This article contains major spoilers for the season six finale of Slow Horses.
The director of Slow Horses has opened up about the cliffhanger at the end of the show’s most recent season.
On Wednesday, the season six finale of the British spy drama premiered on Apple TV+, ending on what cast member Christopher Chung (who plays Roddy in the show) has called “the biggest cliffhanger that this series has ever done before”.
In the scene in question, Jack Lowden’s MI5 agent River Cartwright seemingly found himself at the middle of an unprecedented happy ending, arriving back to his grandfather’s house to find Olivia Cooke’s Sid waiting for him there.
However, as the scene unfolded, he was seen making a cup of tea before suddenly dropping to the floor and gasping for breath, indicating that he’d been poisoned.
This open ending left viewers unsure whether River was to have survived the attack – particularly when a season seven preview featured Sir Gary Oldman’s character sarcastically claiming he’d received “a postcard” from his former colleague, telling him: “Weather’s lovely in the afterlife. Sunsets to die for.”
So, what do we know about River’s fate?
Is River really dead in the Slow Horses season 6 finale, or will Jack Lowden be back in season 7?
In short, we don’t know.
Director Adam Randall told Radio Times: “It’s a very dark season, lots of things go wrong for various people. So you’re not expecting for [the finale] to be the darkest and then it just ends.
“It’s shocking and it’s a risk, really. But it is in the book, and it’s important. It’s an important part of the story.”
On setting the mood for the scene, Adam noted: “I really wanted for you to know something was wrong, because we were taking so long with absolutely nothing happening.
“It’s almost the most wonderful happy ending. It’s sort of heartbreaking that, it isn’t?”
Producer Gaby Chiappe, meanwhile, told TV Insider: “We don’t know what’s going to happen to [River]. We know that Novichok has been named, and we know that it has been used within the episode, and we suspect that that’s what it is.
“And people survive it, but people also die from it. So we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“What really excites me about it is that although I’ve read the book, I haven’t yet read the script for the next season because I’m not involved,” she added. “And I am really, really excited about finding out what’s next.
“So I’m now back with all – I’m on the same status as any other viewer for season seven, any other viewer who’s read the book.”
It’s also been pointed out that Jack’s exit from the show could have come at an opportune moment, as the actor has been heavily tipped to be taking over from Daniel Craig at the helm of the James Bond series.
Filming on Slow Horses’ seventh season began last year, with an eighth having already been commissioned.
