Slow Horses Season 5 Episode 6 Review: Scars

Slow Horses Season 5 Episode 6, “Scars,” wraps up the case of the season and manages to rid us of Claude. It’s a very productive season finale.

“Scars” delivers all the elements of the show we’ve come to know and love.

There’s the Park discrediting Slough House only to have it revealed at the perfect moment that they were actually right. We’re also treated to Slough House bickering amongst themselves and being utterly dysfunctional and somehow still pulling through with a win.

We get all the hits during this finale, and they’re executed perfectly. It’s what you’d expect from Slow Horses. 

There’s something to say about a show that doesn’t feel as if it needs to end on an intense cliffhanger. Slow Horses doesn’t need to craft a reason for us to come back next season; it knows that we’re hooked already.

An end-of-season cliffhanger would feel cheap and be more frustrating than exciting anyways.

The past two seasons have featured one of the slow horses dying, so it is a relief that this season ends with everything returning back to normal. Roddy is allowed to come back to Slough House, and the Park is refusing to take River.

Slough House lives to fight another day, and all the slow horses — minus Louisa — are still employed.

Speaking of Louisa, it’s unclear if we should expect to see her back next season or not. River leaving her a voicemail opens the door for at least the two of them to meet up again, assuming Louisa has any desire to be in his presence.

River’s grandfather tells River about how, when Britain executed the de-stabilization strategy, they would employ a sting in the tail — when you think everything’s over, there’s one more attack.

It’s the catalyst for River to remember that there’s one bad guy unaccounted for, but the final “attack” is not actually a part of some big grand scheme. Slough House and the Park were simply lulled into a false sense of security.

Now, if we didn’t see the bad guys fight and split up, this revelation would’ve carried a lot more weight, and it also could have come across as intentional on the bad guys’ part. Plus, there would have been a bit more suspense as we waited to see what this final attack would be.

Showing us the bad guys really only worked with the Tara reveal because we thought we knew who we were dealing with. It is unclear if we would’ve suspected her if we never spent time with them, but, honestly, this season could’ve benefited from cutting out the bad guys’ storyline all together.

Overall, this was another solid season of Slow Horses, and here’s hoping the wait to return to Slough House for Season 6 isn’t too long.

Stray Thoughts

• Catherine was right; the story Jackson told about the Joe who was tortured was about him.
• Perhaps all of Slough House should be equipped with knives.
• Did anyone else think River’s grandfather was going to die or was that just me?
• Do you think we’ll see more of Catherine in the field in future seasons? It would be weird for her to go back just staying in Slough House.
• We all knew that the recorder would come back into play. Well done, Jackson.
• River’s ego is truly insane. Yes, he saved Claude’s life, but how many times did he mess up throughout the season?

---

What did you think of this episode of Slow Horses? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!

Critic Rating:

Audience Rating:

 

Slow Horses airs Wednesdays on Apple TV.

Check out our latest TV recommendations, updated weekly!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!