Copyright Screen Rant
Warning! This articles contains SPOILERS for Slow Horses season 5, episode 5. Slow Horses' penultimate episode of season 5 wrapped up with MI5 taking a major hit in a packed episode ahead of the finale. Season 5 has taken some time to build momentum, with the team at Slough House spending almost half the season nowhere near the action happening around London. However, as the season comes to a close, all the previously established threads are finally coming together. With that in mind, episode 5 does a lot of heavy lifting, revealing some major developments, exposing the terrorist attackers, and revealing why the attacks across London have been happening. The previous episode saw Roddy Ho's girlfriend being brought into the Park for questioning, while the Slow Horses tried to fend off an assassination. Shirley Dander and Catherine Standish successfully protected Mayor Jaffrey, while River Cartwright and J.K. Coe accidentally ended up killing his political opponent, Dennis Gimball. The Terrorists Catch A Lucky Break As part of the destabilization plan that the terrorists are trying to implement, they needed to eliminate a high-profile target. The target was initially Mayor Jaffrey, whom they failed to assassinate thanks to Dander and Standish, but Cartwright and Coe's blunder inadvertently pushed the terrorists' plans forwards anyway. Episode 5 kicks off with the terrorists arguing due to their failed assassination attempt, and almost giving up on their plans. However, when they spot the news about Gimball's death, they realize their plans can go on unimpeded. Diana Taverner Fills In MI5 First Desk Claude Whelan Meanwhile, at the Park, Diana Taverner gathers all the latest information about the eventful day to present their findings to MI5 First Desk, Claude Whelan. When informed about Gimball's death, Whelan is clearly relieved and slightly joyful, due to previously being threatened by his wife Dodie Gimball to have his secrets exposed. In addition to Gimball's death, Taverner updates Whelan about the interrogation of Roddy Ho's girlfriend, who they mention is named Tara. Tara appears to have been an unwilling participant in the dealings with these terrorists, and she appears to have very little knowledge of their grand plans. River Cartwright & J.K. Coe Come To Terms With Their Mistakes On route away from the incident with Dennis Gimball, Cartwright and Coe try to get their story straight. Cartwright changes clothes to avoid the obvious evidence that he was standing next to Gimball when he died, and he appears to be incredibly stressed about the ordeal. Meanwhile, Coe seems completely level-headed. Cartwright then gets a message from Jackson Lamb inviting them to meet up and update Lamb on the details of what happened. Of course, this sends Cartwright into a further spiral, but both he and Coe decide to avoid sharing all the details of what happened surrounding Gimball's sudden demise. Jackson Lamb Deals With His Slow Horses As much as that is the plan for Cartwright and Coe, Cartwright almost immediately buckles under the line of questioning from Lamb. He reveals what happened, and hands over the tape recorder which contains evidence of their being present when Gimball died. Unbeknownst to Cartwright, this tape also includes a recording of an encounter between Claude Whelan, Dennis Gimball, and Dodie Gimball that is damning to all parties present. But before listening to the tapes, Lamb expresses his deep frustration with his team in his usual inelegent manner. Despite their monumental mistakes, Lamb forms a plan to fix everything, and continues in his investigation into the terror attacks with a wealth of information to piece together. Roddy Ho’s Girlfriend Confesses About Her Role In The Terror Attacks Back at the park, Tara slips up when revealing her continued role with the terrorists, and their plans to coordinate ahead of their next attack. She also reveals that she did not actually have feelings for Roddy Ho, and she was a willing participant in the stunts, though she was unaware of how extensive and violent they were. Tara initially joined the group as a political activist in hopes of protesting against injustices and making things better. But when the protests progressed into kidnapping and bombings, she was deeply frightened, and she was unsure of how to proceed. Lamb Informs MI5 About What To Expect Next Lamb arrives at the Park with several conclusions about what exactly is going on. He shares details about the destabilization theory and suggests what will happen next. Diana Taverner, having worked with Lamb for a long time, sees the wisdom in his counsel, while Whelan chooses to minimize and reject his ideas as groundless. Taverner then goes behind Whelan's back to have Tara questioned about the destabilization theory, and she confirms that that was in fact the plan. With this theory proven, MI5 begins to look carefully at what could be next, with the "Blind your Enemy" phase of the plan about to be enacted. Whelan Convinces Tara To Flip For MI5 With Whelan appearing somewhat deflated and put down, he opts to speak with Tara more directly and attempts to convince her to help them capture the terrorists. Whelan tries to charm and comfort the young woman, while simultaneously pushing her to make a potentially dangerous choice for his benefit. Tara is eventually convinced, and they set up a sting operation for her to meet her contacts before MI5 swoop in and save the day. In the run-up to this moment, Whelan speaks with Tara multiple times, reassuring and comforting her in an effort to prove himself and achieve the outcome he wants. Tara Reveals Her True Colors However, when Tara is sent into an underground station to meet her handlers, the signal goes dark and Whelan sends the team in to find her. It is at this point that Emma Flyte and the rest of the security unit discover that Tara intentionally ditched her tracking device and escaped. This moment clearly confirms that Tara has been playing a much larger role in the operation from the start, and that she was never compelled to take part. This is a devastating blow to Whelan's confidence, and one that spells serious trouble for MI5 in ways that they struggle to predict. MI5 Systems Go Completely Dark They don't have to wait long to discover what the implications may be, however, because mere moments later, Roddy Ho and a computer technician from MI5 discover that the contents of a USB from Tara contained a virus that not only retrieved confidential files about Claude Whelan, but now shuts down MI5's entire server. This leaves the Park completely in the dark, as every bit of surveillance and electronic equipment shuts down. Tara successfully played everyone, especially Roddy Ho and Claude Whelan, and now the destabilization efforts to blind the enemy have come into effect with MI5 having no access to their own technology and equipment. This sets the stage for an epic finale in Slow Horses season 5, episode 6. With Tara back on the street, the terrorists free to act, and effectively no help from MI5, London could be in real trouble. Fortunately, the Slough House team are ready and waiting to step up and put a stop to the chaos.
