When it focuses on the spy stuff, Series 3 of Slow Horses is still fantastic but when it thinks itself as an action show, I’m less keen
“I’d like to see you eaten feet-first by pigs”
It took me a while to get around to watching Slow Horses but I was such a fan of Series 1 that I went straight on to binge Series 2. I deliberately held off going through the third to try and ration it out the show, so in the knowledge that the fourth has just been released by AppleTV+, I revisited Slough House once more for Series 3, based on the Mick Herron novel Real Tigers.
At its best, this is another cracking series of the show. Building on the established relationships both within the team and with us as an audience, the ramifications of previous tragic events percolate through the arrival of a new crisis, necessitating the slow horses to once again get into the field for some pretty exciting derring do, particularly in the final two episodes which go all-out action film.
It may be a matter of taste but I was a little disappointed at just how much this series leans into the action genre over its traditional spycraft – pretty much the whole final two episodes are given over to a climactic multiple-location shoot-out. For me, I’d much rather have had more of Sophie Okonedo and Kristin Scott Thomas going icily cold head-to-head as their rival MI5 head honchos clash in words and steely looks.
Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb continues to be awful but awfully effective as the head of the slow horses but as Saskia Reeves’ ever-faithful Standish takes her turn to be the one in the line of fire, both from the people who’ve kidnapped her and from Jackson himself, it is increasingly hard to see what it is that inspires so much loyalty from the people who work for him, it’s getting close to too much, for me.
But such is the standard of Slow Horses, even with bits I don’t like it is still immensely enjoyable. The brilliant Rosalind Eleazar continues to shine as the (not-grieving) Louisa, Jack Lowden’s River is good as the not-quite leading man and Freddie Fox, Samuel West and Naomi Wirthner all have fun with their returning characters offering different types of support. Now how long should I wait for Series 4….
