Slow Horses season 6 finale: Emma Flyte’s death explained by the head screenwriter

This article contains spoilers for “Slow Horses” season 6, episode 6, “Judgment Day”.

One of the best things about Apple TV’s “Slow Horses” is that the supporting cast could die at any moment. While major characters like Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), and Catherine Standish (Saskia Reeves) often feel like they’re wearing plot armor, the show has been ruthless in tearing down the people around them. Many thought Sid Baker was killed off before she was surprisingly brought back for this season, but the losses of Min Harper and Marcus Longridge left holes in the Slow Horses team. Previous episodes of Season 6 saw the deaths of former agent Struan Loy, who we spent some time with in Season 1, and much more importantly, JK Coe, who lost a bathroom knife fight after spending the last three seasons among our bumbling heroes.

In the season 6 finale, the series removes yet another character from the board: Emma Flyte (Ruth Bradley), former head of security for MI5. Flyte spent most of this season locked up with the Slow Horses after clashing with Diana Taverner, but in “Judgement Day”, Flyte is shot and killed by Frank Harkness on the beach in the season’s climactic shootout. I asked “Slow Horses” head writer Gaby Chiappe about this particular death, which hit her hard when she first encountered it in author Mick Herron’s novels:

“(Emma Flyte) is killed in ‘Joe Country,’ and you know this season is an amalgamation of those two (books, ‘Joe Country’ and ‘Slough House’). I cried when she died in ‘Joe Country’. When I first read it, I really didn’t want that to happen. And I remember going back and re-reading it thinking maybe I was wrong and she wasn’t dead, but obviously she is. And I think the deaths really matter.”

My heart ached for Flyte as soon as I saw that long tracking shot of her sprinting on the beach. “Slow Horses” is not the kind of show to make anyone look that cool and heroic without there being any consequences, and after taking down a mercenary and seemingly saving the day, it doesn’t take ten seconds before Frank Harkness shoots him in the back and then brutally beats him into the sand.

Editor Gaby Chiappe seemed almost pained when she told me about Flyte’s death scene:

“When you lose someone like Coe or Flyte, you just wish it didn’t happen. And especially with Flyte this season, because she was sacked by Taverner who basically says, ‘You can go to Slough House,’ and she says, ‘It’s SO It doesn’t happen.’ But she is with them. She’s almost becoming a Slow Horse in a way, although she’s still super competent and has been amazing at her job. She was only fired because she pissed off Taverner. So I found this death really upsetting, and I really like the way it’s done. And I really like the effect it has on Roddy Ho too.”

Christopher Chung’s Roddy Ho, who gained attention in the funnier season 5, openly punches Flyte several times in his obnoxious way, but there is nothing funny in his face when he sees her lying dead on the beach. I’m very curious to see if Flyte’s death has a lasting impact on her character (the same way Shirley recovered from Marcus’ death), or if it will be business as usual for Ho when season 7 rolls around next year.

Season 6 of “Slow Horses” is now streaming in its entirety on Apple TV.