S02.E04: Cicada

[aghst]

Quote

Louisa makes her move on Pashkin. Catherine makes moves of a different kind when she plays high-stakes chess with a sinister stranger.

Russians were ruthless with Min.  So he followed them around and maybe he saw them in places where they set up the radioactive poison used to kill Nevsky.  Otherwise, how do they kill an MI5 agent and expect not to get a lot of heat?

Louisa was going to go after Pashkin with a box cutter?  Is she a field operative with combat skills?  Desire for vengeance is one thing but it wouldn't be seen as professional.  She's the one who had talked about assignments like this one possibly leading to her getting out of Slough House.

I don't get how River wasn't suspicious of the whole family.  He wanted to believe Kelly and her mother weren't operatives, only the father?

Lamb slags off his agents, constantly mock and belittle them, repeatedly invites them to quit.  But he's fiercely protective and will come after those who kill any of the slow horses.  So his demeanor at the office is an undercover persona.

Standish tries to work a Russian source, gets out of the office herself.  But now I can't recall the whole dead guy in the bathtub plot from season 1, which seems to constantly weigh on her mind.

[paigow]

Lamb killed bathtub guy - staged as suicide- while Cartwright Sr. aka Governor Swan waited on the street.

[Zaffy]

17 hours ago, aghst said:

Russians were ruthless with Min.  So he followed them around and maybe he saw them in places where they set up the radioactive poison used to kill Nevsky.  Otherwise, how do they kill an MI5 agent and expect not to get a lot of heat?

That!
I enjoy this season, but I have a big issue with Min's murder.
Unless there is a more complicated plot behind, it I  can't find a good enough reason for killing him. The cover up was amateur and even worst was how easily the police and MI6 accepted it was an accident.
Those Russians seem to have no problem getting rid of agents, first Min now they wanna kill River. But that means they attract a lot of attention, which is not something spies want to, right?
And why to get in all this charade with the Mi6 meeting and all in the first place? Pashkin always had access to Nevsky's place and he could had killed him anytime.

So Nevsky misses a thumb, is this needed for some device recognition system?

River's plot is also a tad stupid. "Journalist who wants to write an article about little villages"? Really?

Edited December 17, 2022 by Zaffy

[aghst]

Well Sid kind of died suddenly in season 1 too.  She looked like she was going to be a foil for River but they got rid of her.

Maybe in the books, agents dying is a common occurrence.

As for River's plot, they said the goal was to walk into the trap to see who sprung it.  So it seems like they want to try to draw out the cicada or sleeper agents.

But River learned the hard way that the mother is in on it when he thought only the father was.  Kelly, the younger woman who took him up for a thrill ride, may or may not be a cicada as well.

[Rickster]

3 hours ago, paigow said:

Lamb killed bathtub guy - staged as suicide- while Cartwright Sr. aka Governor Swan waited on the street.

And (in my recollection), bathtub guy was Standish’s boss and boyfriend.

[showme]

2 hours ago, aghst said:

Well Sid kind of died suddenly in season 1 too.  She looked like she was going to be a foil for River but they got rid of her.

Maybe in the books, agents dying is a common occurrence.

As for River's plot, they said the goal was to walk into the trap to see who sprung it.  So it seems like they want to try to draw out the cicada or sleeper agents.

But River learned the hard way that the mother is in on it when he thought only the father was.  Kelly, the younger woman who took him up for a thrill ride, may or may not be a cicada as well.

It is quite obvious at this point, they are all cicadas, the whole family, maybe even the whole village.

3 hours ago, Zaffy said:

That!
I enjoy this season, but I have a big issue with Min's murder.
Unless there is a more complicated plot behind, it I  can't find a good enough reason for killing him.

You answered your own question, yes, there is a more complicated plot behind it.

[aghst]

15 minutes ago, showme said:

It is quite obvious at this point, they are all cicadas, the whole family, maybe even the whole village.

Or, River suspects that the mother and Kelly are also in on it but he's not sure so he's trying to make them reveal themselves?

If he really did get fooled, it would be inconsistent with what's happened so far.  After all, he's the one who posited the cicada theory in the first place, convinced Lamb.

[Enigma X]

Roddy, the tech guy, is way more fucking annoying than he needs to be.

[paigow]

15 minutes ago, aghst said:

Or, River suspects that the mother and Kelly are also in on it but he's not sure so he's trying to make them reveal themselves?

Then he has really good intel... [They need me as a hostage] or really good luck [Use the stun gun... We might need him alive]

[abbyzenn]

You really have to pay attention when watching this show.  I'm really enjoying this, the story is engaging, great shots of London.  Wish Lamb and Shirley had spent a bit more time in Nevsky's house - it was gorgeous.  Agree that the computer guy is way annoying.

[pasdetrois]

15 hours ago, Enigma X said:

Roddy, the tech guy, is way more fucking annoying than he needs to be.

He is a notable weakness in an otherwise excellent series.

I had a feeling the parents were cicadas, but that's the influence of The Americans.

Was Standish playing bumbling agent as part of a long game?

What's odd to me is that the slow horses seem to be operating individually, without any coordination, with the exception of Lamb's occasional brief, foul-mouthed direction.

[meep.meep]

How can there be so few people living in that village?  No other cars on the street?  Nobody walking their dog? No lights in any of the houses?

I like Baby Agent with her gun.

[kwnyc]

On 12/16/2022 at 10:30 PM, Enigma X said:

Roddy, the tech guy, is way more fucking annoying than he needs to be.

...and that's one of the many ways you end up in Slough House1 ;-)

[paigow]

On 12/16/2022 at 7:10 PM, Rickster said:

And (in my recollection), bathtub guy was Standish’s boss and boyfriend.

Because he was a Russian mole, Standish ended up a Slow Horse... but Lamb does cut her more slack out of guilt / sympathy

Edited December 18, 2022 by paigow

[Rickster]

On 12/16/2022 at 10:30 PM, Enigma X said:

Roddy, the tech guy, is way more fucking annoying than he needs to be.

While Lamb has grosser habits in the books, overall the tone of the dialogue in the TV show seems a lot nastier. I don’t know whether it’s the same dialogue that just seems nastier, or whether it’s been rewritten. In the books, it’s sort of humorous.

[aghst]

The guy who's the show runner is named Will Smith.

Not clear how much he's collaborating with Herron but people say there have been a number of deviations from the books.

[paigow]

20 hours ago, aghst said:

Not clear how much he's collaborating with Herron but people say there have been a number of deviations from the books.

At least these books are actually finished... so Game Of Thrones issues do not exist...

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

On 12/18/2022 at 12:22 AM, kwnyc said:

On 12/16/2022 at 10:30 PM, Enigma X said:

Roddy, the tech guy, is way more fucking annoying than he needs to be.

...and that's one of the many ways you end up in Slough House1 ;-)

I know River saw his file last season but I can't remember why he got transferred to Slough House.  River was going to tell him but ended up just saying he was transferred because he was too good and made others look bad.  Does anyone remember the real reason?

[ahisma]

1 hour ago, Mrs. Stanwyck said:

Does anyone remember the real reason?

The real reason was that no one could stand to have him around because he was so obnoxious. River actually got that scoop from his grandfather.

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

Thank you!

[mappen]

Hi ,

i need your help. My wife is a big fan of slow horses...and of wine 😊

 

In S02.E04 (Cicada), there is a dinner scene (around minute 8) where they drink white wine. Is there anybody who knows what type of glases they use?

Here is screenshots i made:

I would like to give these glasses to my wife for her birthday, I also find similar ones on google but not exactly these from the scene.

Many thanks in advance.

Mappen

[Hanahope]

Quite myopic of River to not think the wife Alex was a cicada.  Why else would she suddenly show up at the flight club?

im curious why Nevsky was killed now.  Why the charade about the meeting?

 

[Milburn Stone]

On 12/16/2022 at 12:57 AM, aghst said:

I don't get how River wasn't suspicious of the whole family.  He wanted to believe Kelly and her mother weren't operatives, only the father?

Yeah, I knew it was the mother from the get-go. If I knew, you'd think an MI5 operative would!