I like that I never know what I'm going to get with each season of "Slow Horses." Season four is the first one that really digs into the background of any of the major characters, with an assassination attempt on River's grandfather leading to all sorts of juicy family secrets being spilled. The major villain is a cult leader, Frank Harkness (Hugo Weaving), and River spends a good deal of the season rambling around France on a solo mission. Season five is lighter and funnier, with Roddy Ho's disastrous dating life being a major plot point, and the biggest villain of the year is probably the new "First Desk" of MI5, Claude Whelan (James Callis), who is awful at his job.
There are a couple of new faces in the cast - JK Coe (Tom Brooke) joins Slough House as an introverted weirdo who mostly keeps to himself, and Emma Flyte (Ruth Bradley), a former cop, is now the head of the "Dogs" tactical unit, under Taverner. These change the existing character dynamics a bit. I also want to spotlight Molly Doran (Naomi Wirthner) as the MI5 archivist with a difficult personality, who becomes a recurring minor player. The other major characters continue to progress from season to season, with a few taking leaves from Slough House, and others noticeably getting better at their jobs. River's competence continues to be wildly variable, which is part of the fun. Jefferson Lamb is still the best character in the show's roster. His contemptuous facade is cracking a bit as we get to know him more, and his relationships with the other characters gain more mileage. We still don't know that much about him, which makes him all the more intriguing.
Usually when shows are this far into their runs, they start to repeat themselves and maybe fall back on old dramatic tropes to keep the momentum going. Maybe it's because the show has such short and self-contained seasons, or because it's adapting books that work off of a different storytelling model completely, but "Slow Horses" has none of these problems. I think it helps that the story progression concerning anything more character-centric is ongoing, but taking its time. For instance, the possibility of a romantic relationship between two members of the Slough House team becomes a serious possibility in the fifth season, but it's such a minor development that has nothing to do with the larger plot, it gets completely tabled early on. We'll have to wait and see if the romantic tensions actually go anywhere in season six or seven. There are hints of more tragic territory to explore that we've barely scratched the surface of, but I won't feel too disappointed if we never get there.
"Slow Horses" remains primarily a fast-past delivery system for action and thrills. In season four, we've got a really solid mystery involving doppelgangers and screwed up families. In season five, the plot involves a lot of crowds and gunplay, as several of the setpieces deal with foiling political assassinations. Slough House itself also comes under literal fire multiple times in these two seasons, which is usually resolved by one of the regulars doing something cool at a critical moment. I think it's important to note that this is the exception to the rule, though. The show works because the members of Slough House keep proving that they deserve to be there, and continue to be a passel of hopeless idiots most of the time. Fortunately, their screwups are just as entertaining as their successes.
In short, "Slow Horses" remains easily the best spy series that is currently running. I wish that I'd gotten acquainted with it sooner, but this also means that I don't have as long of a wait for the sixth series, which is due in fall of 2026. The preview promises more shenanigans, and I can't wait.
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