River Cartwright has certainly got himself in a spot of bother. Chernitsky, Katinsky and Alex have him tied up at the airfield, as he realizes their plan to fly a bomb into London and set it off during the protest march.. or something near the march. Such as the speech Diana is set to attend. Perhaps this time River will learn his lesson about running off without backup and trying to be the hero.
Lamb arrives at the Park as people begin to arrive for the protest march nearby. I’d love to know what happened in the past for him to not be allowed a pass to get inside the Park, but mock-flashing the security cameras seems to do the trick. He states the investigation into Min’s death was botched, and manages to gain the access he seeks.
Cartwright is still tied up at the airfield as Alex flies the plane bound for London. The protest march numbers are building. Meanwhile, Louisa and Marcus enter the hotel and meet with the Russians for their assignment. They pat down they Russians and Pashkin. Everything seems to be in order for the meeting.
Lamb finds an old friend in the Park records department and asks about Katinsky’s file, while Diana and the man who helped Lamb get into the Park are waiting for Peter Judd. They have a significant police escort to the speech venue to ensure they don’t clash with the protestors, but they have no idea about the bomb threat. Yet.
Chernitsky is London bound by car, with Roddy still tracking the planted phone. Lamb finds nothing of interest in Katinsky’s file or old video interviews, but starts to suspect Katinsky is a bigger fish than he thought. Roddy and Shirley catch Catherine up on Chernitsky’s latest movements. Catherine is adamant Krymov knows more than he let on last night about Pashkin and Katinsky, so she returns to talk to him again. Roddy and Shirley head out into the field.
Catherine challenges Krymov to a game of chess. If she wins, he tells her the truth about Pashkin. If she loses, she must drink. Both agree to the terms, but I doubt Krymov will stick to them. Meanwhile, Marcus and Louisa’s meeting assignment is going as planned, so far. Webb meets them at the venue, and promptly embarrasses himself in front of Pashkin and the two Russians.
Diana and Peter are on their way to the speech venue. Peter wants to step up, and wants Diana to help him do it. He asks her to put the word out that he’s the best candidate to “keep the nation safe” but she’s not enthusiastic about it. If she helps him, he will help her step up herself within MI5.
Kelly and her father arrive at the airfield to find Cartwright tied up and Alex gone. He tells Kelly her mother got him with a taser, tied him up and then took the plane but she does not believe him. Kelly’s father Duncan seems to be stunned at the news that his wife is a Russian sleeper agent. River identifies himself as an MI5 agent but it all seems ludicrous to Kelly and Duncan. It finally starts to sink in when they find a note Alex left behind, along with her wedding ring
Webb continues to embarrass himself. It comes as a surprise when Pashkin wants to discuss security for a potential meet between Diana and Nievsky – which would be a little difficult, considering Nievsky is dead.
Kelly and Duncan finally untie River, who immediately calls into the data center with a Code September. Duncan speaks to Alex over the radio, pleading with her not to go through with the bomb. She cuts the radio off, making Kelly and Duncan finally believe River’s story.
The protest is in full swing. Peter Judd arrives and waves to the crowd simply to be a prick. Diana watches on. River is patched through to her directly to relay the news of the bomb on the way. Diana is forced to trust his information and pull the pin on Judd’s event. He does not believe Diana at first, and is convinced the protestors are messing with him. He soon realises Diana is deadly serious, and the pair leave the event.
While still in the archives, Lamb sees the Code September alert on a computer screen. He begins calling his team, but nobody answers their phones. Diana returns to the Park to monitor the bomb threat, which has made the news and has the protestors scurrying in all directions. Roddy and Shirley are in the city center tracking Chernitsky with a laptop and spot him entering a train station.
Catherine wins her game of chess against Krymov, and is annoyed when he refuses to honor the terms of their deal. She threatens him by saying she’ll tell those he ratted out years ago that it was him who turned them in. He gives in. Catherine calls Lamb to tell him that Krymov met Katinsky, not Pashkin. Katinsky is the one who wanted Slough House involved – and Catherine suspects it’s because Katinsky wants to see the downfall of Lamb.
Lamb discovers documents in the archive that state he was the one who signed Katinsky in – even though that’s impossible, as Lamb was in Prague at the time. So who forged his signature? Lamb suspects a traitor right at the top – Ingrid? Diana? He also surmises Katinsky is dying, and has unfinished business which is why all of this has come up now.
An evacuation alarm sounds in the boardroom, interrupting the meeting between Webb and Pashkin. Pashkin pulls a gun on Webb, and Louisa states that Nievsky is dead – news to Webb, but not to Pashkin. The Russians pull out a lock, intending to lock everyone inside the boardroom when Webb loses it and starts yelling at Pashkin. A bullet silences him. Marcus pulls a gun he taped to the underside of the table and manages to hit one of the Russians in the leg, but the other one and Pashkin escape.
The stage is set for an epic season 2 finale showdown, with the bomb still in the air and many chess pieces still at play. I can’t wait to see how it all ends!
