‘Slow Horses’ Recap: ‘Strange Games’ & ‘Hard Lessons’

11/29/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb in Episode 302 of ‘Slow Horses’ – ‘Hard Lessons’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Season Three Premiere of ‘Slow Horses’.

It is definitely safe to say, that the spy genre is one that feeds deeply off of tropes and cliché and with good reason. Because in reality, there really is only so much a writer can do with a spy story. For real spy work is classified and secret, and possibly nowhere near as entertaining as the stuff we see in television, so sticking with tried-and-true formulas keep these stories popping. Not to mention, we do love the stuff these stories have to offer. For the betrayals and twists just keep us engaged and so… few complain about familiar territory. But that does mean, we need to applaud and recognize when a spy story finds a way to modify those formulas in a way that makes them feel fresh and original.

Simply because it speaks to a show that wants to impress and wants to stand out from the rest, and that is precisely why we need to celebrate the season three premiere of the beloved Apple TV+ series, Slow Horses. For ‘Strange Games’ and ‘Hard Lessons’ took a classic trope and made it feel… supremely personal and found new ways to make it exciting and dynamic and this was all made possible… by way of a potential revenge/get rich quick plot. One that came to life in the past by way of a man named Sean Donovan. Who was a spy and failed miserably at stopping a secret file from coming to light. Mainly because he fell in love with the mark and that love mucked everything up and delayed him and led to her death as well.

Following that, Sean fell in with a different crowd, a private one for that matter and clearly… his ties to what once was, somehow motivated him to go after Slough House for reasons that weren’t made clear here. But it did lead, to those moments worth celebrating. Since he followed Catherine Standish about town and posed as someone who needed support to gain her trust… and abduct her. To of course, make demands of River and put the team in utter disarray. Since his actions and the actions of his cohorts prompted Jackson to be on full alert and do everything within his team’s power to expose that they were being watched and toyed with and it also… put River in a very tough and outright scary place. Specifically, the Park.

Sopé Dìrísú as Sean Donovan in Episode 301 of ‘Slow Horses’ – ‘Strange Games’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Because Sean wanted River to find some important files that meant River had to sneak into the Park and find his way to the records room. Which was… a disaster really. Since old haunts and old ‘friends’ were eager to poke and prod, and harass him, and demand time with him to humiliate him. Which led to an epic chase within this iconic place, one that resulted in no yield for River. Just frustrations and a showdown with the folks he cannot stand there. All because… Sean and his associates are playing some kind of a long revenge game. One to get them rich and one that will outright stick it to Jackson Lamb. For reasons we don’t know yet, but it’s only a matter of time before we learn them.

Since this show reveals all, but what matters most… is that this premiere really did offer up a refreshing twist on the age-old revenge trope in this genre. For time and time again we’ve seen old agents try and get back at the country that forgot them or someone that exposed them or didn’t give them the respect they wanted. But here… this was personal and intimate. Because Sean flat out said, he wanted a piece of Jackson, and he made sure to properly get his attention by going after a true cog in the Slough House machinery, and we don’t see that kind of targeted and vengeful attack all that often in this genre. Not to mention, he has the team all over the place and worried, and well… that’s new and chaotic and truly invests us in the mission ahead. As did the more intimate moments here.

Because as always, the innerworkings of the lives of these characters were on display, and some fascinating follow up to last season’s events came into play and well, all of those elements blended together to give us… one amazing premiere. One that set the stage for a different kind of problem for Slough House to handle, one that absolutely brought about a bevy of questions regarding Sean’s motivations and why he’s going after this offshoot branch of MI5 over anything else. But what matters most, is that this lovely set of tales were presented to us in an intense and epic manner, one that kept us on the edge of our seats and has us eager for more. So, we can learn the answers and see how this group handles being compromised and attacked by entities unknown as season three of this brilliant series continues along. Until next time.

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