Chris Connor reviews the third episode of Slow Horses season 5…
After an explosive second episode, Slow Horses’ fifth season takes time to breathe as the tension escalates and the antagonists strike several blows. Ho is taken to The Park in some memorable exchanges with The Dogs and Diana Taverner, with Chris Chung once again a standout as the untameable Rodster and bringing humour to what is a spiralling situation with several car bombs detonated across London in an eerie opening.
Slough House, meanwhile, is on lockdown with Shirley running errands and the rest of the crew strictly told to hand over all phones and follow orders. Of course, this being the slow horses, Lamb and co. don’t take too kindly to following instructions, making what is a relatively light episode in terms of plot into a memorable one.
As has been the case in this season, the Slough House dynamic has been a joy, with the team less splintered and operating in tandem. Gary Oldman delivers his share of choice one-liners, and we explore some of Jackson Lamb’s Berlin years as he recounts a story that may or may not be true and/or involved the head of Slough House.
JK, a relatively quiet member of the team in the fourth season, once again proves his worth here, working out the destabilisation plan of the bad actors. Once again, Slough House is ahead of The Park, but unfortunately, no one wants to hear it, and the team are forced to take action to prevent further casualties.
For an episode with largely two locations, Slough House and The Park, there is no shortage of tension and humour in one of the funniest episodes of the show to date, without reducing the escalating tension with a series of incidents across the capital threatening to spiral out of control.
As the season hits the midway mark, Slow Horses once again strikes the sweet spot between drama and comedy with ‘Tall Tales’, effortlessly giving the ensemble cast plenty to do and ratcheting up the degree of danger for all involved.
Chris Connor
Originally published October 8, 2025. Updated October 10, 2025.
