Warning: this article contains major spoilers for Slow Horses Season 6, Episode 4.
Apple TV’s Slow Horses killed off J.K. Coe, played by Tom Brooke, in the fourth episode of its sixth season, titled “Lost and Found.” The character’s death follows the show’s pattern of killing off core members of the Slough House team, a trend established in Mick Herron’s source novels.
In the episode, assassins Jim (Kyle Soller) and Jane (MyAnna Buring) catch up with the Slow Horses after a chase that runs through a bowling alley called Nova Bowl and ends at a busy rest stop. River (Jack Lowden) and Sid (Olivia Cooke) separate from Coe to get food and supplies, leaving Coe alone to play an arcade racing game until he spots Jim and Jane watching him.
Jim follows Coe into a men’s restroom, where the two exchange a tense, almost playful bit of dialogue before fighting. “Are you FSB?” Coe asks. Jim replies, “GRU.” After Coe comments on Jim’s “good pension,” he says, “I think you’ve got the wrong list,” and draws a push knife. Jim asks, “That a push knife?” to which Coe answers, “Yep,” smiling. Jim says, “Nice,” and pulls a larger knife of his own.
The brawl destroys the bathroom, with the two men smashing hand dryers, mirrors and a urinal. Coe fights hard but is eventually stabbed in the stomach by Jim. The show cuts between the fight, Sid battling Jane in the car park, and River obliviously eating a sandwich and sipping a sports drink outside. When River finally checks the restroom, he finds Coe slumped against the wall, hood up, headphones still in and rap music still playing.
Coe’s death in the show mirrors his fate in Herron’s sixth novel, Joe Country, on which this season is based. The character had become a more prominent presence since the death of Marcus Longridge (Kadiff Kirwan) in Season 4, opening up after years as a largely silent, introspective figure.
Brooke’s performance relied heavily on physicality and subtle choices rather than dialogue, something he discussed in an interview with Decider ahead of the episode’s release. Asked about a possible prequel exploring Coe’s backstory, including the events referenced in the books The List and Nobody Walks, Brooke said he would welcome it.
“I think he is so odd when we get to him. And he’s like that because what he’s gone through is so extreme and awful,” Brooke said. “So yeah, I would love people to know. It would be an absolute blast. It would be so cool, because you get to show pre-torture Coe.”
New episodes of Slow Horses Season 6 air Wednesdays on Apple TV.
