Slow Horses season 2 ending explained – why does Nikolai Katinsky want Jackson Lamb dead?

The second season of Slow Horses revolves around the pursuit of Russian crickets or sleeping cops. In ‘Old Scores’, the Slough House gang tries to protect London from a terrorist attack, while the true motives behind the Russian plot are revealed. While Louisa (Rosalind Eleazar) and Marcus (Kadiff Kirwan) try to flee the House of Glass, Lamb (Gary Oldman) pursues Nikolai (Rade Serbedzija) and the other disgraced cops go on foot to hunt for Andre (Marek Vasut).

The gang members feel like they could all be killed at any moment now that Min has cleared the way, adding to the tension in this segment. It adds an extra measure of suspense to an often predictable conclusion.

Slow Horses Season 2 Episode 6 Recap

The conclusion begins with these two grizzled old men talking about their unfinished business with Nikolai and Lamb. Lamb knows that Nikolai wants him dead because he has already killed one of his men, but Nikolai begs him to come back to his office for a nice chat. Nevsky was killed by one drop of radioactive poison, according to the former KGB spy; just think what he could achieve with a bomb of the substance. That’s a threat enough, so Lamb offers to meet Nikolai at the Russian’s workplace.

Meanwhile, the streets of London are filled with terrified protesters and office workers fleeing the impending attack. Standish moves in the opposite direction, towards the danger. Marcus and Louisa are stranded in the targeted building and Lamb has ordered her to go rescue them. Even with military helicopters on either side, the plane still flies into the city.

In the room where the meeting took place, Marcus and Louisa are trapped. They are locked inside by Pashkin and Piotr. Webb is still breathing, but his injuries have knocked him out. Kyril, the only security guard protecting Pashkin, is alive, though his wound could be fatal. Louisa tries to help, but ends up torturing the man to get information. According to Kyril, their goal was to shut down the Glass House so they could infect Nevsky’s computers with a virus. They then planned to empty his accounts. Nevsky didn’t have a thumb, which explains why; they needed it to access the accounts. The Russians then took his passwords in exchange for a quick demise, and gave Nevsky his rifle so he could eventually shoot himself. After reading this gruesome but accurate story, Louisa despises the Russians even more.

Shirley walks the streets without knowing where Andre is. It doesn’t matter, as Roddy is still watching him after following him aboard a train bound for Tunbridge Wells. Shirley makes the decision to claim a motorcycle and ride it to their destination. After days spent at their workstations, these unexpected heroes are now in the field.

River speaks awkwardly to Alex’s relatives in Upshott, as they are still reeling from the various surprises they received. River finds himself at the plane hangar after deciding to give them some distance. In yet another stunning turn of events, River discovers that all the bomb-making supplies are still there and undamaged in the hangar. Everything was a scam and one giant distraction. In reality, Nikolai and Alex wanted the city shut down for a different reason, but they wanted it to look like they were bombing the city. This explains why River was spared in the first place. River is afraid that he will repeat the same mistake and everything will happen again.

River calls Diana and says the bomb is a fake, disregarding the consequences. Although MI5 has their targets fixed on Alex’s plane, it may already be too late. They will have to take whatever action is necessary to bring down the plane if she doesn’t communicate with them or divert them within minutes. It’s irreversible. As Diana asks Judd for the last word, tensions are at an all-time high. That coward lets Diana make the decision!

It’s getting more and more exciting on the train. Our innocent Roddy tries to find Andre, but he’s already gone. A chase ensues as Roddy dodges Andre’s blows and his poisonous weapon, concealed in a ring, as he searches the aisles for the Russian spy. Roddy successfully defends himself and flees, hiding in the train’s toilet. Shirley gets into the carriage as it approaches the station and attacks Andre, sparing Roddy’s life. They are shot at by the cicada, but they are unharmed.

Marcus and Louisa had managed to get away on their own when Standish returns to the Glass House and climbs the stairs to warn them. The two discover Piotr dead on the floor and Nevsky’s severed thumb. It seems Pashkin killed his security guy out of greed to get some jewels. Louisa returns to Kyril with a picture of Piotr and asks for his help. What was the action plan? Pashkin planned to flee with an air ambulance. Louisa rushes to the roof and confronts Pashkin. When she asks why he killed Min, his answer – that he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time – makes Min’s passing a little more tragic. When Louisa tries to attack Pashkin, the Russian pulls out a gun. Marcus fires first, killing Paskin and preventing Louisa from being killed as he prepares to fire.

Slow Horses season 2 ending explained

In the Slow Horses season 2 finale, it was announced that Lamb and Nikolai would finally face off. With arms raised, the two veterans salute each other. Lamb acknowledges that he knew the threat was untrue, but he insisted on seeing it for himself. Lamb is nonetheless impressed as Nikolai has fooled everyone for years. He then used Upshott as the ideal distraction. Nikolai is most interested in learning about the victim who killed Lamb. The undercover opposition agent, Charles Partner, is then made public. Charles was a traitor and Lamb killed him as a result. Lamb laments the loss of Dickie and Nikolai laments Charles’s death. The last thing the dying Russian wants to know is whether Charles’s death was his fault.

Jackson Lamb, the rude commanding officer of Slough House, admits he made the mistake instead of Nikolai. The Russian agent then admits that he wanted revenge for Charles’ death and that he had first tried to demote Lamb and his staff on the track. What else can you do, jokes Lamb, considering how humiliated the gang already is. Then Nikolai adds more details and says he was in charge of ensuring Nevsky’s death and getting back the money he stole. Pashkin came into the plan at that time.

The sequence is then cut into a few others to increase the tension. Andre arrives on a quiet country road. River gets off the plane and walks across the grass. Andre then knocks on a door while holding a firearm. Gunfire is heard as River’s grandfather David Cartwright answers the door. However, David emerges triumphant by shooting Andre first. Lamb is one step ahead of Nikolai, he realizes. Lamb was warned that they would attack David. Lamb refuses to shoot Nikolai despite his request that he die quickly himself. In the end, the Russian spy takes his own life.

Judd receives a summary of the entire saga from Diana. Judd is frustrated with the whole situation and wants to blame River. Diana thinks it’s better to keep quiet and tell lies. Instead, they choose to place the blame on the prime minister, citing the need for improved defense systems. Lamb calls Diana afterwards and asks Min Harper to get a proper goodbye. However, Diana refuses. Louisa attends Min’s small funeral service and quickly leaves, sobbing uncontrollably. It was originally intended by Lamb for Min’s service to take place at another church in town, where the gang meets. They erect a memorial to the slain comrade, and Lamb then posts a letter for Dickie, but the writing soon hits the ground. Dickie had a special place in Lamb’s heart. He most likely understood Dickie’s efforts to be successful as an undercover spy all these years, which should at least be recognized or rewarded.