Season 5 of Slow Horses wastes no time throwing the Slough House gang into the middle of a nightmare. The premiere opens with a horrifying mass shooting in a busy London square, the kind of event that instantly rattles the city and sends MI5 scrambling. While the shiny agents at Regent’s Park posture and point fingers, it is Jackson Lamb’s team of rejects who find themselves circling the truth. From there the plot sprawls into political scandal, public unrest, and a mayoral election that becomes tangled up in questions of extremism and security. The show is not just about spies tripping over their own incompetence this time, it is about how fear can be weaponized in politics and how intelligence agencies can manipulate what the public sees and believes.
River Cartwright is still carrying the scars of past missions while also trying to care for his grandfather, whose fading memory leaves him more vulnerable than ever. That personal thread keeps River grounded even as the chaos of the case swirls around him. Jackson Lamb, meanwhile, remains the walking embodiment of decay, rude and revolting but also always ten steps ahead. Gary Oldman plays him with such precision that every insult or wheeze becomes part of the rhythm of the show.
The big shake-up this season is Roddy Ho finally stepping into the spotlight. He is still the irritating tech guy, but his storyline with a new girlfriend quickly raises alarm bells. Is she with him for real, or is she connected to the very forces trying to destabilize London? Watching Roddy juggle romance with paranoia gives the season an energy it has not had before, and it is fun to see a character who usually provides comic relief get pulled into a more serious thread.
There are still the classic Slough House dynamics at play. The team is messy, bickering, and constantly underestimated by the powers that be, yet they keep stumbling into the truth. The blend of comedy and bleakness remains sharp. One scene will break your heart, and the next will make you laugh out loud at the sheer incompetence of these supposed spies.
If this season feels not quite as tight as the earlier ones, but it still feels vital and exciting. The political angle adds fresh stakes, the performances keep everything anchored, and the misfit energy of Slough House is as addictive as ever. Slow Horses remains one of the most entertaining spy series out there, capable of being tragic, hilarious, and thrilling all at once. Season 5 may be chaotic, but it is the kind of chaos that keeps you coming back.
Slow Horses season 5 is now airing weekly on AppleTV+.
