The classical definition of a comedy as opposed to a tragedy requires that in a comedy the status quo remains at the end of the story. Slow Horses Season 1 fit this definition of a comedy, for even with all the madness of that first season, at the end Slough House trods on.

Season 2 begins very much with this continuum, for aside from the addition of two new agents, Shirley Dander (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) and Marcus Longridge (Kadiff Kirwan), the Slow Horses appear to be in the same spy purgatory they’ve found themselves in before. River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) is increasingly frustrated with his position in life, and Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) is still the slovenly, dismissive, head of this misfit agency, seemingly uncaring about anything and everything under his purview. That is until a retired spy is found dead on a bus, which sets off Lamb, and Slough House, on a cat and mouse set of spy games that for once Slough House takes the lead on.

Where Season 1 introduced us to the bunch of misfits under Lamb, Season 2 gives them a chance to show what made them the potentially great spies they are (or at least could have been in the first place.) By giving them a chance to lead, and raising the stakes substantially, our intrigue is heightened. Like a great Marvel sequel, we already know the characters, and now we get to see them in all their glory.

Rosalind Eleazar as Louisa and Kadiff Kirwan as Marcus

That’s not to say we do not get great moments of character development as well. Catherine Standish (Saskia Reeves) and Lamb again deal with the scars of their job, as their entangled past is increasingly revealed. Likewise everyone from Min (Dustin Demri-Burns), Roddy (Christopher Chung), River, to Louisa (Rosalind Eleazar) gets their time to shine, as many are pushed beyond their limits.

What’s incredibly impressive is that even as the bleakness of the spy world comes to Slough House a second time, this show is still able to provide some incredible moments of humor and levity. One scene that reflects the show’s genius is a funeral scene, that on its face is incredibly tragic and heartfelt, and yet there’s one moment in it which is truly laugh out loud funny.

What’s hard to imagine is where Slow Horses Season 3 will go from here, considering both the excellence of Season 2, and the ramifications of all that went down. However, when watching this show, you know you’re in good hands, and no doubt those Slow Horses will not slow down anytime soon.