Slow Horses episode reaction S5 E4 Missiles

On an epic scale

Spoilers follow, obviously

Did Slow Horses jump the shark? From the first few notes of Robert Palmer’s Simply Irresistible to the somewhat shocked whine of Mick Jagger, this rollercoaster of an episode means that nothing will ever be the same again.

pink paint splatter — River’s new fashion aesthetic. Pic: rawpixel.com

Jackson Lamb did promise Emma Flyte that his horses would make an epic contribution. That they end up responsible for the death of the person they are sent to protect would not surprise him. That they possibly save the life of another target might. River Cartwright runs about and throws punches and says he’s from MI5, all for naught. Shirley runs about and throws punches too, and once again comes off worst to our slight surprise. But it is Catherine and J K Coe, both of whom have never to our knowledge been trained to be in the field, that make the decisive moves. This series has been about the horses as an ensemble; the actors make a great ensemble but the horses do not.

There’s a load to love in this episode but, as River’s clothes at the end attest, you can’t get away from the paint. Now this series has drifted quite far from the source novel London Rules, but everyone who has read it will have been expecting the paint scene and there’s no way that Will Smith and co would have been able to have put a lid on it. And once that decision has been made, they’ve had to truly go for it. I understand that the filming, with the three-stage unspooling, is a reference to something else, but either way it’s bold – but almost certainly the right creative decision – to somewhat switch styles in the build up. I’m minded a bit of Bond’s barrel turn stunt in an AMC Hornet in The Man with the Golden Gun – this is kind of an anti-stunt – but luckily there’s no penny whistle to ruin the effect. And then Coe and River stand around, silent. Running and jumping isn’t going to help now.

Meanwhile, there’s a mix of delusion and a focus on office politics rather than the threats to the realm. On the former, Whelan trying to explain that his Danish companion wasn’t even an ‘escort’ because she didn’t need to be because he’d paid her university fees was up there with Ho asking Flyte whether she was in love with him (her disgusted reaction and quick recovery was a delight). On the latter, Flyte is more bothered about Lamb beating her to Tara’s hideout than how he knows what he knows and how they could best use it – but Lamb protests that he’s interested only in saving Slough House. He’s appalled by the Park’s lack of tradecraft, though he doesn’t seem to feel the need to develop that of his joes.

A certain type of the TV audience won’t be pleased that Gimball’s supporters aren’t portrayed sympathetically (as River puts it, they all look like murderers), but Gimball is not a standard conservative candidate. Christopher Villiers does well to try to humanise him but the comments to Tyson (and Gimball’s short appearance in series 1) make it clear that he has some pretty abhorrent beliefs. Jaffrey by contrast could be a centrist-ish politician from either main party. His message is superficial but the sharpest commentary is the shot of the tents for the homeless in front of a poster that says: Vote Jaffrey Delivering on Housing.

We still don’t really know who the antagonists are, nor what will become of the spooks from Slough House or the Park. They’re all out of control, fighting for their own survival, and the only one out in front, in a battered yellow Honda Civic, is Jackson Lamb.

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

Thoughts on episode 1.