Follies

There is so little intelligent stuff on TV these days. This gem of a spy series is head and shoulders above most others. Here we wrap up the chase for the Pakistani comedian who has been through utter terror. The Slow Horses, in a rather deranged way, work through the episode to hunt down his location, while Taverner, in her coldest way, would betray them in a second. River knows he must find a file on her in order to keep everyone safe for now. Once again, Lamb (Gary Oldman) steals every scene. Standish continues to give Lamb the third degree about what happened to her husband who it was thought, shot in a bathtub. An apparent suicide. We are given a load of information at the conclusion. We don't know anything about Sid Baker's condition. Lamb says she is dead, but the guy always has an agenda. What a great show.

Okay, I've NOT got an Apple subscription but managed to see this first season for free on an offer, and well I quite enjoyed it.

What we have, is not exactly a John Le Carre thriller like "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" BUT instead we have similarly a British based spy thriller about a group of demoted & ostracised spies who find themselves caught up in a corruption web involving domestic terrorists.

The series is based off a series of books which admittedly I've no idea about, but not that impacted my viewing from what I can tell. With the weight of Kristin Scott Thomas behind the show, she helps to elevate it, however surprisingly the equally brilliant Gary Oldman has been given a role that frankly I felt underplayed his talents as an actor, with only the ending finally signalling better to come for his character. Most of the rest of the cast with all due respect are more than adequate, filling in the role as unconvincing spies trying to work their way through all the realpolitik of the civil services in the UK.

It's a decent show, but admittedly it didn't fully grab me by throat (maybe the very ending did a bit). I guess as this series was a special offer, the question is whether I'd then want to take out an Apple+ subscription (even temporarily) on the back of this. The answer is resoundingly no! I expect the series will get better as the underlying stories of the characters reveal themselves, but this first season seemed a little too slapstick at times for my liking amongst all the serious aspects. At heart, it's not really that different in quality to the drama series from the terrestrial channels in the UK, so why pay a subscription for this?

Each to their own. A decent viewing.

This series managed to be mildly watchable despite wading knee-deep into the usual quicksand of woke tropes. But episode six? It doesn't gallop - it stumbles, trips, and faceplants into sheer idiocy.

This time, we're treated to the classic "evil white guy vs. Innocent non-white hostage" setup. Naturally, our villain decides to stretch his screen time by engaging in a leisurely chat with his victim, because apparently, homicidal urgency isn't in his job description. This painfully overused trope - criminal wastes precious minutes monologuing while the cavalry conveniently closes in - is so worn out it should be retired alongside flip phones. Even for stupid criminals, it's laughably stupid.

By the time the titular slow horses finally meandered onto the scene, I'd already checked out. The ending was telegraphed a mile away, and the tension? Nonexistent. At this point, the series might as well rename itself Predictable Ponies - because slow or not, we always know where it's headed.

Episode 6 is a satisfying finale. A big establishment cover-up is a pretty realistic outcome, if a tad frustrating, but writer Will Smith and director James Hawes do a very clever job of keeping it in tune with the realistic, banal way they've portrayed espionage throughout the entire series. It wraps up the kidnapping case, but also still leaves some mysteries on the table for series two, which is surprisingly and excitingly previewed at the end of the episode.

The cards being kept close to the chest mainly involve the history between Lamb, Standish (Saskia Reeves) and the body in the bathtub. Like a carrot on a string, it's been baited so many times throughout the series that it feels a little sneaky to keep it all back for the next one, but it doesn't detract too much from what has been a really enjoyable, darkly comedic drama. The final episode continues with the show's wonderful habit of undercutting excitement - Lamb falls asleep as he and River stake out Taverner, Min and Louisa run out of petrol as they chase down the bad guys - and it feels like it ends where it had always planned to. It never felt like the show was losing its way or getting too muddled, even if there were some episodes that felt like they could have merged into one. It's measured and calm, and even as it pulled back on the amount of jokes per episode as the drama kicked in, the wry, dry humour permeates the entire series and feels really in tune with the show's vibe. It's a real shame that Olivia Cooke wasn't utilised more; Sid's spunkiness and the could-they/will-they potential with Lowden could have offered the show a bit more genuine camaraderie (on top of Min's hapless and terrible, but quite sweet, flirting with Louisa). Perhaps she'll return for the second season - the hints are a touch heavy-handed that this might be the case - but her absence in the latter episodes felt palpable after such an auspicious beginning.

A damp squib to end an excellent season, a severe disappointment. The usual cut and thrust and sharp dialogue is there, the plot just fizzles into a predictable void of nothingness. On the plus side, a strong platform is laid for, the already commissioned, season 2.

Hopefully I will experience no second betrayal.