Mikes Film Talk

Slow Horses, so slow to come back to our screens, sees season 4 start with Identity Theft. We welcome the returns of “The Rejects” and all that entails.

I have been slow (Also.) to write about this superior spy/mystery/thriller. This was one that I had to binge. Getting caught up meant waiting irritably for the next installment of season 3.

The story so far and Main cast

Deputy Head of MI5: Diana Taverner: Kristin Scott Thomas. She equally despises Lamb and “The Rejects.” She does not hesitate to use them however. Diana works for Claude Whelan: James Callis the new First Desk at MI5. There is no love lost there.

The Rejects: A section of MI5. The mysterious spy network that protects the realm. The “purgatory” they face is in Slough House; their base of operations. The rejects are also known as The Slow Horses; AKA; The Losers, as dubbed by their boss, also a “reject;” Jackson Lamb. Lamb is played with a jaded panache that defies logic by the legendary Gary Oldman.

The Team

River Cartwright: Jack Lowden. Grandson of “the old B*stard:” David Cartwright: Jonathan Pryce

Louisa Guy: Rosalind Eleazar possible new love interest of young Cartwright.

Roddy Ho: Christopher Chung narcissistic IT team member. Hated by literally everyone on the team. (And by everyone who spends more than two seconds with him.)

Shirley Dander: Aimee-Ffion Edwards. Drug addict.

Marcus Longridge: Kadiff Kirwan is also an addict. His drug of choice? Gambling.

Catherine Standish: Saskia Reeves an alcoholic with a long connection to Lamb. It is not a good connection. She loathes the ground Lamb walks on.

Newer Team Members

Emma Flyte: Ruth Bradley. The new field operative who meets Lamb for the first time in this episode. She misjudges the legendary agent badly.

Moira Tregorian: Joanna Scanlan. The new Standish.

JK Coe: Tom Brooke. The newest “loser.” So quiet no one knows anything about him.

Back to the Story

David Cartwright is suffering from Dementia or Alzheimer’s. In the episode’s open, two things happen. A shopping precinct in London is blown up and David shoots his grandson.

As with the prior seasons of Slow Horses; the story is actually secondary to the scheme of things. It is the interaction between MI5, Lamb, and the rest of The Losers that is the entertainment.

Spys

Slow Horses is chock-a-block with fired spies. They are given the rubbish jobs that no one else wants. The Rejects have a lot of spare time on their hands. Each spy is anxious to “return to the fold.”

This changes when a new season comes along with a new nefarious plot brewing in the background. In the foreground, our main players must cover their bums, figure out what is really happening; and die.

This Le Carre look alike does not protect its darlings. Anyone can die. Rather nastily.

(SPOILER ALERT)

River

River Cartwright, by the very benefit of his birthright, is the highest achiever on the team. He can also be his worst enemy. Cartwright is playing dead and even Lamb does not know why.

Yet.

The Verdict

This is a 5 star effort here. We all know that I believe that British telly is the best in the world. Not just because of story or design, but because of their delivery. The lines and the very world of any British government agency is snarky. From Diana down to the Rejects, each sentence uttered, every breath taken, is full of sarcasm and an utter lack of respect for the job and their fellow agents.

Slow Horses is streaming on Apple TV +. Each Wednesday brings a new episode.

Watch this one.

The Trailer