S01.E01: Failure's Contagious

[paigow]

Episode aired Apr 1, 2022

River Cartwright is ousted from MI5 and finds himself in a place worse than purgatory: Slough House, dumping ground for failed spies.

[Athena5217]

I love this show, and am sad to see a lack of posts about it. Hopefully people will start watching.

I rewatched them first part of the episode and Cartwright was told white tee blue shirt by Spider so it was not his fault. I would have thought it was not a big deal since it was a training exercise. That did not seem to matter as he still ended up in Slough House. Maybe because he didn’t stand down when told.

[grawlix]

I found Cartwright's being sent to Slough House confusing.  You would think that since this was a training exercise, they would also be recording the communication between the command center and the agents.   They could easily confirm that Spider had given the wrong description of the suspect.  I guess he was sent to Slough House because of insubordination/recklessness or injury  to  the airport security  agent?

[Sundazed]

On 4/12/2022 at 12:31 AM, grawlix said:

You would think that since this was a training exercise, they would also be recording the communication between the command center and the agents.  

That's exactly what I thought, too.  Being sent to Slough House seems like overkill when they could have given him a clerical job at Regent's Park like the other guy. 

Haven't watched any other episodes yet, but maybe he was deliberately sent there for his protection by his grandfather who pulled strings bc he knows something is up. 

[AheadofStraight]

On 4/10/2022 at 11:28 PM, Athena5217 said:

I love this show, and am sad to see a lack of posts about it. Hopefully people will start watching.

 

I'm glad to finally see some posts. I hope this show gets traction! I didn't know about it until a friend who is a fan of the books got Apple+ specifically to watch it. I haven't read it but she says it's an excellent adaptation so far. 

[Rickster]

On 4/16/2022 at 5:07 AM, Sundazed said:

That's exactly what I thought, too.  Being sent to Slough House seems like overkill when they could have given him a clerical job at Regent's Park like the other guy. 

Haven't watched any other episodes yet, but maybe he was deliberately sent there for his protection by his grandfather who pulled strings bc he knows something is up. 

Hate to do the book comparison, but….

In the book, in my fuzzy recollection, this goes down in a train and tube station. They clear the station and shut down the transit on River’s orders and in the panic, several civilians are injured and one has a stroke. It’s not immediately apparent that River’s right about the white shirt/blue shirt issue like it is in the show. Lamb implies it is only River’s grandfather’s connection that keeps him from being drummed out of the service.

But I agree there are aspects that don’t stand up to close examination.

Edited April 20, 2022 by Rickster

[aghst]

Wow it immediately drew you in with that open.

I thought Slough House was for older spies who've failed to distinguish themselves.

So what exactly is Sid's failure that put her there?

And the hacker guy seems competent too.

Also in this first episode at least, Lamb seems savvy if cruel, like offering a drink to his secretary, who's trying to be a recovering alcoholic and has some tragedy in her past.

Looks like the rest of them are ashamed to be there and doesn't want to go to the pub with that guy, so much for team spirit.

[Rickster]

8 hours ago, aghst said:

Wow it immediately drew you in with that open.

I thought Slough House was for older spies who've failed to distinguish themselves.

So what exactly is Sid's failure that put her there?

And the hacker guy seems competent too.

Also in this first episode at least, Lamb seems savvy if cruel, like offering a drink to his secretary, who's trying to be a recovering alcoholic and has some tragedy in her past.

Looks like the rest of them are ashamed to be there and doesn't want to go to the pub with that guy, so much for team spirit.

Slough House is for operatives who have screwed up or embarrassed the Service, but not badly enough to get booted out altogether. There’s sort of a hope they’ll quit given the type of work Slough House does. Age is not a factor.

Edited August 10, 2022 by Rickster

[akiss]

I really loved the first episode and enjoy your perspectives. Haven't read the books so I am coming with no expectations whatsoever. I thought all these agents so far were actually good so there is also something else at play for them being at Slough House. 

[LisaM]

Have read several of the books and just started watching the show. So far, it fits well with my mental pictures of the characters from the first book. Lamb is a bit thinner and less personally disgusting than as written in the series.

[pasdetrois]

So he's more disgusting in the books? I just added the first book to my library list, but I may take it off 'cause he's gross enough on TV. (Just kidding. I adore British intelligence stuff so I'll read the books.)

Enjoyed the first episode a lot so I'm looking forward to the rest over the Thanksgiving holiday.

[LisaM]

2 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

So he's more disgusting in the books? I just added the first book to my library list, but I may take it off 'cause he's gross enough on TV. (Just kidding. I adore British intelligence stuff so I'll read the books.)

Enjoyed the first episode a lot so I'm looking forward to the rest over the Thanksgiving holiday.

YES! The books are quite good. IMO, the first one was a bit slow but the rest move at a bit of a quicker pace. 

[PurpleTentacle]

Poor guy got royally fucked over. He was told "blue shirt, white T", when they were looking for a guy in "white shirt, blue T" and still he got blamed for the fuckup. Don't they record the com traffic or something? How is this a good training exercise if you can't analyse what went wrong?

[akiss]

9 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Poor guy got royally fucked over. He was told "blue shirt, white T", when they were looking for a guy in "white shirt, blue T" and still he got blamed for the fuckup. Don't they record the com traffic or something? How is this a good training exercise if you can't analyse what went wrong?

Newcomer, yay! I hope you enjoy it. It's one of my favorite shows.

About your questions, it actually gets explained down the road.

[PurpleTentacle]

15 hours ago, akiss said:

Newcomer, yay! I hope you enjoy it. It's one of my favorite shows.

About your questions, it actually gets explained down the road.

My current speculation is that boss-lady wanted him in the slow horses house for some reason. Like they have a mole in the main organisation and need somebody outside to investigate or something. (I'm really bad with names, can neither remember her name, nor where main guy was sent, or his name... oh my god I might have brain damage.)

[akiss]

On 9/25/2024 at 7:41 AM, PurpleTentacle said:

My current speculation is that boss-lady wanted him in the slow horses house for some reason. Like they have a mole in the main organisation and need somebody outside to investigate or something. (I'm really bad with names, can neither remember her name, nor where main guy was sent, or his name... oh my god I might have brain damage.)

It's been a while now, I hope you found your answers!