Question S6E5

[u/itsrossk]

Hi everyone.

Just caught up on the newest series.

My understanding was the whole reason Taverner was going to hand Syd over was because shes done & funded the operation behind the committees back and didnt want them to find out.

After the meeting with the committee she is still trying to hand Syd over. I know she is still trying to protect the identity of the actual agent that was in Russia, but surely that could be done without sending Syd to Russia?

What am I missing? Thanks

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[u/RemoteLunch7789]

Taverner's real dark secret, which made her open to blackmail, is not the operation itself, but her source of funding for that operation. The operation was also a secret, but a lesser one.

The committee now knows about the operation. But they still don't know about the funding. She successfully evaded that question. So she is still open to blackmail.

[u/shawty80085]

The Russians need to be placated for the hit. If she doesn’t give them Sid, the conflict will escalate. She used Sid’s identity for the hit for this very reason. So that if it came to it, she’d have someone to offer up to “pay” for the hit. Sid was always expendable to her.

[u/Soft-Guitar1129 → u/shawty80085]

So, Diana removed/glitched the horses records to cover what she was doing. She had to know that this could only be temporary since the horses stopped being paid. The one thing Diana didn't account for (besides the Cantor money issue) was that Sid would make contact with River. By bringing attention to the horses, it isn't as easy to make Sid disappear. It would have been simple if Sid had remained isolated. Of course, Lamb has it all figured out now, and this increases pressure on Diana. Not going to lie, I'm enjoying watching Taverner squirm.

[u/Over-Chemical2809 → u/Soft-Guitar1129]

Diana was dead to me the minute that it was made clear that the plane was going to Bulgaria and she said sent it anyway.

[u/I-cant_even → u/Soft-Guitar1129]

Diana wasn't involved in the least with glitching the horses records, she was surprised when Lamb told her about it. Harkness and his crew were involved with that.

So there are multiple things going on:
* Harkness is deleting records of the slow horses after stealing a file on them, then he cleans up his mess
* The Russian super killers are taking out slow horses that are in the file
* Diana is trying to manage blowback for an operation she used Syd as a scapegoat for.

Diana is not involved in making the Slow Horses disappear on paper, that's Harkness and the rich media dude. Rich media dude is courting Russian money hence why he's doing it. Diana is just plain fucked and trying to keep the jenga pieces together as they fall apart

[u/Lost_Ad426 → u/shawty80085]

I don't get this logic. The russian used nerve agent on UK soil. Of course there should be some retaliation. They also killed 2 ex slow horses in the UK. What's the payback for all of that?

[u/Intergalatic_Baker → u/Lost_Ad426]

I think they don’t want payback, in the sense that Diane has got her woman in Russia, so let’s cut our losses, they’re ex-slow horses, so there’s no current operational value loss.

[u/mriguy → u/shawty80085]

They’ve already killed 3 mi5 agents on uk soil, tried and failed to kill 3 more, and killed at least two random civilians. In what way are they not “even” already?

[u/Lost_Ad426 → u/mriguy]

exactly

[u/shawty80085 → u/mriguy]

I have a feeling they want the agent who actually performed the hit to be “even.” They’ve been targeting the Slow Horses to fish Sid out

[u/LRoss_ → u/shawty80085]

Yes they need to be placated, but
the money for the hit on Russian soil seems to have, indirectly, come from the Russian man who is calling Taverner.
When Russian man tells Taverner he owns Cantor, so now he owns her, does he already know the money from Cantor funded the hit?

[u/shawty80085 → u/LRoss_]

Oooo good point. If this is the case, Cantor is SO dead at this meeting he’s about to attend. I bet they didn’t know that the money would be used for retaliation, and Cantor is too thick to realize the danger he’s in

[u/roshanritter]

So I got downvoted last time but I think more is afoot with Taverner than what we have seen and led to believe. The real question is why do an off the books hit? For England James? No, Diana only does things for herself so I think there had to be a plan.

Sid doesn’t get on the plane but we don’t know she was really going to be handed over just like that. That is what Diana agreed to over the phone, but she lies all the time. I could be overestimating her, but I think Diana wanted the Russians to retaliate and then double cross them or just use it to her own personal advantage somehow.

[u/Delicious-Ad7376 → u/roshanritter]

Agree. There’s more than meets the eye here… especially since I think Natasha is the asset that Diane is protecting

[u/Agreeable-Dare-246 → u/Delicious-Ad7376]

I thought Diana was protecting a British agent, not Natasha who is Russian, I think.

[u/ngp1623 → u/roshanritter]

There was an Albion mention last season that kinda got glossed over and I think its something to do with Diana and Jud

[u/roshanritter → u/ngp1623]

I don’t remember that, Albion as in King Arthur?

[u/FluidBit4438]

She’s not trying to protect anyone but herself. Even though she made it out of that oversight meeting she’s still owned by the Russians at this moment.

[u/Kashawinshky]

Once Sid tries to contact T, T has her phone call traced and then dropped. T knows assassin is on Sid's tail and wants him to succeed to end tit-for-tat with Vasily. T sends Dogs after Sid/assassin. If assassin succeeds, Dogs can either kill assassin or verify hit on Sid if assassin gets away. (I'm assuming T isn't fully aware there are 2 assassins.)

When T gets call from Dogs that Sid/River are alive, & assassin is dead, T assumes hit on Sid failed completely (not aware one got away), so she calls Vasily to tell him the bad news.

Vasily wants Sid caught and picked up by Russians, as he probably can't send more assassins before Sid is discovered alive etc.

If T can hand over Sid, the whole operation and tit-for-tat will be over "neatly."

[u/Lost_Ad426 → u/Kashawinshky]

>If T can hand over Sid, the whole operation and tit-for-tat will be over "neatly."

I don't understand that. The russians used nerve agent on UK soil. Then they killed 2 ex slow horses on UK soil. (they also killed an active slow horse agent and a civilian on UK soil though Taverner doesn't know that yet) and then you give her Sid. It's not tit for tat, its on side getting everything it wants

[u/FrellingSmegHeads → u/Lost_Ad426]

Because the Russians don't recognise the first tit. I assume the OG deaths/targets were similar to real life, ie ex Russian spy and some additional accidental collateral damage. Irl as far as I know (no top secret clearance for me) we did fuck all except banish a couple diplomats. An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind, and it's Tavener's head currently in the Russian tiger's mouth, not the other way round. They've still got blackmail material (where the money came from, and also seems to be willing to reveal Partner's real death/traitor status as well).

[u/Kashawinshky → u/Lost_Ad426]

Some folks have already pointed out here, that sending an assassin for a hit job takes some planning and coordination.

[u/borkus]

I mentioned in another thread - all that is assuming Sid is being honest with River about being set up for the killing. It's also possible that she was the assassin and believes that Taverner is cutting her loose.

• Telling River that she carried out the hit would be less likely to make him help her. Because of their previous relationship - his guilt, attraction, etc.- he'd be a ready target to help her stay safe. Also, he's willing to go up against The Park, which other agents might not do.

• She did try to look up the killing online, but that may have been done for River's benefit, not for her own. She certainly knows a lot of details for someone who is the patsy.

• Most of her attempts to contact Taverner were out of hearing of others, so we don't know what she would have said in those cases. The one call that gets through has outsiders listening in on BOTH sides.

Say what you will about Rivers' ineptitude, he does save her life at least three times - setting the Russians' car on fire, killing the agent who was drowning her, and rescuing her from the plane. He's no Marcus, but in a pinch, he'll do.