I pressed play on the first episode of Slow Horses’ third season before the person whom I was with could see what we were watching. What followed were ten minutes of breathless suspense, in which operative Sean Donovan (Sope Dirisu) pursues his girlfriend, an MI5 agent named Allison (Katherine Waterston), through the streets and waters of Istanbul. Halfway through this expertly shot sequence, the person beside me looked over and said, “I don’t know what movie this is.” I smirked, partially because I knew the opening credits were impending, but also because I was thinking something similar: it did look like a movie. This prologue, with its gorgeous 4K wides of the iconic ancient city and exciting boat chase across the Bosporus, brought to mind the best of 007 more than it did anything TV or streaming has to offer. Yet, we were watching a TV show; it was Slow Horses, and it was making this statement: season three is taking things up a notch. Boy oh boy, this series keeps getting better.

A year after the prologue, Donovan kidnaps Standish (Saskia Reeves), Slough House’s office administrator and longtime colleague of its leader, the perpetually disheveled Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman). As members of Slough House (the titular Slow Horses) – River (Jack Lowden), Louisa (Rosalind Eleazar), and the rest – scramble to rescue her, it becomes apparent that Donovan’s intentions might not be what they seem. Meanwhile, there’s a power struggle developing within MI5, where “Second Desk” Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) grapples with her diminishing power under “First Desk” Ingrid Tearney (Sophie Okonedo). In the end, Lamb and his horses uncover that Donovan’s motives may be related to British Security Service foul play, and in so doing, they find themselves in a familiar spot: in the crosshairs of MI5.

Writing a spoiler-free synopsis of Slow Horses’ third season is quite challenging. That’s because, like its previous two installments, season three’s storyline is full of twists and turns that constantly alter the playing field. Unlike those previous installments, however, this season’s narrative is notably cleaner, relying a hell of a lot less on exposition (my biggest season one critique) and contrivance (my biggest season two critique). As a result of shirking its previous storytelling hang-ups, Slow Horses seems to finally be hitting its stride. The story is truly propulsive, from its origins in Istanbul to its climactic shootout in and around an MI5 storage facility. Best of all, the show and its writers finally spread the screen-time wealth, allotting plenty of scenes for every one of these richly drawn characters.

First off, there’s the addition of Donovan, played convincingly by Sope Dirisu, an actor whose talents are apparent within his first few lines of dialogue. Having watched AMC’s Gangs of London, I was already aware of Dirisu’s action chops, which he shows off during several sequences in Slow Horses. Despite this familiarity, I wasn’t quite sure that Dirisu had a ton of range. After finishing this third season, I’m now certain that he does. Utilizing this range, Dirisu makes Donovan thoroughly sympathetic, so much so that I cared about him almost as much as I did about the horses, which is quite a feat. Donovan fits seamlessly into a series that’s already chock-full of nuanced characters, and it’s crucial that he does, since his prominence takes away screen-time from fan-favorites like Lamb and Taverner.

Speaking of Taverner, one of my complaints about season two was that she was sidelined for much of its runtime, squandering Kristin Scott Thomas’ considerable screen-presence. Well, season three of Slow Horses remedies that error, slotting Taverner right into the center of its plot. Fans of the series will enjoy her role this time around, as her antagonistic meddling bungs the horses smack dab in the middle of a bloody power play. Of course, this results in the obligatory Lamb-Taverner parley, a highlight of every Slow Horses season. Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas exhibit lightning chemistry whenever they briefly share the screen, an event that I wish could occur more often. Also, a lot of credit should go to Sophie Okenodo, whose Ingrid Tearney character makes for an intriguing foil to Taverner, boosting her scenes’ overall appeal. I really appreciated that though both characters are resilient women who made it to the top of a male-driven profession, they’re not as similar as one might expect. Their differences are subtle but apparent, which subsequently makes them more compelling, and it doesn’t hurt that the actresses who play them are powerhouses.*

At this point you might be wondering, if Donovan and Taverner have so many scenes, then what’s left for Lamb, River, and the rest of Slough House? Let me reassure you, Lamb and River are still the main characters here. That said, there’s only so much time to go around over six 45-minute episodes. With that in mind, the writers clearly opted to give River the bulk of the heroics in season three, akin to how Lamb dominated season two’s proceedings. A negative side effect of this is that Oldman’s Lamb often feels left behind. Seeing as Jackson Lamb may be the best character on TV right now, this is undoubtedly a bad thing. Nevertheless, in the few episodes he predominates, Lamb is as lovably crass and fart-filled as ever. Alternatively, on the positive side, eschewing Lamb in favor of River means that Jack Lowden, an actor I’m growing quite fond of, has more opportunities to show off his humor and physicality. He’s more than able to lead a series like this, something he demonstrates throughout this season’s many action set pieces.

Upon reflection, I realize that the third season of Slow Horses is constructed around three prolonged, action-packed set pieces. The first is the aforementioned prologue. The second is the initial rescue attempt that plays out after Standish’s abduction, which sees River scrambling around London in an attempt to fulfill her captor’s Mission: Impossible-esque demands. The third and final set piece, which takes place over multiple episodes, is the standoff and eventual shootout in a bunker that’s been repurposed into an MI5 storage facility. These sequences are all outstanding, not just because they’re thrilling, but also because they force the storytelling in-between to be more streamlined. The third set piece is a series high point, with its gunfights constituting the most pulse-pounding moments of Slow Horses to date. These scenes are really well-shot and surprisingly realistic, at least in terms of using blanks and other practical effects rather than CGI/VFX. And the body count is higher than one might expect, reminding the audience that no one is safe, regardless of this show’s comedic inclinations.

That last point is the basis for my primary criticism of Slow Horses season three: it’s tonally flawed. Whereas the first two seasons excelled at balancing comedy and drama, season three falters in that regard. The show remains a hoot, but as I just stated, the body count ticks up rapidly this season, and some of these deaths are quite dismaying. It’s really hard to sell a joke in these moments, but gosh darn do they try. These attempts end up being futile, leading to instances where the horses bicker and jab, while all we viewers can think is: guys, people are dying. I understand that Lamb and those exiled to Slough House are faulty people, so inappropriate and ill-timed jokes are to be expected. But in the first two seasons, that indecorous humor made those characters more likable. In season three, it does the opposite, or at least it does so for everyone but Lamb. It’s hard to dislike Lamb, given Oldman’s acting and the way the character is written. All in all, Slow Horses takes huge strides forward in terms of action and structure in season three, but it does take a step back when it comes to comedy.

Despite a few issues, the third season of Slow Horses continues this show’s ascent to greatness. The storytelling is as taut and fast-paced as ever, making an already addictive series ever more addicting. The prolonged action set pieces are a welcome addition, allowing actors like Lowden, Eleazar, and Dirisu to take center stage and kick some butt. And the comedy, while tonally jarring, is still more hit than miss, largely thanks to Gary Oldman’s perfect line delivery. In my review of season two, I opined that Slow Horses is the best show that Apple TV+ has ever put out. Its third season did nothing to dissuade me of that opinion, and based on the badass preview of season four, it appears it’ll stay on top for years to come.

If I had to score it, I’d give season three of Slow Horses an 8/10.

Notes:

* While on the subject of the actors playing the MI5 characters, I wanted to also acknowledge the fine work of actors Chris Reilly, Freddie Fox, and Chris Coghill. Each of their characters could easily be one-note, but these actors imbue them with so much wit and depth instead. During this season, all three of them put on a clinic on how to play bad guys.