Just like clockwork, it is the fall television season, and there is a new season of Slow Horses available for Apple TV+ subscribers. The spy and espionage series, based on Mick Herron’s “Slough House” series of novels, has an incredibly efficient production schedule, with new seasons of the series already being filmed before the previous one is even released. Apple continues to renew the series, and for very good reason: it’s a fantastic story, one that subverts the expectations of a modern spy story. There is no Jason Bourne or James Bond in Slow Horses — just a bunch of rejects looking for a shot at redemption, and never really finding it.
It’s in these cleverly written characters and complex plot lines that Slow Horses shines, telling an incredible “spy” story that is quite unlike anything seen before in the genre. Gone are the suave, impeccable agents typical of many modern thrillers and spy series. Slow Horses prides itself on its deeply human and flawed characters, placed in extraneous circumstances, often with their backs against the wall and making do with what they have. This latest fifth season of Slow Horses is one of the best examples of that, with a premiere episode that lets the characters evolve and reflect on what happened in past seasons.
‘Slow Horses’ Is About the Most Unconventional of Spies
Slow Horses Season 5 is based on the fifth book in Herron’s series, titled “London Rules,” and opens with a jarring terrorist attack that leaves several people dead. It’s the usual setup that comes with the territory of the genre, but in typical Slow Horses fashion, there’s an unexpected twist; the extremist shooter who targeted a political campaign stand ends up being sniped himself. There’s always something larger at play, with deadly spy games taking hold of the narrative and leaving our completely overwhelmed cast reeling. With that exceptional intro setting up the mystery at the heart of the season, Slow Horses checks in on our cast of characters.
Character writing is perhaps Slow Horses‘ strongest asset, setting it apart from other spy stories, largely due to the show’s unique premise. Slough House is a division of MI5 led by Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman, in one of the best performances of his career), where agents who have committed career suicide are sent. Every season features a revolving door of new agents, with a few key members staying on due to stubbornness, delusion, pride, or a combination of all three. When the agents do leave, it’s usually on bad terms, or they end up dead. It’s a tragic cycle that is only made comedic by the cast’s performances.
Jack Lowden as River Cartwright, Saskia Reeves as Catherine Standish, Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa Guy, and Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho have all been mainstays with Oldman since the first season, with new additions coming and going every season. One that has managed to stick around is Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Shirley Dander, whose Season 2 debut has seen her through thick and thin with other agents of Slough House. The death of Marcus, a newer Slough House member who was killed in the previous season, has a profound effect on Shirley, whose struggle is just one significant plot point of the season. While most spy icons remain static throughout their franchise (like Bond), Slow Horses allows its characters to breathe, grow, and struggle with each season.
Every Season of ‘Slow Horses’ Has a Different Character Focus
Season 5 Is No Different
Given that every “Slow Horse” (as the agents of Slough House are so affectionately called) is there for one reason or another against their will, it’s a bitter cast of characters who eventually grow to tolerate each other. The chemistry between the cast is electric, with every dig, sarcastic line, and angry outburst feeling genuine and providing a foundation of dark humor that lets the series thrive. There are also natural conclusions to characters that aren’t always death. For example, Louisa simply leaves at the start of this latest season, with the logical reason of just being tired of the punishment that is working at Slough House.
Lowden’s River, who has been a centric point for several seasons, is as determined as ever to find himself in good graces at MI5 again. To a point of almost self-delusion, the character lunges into action and fails almost spectacularly every season. It’s been a slow fade for this character, and this latest season has him at his most nihilistic and most desperate. Aside from Oldman’s Lamb, who has always been a constant force of intrigue and humor throughout the entire series, every character evolves in a way that feels real, and this latest season has everyone in what feels like their lowest. It’s a powder keg waiting to go off in what will undoubtedly be a fantastic season of television.
Of course, there is also Roddy Ho, the technological expert at Slough House, whose sole reason for being there isn’t a career fumble or scandalous mistake at MI5, but simply because he is so unlikable (and completely unaware of it). As it turns out, Ho will be the focus of this season, as the mystery of his being in a successful relationship with someone outside of work has the entirety of the Slow Horses scratching their heads. When it’s revealed that this relationship is possibly connected to the terrorist attack, both the viewers and the characters are more invested than ever before. With just one episode, Slow Horses Season 5 has established itself as the spy story to check out this season.
No Series Deconstructs the Spy Genre Quite Like ‘Slow Horses’
Slow Horses isn’t about a single spy, or an overarching story, but instead an ensemble piece that takes everything that people love about the thriller and espionage genre, and flips it on its head. Every unlikable and underdog character is given a chance to shine, with series creator Will Smith and the writers room behind the series carefully adapting Herron’s books into a television series that is one of Apple TV’s best. The quality hasn’t dipped for any of the seasons, and it doesn’t seem like Season 5 will be any different. With a new mystery set against the backdrop of dueling political campaigns and Slow Horses‘ most unlikable character at its center, the series continues to prove it is one of the best in the genre.
With the season just getting started, it will be exciting to see how Lamb and his group of rejects will manage to come out unscathed from another mystery that might be connected to the dirty secrets of MI5. With exciting, grounded action, rich characters, and unexpected (sometimes morbid) humor, Slow Horses Season 5 shouldn’t be missed. Slow Horses is streaming on Apple TV+.
- Release Date
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April 1, 2022
- Network
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Apple TV+
- Directors
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Saul Metzstein, James Hawes, Jeremy Lovering
- Writers
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Mark Denton, Jonny Stockwood
