'Slow Horses' season 5 review: Apple TV+ spy thriller rules, London drools

Apple TV+

And that's why agents use MI5 Paint instead of MS Paint. Everyone's favourite spy thriller series Slow Horses returns to rage at nightclubs and cook with toxic gas, adapting 'London Rules' from Mick Herron's 'Slough House' series of novels in the process. In season five, the titular group—J.K. Coe (Tom Brooke), River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) and Shirley Dander (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) —led by Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) is on full freak-out mode when they discover that Ho is dating a real woman. And also because a politically charged mass shooting occurs ahead of London's heated mayoral election. Of course, these things are somehow connected and the ragtag team tries to figure out how. Catherine Standish (Saskia Reeves) is back in the fold at Slough House, but Louisa Guy (Rosalind Eleazar) leaves for a mental health break after the saddest of office parties.

Meanwhile, MI5's deputy director Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) continues to clash with director general Claude Whelan (James Callis) as they and head of security Emma Flyte (Ruth Bradley) are embroiled in the Slow Horses' drama, which involves mayor Zafar Jaffrey (Nick Mohammed), far-right candidate Dennis Gimball (Christopher Villiers) and Ho's date Tara (Hiba Bennani).

Obviously, everyone's thinking the same thing. Have they gone and done it again? The answer to that is yes, this season is another banger. How do they do it? Who knows, let's just enjoy this moment. While it is still very much the same show you've grown to adore, this six-episode run does have some new energy drink flavours to offer you. There's a significant shift towards comedy as the relationships and whatnots take a backseat, but because you're familiar with the series already, you know that it can deliver on witty wordplay and funny scenarios. Much of that shift also comes down to the story revolving around Ho, as well as the clownish Whelan in the latter half. Now, that might seem a bit weird, but luckily the cast knocks the humour and line readings out of The Park. There's very few things on TV as infectious as an actor clearly having a blast, and both Chung and Callis seem to be enjoying the spotlight put on their goofy characters.

As a whole, season five is a slight downgrade compared to the last two. This is because showrunner Will Smith and his writers' room get a little bit careless with many of their characters and end up taking shortcuts. Lamb getting everything right constantly and doing it essentially by mansplaining can get pretty tiresome. It also tends to remove much of the tension, which is a big reason why this batch is less successful as a thriller. Another contributing factor is the team becoming too overpowered and overly competent for us to believe that the agency would consider them pure rejects at this point. The season opens and ends strong, but the writing encounters some lulls in the middle part when it seems to forget that the group dynamic and characters evolving alongside the actors portraying them are elements that have really resonated with viewers, including yours truly.

Character arcs aren't really a thing here, unfortunately, and while actors like Lowden, Oldman, Reeves and Thomas are rather comfortable in their respective characters' skins, it is quite odd that your leads and "day one supporting players" are so underserved by the writing. Sure, others like Brooke and Edwards compensate for some of it as they get more to do, but the balance is still off ever so slightly. Perhaps such streamlining works better in novels.

While the scripts might be following the books too closely, the show's visual language is strong as ever. The comedy being at the forefront allows director Saul Metzstein to be more playful with the camera and editing (Fiona Brands, Zsófia Tálas), and the results are dynamic and lively. Cinematographer Danny Cohen dishes out gorgeously moody shots throughout, but it's the art department (overseen by production designer Choi Ho Man) that is really having fun. Ho's apartment, a "redecorated" Slough House and the aforementioned bummer of an office party are some of the highlights when it comes to set decor, but each room has its own quirks whilst every space feels appropriately crummy and lived-in.

All in all, you still get a lot of what has made Slow Horses so captivating thus far. Razor-sharp zingers, Cartwright sprinting, Dander joining him as she also puts on her running shoes, political messes, lethal attacks including farts, Ho being an absolute bellend, men making fools of themselves; it's a fruitful formula. Buffoonery ensues, we cherish it. As far as reliably great TV that doesn't wait two years to return goes, it seems the slow and steady horse is still winning the race.

Smileys: Humour, set decoration, directing, Christopher Chung

Frowneys: Characterisation

If push comes to shove, you better have a push knife to shove.

4.0/5

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