The season 5 premiere of Slow Horses kicks off immediately with a teaser that simultaneously gives glimpses into the mass shooter antagonist and political subplots of the season. After the intro, Roddy Ho dances to work, and Shirley saves him from getting hit by a car. Shirley’s story then follows her paranoia that the Roddy incident was a deliberate attack. River attempts to throw Louisa a going-away party, which leads the two of them to deal with their complicated feelings about each other. The political candidates are introduced briefly, and Emma Flyte finds out about the shooter’s connection to the Conservative mayoral candidate and various online incel forums. The episode concludes with Shirley, Standish, and River following Roddy and his date into a nightclub. This causes Jackson Lamb to reluctantly give up his lazy night of eating and drinking to check in on them. The episode concludes before they meet, with Roddy’s date texting his location to a mysterious person.
Slow Horses has made a name for itself with tight, energetic, quick storytelling and entertaining characters. A defining trait of the show has been its ability to flow seamlessly between its different main and supporting characters based on the conflict of the season. Roddy’s importance works extremely well with the themes of internet masculinity referenced with the shooter. Shirley’s arc being tied to Marcus’s death and paranoia surrounding Roddy click together perfectly, and make her rise in importance work extremely well. The gradual, complicated relationship between River and Lousia being a primary focus again is also a welcome addition. At its best, Slow Horses understands the comedic, dramatic, and tense sides of its dynamic characters, such as the pairing of River and Shirley at the nightclub.
“Bad Dates” balanced all of its elements efficiently, making the political, interpersonal, and main mystery plotlines blend seamlessly, being familiar, funny, or tense whenever it needed to be. However, some characters, such as Lamb, do not do very much as the episode prioritizes other characters and storyline. Similarly, Taverner has very little plot relevance. That said, the show’s fluid nature and the strength of the episode prevent these issues from being too glaring. Even though Lamb and Taverner do not do very much in “Bad Dates,” the show has built an identity such that these two will surely be relevant later on. The only real potential issue with the episode would be the final reveal that Roddy’s date was manipulating him. On one hand, the twist was exciting and built great tension for the next episode. On the other hand, the intrigue of Shirley’s paranoia is significantly downsized now that she’s proven correct. Still, “Bad Dates” was an exciting continuation of everything great from the previous seasons of Slow Horses, while teasing a contained, exhilarating fifth season.
Rating: 8/10