The 5th season of Slow Horses will only arrive on the platform in 2025, but it has already been filmed. The action continues in London and comes from the book London Rules, the 5th in the Slough House series. Published in 2018, the nags, the “slow horses”, find themselves once again involved in a series of terrorist attacks that threaten the national security of the United Kingdom. We know they will save the day, but MI5 does not share the feeling.

The plot, which follows the order of the books, takes place 2 months after Spook Street. There are still agents hunting a terrorist cell that is carrying out random but deadly attacks throughout Great Britain. The First Secretary, Claude Whelan, is feeling the pressure from all sides. The Prime Minister needs his support to maintain control of his rebel party, Brexit MP Dennis Gimball is planning to parlay his success in the Referendum into a move to Number 10, while his wife, Dodie Gimball, uses her newspaper column to attack Claude for his incompetence in hunting down the cell and all the while Second Secretary Diana ‘Lady Di’ Taverner is circling, looking for a chance to oust him.

As the series explores themes of bureaucratic incompetence, internal politics, and the rivalries within the intelligence service, we see Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) once again leading his ragtag team of marginalized and demoted but surprisingly effective spies as they try to unravel the conspiracy behind the attacks and deal with personal issues such as repressed grief, multiple addictions, and the nagging suspicion that one of them is a psychopath. To make matters worse, someone is trying to kill Roddy Ho and the list of suspects could be very long.

In this case, he becomes a target due to his inadvertent involvement in these larger political and espionage games and thanks to his arrogance and lack of conscience, which adds tension and humor to the narrative, since Ho is often unaware of the degree of danger he is in.

“Who” wants to kill Roddy Ho will be the big mystery of the season, but let’s go through them one by one:

River Cartwright – River is still reeling from the revelations in Spook Street, which include the identity of her terrorist father and her grandfather’s dementia. Is she fit to help stop the current threat? And what’s more, she’s not sure she wants to stay in MI-5!

Louisa Guy – She remains the most competent of the nags and perhaps in danger of becoming too normal for Slough House.

Shirley Dander – Back in addiction after the loss of her partner, she takes anger management classes and has subtly changed in ways she doesn’t even realize.

Roddy Ho – Roddy Ho still has a girlfriend who seems to be fake. Also, someone is trying to kill him. Coincidence? Knowing Roddy’s effect on people, I don’t think so and it’s all tied to Pokémon Go.

Catherine Standish – The rock that keeps Slough House running. That’s right, she’s back.

Jackson Lamb – The slug that keeps Slough House dysfunctional.

JK Coe – His sociopathic ways scare everyone, including his colleagues. Has he found a taste for violence?

Emma Flyte – The top dog is finding himself on Fiana Taverner’s team.

Claude Whelan – Whelan’s wide-eyed innocence (retired) is now starting to become a political animal. But will she make the right choices?

Diana Taverner – MI5’s eternal second-in-command is always ready to do whatever it takes. Even cheap shots.

Dennis Gimball – British right-wing politician who has been out of the spotlight for a while now, but is back with his influential columnist wife.

Dodie Gimball – Dennis’ wife and tabloid columnist. She loved her husband and the power his position as a politician gave her.

More spoilers and theories to come soon.