‘Ride or Die’: Is [Spoiler] Really Dead? Boss Reveals Their Fate
Spoiler Alert
What To Know
- Ride or Die creator Tessa Coates discusses Billy’s shocking death and confirms whether he could make a comeback in a potential second season.
- Plus, Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer share their love for the fallen character.
Ride or Die may be all about the friendship and adventures between pals Debbie (Octavia Spencer) and Judith (Hannah Waddingham), but it’s difficult not to find criminal Billy Donovan (Ed Skrein) endearing. Warning: Spoilers for Ride or Die Season 1 ahead!
He teams up with the women when they mercifully save him from the Albanian mob, who is after him for a failed business deal. When Billy tells them he knows how to fix it and end the pursuit of the mobsters, they join forces for some epic shenanigans.
But when the operation leads them to a bank in Geneva, an attempted van getaway unveils that Billy had his throat slit and Judith sadly has to leave the lifeless criminal behind. While we agree that he seems fairly dead, a moment from the finale has us second-guessing Billy’s fate when Judith and Debbie lead disgruntled assassin Ana (Sylvia Hoeks) to her death over a cliff, perishing in a fiery crash below.
Prime Video
Debbie tells Judith they’re going to hike down the cliff to make sure Ana is dead, which is a move that more characters in films and TV should consider if they want to save themselves time and aggravation. Meanwhile, when it comes to Billy, there’s no lingering around to see if maybe there’s a shot he’s still alive.
When we asked Waddingham and Spencer if there’s a character they’d like to see resurrected in a potential second season, the answer was unanimous. “Can you un-slit a throat?” Waddingham asked.
“I want Billy to come back. You know, we love Billy,” Spencer said, adding, “I was really rooting for the two of them,” alluding to the relationship that was building between Billy and Judith.
“I was really shocked reading that as late on as I did,” Waddingham noted.
This echoes what show creator Tessa Coates had to say about Billy’s demise and its effect, as she revealed regarding Season 2 hopes, “That was a request from a member of the cast being like, twins? He comes back in a flashback? He comes back as a ghost? I think Billy is dead, unfortunately,” Coates confirmed.
As she pointed out, Billy was Judith’s intended target in the premiere episode, “so he was on borrowed time right from the beginning.” Even if Billy’s death worked for the story, Coates admitted it wasn’t an easy choice. “We love Billy, too, and we really thought about [keeping him alive, but] we were like, no, this has to happen.”
So, for anyone holding out hope that Billy is alive and well, take Coates’ words for it: He’s sadly a casualty among Ride or Die‘s fallen Season 1 characters. What did you think of his death? Let us know in the comments section below, and stay tuned for any potential updates surrounding the show’s future as we await renewal news.
Ride or Die, Season 1, Streaming now, Prime Video
Conversation20 Comments
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G
Bring him back! Their chemistry was the best part of the show
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S
Figure it out! We want Billy back!
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J
Billy absolutely should not have been killed off! I honestly had to 'force' myself to watch the last episode with hopes of a hospital bed scene or something with Billy. He quickly became a favorite character for me and I'm hoping there's enough fan love for him to have miraculously survived. It happens all the time - I mean it showed a partial slit....one can hope. It brings a more rounded character development in Judith. With all the emotional chaos in her life, Billy and Debbie bring a balance that the show definitely needs ❤️
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B
This is crazy!! Why Billy why not Debbies husband? I may stop watching now. This is crazy!!
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J
Agreed!!!! That weasel should not have made it while Billy dies?? Cmon!
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S
We HATED that Billy was killed! We LOVED the show and we LOVED his character! Please bring him back!!!
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T
Please bring Billy Donvan back! Thank you!
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I
So disappointed Billy died with no hope of return. He was a great character and I am not happy he is gone. RIP Billy
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B
Billy was our favorite part. He needs to come back.
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W
That was utter bull to kill Billy. I invest in pretend characters and I want pretend results for crying out loud! I put up with sudden deaths in a few series over the years but stopped watching Downton Abby after the Matthew debacle. I’m old enough to not want to further invest emotionally if the writers are going to turn on me.
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K
Really bummed they killed off Billy. Would have made for a great romance for Judith
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S
Really cross he's been written out. Definitely bring Billy back.
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K
That did not have to happen! Bring him back!
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T
I liked Billy. He and Judith were good together.
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G
Billy needs to live - he was a great character!
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D
Definitely hard to watch now that Billy is gone. Like I actually felt a lump in my heart and was hoping he’d resurrect in the last episode. I hope they can find a way to have him have miraculously survived in season 2 bc I’m just devastated over his death.
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K
Bring Billy back!! The chemistry between him and Judith was great, as well as them as a trio with Debbie & in the group as a whole. He was a key part of what made this quirky show work. We get that the main love story is the best friends, but we are watching for the redemption stories of other characters they love too. Please figure it out and get him (not a twin) back! He and Judith deserve that Cambodia time together.
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X
If Ana could survive, I think maybe can find a way to bring back Billy.
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E
I was so invested in this show until they killed Billy. Ruined the magic. Bad decision by writers.
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G
The creator said" I think Billy is dead" . Clever leaving yourself a backdoor like that...
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