DUBAI: After a slightly uneven fifth season, the darkly funny spy thriller “Slow Horses” rediscovers its footing in season six, balancing its trademark dry humor with a tightly wound conspiracy, propulsive action and some genuinely emotional character work.
The season begins with River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) — one of the titular team of disgraced UK secret service agents sidelined by MI5 — grieving the loss of his beloved grandfather David, a former elite service agent who shaped much of River’s life. But grief, we’re told, is never linear — less so when a Slow Horse is involved.
On the day of the funeral, River is pulled into two developments that may be connected. First, Russian assassins begin targeting ex-Slow Horses. Second, Frank Harkness (Hugo Weaving), River’s brutal mercenary father, resurfaces.
When the first former Slow Horse is found dead — burned in a storage unit — it’s dismissed as an unfortunate accident by MI5’s First Desk. But Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb, leader of the Slow Horses, is not buying it. As the body count rises, he pulls his team — and a few former members — off grid. River, as always, has other ideas.
The tension between Lamb’s cynical pragmatism and River’s impulsiveness remains one of the show’s greatest strengths. Oldman is in great form, bringing even more bite to Lamb’s insults as he tries to keep his team from being wiped out.
One standout scene sees Lamb meeting Harkness in a Shake Shack. Watching Oldman and Weaving square off is an acting masterclass. Lowden, meanwhile, gives River a more vulnerable edge as grief, guilt and old loyalties collide.
If the long-standing speculation that Lowden could be the next James Bond proves true, this season makes a compelling case for why. Not only does he bring his A-game to the action scenes, but he is not afraid to show a softer side — a necessary part of 007 since Bond’s Noughties reboot.
With season seven of “Slow Horses” already shot and an eighth season greenlit, this season offers plenty to get us excited for them — and for many more.