Slow Horses review: Motley crew of MI5 misfits return for another thrilling mission

Meanwhile, the real agents at the Park are run by Diana Taverner (the queen Kristin Scott Thomas), called Lady Di behind her back, who is constantly exasperated by the antics of Lamb and band of losers. The rest of the Slow Horses are rounded out by a bunch of memorable characters who’ve all screwed up to varying degrees. Special mention must be made of obnoxious techbro hacker Roddy Ho (a perfectly smug Christopher Chung), who was booted to Slough House not because of any mistake he made, but simply because he’s a prick.

The latest season, based on the plot of the book Real Tigers, shows off that Apple-sized budget with a cold open that involves a boat, car, and foot chase through Istanbul, resulting in the death of an agent. After the opening credits (Strange Game by Mick Jagger, a fan of the books, who wrote this song specifically for the show), the action moves to London to find Slough House directly targeted when one of their team, Catherine Standish (played by Saskia Reeves), is kidnapped for no discernible reason. The horses scramble to save her, and in a fantastic and funny set piece Cartwright frantically talks his way deep into the bowels of MI5 to retrieve a secret file. They are thwarted at every turn by the kidnappers who turn out to be a team of rogue MI5 agents led by disgruntled operative Sean Donovan (an enigmatic Sope Dirisu last seen in Gangs of London). Donovan has his sights set on revealing a secret that could shake the foundation of MI5, and the slow horses are just a pawn in a much larger game.

Each season is self-contained, so you can jump right in. The show is now adept at explaining the Slough House setup through context and a few lines of dialog, so as not to slow down the plot machinations. The dialog gives British sarcasm a shining showcase. Oldman is a delight, never missing a chance to remind the horses that they’re a bunch of screw-ups. And Thomas especially has perfected that withering look every time she has to deal with the Horses. One can almost imagine her crossing out lines in the script saying ‘I can say that with a look’.

Slow Horses comes from strong pedigree. Showrunner Will Smith (no, not that one) was one of the writers on foul-mouthed political comedy The Thick Of It, whose alumni have gone on to create excellent and varied fare like Veep and Succession. The show follows the typical British television format with a brisk and efficient 6 episodes in each season, perfect for a quick and entertaining high quality diversion. The short episode order serves the thriller aspect well; any longer would undoubtedly result in filler, a common problem with most streaming thrillers, including Apple’s own Hijack from earlier this year.

Smith’s writing is a masterclass in economic storytelling, using every story beat in every scene to advance both character and plot. Here’s just one example - when Cartwright and another agent see Lamb fumbling in the pantry, they immediately know Catherine hasn’t come in to work that day because Lamb would never deign to do anything by himself if he could get an underling to do it. Meanwhile, Cartwright whips out his phone to record the expected disaster of Lamb attempting to make coffee. But it turns out Lamb is only in the pantry to fish out the spare house key that he knows Catherine keeps in there so that he can send someone to check on her. Plot, character, and a sprinkling of comedy, all in just 45 seconds.

The first two episodes dropped together last week, and the rest of the season will be released every Wednesday. The next 4 weeks will undoubtedly fly by quickly as the horses claw their way out of their predicament, save everyone, and still somehow manage to screw up enough to not get any credit. Meanwhile, the fourth season is already in production with Hugo Weaving set to guest star. Like Lady Di snidely remarks, the Slow Horses aren’t going anywhere, but we’re not complaining.