Slow Horses Season Two Review

One of the brighter surprises of the 2022 television year was the debut of the British counter-intelligence drama Slow Horses on AppleTV+. Smart, bracing, complex, and unafraid to kill its darlings, the first season of the series – an adaptation of Mick Herron’s novel of the same name – was a critical and commercial success. Now, in another wonderful surprise, the second season of the series debuts on Friday, December 2 – meaning that we get another six episode thriller to whet our appetite as we head into the holiday season.*

*Ok, it’s not really a surprise if you’ve read my review of season one or if you did a bit of research, as seasons one and two were filmed back-to-back, which meant those of us in the know knew the second season was coming sooner rather than later. But I’m still seeing it as a lovely holiday gift from Apple to us – especially since we’re still waiting for that third season of Ted Lasso that appears lost in the ether.

The second season of Slow Horses tackles Herron’s second novel in the series, “Dead Lions,” and offers a different look and feel from the first season – for good and for ill. While season one dealt with a domestic terrorism case – which kept the story rather contained to the UK and its own internal politics – season two opens the story up a bit as the Slough House team get drawn into a tete-a-tete with former Soviet agents still operating on British soil. While it’s a gripping story – I was genuinely on the edge of my seat while watching the final two episodes of the season – the nuts and bolts of the story are less easy to grasp than with the yarn in season one. There are a host of new characters to introduce, which isn’t easy to do with a mere six-episode season, and many of the villains (and there are several) become almost interchangeable by season’s end. It’s not quite as complex as working your way through a Russian novel, but it’s not particularly easy to figure out who’s who – especially while watching multiple episodes back to back.*

*The episodes will be released weekly, so it might be easier to sort through the characters, their relationships, and how they intersect with the terrorist plot at hand with a week to sort through the plot, but I had a great deal of difficulty whilst watching the screeners over a single weekend. Again, it’s not a showstopper – for reasons I’ll explain below – but this season’s story was much more convoluted and rooted in character development that the series didn’t spend enough time on to really make it hit home the way it should.

So, the story doesn’t work as well in season two. But is the show still worth watching? Absolutely. Yes, I found myself lost regarding which Russian was which and why they wanted to do what they were doing, but I didn’t mind because the core performances of the series remain so darn great. Gary Oldman’s work as Jackson Lamb is even better this time around – and the series really leans into him being just an absolute shit of a person while also being a shockingly great agent. Similarly, Kristin Scott Thomas is given a bit more to do this time around as Diana Taverner, but you get a great sense of how driven she is to see herself in the top MI-5 spot – and just what she’s willing to do to get there. The Slough House team is back, albeit with two new members (Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Shirley Dander and Kadiff Kirwan as Marcus Longridge, both great additions to the squad), but the focus of the series shifts from Jack Lowden’s River (who still gets his own arc and is really allowed to show off his comedy chops with it) to Rosalind Eleazer’s Louisa, who gets a hell of a story this time around. Eleazer is more than up for the task and steals much of the season with her strong and nuanced performance.

The thing about Slow Horses is that, unlike so many law enforcement stories, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Yes, there’s a terrible threat on their plate, and yes, they are in terrible danger at times, but the show isn’t built to be one massive chase set piece after another. There’s a bit more action this time around, but again, the series is quick to keep the show churning with dark, biting humor. And it never forgets that there’s a reason these MI-5 agents are in Slough House: They aren’t as great at their jobs as they think they are. They make stupid mistakes, trying to prove just how amazing they are. They aren’t infallible James Bond-types. The reasons they were sent to the C-Team still exist within them, whether it’s being too quick to make major calls without checking for all the facts or flying off the handle in the face of authority. And these mistakes do come back to bite them. It’s not an easy line to walk – show us that they are capable at cracking the case while also showing us that they still haven’t learned their lessons from their past. And it’s that smart character work that makes this show still work even when the central case doesn’t.

At the end of the season, did I really understand just why the Russians wanted to do what they wanted to do? Not really. But I got the gist of it. However, what I did care about – and what the series delivered in spades – was the chance to watch some incredible performances keep me entertained over the course of the season. A second time through with these characters helped deepen their characterization and expand our understanding of what makes them tick. Something that I suspect will get even better with the already ordered third and fourth seasons of the series. And, more importantly, Slow Horses continues to be fun. You’ll certainly laugh at the antics of Lamb – and various characters’ reactions to him – and you’ll wonder just how influential he could have been in MI-5 if he had kept his nose clean. If you’re looking for a series with compelling characters chasing bad guys, well, Slow Horses’ second season absolutely fits the bill.

Slow Horses second season premieres on Friday, December 2. Episodes will be released weekly. All six episodes of the season were provided for review.