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| How Did David Cartwright Die in Slow Horses Season 6? Is Jonathan Pryce Leaving the Series? |
David Cartwright is dead in Slow Horses season 6, but that does not mean Jonathan Pryce has packed up his MI5 files and disappeared from the series. The former intelligence chief’s death happens before the new season properly gets going, leaving River Cartwright to deal with the loss of the grandfather who has remained one of the few constants in his chaotic life. Pryce, meanwhile, still appears in the season 6 premiere, giving viewers one more chance to see David through a flashback sequence.
David’s condition had been deteriorating for some time. Retirement was hardly peaceful for the former MI5 boss, with severe dementia eventually leaving him in need of specialist care.
River placed him in a retirement home and continued visiting him, maintaining the relationship between two members of a family that had already been reduced to a rather bleak two-man operation. It was not exactly the family reunion anyone would put on a cheerful Christmas card.
By the beginning of season 6, however, David has passed away. The series does not present his death as another elaborate intelligence operation or some spectacular final mission. His death appears to be the result of old age and his declining health, bringing the character’s long story to a quiet but significant close.
River and the Park then have to arrange David’s funeral, although even in death the former MI5 chief cannot simply be remembered for what he actually did. His real career remains protected by official secrecy, meaning his public identity is considerably less glamorous. He is instead remembered as a former Head of Transportation, which is about as far removed from the world of covert intelligence as the authorities could reasonably make it.
The funeral nevertheless attracts some familiar faces from the Park. Diana Taverner attends, as does Jackson Lamb, despite the complicated history between the characters. Lamb, naturally, cannot resist making a remark about David potentially still being alive and somehow faking his death for an Agency-related reason. It is very much the sort of thing Lamb would say at a funeral, because apparently even grief cannot stop him from being Jackson Lamb.
That comment should not be taken as a serious indication that David has secretly survived. River’s reaction to his grandfather’s death, combined with David’s established condition, makes it clear that David Cartwright’s death is intended to be genuine. The suggestion that he might have staged the whole thing works far better as Lamb being Lamb than as some giant twist waiting around the corner.
There is also an important distinction between David Cartwright leaving the story and Jonathan Pryce leaving Slow Horses. Pryce has not disappeared from season 6. He appears in the opening episode, titled “Circle of Life”, despite the story taking place after David’s death.
His appearance comes through a flashback or dream sequence involving River. David speaks with his grandson about their future and the idea of creating a home for themselves after the loss of River’s mother. The sequence gives the two characters a final emotional moment together without undoing the reality of David’s death.
It also makes Pryce’s appearance rather clever from a storytelling point of view. Instead of dragging David back into another improbable intelligence plot, the series uses him to explore River’s memories and grief. David can still influence River without physically being around to turn up whenever the plot needs a conveniently experienced former MI5 chief.
Whether Pryce appears again later in season 6 through further flashbacks remains unclear from the material available here. His presence in the premiere confirms that he remains part of the season, but it does not necessarily mean David will return as an active character. The distinction matters because David’s story has effectively reached its conclusion, while Pryce’s involvement with the series is not automatically over.
And honestly, David’s exit feels more fitting than giving him one last oversized spy adventure. Slow Horses has always been good at mixing serious consequences with dry humour, and David’s death follows that approach. His life was extraordinary, but his final chapter is shaped by age, illness and the very ordinary sadness of losing someone close. There is something suitably restrained about that.
The funeral also gives River another reminder of the strange legacy he inherited. David was once one of the most important figures in British intelligence, while River has spent much of his career being treated as the family embarrassment who somehow keeps wandering into important operations. That contrast has always been part of River’s character, and losing David only makes the weight of that legacy more obvious.
My take is that David Cartwright’s death works because Slow Horses does not turn it into a cheap mystery. There would have been an obvious temptation to make Lamb’s joke about David faking his death into a massive reveal, but that would arguably undermine the emotional point of the episode. River losing his grandfather matters precisely because there is no clever escape hatch waiting for him.
Jonathan Pryce’s return, even briefly, is arguably the more interesting part. Seeing David in River’s memories allows the character to remain important without stretching his story beyond its natural endpoint.
It also gives River something the show rarely allows him: a moment where the personal consequences of his life actually catch up with him. The fact that Lamb can still make a ridiculous comment during the funeral is almost perfect, too. Slow Horses apparently believes emotional devastation and terrible timing belong together, and it is difficult to argue with that formula.
So, no, David Cartwright is not secretly running around somewhere, at least based on what happens here, and Jonathan Pryce has not simply walked away from Slow Horses. Pryce appears in season 6 through David’s flashback appearance, while the character himself has seemingly reached the end of his story. Whether more memories of David appear later could add another layer to River’s storyline. What did you make of David’s death, and would you like to see Jonathan Pryce return in more flashbacks? Let us know what you think.