Apple TV+’s spy show Slow Horses has quietly become one of the best shows on streaming. Despite widespread acclaim, only in its third season did it pick up recognition at the Emmys, but don’t expect that to stop anytime soon. Season 4 of Slow Horses is firmly the best of the show yet, boasting the most exciting and complex story we’ve seen so far.
Slow Horses Season 4 Review
Based on the fourth book in Mick Herron’s Slough House series, Spook Street, season 4 of Slow Horses follows the eponymous band of MI-5 rejects as they investigate a terror plot and a conspiracy that might involve River Cartwright’s grandfather. This is the twistiest season of the show yet, upping the ante in ways that will keep you on the edge of your seat and tuning in week after week.
One of the most refreshing things about Slow Horses is how tightly written it is. Each season has six episodes of 45 minutes each, and season four does not break the trend. The show gives audiences a twisty espionage story, some action, and a bit of wit thrown in for good measure, then wraps the story up and moves on to the next adventure. It may not be the gritty, realistic spy drama viewers are used to, nor does it have the opulence of a Bond film, but it sure is a ton of fun to watch.
With each passing season, Slow Horses has gotten more confident — and its audience has grown, presumably allowing it to take bigger swings. The action sequences in season four feel more evenly spread throughout the six episodes, but the climactic finale is still as epic as one could hope, perhaps even more so than those of the past seasons.
The budget for this season is also shown in the cast, which is even more impressive in the fourth outing for the Horses. A-listers like Gary Oldman and Jonathan Pryce, who have been in previous seasons, are given more to work with here — especially Pryce, who has the meatiest role in this batch of episodes. New additions to the ensemble include Joanna Scanlan and Hugo Weaving, the latter of which eats his role up in a way that fans have been waiting years for.
Each season, it feels like we’re getting more and more breadcrumbs about Oldman’s Jackson Lamb, and as we do, it makes the character more complex. At this point, he has become one of the least archetypal characters in all of espionage media. On the opposite end of the spectrum, this season shows us a more conventional River Cartwright from Jack Lowden, but the story is so well-executed that it’s easy to get invested in his arc, nevertheless.
Namely, this season feels much more intimate than previous ones, likely because of the more character-driven stakes. Although the Horses still have the world’s fate in their hands, the characters’ connection to this mission is much more profound, making everything feel more urgent. The result is the most exhilarating season yet, as viewers will be invested not only in seeing the characters save the world but also in where this story will take them emotionally.
Is Slow Horses Season 4 worth watching?
Season four of Slow Horses is arguably the best yet, featuring stronger character development and the most thrilling plot to this point. The production timeline of this show has been insane, with four seasons in only two years, and it has already been greenlit for a fifth season based on the next book. With Herron having written eight books in Slough House thus far, it wouldn’t be disappointing to see Apple TV+ continue to crank out one or two seasons of this bad boy a year.
Slow Horses streams on September 4, with new episodes streaming on subsequent Wednesdays. All six episodes reviewed.
9/10
Follow us for more entertainment coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
