The Buccaneers Kills Off Major Character in Shocking Season 2 Twist, and Even the Cast Can’t Believe It

Warning: This post contains spoilers for episode 6 of The Buccaneers season 2.

A heartbreaking loss has fans reeling after the latest episode of The Buccaneers.

The Apple TV+ series, which follows a tight-knit group of Americans as they relocate to London in the 1870s and navigate the marriage market together, killed off a major character in the July 23 episode of season 2.

The dramatic moment came following a face-off between brothers Richard Marable (Josh Dylan) and James Seadown (Barney Fishwick), after Richard and his sister Honoria (Mia Threapleton) staged a rescue mission for Jinny St. George (Imogen Waterhouse), who Seadown was holding hostage, along with their infant son.

After Seadown held Jinny at gunpoint, Richard stepped in to defend her — and the brothers came to fateful blows.

Jinny ran out of the house to safety, and Richard tried his best to console his brother, who held the gun to his own head, threatening suicide. Ultimately, Seadown fired a single shot at Richard, killing him.

By that point, Honoria had already escaped with Jinny’s baby, bringing him to safety.

Jinny made her way back to Conchita’s (Alisha Boe) house and informed her, through tears, that Richard was shot and killed, and Conchita and Honoria cried in each other’s arms as the episode ended.

The twist left both Dylan and Fishwick completely surprised, they said.

The showdown is “so intense,” Dylan, 31, told Entertainment Weekly. “Maybe you expect it to be Seadown who goes, so it was a surprise, but a cool one.”

The Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again star found the scene “quite fun to be part of,” because it’s such a “distinct moment” in the show.

“In season 2, [Conchita and Richard] are in quite a good place as a couple, and it made it even more fun to lean into that — to really connect and be present with each other because then it’s ultimately really sad.”

The Buccaneers‘ creator went back and forth over whether or not to kill off the major character or not.

“We resisted it for a long time,” creator Katherine Jakeways told Deadline of the twist.

“We resisted, we were like ‘We can’t kill Dick, we can’t kill Dick, but the more we resisted it, and the more we realized how heartbroken we were about it, the more we realized that was probably the right choice.”

“For that reason, really, because you just go, ‘Oh my God, no.’ Because he’s so great, and he’s so lovely, and he and Conchita are such a good match. It broke our hearts to think about it. So it was a bit irresistible to do it, but we still feel very sad about it as well.”

Dylan’s costars mourned the loss and shared tributes to him on social media after the episode aired.

The actor, himself, shared several photos from shooting the episode, writing in a caption, “Things go down at poor, old, unfortunate Aunt Emily’s house…”

“DICKY 4 EVER💔,” Boe, who played his onscreen wife, wrote in a comment.

Guy Remmers, who plays Theo, said Dylan is “forever the most cosmic 💕.”

“Our beautiful dick ❤️,” Waterhouse wrote.

In posts on their Instagram Stories, Kristine Frøseth, who plays Nan St. George, and Josie Totah, who plays Mabel, also shared their reactions.

Totah’s mom sent her several texts reacting to the twist, writing, “Why Dickie!!!!” while Frøseth shared a photo of Fishwick and Dylan posing for a photo on a hike, and wrote over it, “RIP Dickie 🥺.”

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New episodes of The Buccaneers drop Wednesdays on Apple TV+.