Slow Horses inevitably suffers from being compared to Tinker Tailor, and it is not. I don't think it intends to be, even when it plays with TT's esthetic.
Slow Horses is very much an action fantasy intending to entertain, with just enough realism and high-ish profile deaths thrown in to lure in TT's fans. It's got some good drama bits. It's got some intrigue. Some social and political references. But it is not a character study. It's still a slightly subverted maverick genre.
I suppose the most serious aspect is depicting MI5, which like any high power institution, will gravitate towards wanting to be the law onto itself, with personal ambition, power hunger and blind compliance having much higher stakes. Does it actually depict MI5? I have no idea but it definitely plays into what I would imagine MI5 is like.
Is it entertaining? Yes. Is it believable?
Erm... no, at least not consistently.
Is it worth watching? Yes, just alter your expectations.
Slow Horses is very much an action fantasy intending to entertain, with just enough realism and high-ish profile deaths thrown in to lure in TT's fans. It's got some good drama bits. It's got some intrigue. Some social and political references. But it is not a character study. It's still a slightly subverted maverick genre.
I suppose the most serious aspect is depicting MI5, which like any high power institution, will gravitate towards wanting to be the law onto itself, with personal ambition, power hunger and blind compliance having much higher stakes. Does it actually depict MI5? I have no idea but it definitely plays into what I would imagine MI5 is like.
Is it entertaining? Yes. Is it believable?
Erm... no, at least not consistently.
Is it worth watching? Yes, just alter your expectations.