Summary
Slow Horses steps up the pace in “Negotiating with Tigers” with assured confidence and more of that delightful British comedic wit.
Disgraced MI5 agent River Cartwright has spent the majority of Slow Horses living in his grandfather’s shadow, whilst succumbing to some of the worst luck imaginable out in the field. That unlucky streak continues in Episode 3, “Negotiating with Tigers.” In this hugely entertaining installment, River feels Duffy’s wrath after embarrassing him and all of Regent’s Park, whilst the motives behind the kidnapping become clearer as the mystery of Season 3 unfolds.
This is a cleverly written, hilarious offering, with a handful of surprising plot twists thrown in which majorly ramp up the tension.
Slow Horses Season 3 Episode 3 Recap
“Negotiating with Tigers” sees the show and its narrative gearing up somewhat as we reach the halfway point in the season. The third episode opens with Director-General Ingrid Tearney handing in her resignation letter to Home Secretary Peter Judd.
Why was Catherine Standish kidnapped?
It is revealed that the kidnapping of Catherine Standish was just a training exercise to test the organization’s defenses. Ingrid accepts that MI5 failed the exercise and she admits defeat. A tiger team from Chieftain, led by Sean Donovan, was hired by Peter Judd to assess weaknesses in MI5 and they were successful in their mission objective.
Peter rejects Ingrid’s resignation letter but details his plans moving forward. He wants to bring in Chieftain as advisors to help with MI5’s mediocre security systems. Ingrid points out that the CEO of Chieftain is Sly Monteith, one of Peter’s old school friends. He’s clearly entering into a selfish financial agreement here, one that will be rather profitable for the politician.
Meanwhile, poor River is beaten by Duffy for embarrassing him and finding faults in the organization. River was tasked with retrieving a file from Regent’s Park and nearly succeeded, but Jackson told him to stand down at the last minute. River says that it was all just a misunderstanding, although he is still beaten and bloodied for his actions. Duffy informs River that Catherine is fine, it was all just a Tiger Team operation after all.
Sean Donovan is then congratulated for completing his mission. He meets with Chieftain employee Sturges. Sean is offered his rewards, but quickly turns on Sturges, taking him hostage along with Catherine (again), who was never actually released. There is clearly more to Sean’s plans.
These plans are discovered by Slough House employees Shirley and Marcus, who are staking out Sean’s flat. Shirley grows bored and breaks into the apartment. She heads straight to the toilet to snort some Class A drugs, leaving Marcus to come across Sean’s plans wallpapered throughout the house.
What are the Grey Books?
Phase One of Sean’s plan was the Tiger Team operation, but Phase Two is still ongoing. Sean wants to gain access to Regent’s Park’s Grey Books, where all of the known conspiracy theories in the world are analyzed, debunked, and then filed away. They send photographs of Sean’s plans back to Jackson and Slough House.
Unfortunately, they were spotted breaking into the flat and are subsequently arrested by the police. Marcus is able to show them his agent credentials, but an officer finds Shirley’s drugs anyway. Jackson is informed of the awkward encounter and decides to sack both of them on the spot.
Jackson then updates Deputy Director-General Diana Taverner all about Sean’s plans to gain access to the Grey Books. Diana’s demotion means she is now in charge of these aforementioned files, although she hasn’t been given any demands by Sean just yet. Because of this heads-up, Jackson asks for River back in return. Duffy and Hobbs finish their assault on River, who is then collected by Jackson in person. Jackson is amused by River’s wounds, ordering him to meet up with Louisa next.
A busy Jackson then meets up with Chieftain’s CEO Sly Monteith. Jackson informs Sly that Sean and his gang have gone rogue. At the same time, Louisa and River head to Chieftain for answers. There they meet Spider, who was also unwittingly involved in the Tiger Team operation.
Who does Spider work for now?
The trio head upstairs to meet with Chieftain’s Command and Control Executive Officer. This happens to be Spider, who was conning them all along. Spider faked the sniper threat and the frightening demands from Sean. His rival has royally played River. Rubbing further salt into his wounds, Spider adds that he will be part of Peter Judd’s advisory committee and he’s going to get Slough House shut down for starters.
How does Slow Horses Season 3 Episode 3 end?
Spider’s victory is short-lived though as Sly enters the building. The CEO demands to know what is happening with Sean Donovan and his Phase Two plans. Spider casually states that everything is under control. Sean will never get access to the Grey Books; the hostages will be released without any harm coming to them.
Sly orders Spider to get the hostages released right away. Spider meets with Sean, offering him money instead of the Grey Books. Sean declines the money though. Angered by Sean’s mind games, Spider makes a quip about Alison’s death. Sean responds by knocking Spider clean out, smashing his head into the car window.
The episode ends with Jackson crashing Peter and Sly’s lunch meetup. As they discuss the Tiger Team debacle, Sean drops off Spider’s corpse at the entrance to the restaurant.
What did you think of Slow Horses Season 3 Episode 3? Comment below.
RELATED:
