Slow Horses Season 6, Episode 3, “Resurrection” Spoilers Ahead
If you’d told me when I started Slow Horses back in Season 1 that we’d be here in Season 6, I would’ve never believed you. Because it doesn’t just feel like something I’ve conjured in my wildest imagination; it feels like fan fiction (complimentary). It’s glorious and gorgeous in every way to have Olivia Cooke’s Sid Baker back like this, and it feels particularly rewarding after all the time that’s passed.
Part of what makes Slow Horses‘ “Resurrection” so impressive is that the story as a whole is cohesive and thoughtful. The episode isn’t just important for Sid, but for River, too, who’s now essentially all alone after his grandfather’s passing. On top of that, since “Circle of Life,” he hasn’t fully processed or sat with his grief, and we see the same haunting aches pushed aside in “Daddy Issues,” as he’s going around trying to figure out who’s calling him. In fairness, given the attempted assassinations, it’s go-go-go for all of them, but in “Resurrection,” there’s a real shift in potential healing at least where River and Sid are concerned.
Sid’s Return in Slow Horses Feels Like Hope in Every Way
There might be assassins after all of them, specifically after Sid, but there’s so much hope in her return that it’s remarkable. It’s particularly significant because she’s a woman, and in action genres like this, they’re often collateral damage. Bond doesn’t get the girl at the end of the movie. (Or in any genre.) There’s very little hope in how women are treated, and that much is the same in Slow Horses, except here it’s everyone. Still, this doesn’t change the fact that Sid’s return alters everything, and we see it clear as day in the kitchen as River’s trying to process it all.
Jack Lowden is delivering some of his finest performances this season, and every beat we get in this episode showcases his range in an astounding manner. Even when he isn’t saying much, every emotion is playing on his face—the shock, the agony, the confusion. The hope. He doesn’t get the logistics of how Sid’s here. He’s more bewildered than he’s been, but at the same time, he’s at ease. And the fact that we can visibly see how some of his walls are down is monumental, especially knowing it’s all because of Sid. It’s because she’s in his kitchen, awkwardly making him tea. He’s trying to process everything, but the tension is fully palpable in the longing that’s been locked away for years. For once, he isn’t haunted by heartbreak, but by a glimmer of hope he’s never let himself hold onto.
Even without the book canon, to deny River’s deep-seated feelings for Sid wouldn’t make sense. He might’ve tried with Louisa; he might’ve tried to move on, but Sid’s always been there as the one he’d always think about. The one that got away. The one he fully believed he’d never see again, in any capacity. And the visible shift in his physicality is a testament to Lowden. In every way, River’s a little lighter now.
Slow Horses Season 6, Episode 3 Delivers a Feast With Banter and Vulnerability
The fact that they can instantly go back and forth with the same banter they had before is also no small feat because three years is a long time to be without someone. Yet in those three years, very little has changed in terms of how they play off each other. They don’t miss a single beat in how they communicate, and it’s incredible when you factor in how hard that is for both of them in every area. They aren’t like this with everybody, and that much has never been more obvious.
Sid should have a mountain of trust issues right alongside the bullet that’s perpetually inside her head, yet with River, she can turn her back. She can safely move around in a house that isn’t hers because she knows that the man sitting in the same kitchen isn’t one who’ll ever hurt her. She can know, with utmost certainty, that no matter who’s after her, she’s completely safe with River, even if he doesn’t have all the answers. He’s not going to lash out. He isn’t going to hold her silence over her head, even if he questions it, and only because he cares.
That’s the thing—there’s so much care between the two of them that even out of context, there’s a spark in their interactions. In every GIF and muted video. They gravitate toward each other like magnets. The banter is one thing, but the casual beats of intimacy we see is another. The way she briefly squeezes his knee. The eye contact. The sacred, unreserved smiles. They all underscore this very care gorgeously.
The smile that flirts with the edges of his mouth when he emphasizes that she’s alive is everything to show that for the first time in a long time, he’s fully processing something good. Something he’s been wanting for a while that was out of his hands, separated by a death he thought was permanent. The way she responds to him with her own smile, reigniting the shared language they’ve always had. The one thing that’s always been so effortless, that for two characters who are constantly questioning everything, they don’t question how they move beside each other. How they talk to each other. What they do say or do. It’s seamless and vulnerable. Raw. Their walls are always up, and they’re always on edge, but even after three years, their defenses are lowered. They’re untethered. Free. And they might be on the run, but oddly, together, they’ve never been more safe.
There’s also something to be said about the fact that this scene is shot on a handheld camera. How it feels like we’re intruding on them, and the intimacy of an ordinary moment shared between two people in a kitchen. It’s all so intentional, and the shift gives us so much to deconstruct. It’s all so deliciously brought to life as we head toward what I imagine will now be closer to book canon, and it’s already so gorgeous on all fronts.
Further Thoughts
- I love a confused River with my whole chest. 😂
- In her defense, she tried calling.
- He thought it was his fault!!!
- “It was horrible. Really f–king horrible.” The way Jack Lowden delivers this line guts me, actually.
- That little knee grab!!!
- They were having a nice little moment until a car interrupted him.
- Did anyone else scream “cows!” or just me!?
- Sid not knowing who these assassins are either is so fascinating.
- She also doesn’t know whose funeral he was in
- “River, grow up!”
- River is actually a comedian
- NOT THE COW!!!!
- I’m so glad Louisa is also back in this episode!
- I’ll have so much more to say about River noting that her hands are shaking soon.
- I’m also v. glad Moira is safe. Not glad that Emma is basically banished to Slough House.
- RIVER! IS! A! COMEDIAN!
- River, babe, who eats a random woman’s house?
- The bullet has a name. It’s lovely.
- “SO YOU TWO TOGETHER.”
- “I THINK IT’S SUCH A SHAME YOU CAN’T HAVE SEX WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES ANYMORE.” LOUDER, LADY.
- She’s so turned on.
- Same, tbh.
- Also, love the dynamic between Coe and Sid already.
- God, I love River Cartwright
- “You trust her?” “Yeah,” no hesitation. I love it here so much.
- I’m S T R E S S E D.
Now streaming on Apple TV+: What are your thoughts on Sid and River’s interactions in Slow Horses Season 6, Episode 3, “Resurrection?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Apple TV