Slow Horses Season 4 Episode 2 Review: A Stranger Comes to Town

Slow Horses Season 4 Episode 2, “A Stranger Comes to Town,” expands upon the mystery of the case(s) of the season as we watch River attempt to be capable agent and the Park cover up their potential involvement in things. All in all, it’s business as usual this season so far.

The specifics of how River came to be in that taxi needed to be cleared up immediately, and Slow Horses thankfully understands that. With the mystery of what happened at his grandfather’s place solved, we can focus on other mysteries.

River is off on his little French adventure for the entirety of this episode, proving that he is still not great at his job. “How dumb will River be?” is something I was asking myself while watching him wander this town. The answer? Very dumb.

But hey, that’s why we love him so much. It would be less stressful, though, if he could get a little bit better.

Lamb, meanwhile, proves that he is a good boss.

Upon seeing “River’s” body, Lamb instantly recognizes what River is doing and protects his current mission, despite knowing nothing about it. And Lamb’s using all the tools at his disposal — being mean to people with access to what he wants to know — to get caught up.

As much as it is great to see Lamb showing support for River and letting him do his own thing in France, I hope the rest of the slow horses get involved in this case sooner rather than later.

River’s scenes by himself aren’t boring by any means, but Slough House working together is the highlight of this show. Their mismatched personalities and antics are what keep us coming back season after season.

It’s likely that Slow Horses Season 4 Episode 3, “Penny for Your Thoughts,” will find the slow horses investigating back in London, but let’s hope either River is brought to London by his kidnapper or someone from Slough House makes their way out to France soon.

While there are still a lot of questions surrounding this case of the season, “A Stranger Comes to Town” gives us a better look at the players and suggests that there might be different factions of “bad” guys.

There’s the random guy who showed up at the Cartwright house in London, the guy who attacked River in the house in France, and then the guy who rescued River only to knock him out. Oh, and somehow the bomber fits into all this.

This has all the makings of an intriguing case, especially considering the Park’s involvement with the bomber’s identity.

Hopefully, it’s not as devious as First Desk’s involvement in Slow Horses Season 3. We don’t need to repeat the same theme regarding the Park and the high-profile women who work there. It would be a boring turn of events, and Diana’s the devil we know (and she’s pretty likable).

Stray Thoughts

• It’s obvious why Claude was hired. He just needs to start doing his job.
• Diana shredding the identity is not at all surprising.
• I’ve missed Catherine.
• I need more from this new Slough House guy. He’s currently just there.
• The same goes for Emma, the new head of the Dogs.
• Do we think Lamb will be targeted by these guys as well? After all, he briefly worked for River’s grandfather.

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

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Slow Horses airs Wednesdays on Apple TV+.

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