Ride or Die: who dies? One death was so contested the creator had to confirm it herself

If you've finished Prime Video's Ride or Die — the Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer assassin romp that ate everyone's July — you already know the wound we're here to prod. If you haven't: spoilers ahead, obviously, the headline did warn you.

RIP to a beautiful criminal

The casualty is Billy Donovan, Ed Skrein's charming disaster of a crook, who spends the season being rescued from the Albanian mob and repaying the favour with vibes. He makes it all the way to the Geneva bank job, and then — during the van getaway — Judith discovers his throat has been slit. Off-screen. No final speech, no slow-motion goodbye. Ana killed him, essentially, out of spite.

The internet immediately did what the internet does: decided he wasn't really dead. Secret twin. Faked it. Ghost Billy. The theories got loud enough — with the cast joining in — that creator Tessa Coates had to issue an official time of death. Speaking to TV Insider, she recalled the cast pitching twins, flashbacks and hauntings, before delivering the verdict:

"I think Billy is dead, unfortunately."

It was always the plan

Coates has been clear this wasn't a whim. Billy was Judith's original target in episode one — the man was on borrowed time before the opening credits finished. She told Gold Derby the team had been building towards a big hero's death for ages, and that having it happen off-camera made it crueller, not kinder:

"I gasp every time I see it. Poor boy."

Poor boy indeed.

Who's left standing

For the ledger: Ana — Judith's unhinged ex-best-friend — survives the season, despite Judith's best efforts. And the finale reveals someone else entirely is now hunting both Judith and Debbie, which is a lovely bit of sequel bait for a show that, as of now, hasn't been renewed. Billy, however, stays dead. The creator has spoken. Put the twin theory down.