Commentary: ‘Slow Horses’ Has Wild Swings In Tone

Tone is an extremely important aspect of storytelling. It’s what determines whether or not a horror story focuses on atmospheric scares or dark comedy as that tone controls the emotional weight of any given scene. At the same time, a story need not adhere to just one tone. Sometimes it can juggle a multitude at once, which can make for an interesting experience. And the British spy thriller Slow Horses, has some of the wildest swings in tone one can find in a series.

The program follows a group of dysfunctional MI5 agents — led by spy legend Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) — who have been relegated to an annex within the organization. Despite this, they also seem to routinely find themselves at the center of terrorist plots without even trying to get involved. This past season featured a group of rogue Lebanese security agents who planned to cause chaos throughout London, starting with a very graphic and brutal mass shooting in a public square. Lamb and his colleagues are under house arrest for being compromised by the terrorists, but Lamb, the clever spy that he is, tries to create an opportunity to escape his captors by unleashing really smelly farts.

It’s really not hard to see the juxtaposition between a scene involving a rancid fart and a mass shooting with indiscriminate killing, and yet Slow Horses has no problem incorporating both into its tone. This is in large part because of Lamb as a character. He’s a grizzled, veteran spy who has become jaded by both the good guys and the bad guys within the spy game. He deals with horrible acts such as murder, and yet, he has no shame for utilizing his own irritable bowel syndrome to his advantage, creating a silly, raunchy moment. It may be unconventional, but the wild swings in tone works well for the show.

Slow Horses is now streaming on AppleTV.