Slow Horses episode reaction S5 E1 Bad Dates

A sharp beginning to the series but with bleaker tone among much slapstick

TV does some things better than novels

This episode shows you really, really, clearly how broken the slow horses have been since the shootout at Slough House at the end of series 4. These people were attacked and one of their number was killed. Every day the survivors come back to fulfil mind-numbing tasks at the same place that bullets flew; each day the building itself reminds them what they have been through and who they have lost. Even if, as Lamb points out, the kettle got replaced.

The setting for Slough House, showing how close it is to the nearest supermarket — River didn’t have to go very far to grab the grub for Louisa’s party

It would be quite easy for the Slow Horses/Slough House series to get formulaic and even if the overall theme is consistent, there is a clear arc of character development and exploration. So we should be unsurprised that the spooks are all out of sorts.

Within that context, Louisa moving on makes perfect sense. But she had better come back! Or some of my favourite moments from London Rules will seem very different.

But the forced oversimplification makes for a worse story

It can’t be overemphasised that the Slough House novels are about power, not politics. Mick Herron’s own politics, insofar as he overtly expresses them, seem to boil down to a loathing of Brexit and Boris Johnson. Personally, I can relate to that. But Tearney, Taverner, Judd and co jostle for position not because they have an ideology they want to execute once in power, but because power is there to be taken, and there is no difference between the scheming and plotting of the politicians and the leaders of the Park – until Jaffrey and Gimball are introduced.

In the books, Jaffrey and Gimball can be different because they are both conviction populists, but while they oppose each other, each has a relationship with the party of government. The (unnamed) PM hopes that Jaffrey will run for the West Midlands mayoralty under their party’s banner (although he does not) while Gimball, who resigned the whip some time back, wants to return to the party to mess things up for the PM.

Making Jaffrey and Gimball run against each other for to be London Mayor is to be regretted. It introduces party politics although the parties aren’t named and the American party colours seem to be used. It also makes the Gimballs’ vendetta against Jaffrey seem almost reasonable, part of the rough and tumble of politics rather than simple racism.

Twists and turns require bingeing

It doesn’t make sense for the show to be issued on a weekly basis. Episode 1 takes place over the course of a day, and it’s obvious that episode 2 will pick up events immediately following Roddy’s girlfriend’s text. So why the wait? It’s not as if we’re not going to watch all the episodes. In fact, the likelihood is that the reverse is true. It isn’t a ‘prestige’ move any more for a platform that doesn’t have a traditional linear channel to feed. It’s just annoying.

Here’s how Cafethinking covered the book on which series 5 is based.

And some thoughts on episode 2.