Apple TV+’s darkly comic and intense spy thriller series Slow Horses has returned for a third, critically acclaimed season, debuting all 6 of its installments weekly throughout late November and the entirety of December 2023. The latest season adapting Mick Herron’s Slough House series has focused on another nail-biting espionage storyline, which will be recapped in full in this article. So, without further ado, here are all the main plot points, and action-packed twists and turns from the show in our Slow Horses Season 3 recap.
Slow Horses Season 3 Recap
Episode 1 – “Strange Games”
In Istanbul, Sean Donovan chases after his lover Alison Dunn, who is planning on leaking an important MI5 document to the press. Alison is killed for the document, although they make it look like a suicide. Sean is unable to save Alison in time.
A year later, Slough House has become a dumping ground for MI5’s paperwork. Catherine and River argue over the importance of all these old files. That night, Catherine is kidnapped by Sean and his team.
The next day, the gang notices that Catherine hasn’t turned up for work and she isn’t answering her phone either. The team investigates further, concluding that she has been abducted. River receives a photograph as proof. He is then told to meet at a bridge in one minute, or else Catherine will be killed.
Episode 2 – “Hard Lessons”
River finds Spider at the bridge waiting for him. Spider is caught up in this too. River is told to break into Regent’s Park and retrieve a specific file to save Catherine’s life. River tricks Duffy and gains access to MI5’s headquarters. He then steals Hobbs’ security pass and enters the filing room to complete his mission.
Louisa investigates Catherine’s abduction and finds Sean’s identity and home address in an abandoned rented car. Jackson finds out that Chieftain are behind the kidnapping. He then realizes that Catherine isn’t in any danger and calls off River’s mission at the very last minute. River heads home after his failed mission, where he is kidnapped by Duffy and his men.
Episode 3 – “Negotiating with Tigers”
Director-General Ingrid Tearney hands in her resignation. She has discovered that Catherine’s kidnapping was just a training exercise organized by Home Secretary Peter Judd. He used a Tiger Team, led by Sean, to test MI5’s security defenses and Ingrid failed badly.
Peter won’t accept her resignation though, he just wants Chieftain to be hired to resolve MI5’s security issues instead. Of course, Peter has a financial stake in the whole debacle and wants his friend Sly Monteith to benefit from the incident. Meanwhile, River is beaten by Duffy and Hobbs. Later, Jackson gets River released.
Shirley and Marcus break into Sean’s flat. They discover Sean’s plans. He wants to break into the Grey Books next. Sean refuses to release Catherine and takes Chieftain’s Sturges hostage as well. Shirley and Marcus are arrested for breaking and entering. Shirley is found with drugs on her. Jackson fires them both on the spot for their incompetence.
Louisa and River investigate Chieftain’s headquarters. It’s revealed that Spider was also behind the Tiger Team operation. He has conned River once again. Spider’s boss Sly Monteith orders the safe return of the hostages. But Sean refuses to hand them over. Spider makes a remark about Alison and Sean loses it, killing Spider without a moment’s hesitation.
Episode 4 – “Uninvited Guest”
Peter discovers that his Tiger Team has gone rogue and fears he’ll be forced to resign over the scandal. Ingrid promises to clean up his entire mess for him before it goes public. She asks River to escort Sean to the Grey Books, conspiracy files that are kept safe in a storage facility. Ingrid sends Duffy to oversee the mission in secret.
Sean asks Catherine for the specific location of Alison’s file. Catherine refuses to help a traitor, but then changes her mind when Sturges escapes and she is told of Alison’s backstory. Roddy finds Catherine’s location. Roddy and Jackson drive to the farm to save Catherine.
Louisa and River head to the storage facility to escort Sean and Ben. Sean and Ben bypass the Grey Books though and head towards Alison’s file instead. Duffy is ordered by Ingrid to shoot and kill everyone inside the storage facility. She doesn’t want any loose ends.
Episode 5 – “Cleaning Up”
Deputy Director-General Diana Taverner and Ingrid discuss the mission back at Regent’s Park. It is revealed that it was Diana who actually orchestrated the whole thing. She wants Ingrid’s job and has planned to force her into resigning over the Istanbul debacle.
The incident with Alison in Istanbul is then explained. Ingrid had signed off on testing a device, which could wirelessly hack into encrypted computers. Alison tried to leak the scandal and Ingrid had her killed before she could. Now Sean wants revenge for Alison’s death and Diana plans to use this incident to her advantage, to take Ingrid’s job.
The Chieftain operatives break into the storage facility. Duffy kills Douglas. River asks Jackson for help. Jackson suggests calling Shirley and Marcus, whom he has just fired. River calls them and asks for backup. The duo soon arrives, but are caught up in another shootout.
Sean finds the precious file during their shootout. Ben is killed. One of the Chieftain soldiers throws in a grenade. River is flung across the room as the grenade detonates.
Episode 6 – “Footprints”
Louisa wakes River after the explosion. Sean is shot as the trio escapes. He passes them the file, asking them to leak it to the press. They part ways with Sean, leaving him for dead. He takes on the ensuing Chieftain soldiers but is killed by their leader, Fenwick. Louisa and Sean make it to the exit but find it heavily guarded. They cannot escape.
Meanwhile, Jackson makes it to the farm to save Catherine. They are pursued by Hobbs and Sturges. Jackson sets traps and is able to kill Hobbs. Sarah then kills Sturges on the stairs. Roddy turns up late and drives a double-decker bus into the farm after the situation has already been resolved.
Shirley and Marcus defeat their enemies at the storage facility. Duffy gets into a fistfight with Marcus. Shirley drives Marcus’ car into the Chieftain guards, clearing the exit for River and Louisa. Shirley then kills the remaining soldiers with a grenade. All the Slough House team have survived the raid.
Jackson and Catherine argue on the way home. Catherine quits her job and walks home alone. River takes the important document to his grandfather. David Cartwright burns the file in his fire, protecting MI5. Luckily, River had made backup copies of the file and he leaks them to the press anyway.
After the leak, Diana is instated as the Director-General, and Ingrid is forced to resign. Jackson can’t believe how diabolical and cutthroat Diana has been to get to the top, but he thinks she’ll come to regret it in the end and hate her new role in due course.
That is the full season recap of what happened in the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses Season 3. What are your thoughts on the third season? Please comment below.
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