Slow Horses Season 3 Episode 4 Recap – What are Ingrid’s orders?

By Adam Lock - December 13, 2023 (Last updated: September 15, 2024)
Slow Horses Season 3 Episode 4 Recap
Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses Season 3 | Image via Apple TV+
By Adam Lock - December 13, 2023 (Last updated: September 15, 2024)
4

Summary

“Uninvited Guest” focuses more on the emotional aspects of the series. There is a lot more heart to this installment as the writers explore Louisa’s grief and River’s demons.

Slow Horses Season 3 has focused on Sean Donovan’s revenge mission, which has infiltrated into MI5. In Episode 4, “Uninvited Guest,” more of this backstory is explored as the Director-General plays a larger part in the cover-up. The Apple TV+ original series continues to mix tense espionage with comedy gold in a more emotionally layered installment.

The comedy might be a little hit-and-miss in this episode, but the stakes are raised in an explosive final third.


Slow Horses Season 3 Episode 4 Recap

The episode kicks off with Spider’s death being plastered all over the news. Ingrid pays Home Secretary Peter Judd a visit to discuss his Tiger Team going rogue. Peter fears that he will be forced to resign if this all comes out. He has a financial stake in Chieftain and was instrumental in the whole debacle. Ingrid promises to clean up his mess, although she may have ulterior motives for doing so.

Jackson Lamb updates his team about the kidnapping. Sean is refusing to let Catherine go and Spider is now dead. River and Louisa are left in shock as Jackson heads to church to meet with Ingrid. The Director-General wants him to escort Sean in and out of the storage facility, so that he can look at the Grey Books as requested. Ingrid has decided to give Sean exactly what he wants, to further tarnish Peter’s reputation. Jackson declines her offer though, fearing the repercussions.

River hated Spider, but he’s still floored by his rival’s death. Louisa tries to comfort River. The agent is then called about his grandfather, the retired MI5 officer, David Cartwright. His grandfather is starting to get forgetful and is in need of River’s assistance.

Why does River accept Ingrid’s mission?

Whilst supporting his grandfather, Ingrid calls River. She asks River to escort Sean and in return, she will wipe his slate clean. River accepts the deal, he wants his reputation reinstating and fears he cannot say no to his boss either. Ingrid was unable to coax Jackson into her plan, but River is willingly implicating himself. Unbeknownst to River though, Ingrid orders Duffy to follow him.

Meanwhile at the farm, Sean is clearly out of control having killed Spider, which was not part of the plan. Ben questions Sean’s motives, but the man just wants justice for Alison. His lover died and Sean needs his revenge no matter the cost. Sean interrogates Catherine about her knowledge of the storage facility. He has a specific file he needs retrieving and Catherine may know where it is.

Catherine refuses to help an enemy of MI5 though. Sean tries to connect with Catherine on an emotional level. He talks about his lover Alison, who also worked for MI5. Sean mentions a top-secret file she was going to leak, stating that Alison was killed for it. He wants to find that file, he needs to know why Alison died. Their conversation is interrupted though by the other hostage, Sturges, who makes his valiant escape.

Alison’s siblings Ben and Sarah then argue about the situation, worried about Sean’s unpredictable behavior and the escaped hostage. Catherine overhears them arguing and offers up the room number Sean was originally after, feeling sorry for the siblings. Ben and Sean head to the storage facility with this new piece of information.

Were Marcus and Shirley actually fired?

Back at Slough House, Roddy finds the farm’s location and River tells Jackson about Ingrid’s offer. Jackson allows River to escort Sean through Regent’s Park, but he can’t sit by while Catherine is in danger. Roddy and Jackson drive to the farm just in case Sean goes back on his word. As Jackson leaves the building, he bumps into Marcus and Shirley. He reiterates that they are both fired for disobeying orders.

Duffy heads over to Chieftain to rally the troops. He needs their assistance with Ingrid’s plan. Duffy interrogates Sly about the Tiger Team, gaining specifics on Sean, Ben and Sarah. He then updates Ingrid about these people, who are all connected to Alison. Ingrid seems to be aware of Alison, she investigates the matter further.

River tells Louisa about his solo mission and she decides to tag along, bringing her own gun with her. Together they drive to the storage facility. Before going in, River tries to comfort Louisa about her grief. This upsets Louisa, they argue but then hug it out. She secretly appreciates the support, even though she would much rather get her own revenge instead.

They then meet with Sean Donovan and Ben Dunn, outside the facility. The Tiger Team members are frisked and then the party enters the storage facility together. Douglas is keen to show them around, but Sean knows where to head. He goes rogue once more, ignoring Louisa’s orders. They pass the Grey Books and head straight towards a new room instead.

How does Slow Horses Season 3 Episode 4 end?

At the same time, Duffy and Hobbs show up with their small army of Chieftains at the bunker. Ingrid orders Duffy to kill everyone within the storage facility. Sean is after something specifically placed inside the storage facility and it cannot get out. Everyone involved must die. The episode concludes with Duffy organizing his troops ready to do battle with the small group of agents inside.

What did you think of Slow Horses Season 3 Episode 4? Comment below.


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