Is Lauryn Dead? Did Saffron Hocking Leave Top Boy?

Netflix’s ‘Top Boy’ follows a group of people trying to create and maintain a foothold in the drug business in east London. The show primarily focuses on Dushane and Sully, the gang’s leaders, who are constantly threatened by other gangs wanting to have a monopoly over the business. Surrounded by enemies on all sides, the Summerhouse gang relies on the honesty and loyalty of its people. When that is compromised, the repercussions are deadly. No one knows this better than Lauryn.

Lauryn is the sister of Jaq, one of the most important members of the gang. The sisters are worlds apart, but their love for one another sustains their bond, which goes through many tests, especially in the show’s final season. What happens to Lauryn at the end of the show? How does she die? Let’s find out. SPOILERS AHEAD

Is Lauryn Dead?

Lauryn always had a tumultuous life, even with Jaq trying to ease things for her. She was also extremely unlucky in matters of the heart, and it would land her in some very dangerous situations. In the first season, her relationship with Leyton leads her to unintentionally rat out Sully, who is almost killed by the Fields gang. When she confesses to Jaq, her sister comes up with the only way to keep her sister safe. Lauryn is told to leave London and never come back.

In the second season, things get much worse for Lauryn as she ends up in an abusive relationship with Curtis. She is trapped with him, and with her pregnancy, Curtis gets more and more controlling and manipulative. His sister doesn’t make things easier either. In the end, Lauryn is forced to run away, and she returns to London, hoping to find a haven with her sister. By the end of Season 2, she kills Curtis to save herself.

Lauryn takes all of this trauma into the third season. She has given birth to a boy. While the child receives all the love and care in the world from Jaq and her girlfriend, Lauryn feels a little distant from him. She refuses to breastfeed him and has to be reminded that she needs to name the baby. Lauryn also spends the whole day in her room, and later, it turns out that she has been taking drugs. All of this points towards the fact that Lauryn might have had depression and PTSD from her experience with Curtis. While Jaq tries to help her, she cannot reach out to her sister. Lauryn drowns herself in the bathtub, probably after taking drugs or pills. She dies by suicide.

Did Saffron Hocking Leave Top Boy?

Lauryn is one of the most complicated characters in ‘Top Boy,’ and in bringing her to the screen, actress Saffron Hocking wanted to be “completely truthful and honest” in telling her story. Hocking saw Lauryn as an incredibly layered character, and despite her flaws, she didn’t want the viewers to see her unempathetically. Talking about what she learned from her character and what she wants the audience to take away from her story, the actress said: “I think it was mainly empathy. To have empathy for others and to humanize everyone instead of being so quick to judge them. I learned that it was important to get to the heart of people and figure out what’s going on with them. If a person is behaving a certain way, there’s probably a reason for it. So, Lauryn helped me humanize people and empathize with them.”

The BAFTA-nominated actress revealed that she tried to bring a part of herself into the character, trying to find ways in which she would respond to a given situation while also walking away “with some elements” of the character. “Lauryn has these really long nails. Previously, my nails were never as long as hers, but now I’m obsessed with getting my nails done and have them done every two to three weeks religiously,” she said. Lauryn’s death bends her arc in ‘Top Boy.’ This is also the show’s final season, which means that Hocking will not have the chance to reprise the role. Fans can catch her in shows like ‘Moon Knight,’ ‘Riches,’ and ‘The Devil’s Hour,’ while waiting for the several projects she is currently involved in.