Drinking Games

**Drinking Games** is the third episode of Season 2 of *Slow Horses* and the ninth episode overall. It aired on December 09, 2022 on Apple TV+.

## Summary

*River gets cozy in the Cotswolds while searching for a sleeper agent. Min discovers Russian drinking games are the most brutal of all.*

## Plot

Min is downing shots with the Russian security personnel. The gun to the neck, as it turns out, was all just an elaborate joke, and they tell Min he can relax now. The trio starts to bond over vodka shots, and Piotr brags about the Russians being better at their job than the British. They knew Min was following them from the very first moment he started cycling after their taxi. The three men laugh and joke as Min gets considerably drunker. He departs, taking off on his bicycle and refusing a cab ride home.

River sports his new secret identity, with some rather fancy, designer glasses. He books in at the local B&B under the guise of an investigative journalist, who is doing a piece on the culture clash between rural life and city life in Upshott. River may not know it, but he is just the bait here. Lamb wants the Russians to grow more suspicious and eventually make their presence known. River overhears the bar lady Kelly chatting with her father on that first night. He has noticed that the guest bedroom is taken.

The next day Kelly offers to show River around the village. It happens to be a very quick tour, but she suggests giving him an aerial one as well. She’s also a pilot and her father owns the local Flying Club. While they are up in the air performing nauseating loops, her father inspects River’s wallet and phone that were left in a locker on terra firma. River is fully aware that his possessions have been tampered with. Our secret agent is instantly suspicious of this man and speaks with Lamb about his concerns later that day.

While River is used as bait, the other Slow Horses continue their investigation. Roddy is listening in on Andre’s phone and Shirley is sieving through all of the Heathrow CCTV footage. Lamb is informed that one of his team members has been killed. The agent, who was clearly on to something, becomes the second casualty in this Russian saga. Lamb and Catherine Standish drive over to the scene of the crime. It looks like a standard car crash, with the perpetrator shaking to one side.

Standish informs Louisa of the devastating news and of course, Min’s lover is heartbroken. She asks Lamb if she can stay busy and keep on with the Russian job. Louisa is highly suspicious of the Russians, who she believes are involved in the murder, and she clearly wants to keep a closer eye on these untrustworthy criminals. Lamb accepts and offers up Marcus in Min’s place.

Diana and her team are busy preparing for the anti-capitalist march in London, which is predicted to include over ten thousand protesters. Slimy Home Secretary Peter Judd, who the protesters hate, has decided to give a speech on the very same day. Diana and Duffy are to organize Judd’s security. Webb appears with news of Min’s death. Of course, Diana is already aware of this ‘minor hiccup’ in Webb’s plan, but she is happy for the operation to continue if Min’s death is considered clean. Webb is then knocked down a peg or two by his boss, who warns him not to trust Lamb or any of the other Slough House employees. Later, Judd asks for Diana to ride alongside him instead of Duffy and she unwillingly accepts his invitation.

Lamb knows Min’s death wasn’t an accident and he kick-starts his own private investigation. He gets a file on the driver. She has ties to Russia and he follows her around town. The chain-smoking slob phones up River and updates him on Min’s passing. He warns his field agent to be careful. Moments later, River is invited to Kelly’s parents for a meal.

Back in London, Louisa and Marcus meet with the Russians for the bug sweep of Pashkin’s meeting place. The Russians pass on their condolences about Min’s passing. The sweep runs smoothly and they are then introduced to Pashkin himself. The Russian states that he works on special projects for Nevsky. He repeatedly offers the Brits a drink, which they graciously decline.

The countryside meal is rather awkward, with Kelly’s dad Duncan being visibly antagonistic toward River. It become abundantly clear that Duncan has secrets and River’s cover starts to appear paper-thin, to say the least. While River is presented with a delicious three-course meal, his fellow teammates make some stark discoveries.

Lamb questions the driver, who admits that she didn’t actually drive the car and Min didn’t actually die in a car crash. Shirley spots Andre on the CCTV footage, disposing of his phone in a stranger’s bag at the airport, thus creating a decoy. He never got on a flight to Estonia, which means he’s still in the local area. Standish calls River to warn him, but it is too late. At the meal, a man called Leo joins the party. Leo is a large, bald fella with a distinct Eastern European accent. River shakes hands with this Leo character, who is most definitely Andre Chernitsky.

## Cast

### Starring

* Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb
* Jack Lowden as River Cartwright
* Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner

### Guest-Starring

* Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy
* Dustin Demri-Burns as Min Harper
* Saskia Reeves as Catherine Standish
* Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho
* Chris Reilly as Nick Duffy
* Freddie Fox as Spider Webb
* Samuel West as Peter Judd
* Aimée-Ffion Edwards as Shirley Dander
* Kadiff Kirwan as Marcus Longridge
* Zachary Baharov as Piotr Volodin
* Marek Vašut as Andre Chernitsky
* Yerden Telemissov as Kyril Asimov
* Sean Gilder as Sam Chapman
* Tamsin Topolski as Kelly Tropper
* Alec Utgoff as Arkady Pashkin
* Catherine McCormack as Alex Tropper
* Emily Bruni as Rebecca Mitchell
* Adrian Rawlins as Duncan Tropper

## Gallery

### Videos

Slow Horses S02 E03 Sneak Peek - 'Tell Me What You Know'

## External Link(s)

* Watch Season 2, Episode 3: *Drinking Games* on AppleTV+