Slow Horses Season 6, Episode 2, “Daddy Issues,” saw Frank Harkness (Hugo Weaving) taking care of business, Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) reluctantly doing an interview for Damien Cantor’s (Harry Lloyd) news station, Moira (Joanna Scanlan) being targeted by assassins, and the return of Sidonie Sid Baker — which was either a surprise or long-awaited, depending on whether or not you’ve read Mick Herron’s Slough House books.
asserted
you → see → books
What happened to Olivia Cooke’s character in Slow Horses Season 1?
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What → happen → Season
What happened to Sid Baker in the books?
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What → happen → books
And how did Sid make her triumphant return in Slow Horses Season 6, Episode 2?
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Sid → make → Season
We’ve got answers!
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We → get → answers
As noted in our Season 1 recap article, if you feel like you haven’t heard Sid’s name in years, you’re right!
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you → note → years
The Slow Horses — and viewers — haven’t seen Sid since Season 1, because she was presumed to be dead.
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she → see → Season
Slow Horses Season 1 finds River, Sid, and the rest of Slough House racing to rescue a kidnapped student.
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River → find → student
But Episode 1 also saw River and Sid surveilling journalist Robert Hobden (Paul Hilton), which ultimately took a dark turn.
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which → see → turn
As River was staking out Hobden’s house alone in Episode 2, Sid hopped in the passenger seat, and the two shared a heart-to-heart, but when River questioned why Sid was in Slough House, she dodged the question — until someone labeled “Aunt Zadie” in her phone called twice, and she finally picked up.
“
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she → stake → phone
I can’t talk at the moment.
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I → talk → moment
I’m watching him right now…
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I → watch → him
I will, but I have to go,” Sid said to the person on the other end of the line.
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Sid → have → line
When she hung up, she revealed it wasn’t her aunt.
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it → hang → ?
“There’s a reason why I didn’t tell you why I’m at Slough House…
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I → ’ → House
I didn’t just follow you today.
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I → follow → you
That was Taverner, and I wasn’t telling her I was watching Hobden.
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I → tell → Hobden
I was telling her I was watching you…
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I → tell → you
It’s the reason I’ve been sent to Slough House.
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I → ’ → House
Before we could learn more, someone broke into Hobden’s house, and River and Sid raced to save him.
uncertain
River → learn → him
River went inside while Sid covered the front door, and though River rescued the journalist, when the attacker raced outside, a gun was fired, and River found Sid had taken a bullet to the head.
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Sid → go → head
As she was bleeding out on Hobden’s stoop, River called an ambulance, and Lamb revealed in Episode 3 that “she might live.”
uncertain
she → bleed → Episode
In Episode 4, River snuck into the hospital and found Sid in a coma in her hospital bed.
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Sid → sneak → bed
And in Episode 6, Lamb told a devastated River that she’d passed, assuring him, “I won’t forget Sid.
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I → tell → Sid
Slow Horses Season 6, Episode 2 Ending Explained: Sid Baker Returns!
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Baker → explain → ?
After realizing Frank Harkness was back and posed a deadly threat to the Slow Horses, River decides to face his “Daddy Issues” head-on, so he gets Roddy (Christopher Chung) to trace what he believes to be a call from Harkness.
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he → realize → Harkness
Towards the end of the episode, Slough House’s current members meet up at Blake’s Grave and plan to go dark to avoid being tracked.
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members → meet → Grave
But River doesn’t show, and Roddy reveals it’s because he went to his grandfather’s house — where the call was coming from — in hopes of handling their Harkness issue.
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call → show → issue
The episode’s final minute sees River driving up to his late grandad’s house, grabbing a crowbar, and storming inside shouting for Frank.
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River → see → Frank
When he goes to walk up the stairs, however, he’s stopped in his tracks by the sight of Sid standing at the top of the staircase.
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Sid → go → staircase
She flashes a smile, says “Hello, River,” and Slow Horses cuts to black.
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Horses → flash → black
What Happened To Sid Baker In Slow Horses Books?
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What → happen → Books
Yes, your eyes don’t deceive you!
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eyes → deceive → you
Sid Baker is still alive, despite the fact that we were told she died in Season 1.
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she → tell → Season
So what happened?
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what → happen → ?
We’ll have to wait and see how things unfold on screen, but Sid did return in Book 7, Slough House, and
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Sid → have → Book
revealed what happened to her after the life-threatening injury she sustained in Book 1.
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she → reveal → Book
After River learned of Sid’s death in Season 1, Roddy also gave us a hint that she wasn’t gone for good.
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she → learn → hint
“There’s no record of her ever having been at the hospital.
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her → ’ → hospital
And when I pop through my own private backdoor into MI5’s database, there’s no record of her whatsoever,” he told River.
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he → pop → River
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
