The latest episode of Slow Horses delivers a classic mix of high-stakes espionage and disastrous mishaps. In Season 5 Episode 4, titled “Missiles,” the team’s mission to protect two mayoral candidates concludes with one politician dead in a freak accident that could only happen to the spies of Slough House.
The episode, which became available on October 15, 2025, on Apple TV+, sees the team split to cover simultaneous campaign rallies for Mayor Zafar Jaffrey and his rival, Dennis Gimball. While one team successfully thwarts a sniper attack, the other finds itself at the center of a tragicomedy when a simple paint can proves fatal.
The Hunt for Tara
The episode’s tension begins with Roddy Ho still in custody at MI5’s Regent’s Park headquarters. Interrogator Emma Flyte adopts a softer approach, sharing a fabricated story about falling in love on a job to gain his trust. Her goal is to convince Roddy to call his girlfriend, Tara, so the agency can trace her location. MI5 suspects Tara of being part of a honeytrap operation connected to recent terrorist attacks.
Roddy agrees to the call but believes he can outsmart the system. He warns Tara she is being traced and hangs up before the two-minute mark, thinking he has saved her. Unbeknownst to him, MI5’s technology can now trace a call in just thirty seconds, and her location is compromised.
Meanwhile, Jackson Lamb uses old-fashioned detective work to find Tara. He discovers her real apartment by investigating the area around the fake address she had given Roddy. When Emma Flyte and her team arrive at the location, Lamb is already there. He deduces that Tara has fled to Roddy’s own apartment. The teams converge on Roddy’s flat, where Tara attempts to run but is captured by Lamb, who literally sits on her to ensure her arrest.
A Political Powder Keg
Elsewhere, the political drama intensifies. Claude Whelan is being blackmailed by Dodie Gimball, who threatens to publish salacious photos of him. Whelan turns the tables by digging into MI5’s archives and uncovering a devastating secret: the anti-immigrant politician Dennis Gimball is actually the son of an illegal Turkish immigrant. Whelan confronts the Gimballs with this information, threatening to expose them if they do not back down.
This revelation rocks the Gimball household, but Dennis secretly records the entire confrontation, leaving Whelan vulnerable. This power struggle sets the stage for the escalating tensions at the campaign rallies.
Two Rallies, Two Very Different Outcomes
Believing a political assassination is imminent, Jackson Lamb divides his team. He sends Shirley Dander and Catherine Standish to Zafar Jaffrey’s rally and River Cartwright with JK Coe to Dennis Gimball’s event.
At Jaffrey’s rally, Shirley’s sharp eyes spot a man in combat boots posing as an electrician. She becomes suspicious and follows him. The man is Farouk, the leader of the Libyan terrorist cell. He assembles a sniper rifle in a balcony room overlooking the stage. Just as he takes aim at Jaffrey, Catherine creates a diversion by throwing a water bottle onto the stage. Security quickly evacuates Jaffrey, and the assassination is foiled. Farouk escapes, and Shirley narrowly avoids being hit by a getaway van.
At Gimball’s rally, the expected shooter never appears. The crisis unfolds differently. Gimball is rehearsing his speech in a back alley when he is confronted by Tyson, Jaffrey’s chief of staff. Tyson pleads with Gimball not to exploit Jaffrey’s son’s connection to an eco-terror incident in his speech. Gimball responds with racist insults, provoking Tyson to punch him.
River Cartwright, watching from the sidelines, intervenes and draws his gun, causing Tyson to flee. From his perch on scaffolding above, JK Coe scrambles down to help. In the process, he accidentally knocks over a heavy bucket of paint. The can falls and strikes Dennis Gimball directly on the head, killing him instantly.
The Aftermath of an Absurd Tragedy
River and Coe are left in shock, standing over Gimball’s body with River splattered in pink paint. They soon discover that Gimball’s Dictaphone was recording throughout the entire encounter. The device has captured their panicked voices after the accident, which could be misinterpreted as a confession. They take the recorder and leave the scene, now entangled in a death they accidentally caused.
The episode highlights the stark contrast between the two teams. One successfully prevented a sophisticated assassination, while the other inadvertently caused a politician’s death through a series of clumsy errors. Jackson Lamb’s earlier quote about his team rings truer than ever.
“At least my fuckups fuck up on an epic scale. They’re not run-of-the-mill fuckups like yours,” Lamb told Emma Flyte.
This single, absurd event changes the political landscape and sets up major complications for the final two episodes of the season. The team must now navigate the fallout from a death that appears to be anything but an accident.
Also Read: Slow Horses Season 5: Roddy Ho’s Romance Triggers an MI5 Crisis
