!! Spoilers for series six, episode two of Slow Horses. Nothing beyond this episode. Only read on if you've seen it!

The second episode picks up right where we left off: River has buried his grandfather and the team are under threat. My concern for Shirley remains, but so far she has survived unscathed. Thankfully in this episode, no major characters were harmed, although a hitherto unknown agent was killed off, and we have potentially lost the slightly dotty Moira played by Joanna Scanlan. (We didn't actually see the explosion, though, so I'm not fully convinced.)

I liked the shape of this episode - the Slow Horses gathered together at the start, before spreading out to do various tasks, and then trying to regroup again at the end. Lamb holding a morning meeting is a ridiculous idea, and he's always so desperately mean to River. "Christ, it's like watching plankton think," he shouts at him, and later laughs when River is showing off to a girl. But he always takes him with him on missions, so there has to be some trust and even respect in there somewhere.

The pair of them uncover the existence of a kid, Reece Nesmith, played by Lenny Rush. He's a young witness to a murder, and they need to track him down. The idea of Lamb going head to head with a whip-smart Rush is something to absolutely savour. Our two killers, prior to paying Moira a visit, made their way round a hardware store to pick up supplies. Watching these two dark souls wandering around B&Q was both mundane and terrifying in equal measure.

At the end of the previous episode, I was sure Taverner knew more than she was letting on. Now, I'm not sold on that idea. I don't remember what the deal with the money was from a previous series, but all you need to know is hammered home in this episode: Taverner has found herself beholden to a right-wing media tycoon, and this can't be good. Spluttering through sentences on live TV is embarrassing for anyone, but for the head of the special services, it's only going to foster more conspiracy theories.

Although there's plenty of plot ongoing, it's the little character moments that continue to make this show special. River struggling to know what to call his dad. Coe, in the longest speech we may have heard him make, just casually revealing he's super rich and can give Shirley money if she needs it. Standish, in a wine shop, flitting between dreamy faraway wine orders and then remembering she's an alcoholic.

Small moments, and big moments too. The last scene of the episode reveals Sid, seemingly killed off in the first series, standing at the top of Grandpa Cartwright's stairs. The cliffhanger ending would have been a real shock... except they gave it away in the trailer. I wasn't convinced Sid was dead back then, just like I'm not sure about Moira today. But there have been 24 more episodes since then so I was starting to wonder. She's back and there are lots of questions, but my main thought: how on earth is she going to fit back into this group who have been through so much without her?

So I think the next episode is going to be full of awkward conversations. River trying to understand what happened with Sid. She, having to re-introduce herself to the Slow Horses. And hopefully, the showdown between Lamb and Nesmith Jr. Standish seems to have come in from the wilderness, but she does still have that bottle of wine I'm keeping an eye on. Shirley Watch continues, even more so now the relationship between her and Coe seems to be developing nicely. What I'm most hopeful for in the next episode is that if there are any more surprises, they haven't already been revealed by the promotional material.