Slow Horses Season 3 Review – This unbeatable spy-comedy series delivers once again

By Adam Lock
Published: November 28, 2023 (Last updated: December 6, 2023)
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Slow Horses Season 3 Review
Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses Season 3 | Image via Apple TV+
4.5

Summary

Slow Horses continues its unstoppable run with a third outing that is just as good as the previous installments. The latest season is cinematic, suspenseful, and side-splittingly funny, with a star turn from Gary Oldman.

Acclaimed English actor Gary Oldman has said that he is considering retiring after Apple TV+’s hit spy series Slow Horses concludes its run. And after watching the third season in all its glory, it’s clear to see why the actor would want to end on such a role. Oldman’s iconic turn as Jackson Lamb is the perfect swansong, a complex, comedic character for the ages, who steals the show in every single scene that he’s in. It’s obvious that Oldman is having an absolute blast playing Lamb and the audience is more than happy to tag along for the ride, sharing in all this revelry. Season 3 of Slow Horses is yet another superb installment from the series, that somehow manages to compete with and possibly even surpass the dizzying heights of the previous seasons.

The third outing sees Jackson Lamb and his disgraced MI5 agents at Slough House caught up in another botched cover-up, one that seems to be more action-packed than any before, with the highest stakes to date.

Slow Horses Season 3 review and plot summary

Season 3 centers on a team of rogue MI5 agents, led by the ruthless Sean Donovan (Sope Dirisu), who have taken Slough House’s loyal secretary Catherine Standish (Saskia Reeves) hostage. Of course, there are specific reasons why Catherine has been abducted and as always, the plot involves those at the very top of the MI5 food chain.

Jackson takes it upon himself to locate and save Catherine, his most trusted employee, without the help of the two most powerful women (Sophie Okonedo’s Ingrid Tearney and Kristin Scott Thomas’ Diana Taverner) in MI5. He must instead rely upon his bumbling team of failed agents, known as the Slow Horses, to get Catherine home safe and unharmed.

RELATED: Where was Slow Horses Season 3 filmed?

The Slough House gang includes former Regent’s Park agents who all have something to prove. There’s the naive River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), who is still living in his grandfather’s shadow, the grieving agent Louisa Guy (Rosalind Eleazar), who wants sweet revenge, and the many other manic misfits that make up this motley crew of secret agents.

Over the seasons, fans have grown to love these charming characters and the writers make the most of this, placing the beloved agents constantly in harm’s way. As the tensions rise and the mystery unravels, the gang is drawn to a disused Cold War bunker for a perilous showdown. The stakes just keep on escalating over the course of these six episodes, leading to an explosive final third you cannot afford to miss.

Why Slow Horses Season 3 is worth watching

Slow Horses continues to be one of Apple’s secret weapons with another consistently great offering, which makes three quality seasons in only two years. This is a cinematic series that has really come into its own in the third season. The show mixes intense spy-thriller suspense with a sarcastic British wit, to create something entirely unique in modern TV.

And the series happens to include one of the finest comedic performances in recent memory. Gary Oldman is superb as the coarse and calculated Jackson Lamb, who is surlier than ever. Oldman’s line delivery is unmatched as is his surprising knack for physical comedy. He somehow makes a scene where he struggles to clean himself in a sink into comedy gold.

The series now has an assuredness and confidence to trust in its instincts, knowing when to focus on the heart, the humor, and the action. And Slow Horses succeeds in all three of these areas, delivering espionage thrills and hilarious quips, whilst always returning to the emotional arcs of its leads. Slow Horses might just be one of Apple’s greatest sleeper hits, with a consistency that is hard to ignore. Give this show a chance, you will not be disappointed.

What did you think of Slow Horses Season 3? Comment below.


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