Reviewer Rating: 4.5/5.0
4.5
David Cartwright may be suffering from early-stage dementia, but the old spy is still living with it.
In Slow Horse Season 4 Episode 1, that doesn’t seem to be the case at first when he grabs a shotgun and confronts the “stranger” who is bathing him upstairs.
Since I haven’t read Mark Herron’s Slough House novels (Slow Horse Season 4 is based on the fourth book in the series, Ghost Street), I do think David has done something incredible .
As he walked down the driveway home, he felt paranoid.
When he opens the door, he greets River, although we don’t see River’s face.
Louise does tell River to visit his grandfather.
So it all works perfectly and is a perfect set-up for the audience.
Even when David looks at River’s picture, it seems like it’s part of a relapse into his early dementia.
When Lamb went to Cartwright’s house to identify River’s body, he hesitated before confirming.
It gave me a slight twinge in my gut that there might be something else going on.
After all, would they really kill River? Anything is possible on a slow horse.
full of surprises
Several main characters have been killed off in previous seasons, but River is, well…River.
Except for Lamb, he is just a slow horse.
But the other thing that convinced me that River was dead was Lamb’s reaction.
Sure, he gushes about Emma Flett and gives his typical smart-aleck response, but he seems surprised by what he sees in the tub.
Of course, we now know Lamb was just trying to figure it all out before stranding his team.
Plus, he wanted to keep it a secret, which is the smartest thing to do when you’re part of MI5, or even the person in charge of the Deniers – especially when you’re in charge of the Deniers.
Always a gangster
River, always a gangster (he reminds me of Jack Bauer in “24”), always thinks he can outwit Lamb.
It’s incredible that he still thinks that.
But maybe this time, he knew Lamb would figure it out right away, which was why he took his grandfather to Catherine’s house for safekeeping.
Catherine also had to know immediately that when Lamb showed up at her home, it was not for a social visit.
Still, she tried to play dumb until Lamb couldn’t stand it anymore.
Honestly, after working with Lamb for so many years, you’d think someone on his team (or a previous team) would know better.
After Ho dropped the bomb about River’s death, the rest of the team didn’t initially believe it.
They knew Lamb well enough to wonder if he was serious.
But slowly, as Ho was removing River’s computer, it began to falter.
Louisa, of course, endured it the hardest.
She blamed herself because she was the one who asked River to see his grandfather.
Also because she’s still reeling from Min’s death in Slow Horse Season 3.
It wouldn’t be a shock if she did quit the spy game, but she certainly won’t do so until the team joins River to find Robert Winters’ true identity.
You know that’s how it goes. Slow horses may be strict about the way they do things, but they still have an expected formula for how they do things.
While Lamb solved the mystery of the river, Diane and the rest of MI5 were researching the bombing at Westex Mall.
Why wasn’t Diane first?
I think after her battle with Tierney last season, she’s definitely going to get that spot.
Instead, we have Claude Whelan, who is clearly a puppet because he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
At least Duffy’s successor, Emma Flyte, has some balls.
Maybe it’s the thing about the women on this show.
Winters is a cunning villain because he seems to be everywhere and nowhere to go.
I have a vague suspicion that he is a former spy.
Why else would he send someone to the house of David?
Why did he leave his passport lying around for MI5 to find?
Flatt didn’t know yet that the passport was left at Cartwright’s house, but River did.
Soon, Lamb will know too, even if he doesn’t know it yet.
Whoever Winters is, he has to be important; otherwise, David wouldn’t be as shocked as he was when he shot the intruder.
He doesn’t exclaim, “Oh my God, what have I done?” Either he doesn’t know the man, which is why I initially thought he did kill River.
Slow Horse is always full of twists and turns, and Slow Horse always shows that they are better spies than others.
There are traps around every corner
A prime example was when a forensic team entered the apartment where they believed Winters was to conduct a search.
Anyone think Lamb’s team wouldn’t be overly cautious and scan the room for booby traps before touching anything important?
If the unit wants some light in the room, they should turn on the light (after checking it’s also not booby-trapped), rather than opening the curtains like they do.
Not only did they not consider booby traps, but what if Winters or a group of people were waiting on the opposite side with sniper rifles to kill the “dog” when the opportunity came?
Apparently the curtains are closed for a reason.
I saw the man coming a mile away. Stupid boys.
We still don’t know if Diane and Lamb ever communicated about River.
It seems like Diane will use all her indulgent egos to undermine Whelan (which isn’t hard to do) and make herself the star of the show, even at the expense of Lamb and his “rejects.”
There’s a reason she doesn’t want Flatt involved in the West Acres case right now.
Either she views Flett as a formidable enemy, or she wants to keep tabs on Lamb’s activities, or both.
She was also a smart person, and she knew Lamb well enough to know that he was up to no good.
Over to you TV fanatics? Did you like Slow Horse Season 4 Episode 1?
What are your thoughts on Robert Winters?
Does Lamb already know what River is doing?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
