Slow Horses Season 5 Episode 1 Review: Bad Dates

On Slow Horses Season 5 Episode 1, “Bad Dates,” we pick up with our favorite misfit spies as they are still reeling from the effects of the attack on Slow Horses Season 4 Episode 6, “Hello Goodbye,” that left their building in shambles and their team down a member.

Slough House looks like a construction zone, although apparently the kettle used as a weapon to fend off the killer has been replaced — the team clearly has its priorities in order.

As for our slow horses themselves, Louisa is going on a mental health break and is never coming back. Shirley is struggling with PTSD from the attack and is still grieving Marcus. And then River… well he’s his normal brand of mess.

One of Slow Horses‘ admirable qualities is that it addresses the trauma from previous seasons and shows how it still affects the slow horses.

It is done in a way that tonally fits the show. There aren’t any big heart-to-hearts in Slough House featuring Lamb consoling anyone, but they are serious, human moments where we are reminded that they are not hardened by their job to where they can’t just shrug off the fact that their office was violently attacked and one of their own died. 

Slow Horses also knows how to lighten the mood without cheapening those emotional moments. We get a variety of comedic moments at Roddy’s expense. There’s Lamb lamenting that no one actually ran Roddy over, and multiple people being absolutely shocked that Roddy has a girlfriend.

As far as the case goes, we don’t get much intel, but that is par for the course with the first episode of every season of this show.

Slough House hasn’t gotten involved with the investigation into the shooting yet. The tail end of the episode confirms that Shirley was not crazy; someone is targeting Roddy. But honestly, we don’t need much more than that at this moment.

“Bad Dates” is smart to focus on our slow horses. There was no time to check in with them after “Hello Goodbye,” and this premiere accomplishes that while also setting up the case of the season.

Stray Thoughts

• The political aspect of the case is not all that exciting, currently.
• I am honestly torn on whether I want Louisa and River to be a thing or not. 
• Louisa deserves a normal, less stressful life.
• Lamb believing Shirley enough to check in on Roddy shows that he is a somewhat okay boss.

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

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