Slow Horses Season 2 Episode 3 Review: Drinking Games
Slow Horses Season 2 Episode 3, “Drinking Games,” is a decent hour of television that keeps you feeling uneasy about just about everyone’s storyline.
Unfortunately, we were right to be concerned about Min at the end of Slow Horses Season 2 Episode 2, “From Upshott With Love.”
It sounds bad, but I’m not sure I’ll miss him. He wasn’t an awful character by any means, but I’m not really all that attached to him. His scenes with Louisa were fantastic, and it will be interesting to see how this affects her.
While there’s not really an emotional response to his death, it does serve a purpose: it raises the stakes for everyone’s storylines.
The Russian sleeper agents have proven that they will kill, and the show is telling us that no one’s safe. If we’ve already lost someone on Episode 3, then anything could happen throughout the rest of the season.
From the moment River gets the news, an air of tension falls over “Drinking Games.” It’s masterfully done. Between the quick transitions, long pauses, and camera shots, you find yourself worried for everyone in the field’s wellbeing, convinced they are about to get found out or killed.
The paranoid person in me couldn’t help but be worried that a sniper was going to strike while Jackson and Rebecca chatted in her apartment.
It’s like how you can watch a scene with characters in a car and know based on the camera angle that they’re about to get t-boned. That’s how I felt watching this scene, especially when Jackson points out that the Russians will know he was there.
The fact that River, Louisa, Marcus, and Jackson are all out in the field making contact with potential cicadas doesn’t help matters either. We don’t know for sure who can be trusted, and the show capitalizes on that, making us worry for each of them over the slightest thing, like Louisa being offered a drink twice.
Brava, Slow Horses. The tension is exceptionally well done.
We’re starting to see how everyone’s job is connected, from the meeting Min and Louisa are providing security for to the cicada that killed Richard. It’s still early on in the season, so I’m sure there’s a lot more overlap that will start to happen.
Hopefully, Roddy, Catherine, and Shirley get to spend some time out of the office soon. I’d love to see Shirley and Roddy out in the field, being forced to work with each other.
However, for now, they are a good group to have sitting in the office while everyone else is out and eventually calls in to request their help.
Stray Thoughts
- Everyone mocking Jackson while he does some spywork brings me joy.
- Right now, I couldn’t care less about the home secretary’s speech.
- Marcus hasn’t left much of an impression yet.
- The Park failing to properly investigate the driver sadly doesn’t surprise me.
What did you think of this episode of Slow Horses? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New episodes of Slow Horses premiere Fridays on Apple TV+.
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Allison Nichols
Allison is in a love affair with television that doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Slightly damaged fictional characters are her weakness. She loves to spend her free time curled up with a cat and a show to binge-watch. Allison is a Tomatometer-approved critic (Rotten Tomatoes).