I hope readers will forgive me for being effusive about “Slow Horses” Season 6, but the show hasn’t been this good in a long time. I've already tabbed one episode of the season as my favorite stream of its release week, and the ending of Episode 4 on Wednesday had me slightly annoyed that I would have to wait another seven days to find out what happens next.

The Slow Horses have been in peril as never before this season, and just when I was getting used to having Olivia Cooke’s Sidonie Baker as a main character of the series again, she’s at risk of having her tenure at MI5 cut short once again. Will Jackson Lamb be able to pull his joes out of the fire, and will River Cartwright be able to save Sid and prove he’s more than just a middling spy with a famous name? Even though I’m well aware that not all of these questions will be answered in the penultimate episode of “Slow Horses” Season 6, I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for it to return anyway.

For much of “Slow Horses” Season 6, River, Sid, and the enigmatic J.K. Coe have been fleeing from a pair of mysterious killers who have been targeting Slough House operatives. In Episode 4, we finally learn that the duo is Russian GRU agents who are hunting Slow Horses in a revenge plot set in motion by the actions of MI5 First Desk Diana Taverner.

We also get a good reminder of Taverner’s willingness to stop at nothing to cover her own tracks. In the episode’s final moments, she gives her consent to Baker’s killing in retaliation for the death of a Russian operative. It’s gutting to fans who began the season thinking that Taverner’s ascent to the top job at MI5 would mean that perhaps the long-suffering, down-but-not-out agents of Slough House would finally get a little overdue recognition.

Season 6 began with the death of Slough House operatives who haven’t been seen on screen before, or who left the organization several seasons ago. But with the slaying of Coe in Episode 4, viewers are given a reminder of the show’s lack of sentimentality; agents the audience has spent several seasons getting to know could well be on the firing line before Season 6 wraps.

How much of the season’s final puzzle will be put in place in Episode 5? There are still a ton of loose threads to tie up. What will happen with Standish, Shirley, Louisa, and Moira as they settle into Taverner’s vacation house? How will Jackson Lamb get the upper hand on Damien Cantor and Frank Harkness? Will we get answers to any of these questions on Wednesday when “Slow Horses” Episode 5 hits Apple TV? And, most importantly, is there any way to make the time go a little faster?

Slow Horses

April 1, 2022

Follow a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents—and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb—as they navigate the espionage world’s smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.