Sayonara, the fifth episode in series six of Slow Horses, starts and ends with dramatic, all-action, big-budget action scenes. At the beginning, Sid is held captive by Russian agents; by the end, it’s River who is being held by the dogs. It’s high-octane, exciting if often implausible stuff. But perhaps the more interesting scenes take place in the middle, as Diana Taverner faces opposition on several fronts.

The slow horses have picked up an interesting mix of fellow travellers: Reece, who gives Harkness and his goons a breadcrumb trail to the safe house; Flyte, who quit rather than be a slow horse but is fighting alongside them anyway; Moira, who as the only person to return from Slough House to the Park, has both arrogance and a complete lack of self-awareness when she tells Catherine, ‘If you were a good spy, you wouldn’t be in Slough House’. When Catherine says to Reece, ostensibly about his assassinated father, ‘Whatever he was, that’s all he’s ever going to be,’ is she referring to Jackson or to Charles Partner? But if this group is motley, so must it be muttley, as the fabulous Monty joins the team as a result of being a passenger in the Land Rover that River commandeers. Spin-off season for Monty, please.

But we return to Diana Taverner. Three scenes are full of her bluff and bluster, but she isn’t convincing and she knows it. If she were truly on top of the Cantor situation, she would already know what links him to the Russians. And it is in her interests to find out before Jackson does, as she’s vulnerable on that front. But in telling her that he is going to find out, Jackson is pointing out that his ability, backed by Ho, to find that intel, is greater than her ability, backed by the full resources of the Park. Her line to the oversight committee about even her pencil requiring a subcommittee’s approval will have found resonance with anyone who’s ever drowned in bureaucracy. But Oliver and co aren’t charmed. And Diana’s albeit perfunctory attempt to reassure Sid leads Sid to rightly conclude that she is not intended to survive the deal.

What happened to the woman who once told an aide that they should never trust her? Twice, she pleads for trust. On neither occasion is it granted.

Cantor is going to get his deal, but surely he knows he is out of his depth? Judd comes to see him and offers a deal, or blackmails him if you prefer. Judd wants rehabilitation and sees Cantor’s TV network as the place to do it. (A propos of absolutely nothing in particular, I am reminded that in 2023 Boris Johnson signed a contract to make programmes for GB News but although he makes appearances on the channel, a Johnson-anchored or produced show has not yet emerged.) Cantor seems to have the measure of Judd, but once he gets the phone call from Natasha he is prancing around his office like an idiot. He will be a puppy in the hands of the GRU. (But not a Very Good Boy like our Monty.)

This is a fairly dark episode, with visible scenes of violence, and threat throughout. So the moments of levity are welcome. Watching the dogs tell River and Sid to ‘sit’ and ‘stay’ was fun. As was Lamb’s swipe at River: ‘She died the last time she was with you, didn’t she?’ And his reference to Butlin’s will have confused the non-British audience and delighted the Brits in equal measure.

In this episode, there are references made to Kojak, adverts for lager (Stella Artois), Skyfall and the Great Escape. It is pleasing that Sid and River’s awkward flirtations seem to lean heavily onto the Belinda Carlisle song Leave a Light On. And the album on which that single appears? Runaway Horses. Let’s hope that in the next episode the slow horses find that heaven is a place on earth.

Episode 6, Judgement Day, will be available on 21 October 2026 on Apple TV.

Find the rest of our Slow Horses coverage, including reviews of all the Slough House novels and associated stories, and episode recaps of series 5 and 6, here.