Series 2 of Slow Horses, Dead Lions, maintains the excellent standard with some brutal plotting
“This isn’t like cancelling a Deliveroo”
Having loved the first series and realising there was only six episodes in each, I couldn’t help but mainline Series 2 of Slow Horses almost rightaway. The focus here switches to the legacy of the Cold War careers of several of the old hands, something triggered by the suspicious death of a former field agent. With a large anti-capitalist march about to hit London also heightening tensions, there’s a lot to be investigated, even for the pariahs of Slough House.
There’s a slight change of personnel due to Paul Higgins’ non-return and, well, spoilers…(properly gutting, too!) Aimée-Ffion Edwards and Kadiff Kirwan get added to the team which is probably just a little bit too much turnover for such a large team in a relatively short series, we don’t quite get enough of a sense of them as characters, given the depth we already have for Saskia Reeves’ Standish and Rosalind Eleazar’s Louisa who both excel again.
Lowden’s River is once again at the heart of things, going undercover in Tunbridge Wells this time, and there’s a welcome return for Jonathan Pryce as his grandfather who is ostensibly retired from MI5. Sam West also does great work again as oleaginous MP Peter Judd, an ambitious Home Secretary with whom Kristin Scott Thomas’ Diana ends up allied, though quite how uneasily isn’t immediately clear. The ex-KGB stuff isn’t always the most compelling but it all winds up to a highly effective finale and Gary Oldman is just excellent.
