Follies

**Follies** is the sixth episode of Season 1 of *Slow Horses* and the sixth episode of the series overall. It also served as the series first season finale. It aired on April 22, 2022 on Apple TV+.

## Summary

*Taverner and the Slow Horses attempt different approaches to locate the kidnappers and Hassan. Ho makes a shocking discovery about Sid.*

## Plot

Peter is awoken, told that Diana Taverner is downstairs waiting for him. In a car, River looks towards Peter's house, wondering what the others were up to. However, Lamb is not listening since he is asleep.

At the café, Ho tells Louisa, Min and Catherine that he cannot hack the satnav because one was not hired. He tells them that what he has done is hack into the van's theft recovery transmitter, but you only get signal of where the vehicle is every ten minutes. Catherine says that they should ring it in to the Park, but Min refuses, so she says that they should get it to someone else.

Peter walks downstairs, saying that he has no idea why she is there, but she says that she thinks he does, or he would be asking questions. She tells him that they know Hobden called him the day before repeatedly. He says that he has not seen Hobden in years, but she says that she also knows that after Hobden's visit, calls were made by him or someone close to certain individuals with links to the people who kidnapped Ahmed. She says that she could look through his phone records and check the calls made to the mothers of children Peter's wife is not aware of, saying that an agent of hers had been killed and Ahmed was missing because of a call he had made. However, Peter denies that he made the call, so Diana tells him he has minutes before she turns his life inside out.

Catherine tells the group that the woman on the phone probably would not help much since she was not able to say who was calling. Min says that he is going to the A12, so Louisa says that she would go with him as Catherine says that she and Ho would go to Lamb's apartment However, Ho says that Lamb is not at his flat.

Peter tells Diana that their discussion is not about whether he had made a call or if Hobden was there, knowing she is on the clock and needs something, so he tells her to ask. She tells him that she wants him to use his contacts in the far right to connect with the head of the Sons of Albion and find out where his boys would go if they wanted to leave the country. Peter says he does not know Simmonds, but Diana knows he had gone golfing with him before. She tells him that both of them have five minutes to cooperate or they would end up in a holding cell. Peter tells her that he knows about the Frontline Club and what Hobden had heard her overtell her brother. She asks if he wants to play his one card at that moment, adding that if she would go down, she could take him to the Park at that very moment. However, he tells her that they both share a connection to the unsavories through one man, so she tells him to start making calls.

Ho and Catherine reach Lamb and River, saying that they must have the photographs, which River confirms. Catherine tells them that Ho had worked out a way to track the kidnappers, so Min and Louisa had gone to look for them, which Lamb does not agree with, saying that he hopes they only get themselves killed and do not set an orphanage on fire. When Diana leaves Peter's house, Lamb tells her that they are headed to Harwich, knowing this thanks to Ho. He tells Diana that he would be going to bed and leaves Ho and Catherine behind. Ho hands Diana the van's plate number and the theft locator's ID. Catherine refuses to work with Diana unless she tells him about Partner's death, but she tells her that the ship had sailed when she pulled a gun on the Dogs.

Louisa tells Min that the kidnappers had stopped at the gas station they are at twenty minutes prior to their arrival, so they drive east.

Curly remembers his childhood, whole Hassan and Larry sit in silence. When Larry complains saying they should just go to the boat, Curly threatens to kill him, so Larry agrees to murder Hassan. However, Hassan tells Larry that he would not be shot at while driving because they could all die, but Curly asks him what would stop him from shooting him instead and Hassan reminds him that he wants to decapitate him while on his knees.

Ho tells Lamb and River that the van is twenty miles ahead of them and Min and Louisa are 10 miles ahead. River wants to know how Sid is, but Lamb grabs his phone and throws it to the back of the car, telling him that he needs to hear from him that Sid is gone. Lamb tells him to count himself lucky, which River does not agree with at first, but Lamb says that when he was River's age, he had lost many partners and would not forget Sid because she was the only one of them who was not complete shit. Lamb tells him to get used to death because he would see a lot more of it.

Larry and Curly take Hassan to the middle of the woods, making him get out of the van. Curly makes them both carry Zeppo and get rid of his body, so Hassan tries convincing him not to help Curly, but Larry tells him to shut up. Curly reaches them and orders Larry to tie Hassan's hands and feet as he reaches for his axe. After that, they all walk away from the van.

Min tells Louisa that he ran out of gas, which angers Louisa, who comes to the conclusion that Min had been thinking of having sex with her, which he denies.

Hassan tells Larry that he has an axe, begging him to help him. However, Larry says that Curly has a gun, but Hassan tells him that they would both die. Larry tells Hassan to get down near a bush and covers his mouth. He tells him not to move as Curly moves forward. He begins to help Hassan out, removing the straps on his hands and feet. Hassan starts running away from Larry, who runs towards Curly, saying that he had managed to get away. When he is close enough to Curly, he swings the axe and hits him, but does not kill him. Curly starts shooting at him as he runs away, which Hassan does as well. When Hassan reaches a tree, he stops to catch his breath for a few seconds, but when he turns around, he sees Curly pointing his gun at him.

Diana says she wants Ahmed's parents in London ahead of a successful outcome when Ingrid shows up. Diana tells her that the kidnappers were headed to Harwich and the Dogs were en route. Ingrid asks if the Slow Horses were in the building, but Diana says that they had been cleared since it appears Alan Black had been operating alone. Ingrid says that she prefers if Alan's story died with him and wants no witnesses.

Min and Louisa wait at the side of the road when the former tells Louisa that it had been a while since he had been with someone that did not completely hate him and both of them kissing had been great. He liked that they had had each other's back, but Louisa complains that without gas they could not catch the kidnappers. However, Min says that they were never going to actually catch them, since it just felt good being a part of something. Louisa says that it had been two years since somebody had her back. Lamb and River pass them on their car, but Lamb does not stop for them because he says that they have little time.

Larry drives the van to a pier, laughing in relief, but he is approached by Dogs and surrounded. He gets down on his knees and feels a wound, which Duffy mistakes for him reaching for a gun, so he orders his men to shoot him. However, when they reach the van, they find it is empty. Diana tells Duffy to retrace the route.

Ho calls River, telling him that the Dogs had shredded a kidnapper, adding that Taverner was not taking any prisoners. River asks about Hassan, but Ho says that there was no sign of him. When Lamb asks where the van had last stopped, Roddy tells him that that had happened five miles behind him.

Walking through the woods, Curly tells Hassan that he knew he had tried to turn Larry on him, so no harm done. However, Hassan says that Larry had scalped him, but that does not worry Curly. Hassan says that Larry had managed to get away, but Curly replies that he had let him get away, so Hassan taunts him, saying that Larry got away because he is a bad shooter. Curly says that he could shoot him right there, but wanted to do things medieval, which made sense considering his religion. However, Hassan says that he does not know the first thing about his religion.

Lamb and River pick Min and Louisa up, telling them to get into the car quickly.

Curly takes Hassan up to the Norman castle, which makes Hassan laugh. When Curly asks why he is laughing, Hassan tells him that the castle is not Norman, but a fake. When Curly asks why people would build ruins, Hassan says that they wanted to impress people. Hassan says that he paid more attention in his madrassa than Curly had in school, so the latter hits him with his gun.

Lamb, River, Min, and Louisa reach the last place where the van had stopped, which Lamb confirms was the right spot after seeing a dead body near them. Lamb hands River a gun and all of them except for Lamb move through the woods.

Diana watches as the Dogs move on a helicopter, ready to shoot on sight.

Curly sets up his camera and tells Hassan to kneel, saying that the boat had been blown and once the video was online, MI5 would be there. He says that they could either take him out, or he could use the last bullet on himself. Hassan realizes that Curly wants to become a martyr and he defends himself, saying that it was all about being part of something bigger than himself and was putting his country first, which is what made them win the war. Hassan tells him he is stupid, but is shot at in his arm. Curly tells him he is a good shot and says that the next shot would go towards his balls, but River shoots at him.

While being shot at by River, Curly gets behind a wall. Distracted, Hassan grabs a rock and throws it towards Curly's face, hitting him. Curly falls to the ground and Hassan picks up the axe, ready to kill him. However, River tells him to stop and says that he is part of MI5, so Hassan puts down the axe and tells Curly that he made him ashamed to be British. River binds Curly's hands together and looks as Hassan applies pressure on his wound. After that, River reaches Hassan and tells him that he needed to stop the bleeding on his arm, so he wraps a belt around his arm. Hassan asks if River could call his parents, but River says that he does not have a phone on him, which makes Hassan wonder what kind of a spy he is.

Duffy and the Dogs reach Hassan's location, where River, Min, and Louisa were waiting. Ingrid asks who they are and Diana confirms they are the Slow Horses. Duffy confirms the kill order, which Hassan says is wrong because he should go on trial. Min runs over to Curly and gives Duffy the finger, saying that the murderer is now unarmed. Louisa asks him what he is doing because he would get himself killed. River also runs over to Curly and they drag him away from the helicopter, covering him. Duffy asks for orders, and Diana tells them to stand down.

Ingrid leaves and tells Diana that the Slow Horses had screwed the entire service because the boy and the surviving kidnapper both knew that they had an agent on the inside. Diana says that she would handle that, which makes Ingrid wonder if she would handle it like she had handled everything before. Diana tells Ingrid that Black had been cleared from their records and they would make sure Hassan says nothing.

Curly is put in an ambulance as Hassan is taken away in another one. River, Lamb, Min and Louisa drive away as news vans fill the location.

Back at Slough House, River, Lamb, Min and Louisa see Ho and Ingrid watching the news. Catherine congratulates the Slow Horses and herself as Min says that he has a bottle of wine if anyone wanted to celebrate. Lamb asks why they would celebrate if they were useless. However, Ho says that he tracked the van, while River says that he had actually saved him, but Lamb replies that the kid had saved himself with a rock. River sarcastically says that he loves their team talks and Lamb tells them to get back to work, only to tell them to piss off instead when he learns it is Saturday.

Min wants to pour both him and Louisa some wine, but she says that she needs to sleep. However, she tells him that she is free for drinks later.

Ho shows River that there is no record of Sid having ever been at the hospital or in MI5, which means there would be no funeral or memorial service for Sid because she never existed. Ho asks for something in return after letting River know that Sid might still be alive somewhere and River tells him that the reason he is in Slough House because he is too good after having made everybody look bad, which Ho says make sense because you cannot cage a dragon.

Lamb has Taverner's pictures with Alan Black, which he puts in a bag.

River reaches his office and looks at Sid's desk. Wearing gloves, he sees Lamb leave with a bag and starts picking up the trash.

Hobden calls Natasha, telling her that he needs to be brought in and be put on air because what was being said on the news is bullshit. As he talks, Duffy walks past him and shoves him onto an oncoming truck.

Lamb waits for Diana, who greets him. He congratulates her for managing to keep the name Alan Black out of the headlines. She tells him that he never existed and corrects him, calling him Dermot Radcliffe, a Son of Albion. Lamb hands her the bag and she hands him an envelope. Lamb wonders if Hassan had heard anything strange, which she says is possible, but his student debts had been cleared and his comedy club would receive a large donation. He tells her that what he does not like is that she won, but she simply asks him what he would tell Standish about what was in that file and the photographs on Cartwright's phone. He tells her that the photos were deleted and she also asks if he wants Struan back. He tells her that she put him in a difficult position because she had offered him a return to the Park, but they both agree that he could be let go. After that, Diana asks about Cartwright, which Lamb does not answer.

River drives and meets with his grandfather, who asks him what he expected. River says that Stansted had not been him and they had rescued Hassan, so a clean slate at the Park did not feel like too much of a stretch. However, David asks him if he really believed that Taverner would confess her sins to benefit his career while also destroying her own. This makes River realize that he had covered her while she stabbed him in the back. David tells him to keep his head down, nose clean and maybe there would be a chance back in.

Lamb walks back into Slough House and walks into his office, opening Charles Partner's file, which had both Catherine and himself inside it. He puts it in a drawer and smokes as Catherine joins him. She asks him about Charles again and he reveals that he had given him the gun because he had asked for one and he was his friend. Lamb says that it had been after the wall came down and Charles had told him that he had seen some unfriendly faces. Lamb thought he was being paranoid, but it threw him off and put a dent in his armor. Lamb admits that he did not want to be in the field and wanted to be a civilian even less, which is why he asked for Slough House, where he could just run out the clock and nothing mattered and nobody got hurt.

In the past, Lamb walks into Charles' home. When Charles gets into the bathtub, he forces his head underwater and shoots his head, making it look like a suicide. After that, he gets into his car and meets with David Cartwright, telling him it was done, but so was he. David tells him that they could not find out, which Lamb says he hopes does not happen for his sake.

## Cast

### Starring

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

### Special Guest Stars

* Jonathan Pryce as David Cartwright
* Sophie Okonedo as Ingrid Tierney

### Guest-Starring

* Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy
* Saskia Reeves as Catherine Standish
* Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho
* Dustin Demri-Burns as Min Harper
* Chris Reilly as Nick Duffy
* Samuel West as Peter Judd
* Bally Gill as Agent Singh
* Antonio Aakeel as Hassan Ahmed
* Stephen Walters as Zeppo
* Brian Vernel as Curly
* Pierro Niel-Mee as Agent McCrae
* David Walmsley as Larry
* Paul Hilton as Robert Hobden
* James Faulkner as Charles Partner

### Co-Starring

* Melissa Suppiah as Mrs. Fatima Ahmed
* Christopher Coghill as Hobbs
* Lesley Harcourt as Agent Owen
* Ravi Aujla as Mr. Abdul Ahmed
* Charlotte Pyke as Olivia Judd
* Hywel Morgan as Steve Johnston
* Edmund Kingsley as Seb
* Johanna Taylor as Nell Wiseman

## External Link(s)

* Watch Season 1, Episode 6: *Follies* on AppleTV+