I am immensely satisfied with this hilarious and poignant finale which finally answers my biggest questions

ahsan65@gmail.comOctober 29, 2025

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I am immensely satisfied with this hilarious and poignant finale which finally answers my biggest questions

Warning: This review contains spoilers for Slow Horses Season 5, Episode 6The season finale of Slow horses Season 5, “Scars,” is the remainder of a funny, smart and exciting season, putting to rest some pressing questions as well as some we might not have wanted to answer after all. Like the rest of Season 5, the finale feels oddly light compared to previous finales. It’s a lightness that works for the show, for the most part, allowing it to glide with speed and precision, but it also means we wonder if maybe there couldn’t have been more to send our horses galloping and the dogs barking.

While Season 5 may seem like a more minor adventure in the grand scheme of the show, it never forgets what makes the show great. Episode 6, “Scars,” moves between plots gracefully, giving each character the opportunity to put a point to their story. The shift from chases to clever espionage to harrowing depictions of the passage of time keeps you off-balance in the best way possible, ensuring that you’re never ready for the next scene that awaits you. Surprising, hilarious and ultimately pointless, “Scars” is the best ending to season 5 we could hope for.

Taverner and MI5 forced to pay ransom or pay heavy price

Tara controls terrorists less than she thought

Time is running out at the start of the episode, literally. A one-hour countdown on the Park screens marks the moment MI5 must send $100 million to Tara (Hiba Bennani). Tara claims this is a gross underestimate of the price of the oil reserves the British stole years ago, but the humiliation MI5 will suffer will be sweeter than money. If Libyans are not paid and cannot return home safely, they will move on to the seventh stage of the destabilization campaign: attacking a place of worship.

Whelan (James Callis) says MI5 doesn’t negotiate with terrorists because everything they know about espionage apparently comes from the movies. Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) thinks otherwise. In fact, they have to negotiate, otherwise an entire church could be destroyed. With that in mind, $100 million doesn’t seem like much. Taverner is way beyond paying attention to Whelan, and everyone is happy to defer to her, including Tara, who asks Whelan to put the “real” person in charge on the line. To his credit, Whelan hands over the phone.

Last week, did I say that Tara might be in charge of this operation? If so, the Libyans are as happy to ignore him as MI5 is to ignore Claude. Despite the money coming in, Farouk (Monty Ben) and Kamal (Fady Elsayed) still want revenge on their countrymen and a church full of mourners for their massacre in Episode 1, and the Mayor of London will do the trick. Sami (Ahmed Elmustrai), who has long doubted their mission, flees Farouk, saying he only wants to kill those responsible, not the innocent.

Nothing changes for slow horses (and that’s how we like it)

Jackson Lamb answers a disturbing question from episode 3

Lamb (Gary Oldman) talks to River (Jack Lowden) at a dinner party in Slow Horses season 5, episode 6.

How Lamb (Gary Oldman), River (Jack Lowden), Standish (Saskia Reeves), and the rest of Slough House save the day is pretty simple. There’s reverse psychology, precise shooting, stabbings and last-minute revelations. Everything is tidy and we are also treated to excellent humor and well-choreographed action. What has always been more important with Slow horses it’s the little things, and just because Season 5 tells a smaller story than usual doesn’t mean there isn’t room for the little details.

Almost everyone has their time to shine. Taverner’s growing reliance on Lamb and Slough House is a delightful development, and the chemistry between her and Lamb alone could fuel two more seasons if they were allowed more scenes together. The combo of Coe (Tom Brooke), River and Shirley (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) almost seems like a Three sidekicks routine with semi-competent members, and it’s always nice to be reminded that, despite their occasional successes, most of the members of Slough House are failures. This may be Standish’s breakout season, and even Lamb seems slightly impressed by her.

By the end of “Scars,” there was little change. Whelan is finally out and Taverner is in the first office. Beyond that, it’s pretty much the same for Slough House. It’s even more of the same for David Cartwright (Jonathan Pryce), whose Alzheimer’s storyline has been an extremely sad story, and for his grandson, River, who thought he was out of Slough. It’s even more of the same for Lamb, who keeps the horses charging despite Whelan’s last-minute shot from across the arc.

Things don’t change much for the Slow horsesand it’s not a good idea to expect much. As Lamb tells River: “It’s not hope that kills you. It’s knowing that it’s hope that kills you, that kills you“. Lamb should know, because he places his badly scarred and burned feet on his desk. Hope can be a painful dream.