Slow Horses season 5 wrapped up what many critics and fans have called the best outing for the series thus far. The darkly comedic spy series continues to be a mix of thrills, laughs, and compelling characters, tracing the work of MI5’s most undesirable agents. The fifth season of the acclaimed show continued to deliver, centering on a terrorist plot amid a tense election.
Slow Horses is renewed for more seasons, and while it will be a bit of a wait for fans, season 5 offered plenty of great moments to look back on. The best of season 5 showcased the wonderful tonal shifts Slow Horses does so well, jumping between entertaining character interactions, hilarious misadventures, and intense spy thrills.
These moments helped to make Slow Horses season 5 such a success.
River’s grandfather still has it
Jonathan Pryce has been a pivotal part of the incredible ensemble of Slow Horses since the beginning as David Cartwright. Not only is he a former First Desk at MI5, but he is also the grandfather of River Cartwright (Jack Lowden). However, while he was a sharp mentor in previous seasons, David now lives in a senior living facility and is coping with his worsening dementia.
Throughout the fifth season, River has been ignoring his grandfather’s calls, feeling the need to focus on the mission at hand. However, when he finally does listen to his grandfather, even though he is confused, David can recognize the terrorists’ methods. It is David’s absentminded musings that alert River to the fact that one of the terrorists is still at large.
Tara reveals herself
In a hilarious bit of storytelling, the inciting incident that has the Slow Horses suspecting there is a conspiracy at work is that the obnoxious Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) is dating an attractive woman, Tara (Hiba Bennani). The suspicions turn out to be founded, as Tara admits to being pressured into seducing Ho by a band of terrorists. However, there is more to her story than she lets on.
While in MI5 custody, Tara uses her charms on First Desk Claude Whelan (James Callis), who uses her as an asset to track down the terrorists. However, when she is released on the mission, she effortlessly ditches her MI5 surveillance and reveals herself to be not a helpless victim, but one of the masterminds of this plot. It is an exhilarating moment that raises the stakes heading into the final episode.
Lamb puts Whelan in his place
Claude Whalen has been a hugely entertaining addition to Slow Horses, starting in season 4. He is a bumbling and awkward new First Desk at MI5 and seems to be the only one who doesn’t realize that he is the worst person for the position. Despite season 5 showcasing his most embarrassing moments yet, Whalen somehow gets the courage to take on Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) in the finale episode.
Whalen decides that Slough House is pointless, and he gleefully tells Lamb that he is shutting the whole thing down. Lamb seems to take it all without much fight before playing Whalen a voice recording of him admitting to a sex scandal and threatening a politician with blackmail shortly before that politician ended up dead. Seeing the brief moment of confidence drain from Whalen’s face is one of the most satisfying moments of the season.
Lamb tells a story
Despite his slobbish appearance, Lamb is a cunning spy, as seen when he and his team are detained by MI5 agents. To pass the time, Lamb begins telling a story about an agent during the Cold War who was captured and tortured, including having the soles of his feet burned to get information out of him. Of course, the story is only meant to distract his captors and give secret instructions to his team on making their escape.
It is an intense moment with the speech brilliantly delivered by Gary Oldman. For a moment, when Lamb is describing how the KGB eventually found the spy’s pregnant lover and tortured her in front of him, he almost seems to get lost in the memory. Then comes the final shot of the season, when Lamb removes his socks to reveal his scarred feet, suggesting the story was real and it was Lamb himself who was the spy.
Gimball is taken out
One of the most entertaining surprises of the season was seeing what a great comedic pairing River and Coe (Tom Brooke) are. River’s ambitious but misguided spy efforts are a hilarious mismatch with Coe’s oddball and straight-faced demeanor. When they team up to stop the assassination of populist leader Dennis Gimball, it delivers one of the biggest laughs in the entirety of the series.
After arriving in time to save Gimball from getting beaten up, Coe climbs down from the scaffolding on the side of the building, knocking over a paint can in the process. The moment is hilariously drawn out as the audience can see what’s coming, but still can’t believe it. Sure enough, the paint can falls on Gimball’s head, leaving the two spies to stare in disbelief as they try to come to grips with killing the politician they were sent to save. It is a terrific example of the show excelling with dark humor.
Stay tuned for more news about Slow Horses season 6.