Slow Horses Season 3 Episode 5 Review: Cleaning Up

Slow Horses Season 3 Episode 5, “Cleaning Up,” primarily focuses on making sure we have all the background information on what’s going on, as relayed through the conversation between Tearney and Diana.

Nothing is resolved; people are being moved into place for what I’m sure will be an intense finale. The episode simply wants to ensure that we are all up to speed on anything that may have slipped through the cracks before.

The conversation between Tearney and Diana is fascinating, not only due to the context it provides but because we get a sense of who both these women are and their complicated relationship with one another.

Diana is not that much of a mystery to us; she’s been in Slough House’s orbit for a couple of seasons now. Tearney, however, is more of a mystery. Their conversation reminds us that they are in those high-ranking MI5 positions for a reason. They’re skilled operatives and not someone you want to mess with.

Slow Horses has proven that it knows how to craft tense moments, and the events at the warehouse could’ve very easily been done in a more dramatic, suspenseful fashion. However, that’s not the route the show chooses to go, and it’s the right call.

The show takes a more humorous approach to the whole situation. We witness River’s various reactions to Duffy being outside. River doesn’t immediately leap to the worst-case scenario. He attempts to write off Duffy’s presence but then is continually presented with reasons why Duffy being outside is a very bad thing.

If Louisa and River’s storyline at the warehouse was in a way that focused more on the tension, wanting viewers to be on the edge of their seats, it would not have worked.

The show has to cut away from Louisa and River’s situation often to progress both the Catherine rescue mission storyline and Marcus and Shirley’s storyline, and any suspense it would have created would’ve been lost, resulting in a frustrating experience for the audience.

Instead, “Cleaning Up” wisely avoids this issue by leaning more into the humor and the general Slough House aspect of it all. It’s not an issue to switch from Louisa and River processing everything that’s going on to Marcus and Shirley going from ignoring River’s voicemail to them running up the stairs to answer it.

Because Slow Horses isn’t a super serious show that focuses on the best of the best that MI5 has to offer. We follow around the bottom of the barrel, but we love them and all the shenanigans that they get into.

My poor, sweet, Catherine. She is in the wrong line of work.

She has a very idealistic view of the service, believing that they only do what is right and never cross any lines. It’s admirable, but you have to wonder how she still is able to cling to that belief.

The knowledge that River’s grandfather and Lamb were behind Charles’ death adds tension to Catherine’s exchange with Lamb. It wouldn’t be surprising if Lamb ends up confessing the truth to her during the finale, but I don’t know if Catherine would ever come back to work after that. It would destroy her.

Stray Thoughts

• It was sadly very obvious that Ben was going to die.
• Lamb knocking Sarah out with the door is so amusing.
• I think Diana has some faith in Slough House, whether she wants to admit it or not.
• I’m predicting that Donovan’s rage will make a reappearance in the finale.
• Marcus and Shirley are back in it!
• Louisa was right; River should’ve realized his track record meant that this was all doomed to go sideways.

What did you think of this episode of Slow Horses? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Slow Horses airs new episodes on Wednesdays on Apple TV+.

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