MissLucas

I liked this a lot. On the surface level it was about Matty winning the case while still being on the -other- case. But the cracks are starting to show. She might be able to rationalize robbing Olympia of her father's voice message but sooner or later her trickery will hurt other people. And since she's really bonding with Billy he's a prime candidate. Hopefully the meerkat will return, she was a good addition.

I understand some of the annoyance at a government/conspiracy plot. Yet, the main character's backstory is a family destroyed by the father's obsession with exactly those issues. So it's not that big of a surprise that something in that vein shows up - it's only surprising that it took the writers so long to get here. That said, the plot itself could have been less colander-y-. But next week looks like a return to the COTW format.

Late to the party but I just have to add those opening shots with Lois at Sam's grave were fantastic, they looked more like something from a movie than a tv show.

I actually thought it was a test for some sort of weapon that could cause the mysterious Havana syndrome 🤷‍♀️ but that would not explain the samples. It looks to me as if the writers want to experiment a bit with the format and why not? That's what sophomore seasons are for IMO.

Or Not-Baby's trunk is full with a life-time supply of Aquanet!

Oh, show - why don't you just open with 'Carry On Wayward Son'?!?* LOL! Not that I'm complaining. I took the bad green screen as another SPN reference. Russell's car is apparently not quite the same model as Baby but close enough to bring back memories. Yes, there were plot holes though I wonder if this story is really over. Both the fragment Russell snatched plus DoD guy talking about Daddy seem to point in that direction. But that Scott and his daughter and the Shaw brothers were let go while the poor Professor had to die really rankles. I don't mind the show pandering to the SPN folks as long as it's kept to one or two episodes per season. As much as I enjoy the pretty show needs to find its own footing - just like Colter. (Given that Ackles is busy with other projects - Countdown sounds intriguing - this is probably the maximum amount of episodes they can get him anyway.) *Why is it 'Carry on Wayward Son' when he clearly sings 'Carry on MY Wayward Son'???

Yeah, that was some Leverage level manipulating with the food - so many things could have gone wrong. But just like in Leverage I'm willing to overlook that as long as they don't pull that trick too often. The kid seems to be there to a) add to the drama and b) providing tech support. The scene where Maddie breaks down in the bedroom about not having noticed their daughter's problems before it was too late, shows that Kathy Bates can bring that just fine on her own (as if proof was needed). And the kid/teenager geek who handles all the hacking the too old main characters aren't capable of is a tired trope. It would have been more interesting to give that skill set to somebody unexpected - but here we are.

I'm confused - I thought Tristan had been in the RAF but now it turns out he was on donkey duty? Oh well...

Have to hand it to them, I did not see the lawyer (was that Esther from Nobody Wants This?) being in on the whole villain operation. Her scenes with Knight were a nicely played sleight of hand by the writers. I'm glad the team is back together and I hope Jimmy and Knight will patch things up quickly. Evil mint-chomping guy better not take up the whole season - that could get boring pretty fast.

That was excellent and heart-wrenching. Elizabeth Tulloch deserves all the accolades. One detail I really loved is that Sam did not forget Nathalie in his goodbye speech. I always loved their bond. As for Jordan - I think he's probably the most difficult character to write for. He reminds me a bit of Nate from Ted Lasso. Introvert who got bullied a lot suddenly gets power(s) and is not that particularly good at handling it.

Evil dude had cans of 'seltsame beer' in his fridge which translates to 'weird beer'. I take it that was the props department having fun because there was no product placement available for that setting - or does 'weird beer' exist? WITSEC and Marshall with wrong footwear were pretty obvious - but it's difficult to churn out plots twisted enough to fool a trope-savvy audience on a weekly basis. Best way to get around that is to write engaging characters and I think show did a rather good job with Lindy Booth's character. I like serialized elements in a procedural show but the Colter's family drama is another trope that has the potential to get tiring. Glad they introduced something else with the missing sister plot. Jury's still out on how they will handle the supporting cast - the other main gripe I had about season one.

I'm not sure what to make of this show. It's very charming but it swerves from comedy to rather serious issues at breakneck speed and that's not always working for me. And some of the comedy - especially the stereotypes - were overdone IMO. I was also annoyed at how clueless Joanne was about Jewish culture and how little of an effort she made to learn. Invited to a your Rabbi boyfriend's family for the first time? Play it safe and order that Charcuterie board from a Jewish delicatessen. I know that this is playing for the audience (the reference to SATC is spot on) but it makes your main character look like an idiot. And I agree that we did not know enough about Rebecca and the break-up to really understand what was going on. That said, I'm glad they gave Rebecca that speech at the end. I'm also glad we got to see another side of Esther - both characters deserved better.

When Lamb is openly caring it's almost jarring. This is a great interview with Gary Oldman, where he talks about the show in general and how they pulled off that first establishing shot of the mayhem down from the rooftops without cut to Flynt on the phone. https://www.avclub.com/gary-oldman-interview-slow-horses-season-4 There's so much attention to detail in this show that I often miss because I am wrapped up in the plot. For example when Taverner arrives in the Slough House kitchen we see Lamb holding the Whisky bottle, but the shot is not so much about him drinking - it focuses just for a moment on his bruised knuckles.

I'm confused - how did Lamb know that a Saudi Prince was after Harkness? I also find it strange that MI5 used Harkness for some wet work yet nobody knew anything about it. Obviously, he would not be in the files but dirty little secrets with the potential to blow up in your face normally don't disappear like that. Marcus was a goner the moment he returned with the gun. I don't believe for a minute that he picked a lucky horse. But good for Lamb to get his family the 10 years death-in-service payment. I'm not sure Coe was right about Marcus being in love with Shirley or if he just manipulated her.The preview showed him still being around. I guess nobody had an interest to have a formal investigation into Patrice's death. Molly is back at her job and Whelan - to my surprise - kept his. And yeah, Louisa getting that grenade from River's hoodie pretty much sealed what everybody - except River - already knows. I'm not a big fan of the villain-is-your-father trope. And I think Harkness was too powerful. The most interesting story about him was probably Yves and how he was pushed over the edge, but there was no time or place for that, too bad. Anyhow, I'm glad the author got that particular trope out of his system. Of course River still has mummy issues, sigh. I could have done without that depressing scene between Granddad and River - the show is depressing enough as it is. I mean River still has a uh.... functional male role model in Lamb. I guess that was the joke about the last scene, dark enough for the show. Preview looks good!

I do not think it was rude - not on purpose. Noah might have felt uncomfortable but he has social grace and was able to handle the situation after the initial awkwardness. The sisters (and Mom) were the ones who were the ones who were really struggling with the situation. That's why they all fled from the living room. At first I did not get what was going on because of the whole Ick! thing, but ultimately that was a red herring. What truly upset all three of them was seeing their former husband/father being so comfortable and loving with his new partner and giving him the affection and love they always craved. Noah picked up on that, hence his talk with Mom in the kitchen. The whole scene was a great insight into their family dynamics and a giant clue explaining Joanne's problems to commit and her (too) close relationship with Morgan.

Late to to the party but I wanted to add that I'm glad you shared the article, thanks! It felt and raw and real which is rare these days.

Connecting the letters to other intelligence services (Five Eyes) seems to be the favorite theory floating the internet. It's possible Harkness approached all of them with his insane scheme and has dirt on all of them. If true it make him a super-villain and does not shed a particularly good light on all of them. Did nobody bother to keep tabs on the former CIA-guy with the crazy plans? Or were they all compromised like MI5? Again - super-villain.

Higgins!!! Sorry, that was my initial reaction upon hearing Jeremy Swift's voice. Seems that this part is closer to Spratt though. Well, I'm glad James is back. Though I'm a bit confused - shouldn't he have been able to fly once he had recovered? Still, good to have him back. If they want to do another war-related plot there's still Tristan. I'm starting to wonder if he's being written out since they hardly mention him anymore. Yes, Siegfried certainly seems to have a thing for a lady in uniform!

Well, Flyte has just earned herself a space at Slough House. That was abysmal, she better hopes Taverner or Lamb never get to see CCTV coverage of that 'incident'. I'd send her back to the Met checking parking tickets. Ho falling for a bot seems OOC. I know he's full of himself but he of all people should be aware of bots and their tricks. I hope his revenge is epic. Dark Horse aka Coe just made sure that folks will cease even their feeble attempts to communicate with him. I did not expect Molly to be the leak. Harkness choose his target well, bastard knows what he's doing. I hope Molly gets her revenge. The letters are an interesting late mystery. I also did not expect Mama River to make an appearance. I guess we'll see her next week. Whelan just dropped the act for a moment when he wanted to put Giti in a concrete box. Oh Sir Galahad, your troubles are just about to start LOL!

Well that would explain why I couldn't find a name for Bertrand's actor in the credits LOL! ETA: Theory is apparently confirmed by Will Smith (creator) in a podcast.

Okay, beardless Jack Lowden/River kinda looks like him or vice versa - enough for being half brother. Doppelgänger? Still iffy.

Yeah, there's definitely therapy in River's future. So Les Arbres was/is a mercenary/cult amalgam - intriguing concept. It definitely looks as if Cartwritght's senior daughter got entangled with the cult leader (hardly by accident) and he traded her for guns, ammo and identities. Not a good look. Speaking of looks: funny that they apparently had problems finding someone who believably could pass as River's brother yet young Sam Chapman was almost perfect. I loved the scene of Taverner observing Whelan's performance of social skills - silently seething. And as suspected he's not quite as incompetent as he wants people to think. Sending Giti to dig deeper revealed the link between the bombing and the assassination attempt on Granddad. Dark horse has one of the best jobs - no lines, just finger drumming - can't wait for another explosion. Those train station scenes felt very Bourne-like, not complaining. I wonder who the real target of the Westacre bombing was.

I can't recall ever seen a clear pic of him. Little to see when his face was covered in blood before River took care of his face. He kinda looks like River on the passport photo and the photo from Les Arbres but we never get to have good look and the similarity seems to come mostly from the side part. I also couldn't find the name of the actor in the credits or on IMDB. The locals and his uncle hadn't seen Bertrand in a while but I'm not sure that's enough of an explanation or simple hand-waving at this point.

We've seen Chapman before in season 2 and 3. Last season he met with Lamb in a laundromat to brainstorm who had kidnapped Standish. Victor noticed River leaving Le Blanc Russe and mistook him for Bertrand, called his cousin and followed River. They said that they had thought Bertrand had disappeared, so they wanted to know why he had returned. The only nitpick is that Victor just happened to be parked outside the café when River was there.