Apple TV
“How about a magic trick?” That memorable line is just one of many spoken by Heath Ledger’s Joker in 2008’s “The Dark Knight,” a movie full of similar quotes which came to dominate the zeitgeist in the years after Christopher Nolan’s modern comic book classic debuted. This one has a particularly sharp punch line, however, as it involves the villain slamming some poor goon’s head into a pencil and making it “disappear.” Now, Ledger’s “Dark Knight” co-star, Gary Oldman, has seemingly paid homage to the late actor and his Joker performance in the Apple TV series “Slow Horses.”
More than 15 years later, “The Dark Knight” is somehow better than you remember it. What is essentially Nolan’s superhero version of “Heat” remains the gold standard for big screen comic book adaptations, debuting the same year the inaugural Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, “Iron Man,” arrived (and changed Hollywood forever). After almost two decades and 37 movies, however, the MCU is still yet to produce anything like Nolan’s seminal effort, which is just one example of the film’s enduring appeal (and perhaps a hint as to why the MCU has been struggling lately).
It seems the “Slow Horses” writers are still thinking about “The Dark Knight,” too. At least, it sure looks that way based on the season 5 episode, “Incommunicado.” In the episode, Aimee-Ffion Edwards’ Shirley Dander escapes from a fight with an assassin and meets Oldman’s Jackson Lamb and Christopher Chung’s Roddy Ho at a restaurant. When Ho asks why he has to write things down while Dander is allowed to speak, it prompts a curt response from the typically acerbic Lamb. “Because she sticks to the salient points, whereas when you talk, I wanna stick a pencil in my eye and head-butt the table,” says Oldman’s cynical spy.
Intentional or not, Slow Horses’ Dark Knight reference was perfect
Warner Bros.
The pencil trick moment in “The Dark Knight” comes when the Joker interrupts Gotham’s mob bosses as they meet in a restaurant kitchen. After jamming a pencil into the countertop he promises he’ll make it “disappear,” just as a thug working for Gambol (Michael Jai White) approaches. The unfortunate lackey then has his cranium rammed into the pencil by the Clown Prince of Crime, who finishes with a sly “Ta-da!”
As of this writing, the “Slow Horses” writers have not gone on record about whether they meant to include a deliberate reference to the Joker’s inventive kill or whether this was a coincidental callback to that moment. Either way, it’s a neat link between the two Gary Oldman-starring projects that many fans will no doubt have been delighted to spot. If it was indeed intentional, it’s the perfect way to sneak a “Dark Knight” reference into the show, using Jackson Lamb’s sardonic humor to reference a moment from the movie that the character himself might well have enjoyed.
In “Slow Horses,” Oldman’s Lamb is the slovenly head of Slough House, which is a far cry from his clean-cut Commissioner James Gordon, who appeared in all three of Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy movies. “The Dark Knight Rises,” the final installment in the trilogy, failed to live up to the quality of “The Dark Knight,” which was admittedly a tough act to follow. “The Dark Knight” featured multiple unforgettable moments and set-pieces that remain part of the cultural discourse today, including the Joker’s brutal murder with a writing implement.
Be sure to check out our interview with “Slow Horses” head writer Will Smith about season 5 if you missed it.
