We follow a group of British intelligence agents who make a series of mistakes that end their careers and send them to the decrepit Slough House branch of the MI5. The show is called “Slow Horses” on Apple TV+. Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) leads a team of agents who do low-paying jobs until they become involved in a kidnapping that could be fatal.
The show is a mix of British humour and spy-thriller plots that are both interesting and fun to watch. The title is also a little sarcastic. The title “Slow Horses” has a lot of meanings that aren’t obvious at first. What else does it mean? We’ll find out.
Slow Horses: Title Meaning
This movie is based on Mick Herron’s “Slough House” series of mysteries and thrillers, which are all part of his “Slough House” series. There is a book in the series called “Slow Horses,” and the show on Apple TV+ is called “Slow Horses” because of that. However, only the first six episodes are based on the first book. The next six are based on the second book in the series, ‘Dead Lions,’ which is the second book in the series. The whole book series is about Jackson Lamb, and the show has a lot of the same characters and plotlines as the book series.
People who have made mistakes in their careers work at the Slough House branch of the MI5, which is a kind of “purgatory” for them. The show’s main focus is on this group of disgraced agents. They have been sent to Slough House for a variety of colourful reasons, some of which are known and some that aren’t. They seem to be living out the rest of their lives there, not getting in the way of their superiors at MI5 headquarters.
River Cartwright was sent to a branch that isn’t very good after he failed a training exercise that could have killed hundreds of people. Most of the agents on the team are happy with their jobs and don’t seem to be very ambitious. This also makes them less-than-ideal people, which is why they’re called “slow horses,” which is what they are. The show’s title is what the main group of washed-up agents are called. A lot of people use the term “slow horse” to compare someone’s intelligence or skill with that of the slowest horse in the race.
There also seems to be a play between the show’s title and where it’s set. There is a good chance that “Slow Horses” and “Slough House” sound very similar to each other. In a way, this makes the Slow Horses of Slough House even funnier because the agents seem to be as unmotivated as the place where their branch is.
Thus, the title of “Slow Horses” draws on a lot of different jokes that have to do with and even refer to the group of intelligence agents. Jackson Lamb, the leader of the group, is also mentioned in the title because he, too, is past his prime and is now “slow.” It doesn’t look like it, but the head of Slough House doesn’t seem to know that he’s a legend. Diana Taverner, who runs most MI5 missions, talks about him with great respect when Lamb isn’t around.