Chris Connor reviews the fifth episode of Slow Horses…
After last week’s episode saw much of the Slough House crew fending for themselves the penultimate episode sees them reunited briefly for a rousing and sarcastic speech from Jackson Lamb, with Gary Oldman continuing to excel at capturing Lamb’s annoying brilliance and lazy external appearance hiding a sharp mind. This episode sees the pieces of the chess board moving into position as both Regent’s Park and Slough House try to outwit each other and find the missing kidnapped Hassan Ahmad. This adds layers to proceedings and several clever twists as we try to keep up with who has the upper hand.
The greater focus on the kidnapping adds an extra dimension to the show with far more stakes and more drama. An incredibly tense stop for petrol is one of the series’ strongest moments and is an incredibly acted sequence. The characterisation of the kidnappers as out of their depth and carefree makes them more immediately dangerous and unpredictable with their initial plan now in tatters they could erupt at any moment with Hassan as the collateral damage.
As with previous weeks, ‘Fiasco’ packs an awful lot into just over 40 minutes and continues to provide thrilling viewing from one of the strongest spy projects in years and whets the appetite for the second part adapting the second book in Mick Herron’s series Dead Lions. A manhunt for River inside Regent’s Park is a particular standout and once again shows the series can remain essential viewing with an absence of shootouts and fistfights in favour of more Hitchcock-like cat and mouse chase sequences. James Hawes’ direction deserves a tremendous amount of credit for balancing the frenetic feel of much of the show while ensuring the story loses none of its impetus or nuance and continuing to deliver character moments as well as thrills and suspense.
This episode allows Daniel Pemberton’s stellar score to really stand out helping ratchet up the tension to almost unbearable levels while helping to calm the mood in some of the more contemplative, discussion heavy moments. Pemberton’s work across the series shows why he is so highly revered, coupled with his recent work on another Apple TV project, The Afterparty.
It is a continued treat to see the cast of the series interact, bringing the complex characters to life and feeling like perfect reflections of Mick Herron’s Slow Horses. It is again a joy to see Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas facing off against each other with each one upping the other, sometimes multiple times within the same scene. Jack Lowden’s River is such a likeable screen presence it is difficult not to root for him and he carries the physical demands of the role. Even smaller parts like Freddie Fox as the slimey James “Spider” Webb are given moments to shine without a huge amount of screen-time.
Slow Horses continues its strong run in its penultimate episode with a tense twisty, often blackly funny episode, where a sequence involving 500 Miles by The Proclaimers is an unexpected gift. It is once again impeccably acted with kudos to the cast across the board and as we gear up for the finale of this first stretch of six episodes, fans will surely wait with baited breath for a release date of its second batch of episodes and news of further adaptations in the series.
Chris Connor
