.
The Slow Horses approach Curly, and Hassan’s position after Roddy’s information from the compromised MI5 servers, and River eventually finds the kidnapper and his captive. Hassan takes the kidnapper out while Curly tries to repel River. Then, in an attempt to “neatly tie up” the entire operation, the MI5 agents try to assassinate Curly, but River, Min, and Louisa stop them.
Ending Explained
After Hassan Ahmed is saved, Diana Taverner and Ingrid Tearney, her supervisor, start to hide their traces. Diana is given the strict directive to remove any files that link Alan Black to the MI5. As expected, the Slow Horses receive no recognition for saving Hassan, but Jackson Lamb retrieves Catherine Standish’s private records from Diana.
The concluding scenes of the first season of “Slow Horses” explore Jackson Lamb’s enigmatic past with Catherine Standish. Confidential pages concerning Catherine, her late husband Charles, and Jackson appear in the personal file he receives from Diana, suggesting a possible relationship between them.
The bombshell revelation that Jackson killed Catherine’s spouse and staged it as a suicide brings the show to a close. But let’s look at the main mystery first, despite all the twists and turns the season 1 finale throws at us.
After a harrowing kidnapping, Hassan Ahmed is eventually saved by River Cartwright and the Slow Horses. When things get dangerously close, Curly is stopped just in time to kill the young student. Then, Hassan must suppress the impulse to murder Curly himself, which he eventually resists.
Although Hassan is secure, the MI5 are closely monitoring him. One of the few individuals who is aware of MI5 agent Alan Black’s role in the kidnapping is the previous victim of kidnapping. Diana needs Hassan to say nothing, so she must. In this sense, the young man’s loans from university are erased, and his comedy club receives a covert grant from the MI5.
It seems from his brief news conference that Hassan is not too interested in disclosing any information and becoming more involved in an alleged CIA plot. Diana Taverner’s schemes virtually collapse when Hassan is found before her by the Slow Horses. She not only fails to get to the hostage before anybody else does, but she also fails to take Curly’s life and silence him for good.
Like Hassan, the kidnapper is aware that Diana was abducted by an MI5 agent; if this information were to come to light, it would be extremely uncomfortable for Diana. But Diana, being an experienced power player, steps in ahead of the game, and she and her boss, Ingrid Tearney, are given credit for Hassan’s daring escape.
Meanwhile, she must continue to take precautions to keep her relationship with Alan Black a secret. She must also provide Catherine Standish’s private records to Jackson Lamb to guarantee his silence on the subject. Jackson Lamb and Catherine Standish had an unusual history together, which is hinted at in the season-ending episode.
It’s clear that the former is keeping a lot from the latter, and when pressed, Jackson eventually admits that he gave Charles, Catherine’s husband, the gun he used to end his own life. Even if Catherine is taken aback by the information, the truth seems weirder.
