Slow Horses is back, and it’s better than ever. The show delivers its best season yet, powered by a strong emotional foundation, improved direction, and fantastic execution.
Since debuting in April 2022, Slow Horses has had a ceremonious 4 seasons. While each season is only 6 episodes, they are perfectly crafted in length and pace to the point where it’s all story. It helps them pump seasons out quickly both in the writing department and filming. It’s impressive the level of consistency the show has had, improving season to season.
In an era where dad TV, specifically from Prime Video, dominates the sphere of spy thrillers, Slow Horses stands out. The cast is phenomenal (did I mention it stars Gary Oldman), it’s perfectly thrilling riding the lines of purposeful twists masterfully, and it’s absolutely hilarious with every type of humor packed into its airtight dialogue.
Slow Horses is a show on Apple TV+ created by Will Smith (no, not that Will Smith) based on the Slough House series of novels by Mick Herron. It revolves around neglected misfit MI5 agents forced to be bottom feeders under the abrasively witty Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman). They constantly end up involved in the high-stakes spycraft of MI5, despite their status.
Season 4 opens with David Cartwright (Jonathan Pryce) accidentally shooting who he believes to be his grandson, River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), due to his rapidly deteriorating mind caused by dementia. It turns out to be an intruder impersonating River, which spurs an espionage mission for the real River to find out who this was and why he was being impersonated. The rest of the Slow Horses are forced into the plot as they assume River is dead.
The direction of the show was markedly improved this season. It felt more cinematic in its approach. The action because of this really flourished. If you asked me what I felt was the weakest aspect of the show before this season, I would say the action. While it was always far from bad, the gun fights felt too fantastic for a show selling as a grounded/realistic show of sorts. Not to say there weren’t unrealistic aspects, but those unrealistic aspects were less apparent.
There was this fantastic sequence at the end of Episode 5 that was five minutes of pure madness done masterfully. The sound design and the visual feel mixed with the shock of what was happening made it impossible to blink in fear of taking eyes off the prize. It was very Terminator-like (which ironically the show references in that very episode).
What also really worked this season was the emotions. River’s relationship with his grandfather has been central to the show since the very start, but this season really took it to a whole new level. There’s this one scene in the season that features perhaps the best acting of the entire show. It’s a very powerful scene between Jonathan Prynce and Jack Lowden that is written and performed so well. It feels so relatable to those who have had to deal with a loved one not being as sharp as they were mentally.
You couldn’t ask for a better emotional foundation for the season. Especially as it delves into River’s family, that is an interesting turn. It’s a testament to how well the show does its twists that they always feel earned. The show takes so many turns as do most spy thrillers, but they always feel right—unexpected but right. There’s a balance of surprise mixed in with “oh ya, that works really well” that the show is so good at.
While I can’t say the season opens as well as some of the other seasons, it does deliver the best second half yet, with the two best episodes of the entire series in the mix. Episodes 5, and 6—the penultimate and ultimate episodes of the season are absolutely brilliant. They deliver exactly on the promise of what a spy thriller can be. I hope to see even more of that in the coming seasons.
Season 5 of the show is already filmed, and Season 6 is currently filming. I will take as much Slow Horses as I can get, and Apple seems to concur with how quickly they’re pumping them out. I really hope other shows, specifically spy thrillers, can take a page out of the Slow Horses book on what to focus on.
Slow Horses Season 4 stars Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, Jack Lowden as River Cartwright, Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner, Sophie Okonedo as Ingrid Tearney, Jonathan Pryce as David Cartwright, Hugo Weaving as Frank Harkness, Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Shirley Dander, Joanna Scanlan as Moira Tregorian, Kadiff Kirwan as Marcus Longridge, and Tom Brooke as J.K. Coe. Slow Horses is streaming on Apple TV+.
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