Slow Horses — “Scars” — Season 5, Episode 6 Spoiler Review and Recap

With MI5 flying blind and Farouk’s team on their way to the last piece of the plan, London is in serious danger. Of course, our team from Slough House has people in position to help when the arises, but Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) is going to have to get the best out of his team. Can River (Jack Lowden) stop his fall from grace? Or will Dander and Coe need to rise to the occasion? “Scars” is the season finale, and it’s a good one.

Slow Horses — “Scars” Recap

Taverner and Whelan wait for more information from Roddy and the tech team when a countdown appears. They confirm they cannot reverse the code Tara gave until after the countdown. They hear the Libyan Embassy is on the line, but when the phone gets to Whelan, it’s actually Tara holding the ambassador at gunpoint. She demands to speak to Taverner because she’s actually competent. Tara demands $100 million before the countdown ends, or they will attack a place of worship.

Jackson Lamb gets the phone call from Taverner, who believes Lamb knew what Tara was playing. He admits he was suspicious, but after reading Whelan’s file at Molly’s, he knew Whelan was an obvious target. Taverner gets information about a company linked to the account Tara gave her and confirms “he is coming” to MI5. She tells Whelan to get approval for the $100 million from the PM or they will have a second Abbotsfield.

River asks Lamb if they’re going to do something while he ignores another phone call from his grandfather. Lamb gives River’s grandfather a backhanded compliment but confirms there’s one place that makes sense for the terrorists to attack. Coe walks out of the room, with Dander and River quickly following him.

Taverner meets with Peter Judd (Samuel West), who confirms the Libyans are likely the same extremists he warned her about. During a phone call with the PM, Whelan blames Taverner for the lack of time left on the clock. Meanwhile, Taverner calls Tara and confirms they’ll pay out. However, if there is violence, the MI5 agents around the embassy will storm it.

Tara calls Farouk and confirms the money came through. He thanks her, but tells Tara they will still move forward with the plan. Kamal and Farouk confirm their weapons are loaded. Sami tries to stop them because this attack is unprincipled, but instead quits the team and runs from the van. Kamal and Farouk continue without him.

Lamb and Standish sit across the street from the embassy, with Lamb chowing down on a sandwich. As he does, he explains that Tara is likely finding out she was not in control of the other men. He tells Standish to “knock on the door” of the embassy and have Tara step out into the street. This will stop the dogs from killing Tara.

When Standish gets inside, Tara uses Standish as a human shield. She runs the way Standish expected she might. When she gets to the end of the alley, Lamb is waiting. He arrests her, and the dogs catch up to take Tara back into custody.

River, Dander, and Coe arrive at the Abbotsfield mourning event. As Mayor Jaffrey (Nick Mohammad) speaks to the congregation, River enters the room and tells everyone to leave. While Jaffrey fights with River about the lack of information, Farouk and Kamal enter the building. Farouk wants to kill the mayor before he goes after the others.

Jaffrey calls Whelan to confirm the attack and hands the phone over to River so the first desk can yell at him. As Whelan tells River there would be no attack, let alone one at Abbotsfield, Kamal opens fire. Coe passes his gun to Dander, who takes down Kamal, but not before Farouk holds Jaffrey hostage. As River and Dander argue about how to react to Farouk’s demands, Coe sneaks up and stabs Farouk to death.

Flyte tells Taverner that they eliminated two of the Libyans, arrested Tara, and that Taverner should be protected from the blowback. Taverner thanks Flyte but believes others will try to cover their tracks with “London Rules” rather than circling the wagons. She knows that Whelan will look for a way to save himself at someone else’s expense. As she says this, Judd calls Whelan with a proposal.

River visits his grandfather at his facility. While they speak about the Libyans, his grandfather becomes focused on the bees. It reminds him of the “stinger in the tail,” where Britain would attack just when everything seemed over. River realizes the Libyans may not be done after all. He calls Lamb, who realizes who the target would be.

Whelan jogs in the woods alone, but when he returns to his car, he finds his security agent is dead with a knife in his chest. Whelan throws the body out of the car but cannot start it. He gets out, but Sami tells him to stop. He reminds Whelan of his “opinion” on Libya, which left his people to the gangsters.

Whelan begs for his life, but Sami is ready to shoot him. However, a random dog appears and pounces on his chest. Whelan takes off into the woods, and Sami follows. However, River arrives after receiving a tip about where Whelan runs, and he kills Sami.

River meets Lamb in the diner. He pushes Lamb to meet with Whelan and to take the win for Slough House. River thinks he’s better than Slough House, and so does the rest of the team. Lamb meets with Whelan, and River asks Lamb to push for him to be moved back into the Park. After Lamb leaves, River calls Louisa and tells her he’s leaving Slough House.

In Lamb’s office, Whelan hears the director of Slough House making his way up the stairs. When he enters the room, Whelan tells Lamb that Slough House is over the line and that Jackson is done. He knows that Judd will say he “warned Slough House,” and that they did not take action.

Whelan starts to leave, excited to shut down Lamb. However, Lamb then plays the tape of Whelan threatening to blackmail Gimbal hours before he was killed. Lamb demands to be left alone, to bring Molly back into the Service, and to return Roddy. Finally, he demands Whelan’s resignation. Whelan agrees. Taverner calls Lamb, confirming that she will not take River but will leave Slough House in place. She is, finally, First Desk.

Is “Scars” worth watching?

Yes, “Scars” is another excellent finale for Slow Horses. Gary Oldman’s lackadaisical pace pays off again, and his hopes to push Slough House away from the Park have continued to pay off. While the reputation of those in Slough House remains bad in the rest of the Service, they also stay away from the wrath of the organization. The end of the season leaves us with a surprisingly clear direction for the series after Will Smith’s departure. The series might be entering a new era, but the foundation remains in place.

Most of “Scars” comes down to the River and Lamb dynamic. River wants to get back to the Park to prove something, believing he has all the answers. Yet once again, he proves reliant on the others in his life to reach the big conclusions he wants credit for. It was Coe who identified the attempt at Abbotsfield. It was his grandfather who mentioned “the stinger” operation. Even the dog that happened upon Sami helped save the day. While River rose to the occasion to take out Sami, he’s hoping to get more credit for who he saved than for what he did.

That arrogance ruffles Lamb’s feathers, and he continues to feel contempt for River. It’s pure ambition from River, who refuses to acknowledge his own shortcomings as an agent. Lamb knows the man is not ready for The Park but also knows the agent could genuinely help Slough House. Although River and Lamb have been struggling with their relationship, it seems Season 6 is set to bring a big change to their dynamic. Will River still be happy with Lamb after he helped get Whelan booted? Or will their relationship dissolve?

Unfortunately, “Scars” was the last chance in six episodes to give the Libyan characters a strong sendoff. Instead, they ended up feeling somewhat boring in their depiction and, more frustratingly, very one-dimensional. From the beginning of the season to “Scars,” Farouk always seemed unhinged on a level the others were not. Worse, there were almost no defining characteristics for Sami or Kamal. If there’s a weak point in Season 5, it’s that Slow Horses did not have well-developed antagonists.

With “Scars” serving as the end of the Will Smith era, Slow Horses has put an exclamation point at the end of its first five seasons. Each season has been good, and while Season 5 faced issues with its depictions of Libyans, Smith still left on a high note. With the Slough House characters more developed and now three straight seasons with excellent conclusions, we’re set for what should be an excellent Season 6.

Watch Slow Horses on Wednesdays on Apple TV. The season 5 finale, “Scars,” aired on October 28, 2025. All episodes for Season 5 have been released.

Slow Horses — “Scars” — Season 5, Episode 6 Spoiler Review and Recap

Will Smith’s final episode of Slow Horses Season 5 finishes off plenty of narratives. However, “Scars” never fixes the issue with its depiction of Libyans, a strangely frustrating aspect that endured throughout the season.