After a bloodbath of a sixth season, you know Slow Horses wasn’t going out without many bangs, a rising body count, and at least one more fan-favorite character “biting the dust,” as Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) would say.
The death toll on the hit Apple TV series has been steadily climbing since Season 1, and in staying true to Mick Herron’s book series, Slow Horses has never shied away from killing core characters — no matter how painful.
We thought we lost Sid Baker (Olivia Cooke) in Season 1. We actually lost Min Harper (Dustin Demri-Burns) in Season 2. We said goodbye to Marcus Longridge (Kadiff Kirwan) in Season 4. Season 6’s premiere revealed that David Cartwright (Jonathan Pryce) passed away. And Season 6, Episode 4 ended with the devastating death of J.K. Coe (Tom Brooke). Kyle Soller’s Russian assassin Jim met his demise in Episode 5. And the hits just kept coming…
During an action-packed shootout, Slow Horses Season 6, Episode 6, “Judgment Day,” took the life of another beloved character. Even fans who read the books and thought this loss may have been coming were heartbroken to see the show go through with it — and also surprised, because the on-screen death featured a crucial change from the book!
So which fan-favorite character dies in Slow Horses Season 6, Episode 6? Read on for answers and quotes from the actor and Season 6 writer/EP Gaby Chiappe.
Slow Horses Season 6, Episode 5 spoilers ahead.
Slow Horses Season 6, Episode 6 Recap: Who Dies In Slow Horses Season 6, Episode 6?
If you’re looking for a detailed Slow Horses Season 6 finale recap, Decider has you covered, but for the purposes of this piece, we’ll cut right to the chase.
Shortly after River arrives at the safe house in the finale, one of the glass walls shatters and Harkness and his men attack. Smoke fills the house, Molotov cocktails fly, and an all-out war commences. After temporarily taking down the mercenaries, an armed Flyte and Louisa cover the crew as they race through the tall grass down to a nearby beach. Roddy carries Reece to safety, and they take cover with Flyte and Shirley, while Moira, River, Standish, and Louisa hold up in a separate location.
As River wisely deduces, the group is “very very fucked,” as their only escape is back by the house. While the less experienced players in the strange, strange game hide out, Flyte, Shirley, and River head back in hopes of getting the car and taking out the hitmen. And though Flyte gets a badass beach sprinting scene and successfully kills one of the hitmen, Harkness shoots her in the back.
She falls to the sand, managing to shoot River’s dad in the leg, but she runs out of bullets as he approaches, and she has no choice but to admit defeat. (NOOOOO!!!!) Before Harkness fatally shoots Flyte on the beach, she throws her gun at him to ensure she did everything she could to fight back. And before (and even after) he pulls the trigger, he even looks a little regretful, a true testament to her brilliance and strength.
Since Ruth Bradley was introduced in Season 4, Flyte has become a crucial member of the Slow Horses team, and dare I say, Season 6 was her best yet! We got to follow her home and see her spread her wings, find her voice, and step her game up with a meatier role. We saw more of her humor, sass, and smarts. We saw more of her delightfully dysfunctional dynamic with Ho, which will be missed! (It’s also incredibly moving that he’s the one who found her and got a solitary moment to process his grief.) And never forget that Flyte saved all of the other Slough House faves who survived the season, since she’s the one who stood up against Taverner to warn Lamb that Slow Horses were being targeted. Without the heads-up, who knows how Season 6 could have played out. In the words of Ho: “What a legend. Bird takes flight.”
Flyte was an agent with true honor who risked her career and a job at The Park with First Desk to do what she felt was right. She was a beautiful badass and a selfless hero until the very end. But it’s worth noting that Flyte’s on-screen death differed from the book…
Did Emma Flyte Die In Slow Horses Books? Ruth Bradley And Season 6 Writer/EP Unpack Flight’s Death
“Because we were melding, as you know, we were adapting two books and trying to weave them together to make one book, there are some things that we did have to change, and it felt like the most satisfying and conclusive thing that it would be Frank who killed her,” Chiappe told TV Insider. “She loses her life in the same way that she does in the original, in that she’s protecting other people. So the heroism of that moment isn’t lost and it feels more weighty where everybody was on the chessboard at the end. It felt the most weighty thing would be Frank to kill her. And also Frank is, just in case you were feeling sentimental about Frank … he really is not a nice person.”
In an interview with Metro, Bradley opened up about grieving Flyte and her final days on set, where she “spent the rest of the week as a corpse on the beach.” Needless to say, Flyte and Bradley will be deeply missed in Season 7 and beyond. And we’re at least grateful (?!) that she was given what sounds like a more meaningful, substantial exit than she had in the text.
Did River Die In Slow Horses Season 6, Episode 6?
When the end credits roll on Slow Horses Season 6’s finale, viewers will be left wondering if Flyte is the only core character who died, as River’s fate is left uncertain! For an in-depth dive into Season 6’s final scenes and River’s fate on screen and in the books, read our full explainer for answers.
Slow Horses Season 6 is now streaming on Apple TV.