Slow Horses season 3 episode 2 recap: River races against a ticking clock

Slow Horses season 3 episode 2 literally races out of the gates, as River (Jack Lowden) has just a minute to get to the nearby meeting spot that Sean (Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù) gave him at the end of episode 1. When River gets there, he is surprised to find that it's not Sean waiting for him, but Spider Webb (Freddie Fox).

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Spider is out of the service, but he is in the thick of it here, as Sean and his group are threatening Spider's sister and her kids if River isn't able to get a specific file to them by midday. The problem is that file is in a secure area of the Park, which River's low-ranking won't allow him to access. But Spider admits that if anyone can do it, River has the skills to pull it off. River gets extra motivation when a sniper's laser appears on Spider's chest. But it also gives him an idea, as he grabs the fake diamond-studded tie clip that Spider is wearing and dashes off.

Unwelcome guests

River manages to get himself into the Park with about 25 minutes to go before midday. He then gets into the more secure area by telling Duffy (Chris Reilly) he has the diamond that was lost in season 2 (really Spider's tie clip). But Duffy doesn't trust River and wants to have it verified, forcing him to join him.

Lamb (Gary Oldman) gets back to Slough House and tries to gather his team back up to deal with Standish's kidnapping, worried that they are all being tailed and Slough House is bugged. On their way back, Shirley (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) and Marcus (Kadiff Kirwan) discuss working together to get themselves out of Slough House, while Louisa (Rosalind Eleazar) breaks into the car left by one of the kidnappers to get some info, finding a rental agreement. When Lamb tries to find River, Roddy (Christopher Chung) tells him he can't locate him because his phone is turned off.

Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) spots River with Duffy and demands to see him, forcing Duffy goes to get the diamond checked on his own. Taverner complains to River that whenever he shows up it wrecks everything, but he is barely paying attention, conscious of the ticking clock, and takes the first opportunity he can to leave. But rather than exit the Park like Taverner wants him to, he sneaks back into the secure area. Taverner spots this.

When Duffy gets confirmation the diamond is a fake, he asks Taverner where River is, but she lies and says she doesn't know, taking joy in the fact that since Duffy signed River in, anything that he messes up will be his problem.

Unfortunately, River can't catch a break. While he waits for an elevator to take him down to the storage room he is spotted by Hobbs (Chris Coghill), who is still sore about the time River got a jump on him and hit him with a fire extinguisher. When River tells him he's there to give a lecture to recruits about how not to be put in Slough House, Hobbs decides he is going to come along.

Recognizing the enemy

Lamb spots a suspicious suspect in a baseball hat outside Slough House and has Shirley follow him. Marcus joins in, following from the front, but they are quickly made and have to chase the guy through the streets. Unfortunately, he is picked up by a getaway van. Lamb somehow is already there, eager to chastise them for messing up. He then makes a call to "do some laundry."

Shirley and Marcus did manage to get the license plate of the van, but Roddy tells them it is a fake. When Louisa gives him the info from the rental agreement, he doubts the kidnapper would use his real name, but Louisa looks it up and confirms that it is Sean Donovan and finds out he is a special operative and gets his address, which Shirley and Marcus head out to investigate.

River, meanwhile, has to shake Hobbs, who is now asking where River's security pass is that lets him down where they are. River tells him it's on his phone (turning it on, which allows Roddy to locate him) but then hits him, grabs his security pass and makes a run for it.

As for Lamb, he meets his contact at the laundromat to go over what they know. Lamb says the kidnappers are ex-military, very organized, leading his contact to suggest they work for a private security firm, suggesting one called Chieftain. The contact is unclear why they would try and kidnap a secret service agent though, but Lamb has an idea.

Wild goose chase

River has to do some more tricky maneuvering to get around the growing security aware of his presence, but he does manage to get to the storage room where he finds Molly Doran (Naomi Wirthner). He asks her to get the necessary file, but she won't give it to him but does offer to call someone to help him — Lamb. Lamb tells River to leave, knowing that the kidnappers won't kill Standish despite their claims and what River is doing could actually hurt them. He's reluctant, but River does what Lamb tells him to do.

Lamb was right though, as Sean and cohort Sarah (Eliot Salt) don't kill Standish (Saskia Reeves), they instead bring her lunch and tell her that they are going to be moving her. Standish mentions this place doesn't feel like a traditional safehouse, it feels lived in, but they don't say anything to that.

Louisa passes along that Sean Donovan is a Chieftain operative, but Lamb is two steps ahead of her, explaining this is all about money. Louisa doesn't understand, so he tells her to think about it as she goes to Chieftain headquarters.

When River gets out of the Park, he calls Lamb, who explains that a Tiger team has Standish. But River has to worry about Dogs at the moment, as Duffy and his team track him down.

New episodes of Slow Horses season 3 premiere Wednesdays on Apple TV Plus.