In every way that it matters, Slow Horses Season 6 delivers a narrative triumph. Each character gets incredible moments to shine, whether it’s their last time on the show or their first entrance. It’s enthralling, heavy, and heartbreaking at times, but it makes for riveting TV we can’t get enough of. Part of what’s also so satisfying about the show being this excellent for six seasons in is the detail that it gives characters organic character development. After the events of the finale, we sat down with Christopher Chung, who plays Roddy Ho, to discuss what he hopes the character will take away from all that’s happened at the hands of the assassins.
Season 6 comes with two awful character deaths that we’re going to be thinking about for a long time: Tom Brooke’s J.K. Coe and Ruth Bradley’s Emma Flyte. Both of these characters have been impactful in the show, Flyte especially where Roddy’s concerned. As Chung tells us, “He [Roddy] has this morbid fascination with death no matter where it is, so when he comes across Flyte’s body, it’s the first time he’s physically been in the presence of someone that’s been killed.” Roddy’s often spent a lot more time on the computer as opposed to in combat, so it’s completely understandable that the death would have a huge impact on him. Chung also adds, “Seeing Flyte really changes so much of him.” He’s no longer being a coward as he was when he ran away and left Reese (Lenny Rush).
What’s also so fitting about this moment is the emotions Christopher Chung conveys in this scene. It’s all written on his face as he confirms to us how daunting it’s all been for him. How, in the shock of it all, Roddy finally recognizes how important everyone still standing is as well. “I have to go back and do something,” Chung notes about Roddy. “It instills him with a sense of courage.”
Related Content: Slow Horses Season 6 Review: The Most Exhilarating Run Yet
Interestingly, Chung also discusses the final scene and how Roddy’s video games are often reflections of what he’s trying to understand. “This is him trying to relive that moment on the beach where he doesn’t shoot the assassin.” The emotional impact is as tremendous as the physical in the moment, and Chung states that “he’s [Roddy] trying to redo history in his head because he doesn’t feel like he’s stepped up to the plate.
He hasn’t proved himself to be a worthy agent. Or the kind of things that he believes he is in his own head.” So much of the Slow Horses Season 6 finale is a reflection of all that could’ve been done and how things could’ve been different. It’s largely what makes it so effective and one we can continue looking back on.
Christopher Chung calls it “a real moment of vulnerability,” and that couldn’t be more true. These characters are going to be perpetually changed by these events, and it’s impressive to see that the actors fully grasp the magnitude of it all.
Check out our full interview with Christopher Chung below. He might’ve even mentioned Taylor Swift.