Writing Devices From Slow Horses, Season 5

01 Mar 2026 #writing

TV shows are a good writing classes.

These days, I binge-watched Slow Horses Season 5. Not that I’m a fan of spy shows.

After watching one of the first episodes, I noticed how good episode endings it has.

So I watched the rest of the season with my writer’s glasses on, here are some of the devices I noticed—No spoilers:

1. Increasing tension in every episode. The enemy is using the same strategy the Brits used in them during the Cold War. Each episode follows one of the steps.
2. Plot twist. The innocent turns out to be not that innocent.
3. Ending episode with revelation. One episode ends without any dialog or action scene, but with a text message.
4. Connecting elements. A box full of souvenirs and a tape recorders show up in screen, connecting the plot between episodes.
5. The season ends connecting with the first episode. One of the protagonists makes a phone call, following up a conversation from the first episode.
6. Make you hate a character. That’s not the villain, but a protagonist used as an “useful idiot.” You just hate it by the end of the season. Give characters some life.

More TV show breakdowns: Black Doves, Not Really on Purpose, and House M.D..