Slow Horses Season 5 [9/10]

The first four series of Slow Horses streamed on Apple TV were faithful, spellbinding adaptations of the first four novels in Mick Herron’s sequence of spy thrillers (now nine books strong). If Mick Herron creates, for his readers, a memorable picture of Jackson Lamb, head of the spy rejects’ Slough House, Gary Oldman exaggerates his many (often disgusting) habits but also deepens his intrinsic appeal as the maestro spy wanting to be left alone but deeply protective of his flock of no-hopers. The cast of characters orbiting Lamb, from wannabe-007 River Cartwright to ice queen “real” spy head Diana Taverner, is wonderfully cast and scripted. In Season 5, repulsive but hypnotic uber-hacker Roddy Ho startles the slow horses by acquiring a stunning girlfriend but then narrowly escapes assassination, at the same time as a shadowy group of terrorists subjects London to a weird set of atrocities. The spiralling plot is a delight (even if, for the first time, elements of the book’s arc are adjusted), the dialogue snaps with savage humor, and the direction of the six episodes is as well-orchestrated as ever. Can the expanding series sustain this excellence? On the basis of Season 5, the answer is a robust “yes.”