'Slow Horses' Season 5 Recap: What To Remember Before Apple TV's 10/10 Spy Thriller Officially Returns

Published Sep 16, 2026, 7:27 AM EDT

Erin Konrad's love for everything entertainment dates back to elementary school when she became obsessed with classic Hollywood musicals. When she's not catching up on all her favorite television shows, she's advising her friends and family on what they should binge watch next.

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Even though each season of Apple TV's Slow Horses only has six episodes, the fantastic spy thriller manages to pack in plenty of heart-racing action into a short amount of time. Every season has introduced a new, dangerous threat that the members of Slough House must fend off, which always makes for an exciting viewing experience. Season 5, which finished airing last October, continued this trend of keeping viewers on the edge of their seats, and with a brand-new season now set to premiere today, September 16, here's a refresher on where we last left off with our favorite MI5 rejects.

'Slow Horses' Season 5 Is Jam-Packed With Thrills

Season 5 of Slow Horses opens with a gunman calmly opening fire on a city square full of pedestrians, where a campaign event for a local mayoral race is taking place. As the season unfolds, the Slow Horses discover that a group of terrorists is working to destabilize the UK government, which includes disrupting transportation and placing a bomb at a local zoo. Their goal, aside from causing disorder, is to assassinate a populist leader. The Slow Horses believe the target is far-right mayoral candidate Dennis Gimball (Christopher Villiers), who is running against incumbent Zafar Jaffrey (Nick Mohammed). The terrorists are also able to hack into MI5's systems because Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) has been duped by a woman named Tara (Hiba Bennani), whom he believes is his real girlfriend, into providing information.

River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) and J.K. Coe (Tom Brooke) end up making things more chaotic when a freak accident with a paint can results in Gimball's death. After an outage that takes out MI5's systems, the Slow Horses prevent the terrorists from carrying out their real attack on Mayor Jaffrey, but MI5's First Desk Claude Whelan (James Callis) is attacked on a run before River comes to the rescue. In a true villain move, Whelan then decides to let the Slow Horses take the fall and threatens to shut down Slough House. In response, Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) blackmails Whelan with a recording of the MI5 agent threatening Gimball before his death. Whelan agrees to leave Slough House alone while also rehiring the formerly fired Molly Doran (Naomi Wirthner) and reinstating Roddy. He's also replaced as First Desk by Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas), who finally ascends to the role of head of MI5 like she's always wanted.

'Slow Horses' Season 5 Ends With One More Shocking Moment

All of this action would be enough for one no-holds-barred, exciting season, but Slow Horses throws in one more intriguing surprise. Earlier in the season, Lamb mentions an agent he knew who had been forced to watch the torture and killing of his pregnant lover, noting that the man had his feet badly burned. In the Season 5 finale, we see the soles of Lamb's feet, and they have severe burn scars, confirming that Lamb had been the agent in his story. It's a fascinating insight into Lamb's past that makes him a more sympathetic character, correcting the mistaken assumption that he's only a gruff, bitter man with no empathy or social skills.

As Slow Horses gears up to return for Season 6, a new threat emerges: past and present Slough House agents are being targeted, and the team must figure out who is hunting them and stop it. Louisa Guy (Rosalind Eleazar) is back in the fold after leaving in Season 4, while River's father, Frank Harkness (Hugo Weaving), is returning for even more mayhem. Perhaps the most shocking reveal is that Sid Baker (Olivia Cooke), who left after Season 1, is alive and well! Previously, Slough House was informed that she had died, and all mentions of her were scrubbed from the MI5 servers, but the series never officially confirmed her death onscreen, so her return is certain to be riveting. No matter what Season 6 holds, if it's anything like the action-packed Season 5, Slow Horses will retain its status as one of the best spy thrillers ever.

Seasons 1–5 of Slow Horses are available to stream on Apple TV in the U.S. Season 6 premieres Wednesday, September 16.

Slow Horses