Slow Horses fans 'don't want to believe' shock twist in season 4 premiere

What did you miss?

Apple TV+ spy sensation Slow Horses has delivered quite the season 4 opener, gripping audiences at home with the surprising reveal.

Following a shopping centre explosion, the premiere episode finds agent River Cartwright (reprised by Jack Lowden) paying a visit to his grandfather and retired spook David (Game of Thrones star Jonathan Pryce), who might be succumbing to dementia. Although his face is never shown, fans assume that River has been let into David's house - heading straight to the bathroom.

Concerned that things aren't what they seem, an edgy David proceeds to ready his shotgun and kill River in cold blood. Surely our eyes are deceiving us?

Social media was awash with fans sharing their shock as the nail-biting scenes unfolded in front of them. "Would River bang on his grandfather's door like that?" questioned one Slow Horses viewer on X. Others were in agreement, with a second and third user writing: "I don't want to believe Cartwright just died like that" and "He can't be dead!"

What, how and why?

Gary Oldman's head of Slough House, Jackson Lamb, soon turns up at the scene to identify the corpse, while the rest of the MI5 rejects are informed of their colleague's tragic murder. However, Lamb's apparent indifference doesn't feel right.

He later stops by Catherine Standish's place - portrayed by Shetland actress Saskia Reeves - under the pretence of death notification, but what he's really there for is to collar David, who's hiding out at the property. Lamb is also aware that River's life did not in fact come to a shocking halt, because his car is parked right outside Standish's house.

David reveals that River is overseas in France, investigating his real victim.

Slow Horses fans are gripped

Cue the collective relief on social media, as a Slow Horses lover went on to write after the episode finished: "No, I didn't cry myself a river over River's supposed demise, having faith in the story all along to not kill off a main [character] so unceremoniously. Now, whatever he aims to achieve by going off the grid, you know he'll invariably f-up. Lamb's onto him, thankfully!"

Praising the creators, another pointed out: "Maybe I'm just a dummy but I thinks it's more a testament to how great the show is that I genuinely thought [SPOILER] had happened."

Slow Horses is streaming on Apple TV+.

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