Frustratingly Inconsistent, Occasionally Excellent
IMDb rating: 7/10
{Season 1 review}
Slow Horses emerges as a competent if somewhat over-lauded addition to the espionage canon… a series that demonstrates occasional brilliance whilst remaining frustratingly inconsistent throughout its six-episode arc.
The show’s greatest triumph lies in establishing a distinctly unglamorous vision of modern intelligence work, yet it stumbles when attempting to justify its deliberately measured pacing.
Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb anchors proceedings with reliably excellent performances, transforming what could have been tedious exposition into genuinely entertaining character assassination. His collection of departmental misfits provides intermittent moments of genuine pathos, though several remain disappointingly underwritten throughout.
The series peaks magnificently in episode five, demonstrating sophisticated plotting and genuine tension. However, both opening and concluding episodes suffer from pacing issues that test viewer patience unnecessarily.
More troublingly, the central antagonist dynamic relies on rather lazy racial archetypes – the cartoonishly evil white supremacist versus the conveniently whitewashed Pakistani British hostage – that feels disappointingly simplistic for a series otherwise committed to moral complexity.
Production values remain consistently polished, and the writing occasionally crackles with authentic wit. Yet one cannot escape the sense that Slow Horses has been elevated beyond its actual merits by critics perhaps too eager to champion intelligent television.
Solid entertainment that falls short of genuine excellence.
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