The season 5 finale of Slow Horses picks up with Tara having threatened the Libyan ambassador, demanding money from the Park. The next phase of the destabilization plan is to attack a religious site, which Slough House deduces is going to happen at Abbottsfield again. Lamb and Standish go to the Libyan Embassy while Coe, Shirley, and River go to prevent the attack. Lamb manages to help arrest Tara by sending Standish in as bait, with Tara realizing that her team is going through with the attack despite the Park paying them. River, Coe, and Shirley chaotically save Jaffery and believe that the day is saved. During a conversation with his grandfather, River pieces together that the destabilization plan is not over, and the final target is Whelan. River saves Whealan and believes that it will get him employed back at the Park. In the final scene, Lamb meets with Whealan, and they negotiate for Slough House to stay open. 

Going into the episode, one of the most lacking elements of this season was the characterization of the villains. While simple, they were given their most interesting characterization thus far, and their motivations were made clear and solidified with River’s grandfather’s comments about Libya. That said, these motivations could have been explored more in-depth. Instead, “Scars” was more concerned with highlighting other characters in the Park and Slough House. A notable beneficiary of this spotlight was River, who remained sloppy but ultimately proved himself to be a competent agent by the end. Additionally, his banter with Shirley as Jaffrey’s life was being threatened was a perfect example of the show’s mastery of tonal balancing. While the most climactic scenes occur early, River’s realization that the destabilization was incomplete paid off excellently. Notably, the most gripping scene of the episode managed to be the final conversation between Lamb and Whealan, concluding with a disgustingly fitting close-up of Lamb’s vile foot. 

Although the episode prioritizes Lamb, Whealan, and River, other characters also have great moments. Taverner’s disappointment with Whealan’s incompetence and Judd’s corruption was engaging, and her final implied promotion was extremely satisfying. Standish, Shirley, and Coe have smaller moments that still land very well. Overall, the best choice of the episode was putting River’s dissatisfaction with Slough House back in the forefront as the episode concludes. One of the greatest strengths of Slow Horses is its ability to balance freshness and consistency. This was at the forefront in the final scene, where Whealan transforms from a pathetic loser to a threatening antagonist and quickly back to a pathetic loser. As for consistency, it is always satisfying when Lamb sticks up for his agents despite his demeanor, like when he demands Roddy back. On the whole, the antagonists could have benefited from more complex motivations, but they provided a palpable conflict for Slough House and the Park to deal with comedically and dramatically in one of the show’s best seasons.

Rating: 9/10