The fifth season of Slow Horses, Apple TV’s gripping spy drama based on Mick Herron’s novel London Rules, shines a light on opportunist politicians, media manipulation, radicalisation and moral panics. In doing so, Herron taps into the zeitgeist of Britain in 2025.
It is, perhaps, because it is so on point that the writers and producers have opted for a lighter tone, including more direct humour about the characters and amusing moments. This is, however, in keeping with Herron’s book, which includes such incidences as an accidental death through dropping a pot of paint. This humourous tone persists even though the action is set around a series of terrorist attacks, which includes a mass shooting outside a shopping centre.
Jackson Lamb, the head of Slough House – an offsite MI5 office for semi-outcast spies – remains the key protagonist. He is just as smelly (I assume) and obnoxious as he has been in the previous series. He ultimately wants to protect Slough House, and his team, even if he plays at being permanently disappointed and dismayed by them.
