Season 6 of Slow Horses leans into its own legacy as the Slough House reprobates get into hot water. Frank Harkness is back on the scene, someone is hunting them on home turf, and Jackson Lamb is on the warpath. With control slowly slipping through the fingers of Diana Taverner, and questions coming from Whitehall, Season 6 looks set to deliver another intriguing mix of old school intrigue and cutting-edge storytelling.
Audiences coming into this Emmy-award winning show expecting business as usual best buckle up. As the fate of national security begins failing apart in the opening episodes, it becomes clear that Slow Horses still has some backbone. With a focus on media conglomerates and manipulative moguls, this show still feels contemporary without drifting towards cliche.
There is also more darkness concealed within the character of Jackson Lamb than some might have thought possible. Gary Oldman may have won an Oscar within the skin of Winston Churchill, but Jackson Lamb may yet be his most memorable role. Unwashed, unwanted, and hiding his intellect behind bad life choices, Season 6 reveals a ruthless side to the Slough House station chief.
Image Courtesy of Apple TV
The playfulness disappears as hints of a cold-blooded survival instinct reveal themselves. Under pressure and ill-informed, Lamb does his best to save lives left, right, and centre by playing hard ball. Oldman shifts the tone of any given scene through demeanour rather than dialogue, and as a result Slow Horses gets better. Kicking this show up another notch as the Oscar winner goes up another gear.
For the veteran of stage and screen this unhygienic George Smiley is just another pitstop on a career peppered with peerless performances. Jackson Lamb is the uncouth outspoken counterpart to Smiley that audiences never knew they wanted. The spotlight might be on Jack Lowden right now because of James Bond, but Slow Horses still belongs to Oldman lock, stock, and barrel.
Kristen Scott Thomas, who is currently starring in The Cherry Orchard, might bring some gravitas to bear as Diana Taverner but Oldman remains her perfect dance partner as opposites in conflict. For someone so fundamentally in control, seeing the mask slip to reveal a flash of fear behind her facade adds another intriguing layer to this Apple original series. Making the prospect of another season, not only anticipated, but bordering on essential.
If there is anyone out there who has still to encounter Jackson Lamb and his Slow Horses get on the bandwagon. Alongside The Gentlemen on Netflix, this may just be the best limited series currently in production, packing a punch with pitch perfect casting even six seasons in.
Slow Horses is available to stream on Apple TV now.