Summary
Gorgeously cinematic and relentlessly intense, “Cleaning Up” is a thrilling penultimate episode from the series. Five stars all round.
Duffy and a team of professional killers have River, Louisa, and three other people cornered at a storage facility in Episode 5 of Slow Horses Season 3, “Cleaning Up.” The Apple TV+ series ups its game in the third season’s penultimate episode as the Slough House gang attempts to save their trapped comrades from almost certain death. This superb setup leads to another tense and highly entertaining installment from the series.
This is an action-packed and highly entertaining episode, even for Slow Horses’ high standards. “Cleaning Up” has it all: Humor, action, tension, and exceptional writing.
Slow Horses Season 3 Episode 5 Recap
“Cleaning Up” opens with Duffy barking out orders to the Chieftain soldiers. This re-establishes the stakes of the episode. River, Louisa, and everyone else currently found inside the storage facility are to be killed on sight. Meanwhile, at Regent’s Park, Ingrid and Diana discuss the chaotic situation, revealing their true involvement in the whole saga.
Diana wants Ingrid’s job as Director-General, so she has orchestrated the entire mission. She planned the whole thing. Diana explains how she wanted Ingrid to resign after the Istanbul debacle, but that didn’t play out the way she wanted it to.
Why was Alison murdered?
It’s revealed that Ingrid had signed off on testing a device, which could wirelessly hack into encrypted computers. The Istanbul mission ended with Alison’s murder, as she was going to blow the whistle on this illegal testing. Ingrid ordered Alison’s death to stop it from getting out. Diana needs the Slow Horses to defeat Duffy and the Chieftains, and then escape the facility, or else her plans are all for nothing. Both have so much riding on this one event.
The Chieftains make their way to the facility’s entrance. They block off all the exits bar one. Douglas updates River and the others on the escalating circumstances. River realizes that they plan to storm the building. He phones Jackson for advice. Jackson suggests calling Marcus and Shirley, whom he has just sacked — they should be free to help out.
Meanwhile, Marcus and Shirley are drowning their sorrows down at the pub. They decide to hand in their passes and collect their belongings. River phones just as they are leaving the building. He asks for their help, but the Chieftains cut the phone lines before he can give any further details. Marcus and Shirley agree to support their former work colleagues, hoping to get their jobs back in the process, because of their bravery.
Back at the storage facility, Sean and Ben manically search for the all-important Footprint file. Ben explains the backstory, telling Louisa about Alison’s death and the document she planned on leaking, adding that Ingrid is to blame.
What happens to Douglas?
The Chieftain operatives set explosives, detonate them, and then enter the facility. Douglas quickly surrenders and is taken to see Duffy. The lead operative refuses to kill an unarmed man, so Duffy takes charge. He kills Douglas without any remorse because the man appears to know too much about the mission. It seems that Douglas was killed because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
River rushes back to the filing rooms to update Louisa on the siege. Another shootout follows. River and Louisa block the doors between them and the filing rooms. They try to persuade Sean and Ben to flee, but they won’t leave until they’ve found the file they are after.
At Regent’s Park, Diana and Ingrid talk about the plan. Ingrid is impressed with Diana’s scheme. She was the puppet master, who liaised with Peter Judd, Chieftain, and Spider. Diana admits that there was a little luck involved, but this shootout at the storage facility could go either way now. Whoever comes out on top takes the MI5 title. They nervously await the results.
Elsewhere, Roddy and Jackson make it to the farm. Jackson breaks into the building to find Catherine playing Scrabble. They are about to leave when a suspicious-looking car pulls up. Jackson believes that these people are here to kill them. The Slough House leader casually asks Sarah if she has any explosives on her. He needs to prepare to fight back.
What is Marcus hiding in his car?
Marcus and Shirley make their way to the storage facility. On their arrival at the bunker, Marcus unveils a pair of professional weapons hidden in his family car. The duo enters the facility, instantly finding themselves locked in another shootout. Marcus is energized by this action-packed battle, whilst Shirley is audibly frightened.
Who is killed in “Cleaning Up?”
The episode ends with Sean finding the top-secret file after all. The gang is still in the middle of their shootout though, with no way of exiting the building unharmed. Ben asks River for a gun, to help in the shootout. River refuses to hand him one though, so Ben steals a dead soldier’s gun instead. Unfortunately, Ben Dunn is shot and killed in the shootout. Both Ben and Douglas are killed in this installment.
Things only get worse for River and the gang after this latest setback. A Chieftain operative throws a grenade into the fray. In the final shot, we see River thrown across the room in slow motion as the grenade explodes.
What did you think of Slow Horses Season 3 Episode 5? Comment below.
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