"Slow Horses" season 5 has already gotten off to a hot start. The season premiere was explosive, and while the following episode wasn't quite as good, it was another great episode in a long line of great "Slow Horses" episodes. But this latest episode might have been the best yet for the Apple TV Plus British spy thriller, and it's all thanks to the performance of one Sir Gary Oldman.
But it's not just the performance by Oldman that makes this episode so good. There's a particular monologue he gives in the episode that will have you forgetting your cell phone ever existed, let alone have you stop staring at your screen while you watch.
Now, in the effort of full disclosure, if you've never watched the show before, or still haven't watched the most recent episode, I'm warning you now that there will be spoilers ahead. But if you don't have the time or patience to hit play on "Slow Horses" season 5 on Apple TV Plus, I'm going to do you a favor and not reveal when in the episode Sir Gary's soon-to-be-iconic monologue occurs. That way, if you do choose to watch it after reading this, you won't know exactly when to expect it.
Spoilers ahead for "Slow Horses" season 5 episode 3
Oldman's Stasi story in episode 3 will be on his Emmy reel next year
OK, so if you've watched "Tall Tales," then you know the monologue I've been referring to. Jackson Lamb (Oldman) and the Slow Horses of Slough House are holed up in their derelict halfway house of a home base, essentially on house arrest. They have realized what's really the reason behind all the attacks in London, but Emma Flyte's number two, Devon Welles (Cherrelle Skeete), isn't letting them go anywhere.
Their lockdown seems to inspire Lamb to become surprisingly talkative, and he chooses to go on and spin a yarn about one of his war stories from Berlin. As he starts to talk about the cruelty of the Stasi, he pulls out a cigarette and lights it. That sets Standish (Saskia Reeves) off, and she grabs the cigarette and puts it out, grabbing the lighter from Lamb when he offers it, too.
Then, Lamb begins to tell his full story, and for a full 3 minutes and 15 seconds, Oldman reveals a gripping story about one of his "Joes" (a term for the spies he handled), who was captured by the Stasi and not only beaten to within an inch of his life, but the Joe was forced to watch as the woman he loved was tortured and killed and their unborn baby was killed inside her.
It's a horrifying story. It not only grabs the attention of everyone in the room, but also grabs your complete attention when watching it at home. It could be in the show to serve no purpose other than to give Oldman a chance to chew scenery, and it'd still be an Emmy-worthy performance on sheer quality alone.
"Tall Tales" might be "Slow Horses" best episode to date, an impressive feat for an Emmy-winning show that now seems destined to be nominated for more.
But Lamb's story isn't just for show. From the second he gives Standish the lighter, he's dropping hints to the Slough House team about how they can break out of this lockdown. When it pays off in the end, you have to stop yourself from getting up and cheering. The writing is so good here that, frankly, I will be surprised if Oldman is the only one who secures an Emmy nomination for their work in "Tall Tales." Writer Sean Gray and director Saul Metzen could easily pick up nominations for the way they crafted this scene, let alone the rest of the episode, which is excellent even without Oldman's monologue.
Especially since the hidden instructions and moving the plot along aren't the only reasons for this scene's existence. As you watch the scene, it becomes clear that Lamb's story ... well, it was about Lamb.
At least that's what Standish seems to deduce, even if Lamb denies it. After rewatching the scene, I'm not only convinced that it's Lamb telling a story about himself, but I think that every member of Slough House picks up on it being about him, and that's why they pay attention. When Lamb mentions that his "Joe" had the skin burned off his foot, something that famously happened to Lamb and that we already knew in the show, that is when Standish and the others visibly start to take notice of what Lamb is saying.
If this story really is about Lamb's past in Berlin, then that is a massive reveal about the old spymaster's backstory, and one that very likely will pay off down the road. It's also just another reason that "Tall Tales" might be "Slow Horses" best episode to date, an impressive feat for an Emmy-winning show that now seems destined to be nominated for more.
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