Simon Clark

I first fell for Slow Horses because it was espionage like I’d never seen before. A brilliant dark comedy, with subversion buried so deep it’d always sneak up on you.  Add to that, Gary Oldman’s gloriously disheveled Jackson Lamb sparring with the cold, unflappable Diana Taverner! Killer combo. But only this season could I put my finger on why Slow Horses lands so hard.  Anyone can die. At any moment. And you won't see it coming. Most shows have a deal with the audience. They let you know who's expendable and who isn't. The leads, the charming ensemble, the likeable ones. They take risks, they get hurt, but they make it. Slow Horses pulls that rug right from under you. You only realise someone's gone after the scene lands like a punch to the gut. And you sit there, staring. Beneath the humor and absurdity, it delivers the direct experience of being a spy.  Not war-room talk, but how close death walks beside every one of them. One misstep, one blink, and it's over. Once you realise this, the opening song, "Strange Game," hits different: "You made one mistake, you got burned at the stake. You're finished, you're foolish, you failed." What a show. 🖤