Slow Horses TV Review

Plot: After a botched and publicly embarrassing training mission, British MI5 agent River Cartwright is exiled to Slough House, an administrative purgatory for service rejects. Known as slow horses, Cartwright and his fellow employees must endure dull, paper-pushing tasks and their miserable boss, Jackson Lamb, who expects them to quit out of boredom and frustration. Life in Slough House is defined by drudgery until the slow horses become entangled in a dangerous gambit by Regent’s Park.

Review: When we think of spy stories, first thoughts likely jump to the films in the Jason Bourne or Mission: Impossible series. If you think of British spies, odds are your first thought was instantly of James Bond. What all three of those franchises have in common are large-scale action and big-budget spectacle. But, there are countless spy stories that deal with the more intimate details of operations, procedure, and intrigue that are every bit as thrilling as those film franchises. Slow Horses falls into the latter category. Based on author Mick Herron’s multi-volume series centered on Jackson Lamb and the agents of Slough House, Slow Horses takes a cue from John Le Carre’s George Smiley stories, including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which not so coincidentally also starred Gary Oldman. But, what distinguishes Slow Horses from other series is a brutal sense of humor that is very British and very entertaining.

Slow Horses opens its six-episode debut season with an operation led by MI5 agent River Cartwright (Jack Lowden of Fighting with my Family), the grandson of distinguished agent David Cartwright (Jonathan Pryce). When the operation goes terribly wrong, Cartwright is relegated to Slough House, the place disgraced agents are sent to waste away until they quit or retire. Desperate to prove himself as a worthy agent, Cartwright gets involved in the high-profile kidnapping of a Muslim man who is set to be executed by British extremists. Despite being admonished by his superior, Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), Cartwright investigates. Known as slow horses, a term for their lack of talent, the agents of Slough House and a reluctant Lamb, help Cartwright save the day despite being tracked by MI5 leader Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas). The story takes a very relevant look at contemporary political strife but also delivers a story that is not quite what I was expecting it to be.

What is noticeable right off the bat when watching this series is how different a character Jackson Lamb is for Gary Oldman. The antithesis of George Smiley, Oldman portrays Lamb as a crass, profane, and disinterested agent. He drinks and insults his way through each episode but remains the most interesting character on screen. Whether he is burping, farting, or dropping very eloquent profanity, Lamb’s gruff outer demeanor belies a seasoned agent underneath. His reason for being sent to Slough House is the same question we are meant to ask about every agent in this ensemble. From the talented Sid Baker (Olivia Cooke) and Louisa Guy (Rosalind Eleazar) to tech expert Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) and the awkward Min Harper (Dustin Demri-Burns), we slowly unravel what each of these agents is good and as well as what their very obvious Achilles heels are. Everyone in the cast is adept at being funny but also handles the dramatic stakes of this series very well. Kristin Scott Thomas is quite good in a subdued role as the head of MI5 who may be calm and collected but is also a force to be reckoned with.

Without divulging any spoilers, I can say that a basic knowledge of British politics would be helpful in following this story. Any average viewer could certainly watch and grasp the plot of this series but I also expect that some aspects of how government and bureaucratic organizations work in the UK would alleviate many of the questions I had to stop and look up online. Nevertheless, there is more than enough going on that some of the more specific references won’t impede your enjoyment of the story. It does offer some teases to character subplots, notably one tied to Jackson Lamb’s assistant and her husband, that surely factors more in subsequent novels featuring these characters. In many ways, Slow Horses is how I imagine The Office would have looked had it been a drama set in a spy agency. Oldman is the best worst boss since David Brent and Michael Scott combined.

Written by Will Smith (no, not the Fresh Prince) and directed by James Hawes, Slow Horses is a limited series only in that it consists of six episodes with a concrete narrative beginning and end. Apple commissioned two seasons of Slow Horses which were filmed back to back with the finale showcasing the trailer for the sophomore run which is based on the novel Dead Lions. Knowing that this story will continue next season, several characters this season who had far less screen time than I anticipated based on the trailers will likely factor into the second. Some may be a bit underwhelmed by how everything wraps up, but there is more than enough tension to keep you guessing until the sixth and final episode.

Slow Horses is the type of show, like FX series The Americans, that may struggle to find an audience early and some may be disinterested by the slow pacing here. But, even if you aren’t remotely interested in most of the characters, you will be fascinated by Jackson Lamb. Gary Oldman is one of the best actors working today and he is a master at inhabiting his performances. Without any prosthetics or intricate costumes, Oldman still turns Lamb into a layered character who you will like despite how unlikeable he is. Had this series focused more on him than the ensemble, it likely would have been better, but as an introduction to an ongoing series, this is a decent start. Slow Horses may live up to the first word in its title, but it certainly has the potential to finish the race strong.

Slow Horses premieres on April 1st on AppleTV+.

Slow Horses

GOOD

7