Slow Horses Season 4: TV Review

In many ways, the fourth season of Apple TV's always-phenomenal Slow Horses doesn't deviate too far from the formula that's made its previous seasons so beloved.

In the latest to be adapted from Mick Herron's Slough House series, it all starts with a bang before events get personal for Gary Oldman's slovenly Jackson Lamb and his motley crew of misfits.

To say more about season four is to rob it of some of its tension - but this run of six episodes sees the canvas being widened with new players joining the ranks and some of the older ones swept aside after the explosive end of the third.

But while the writing invests heavily in the more personal elements facing the spies including Jack Lowden's River Cartwright, none of the scripts have lost sight of what makes the show work so well - from wry moments to head-scratching incompetency from the inhabitants of Slough House.

Based on Spook Street, the run spends a lot of time focusing on River's grandfather and former spymaster David Cartwright, who's afflicted with dementia - and the central question of what he may spill in his confusion that could threaten everything. Pryce plays it beautifully pivoting from clarity to tragedy with aplomb - and his scenes with Lowden early on are touching, poignant and heartfelt, with both actors beautifully underplaying their hand.

Hugo Weaving makes a formidable addition to proceedings (again for reasons too spoiler-heavy to expand on) and as ever Oldman is a delight as Lamb. But this time it feels like some of what is playing out in front of him seems to be weighing heavily on him, despite his cynical dismissals and comments.

While the best shows grow over time, Slow Horses is perhaps an exception to that rule. Sure there's some character development here, but most of what transpires is of a personal nature, deepening audience connection with them rather than simply just being spooled out for narrative's sake.

Perhaps though the one note of caution with this latest is seeing the cast's grown substantially with the likes of Battlestar Galactica's James Callis, Joanna Scanlan, Ruth Bradley and others in new roles, some of the original inhabitants of Slough House feel a little sidelined at times due to narrative requirements.

It's still superlative stuff and with a fifth season filming, the investment's worth it. Quite how the next one will topple some of the fallout remains to be seen, but Slow Horses Season 4 is a reminder that when this show is firing on all cylinders, it's unmissable.

Slow Horses Season 4 streams Wednesdays on Apple TV+