u/evanmonroe9

An excellent piece of Slough House fan art depicting one of my favorite scenes in the series from book 6, a scene I call "the genie cave". I am almost certain that this scene will not be adapted in season 6 of the show given how season 5 ended. If so it's a shame, because this moment between Lamb and Catherine feels as though the entire series was building to it.

Shoutout to Lore Artisan for this commissioned artwork: https://linktr.ee/LoreArtisan

https://preview.redd.it/b1rheu8qmfah1.jpg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0bc83deab0a44808f445043bef4f8628831c6d1b

An excellent piece of Slough House fan art depicting one of my favorite scenes in the series from book 6, a scene I call "the gene cave". I am almost certain that this scene will not be adapted in season 6 of the show given how season 5 ended. If so it's a shame, because this moment between Lamb and Catherine feels as though the entire series was building to it.

Shoutout to Lore Artisan for this commissioned artwork: https://linktr.ee/LoreArtisan

https://preview.redd.it/9004ebnj3bah1.png?width=3840&format=png&auto=webp&s=02ddb95d885670b266a430ec07b1f47889c6d3f6

Many have noted that “Clown Town” has a beginning of the end flavor to it. I’m not sure how many more books Herron wants to write, but I could see the next book bringing about a close to the story. This got me thinking: What if the series ends with Claude Whelan becoming First Desk again?

When Whelan is introduced in book 4 he lacks confidence, and Diana manages to manipulate Claude by keeping him close. By book 5 he plays board room politics far better. But Claude ultimately is defeated by the Watering Hole Paper being connected to his work across the river, resulting in Claude’s dismissal. However, Claude is given a chance at redemption in book 8 when he tries to find Sophie de Greer, leading to the showdown at the San where Claude saves Shirley from Anthony Sparrow’s men. Shirley and Claude form a brief companionship, despite Shirley believing herself a jinx who kills her partners. For just a second there, Claude stepped up and acted when the chips were down.

As the book puts it: “moments of heroism he has always quite genuinely thought beyond him proved to be his finest, well, not hour. But minutes. He spent some minutes being heroic.”

Finally there’s book 9 which Claude doesn’t directly appear in. He is however mentioned by the PM and Belwether in the ending as a possible interim First Desk now that Taverner is in hot water.

Assuming that Lady Di is either killed, arrested, or goes into hiding at the end of the story (the most likely outcomes), I think it would be interesting to see a more confident Claude stepping up to the plate. Without Diana as the devil on Claude’s shoulder, I think he would run MI5 well. Whelan has a lot to learn, but he’s not a complete fish out of water anymore. He’s seen first hand how the game is played and what it takes to remain First Desk. It would be quite poetic if Claude played a direct role in Taverner’s downfall, just like she brought down Dame Ingrid. Claude might not be the best person to be First Desk, but I do think it would end the story on an optimistic note that Whelan will try to be a good man and run MI5 with less backstabbings and under the table political deals.