Things have never really gone well for the former would-be superstars currently slumming it at Slough House, the place that MI-5 agents who have screwed up get sent when they’re not actually able to be trusted with important field duties. But in the latest six-episode, nonstop thrill ride of a season of Slow Horses, the stakes have never been higher – or deadlier – bringing old familiar faces out of the woodwork as a new threat emerges and persists, determined to permanently bury anyone associated with this embarrassment of a station rather than simply ensure that they’re forgotten.
Despite all efforts made to relegate them to unimportant, and certainly far from timely, assignments, it doesn’t take long for the almost deliberately incompetent Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) to realize that his former underlings are being targeted and summarily executed after two mysterious, seemingly accidental deaths go underreported. As two assassins (Kyle Soller and MyAnna Buring) hunt them all down, River (Jack Lowden) reencounters Sid (Olivia Cooke), who he thought was dead, and other former Slough House members are frantically brought back into the fold for their own protection.
Fitting so much drama and intrigue into just six episodes has always been a hallmark of this show, which has impressively now produced six seasons in under six calendar years. But there’s something about this latest season that feels even more enhanced, reassembling a handful of actors who had previously departed the show and upping the ante considerably, as they’re no longer stumbling into life-or-death situations but instead being fervently pursued with the express aim of them all being dead. There’s also more onscreen pulse-pounding action to be found, which makes each episode entirely compelling and riveting from start to finish. One installment per week is more than satisfactory, even if audiences will be quite hungry for answers to come in the next hour.
The absence of Emmy-winning writer and executive producer Will Smith, who left the show following its fifth season, might have signaled alarm bells, but it feels just as solid and stable as ever. In many ways, it feels completely expected, the latest misadventures of this ragtag group of people who would never have wanted to end up in the same place, but also brings with it a number of worthwhile twists and surprises that are subtly embedded into the overarching storyline. There is no show that better balances tone, discovering great humor and infusing considerable sarcasm in the most serious and consequential of situations.
Oldman could play this role in his sleep, but that doesn’t mean he’s coasting or phoning it in, and it remains endlessly entertaining to watch him walk the world as Jackson Lamb. Each member of the team brings something specific and worthwhile, and this is among Lowden’s best work. It’s a treat to have Cooke, more recently seen on House of the Dragon, back, and it’s honestly a high point for every member of the cast, who all get more focused and intense screen time. Kristin Scott Thomas is at her best in damage control mode as First Desk Diana Taverner, and Harry Lloyd is an excellent new addition as a powerful figure eager to pull strings and exact control. The return of the chilling Hugo Weaving after a memorable season four arc is also worth celebrating.
Slow Horses is a unique specimen in that it finds its characters bumbling around and almost accidentally putting themselves in danger before usually rectifying the situation, and season six is what it looks like when everyone’s in survival mode, even though, for most of them, it doesn’t mean they’re acting any differently. This season feels both like a standout and the surest sign that this show should continue producing new episodes as long as anyone will greenlight it. It’s shrewd, winning entertainment that demonstrates that overstuffed episodes and longer seasons aren’t always necessary to make something that feels like it has all the right ingredients and nothing extraneous.
Season Rating: 9/10
