Slow Horses Season 5 Episode 1 recap: A mass shooting with political undertones

Slow Horses Season 5 has premiered on September 24, 2025, bringing back Lamb and his Slough House agents and a tricky, politically intense time they will deal with this season. Based on Mick Herron’s novel, London Rules, the season might depict a storyline that deals with sensitive topics related to immigration and how it is used to radicalize vulnerable citizens, which results in violent actions.

In Episode 1, Slow Horses Season 5, a mass shooter kills and injures many in a public place and later is killed by another unknown man. The shooting is then linked to the political scenario of the country. Elsewhere, the agents of Slough House are still struggling to move on after the events of the previous season. It also seems that one of the agents’ lives might also be in danger this season.

Here’s what happened in Episode 1 of Slow Horses Season 5.

Disclaimer: The article contains spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.

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Slow Horses Season 5 Episode 1 recap: Mass shooting at a shopping centre

In the premiere episode of Slow Horses Season 5, a man is seen following his daily routine. However, he is interrupted by a honking Van, and when he goes to check, he learns that it was for him. He then retrieves a bag from the back of the van and approaches the Abbotsfield Shopping Centre.

This is where the young white man opens his bag and pulls out his rifle and opens fire on the campaigners getting ready for the mayoral elections, killing several of them. However, just as all the people are down, he is shot dead by a sniper, who was hiding nearby.

Furthermore, the sniper is seen running and going back into the same van from which the mass shooter got his rifle, hinting that the mass shooting might have been planned.

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Slow Horses Season 5 Episode 1 recap: Roddy Ho’s life is in danger

Episode 1 of Slow Horses also gives a glimpse of how the agents of Slough House have been holding up after the events of the previous season. Shirley is the one who has been mostly affected, as Marcus was a close friend of hers. However, she is trying to hold up and also saves Roddy from being hit by a van, which everyone, including Roddy, thinks she was being paranoid.

However, after she follows Roddy to a nightclub later, she sees him meeting a woman, who appears to be his girlfriend, but at the end of the episode, it is revealed that she is involved with the people who want to kill Roddy, as she is seen giving them his location.

Furthermore, Louisa is given a six-month leave, which she wants to use to the fullest, and also does not want to return to the job altogether, which disappoints River, as he had developed feelings for her.

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Slow Horses Season 5 Episode 1 recap: The political connection with the mass shooting

As the investigation goes on about the shooting, it is revealed that the shooter was a conservative man named Rob Trew. As the tactical team looks into him more, they realise that the shooting might be linked to the current political scenario of London, as the city was preparing for mayoral elections.

The top two candidates in the election are a conservative leader named Dennis Gimball, and Zafar Jaffrey, who is shown to be the one who listens to the people who are suffering from the growing hate crimes against them. Trew was a follower of Gumball and had a poster of him in his apartment with numerous books that the politician had written.

Furthermore, Emma Flyte and her team also learn that Trew was on an incel forum named Unseen, where he talked about his British identity being in danger. They learn that another user called Sniper762 pushed him to take appropriate action, which might have driven Trew to take the drastic step.

Emma Flyte, the head of the Dogs, notices that the sniper who killed Trew was using a 7.62 caliber bullet, hinting that the person who pushed him to take the step is also the one who put him down.

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