by Tourist season 1 episode 6 spoilers follow.
Twister than Jamie Dornan’s curly locks, The Tourist “really keeps people guessing all the time,” just like Jamie himself said he would during a chat with Digital Spy.
What begins as an intriguing thriller about a man suffering from amnesia soon becomes a much more unique treatise on morality and the cost of total loss of self. That’s not all, though. The Tourist also jumps between genres, scattered like The Man’s erratic thoughts, and in doing so, the show proves itself to be far more than just a primetime BBC thriller.
Co-star Danielle MacDonald wasn’t kidding when she told us to “expect the unexpected.” But even then, few could have expected that ending in the final moments of episode six.
Explanation of the tourist ending
When we first meet Jamie Dornan’s character, all we know is that he’s a terrible singer. Thankfully his performance of ‘Bette Davis Eyes’ is soon cut short when a lorry runs him off the road and in the ensuing crash, The Man loses his memory, leaving him trying to fend for himself in the Australian outback without so much as a name. call about him.
A woman named Luci befriends The Man quickly, but by the end of the first episode it becomes clear that he is not who he seems. Then there’s also Helen, a local policeman who soon becomes involved in the case.
Together, these three get involved in twist after twist until it is finally revealed that The Man’s real name is Elliot Stanley. But why are so many people chasing him? What could he have done to justify this mad chase?
Towards the end, we learn that Elliot worked as an accountant for a drug lord named Kostas, the mysterious figure played by Alex Dimitriades. Elliot fled after falling in love with Kostas’ girlfriend, who turns out to be none other than Luci. And that’s not all. The man formerly known as ‘The Man’ has also stolen a bag with over £1million hidden inside. The couple were supposed to share this money, but they kept breaking up.
Up until this point, you may have thought Elliot wasn’t that bad, at least not compared to Kostas. But after tripping on LSD, the so-called accountant finally discovers the identity of the woman who keeps appearing in his flashbacks, Lena Pascal.
And when the two finally meet, Elliot realizes that his past self used to force people to smuggle heroin for Kostas. This led to the tragic deaths of two women who were killed when bags filled with drugs exploded inside them.
If discovering his true identity was difficult for Elliot, it certainly wasn’t easy for Dornan to film him.
“It was crazy,” the actor told Entertainment Weekly. “I felt very raw in the moment, I felt very exposed, and vulnerable and kind of awful and terrible with myself. He was doing such a beautiful job in front of me and making the impact that I felt he should have. “
She added: “Sometimes you find yourself at a point where you feel so broken you can’t stop crying. [Laughs] I felt a bit like that that day in a good way, I guess. I felt very exposed, very vulnerable. You know, these are hard things to hear, the hardest things to hear, so luckily a lot of that was on the page for me in terms of writing. But, yes, it wasn’t an easy day, that one.”
Wracked by overwhelming remorse, Elliot struggles to reconcile these past actions with the man he is now. And knowing that Helen doesn’t support him anymore either, it all suddenly becomes too much to bear.
In the final moments of The Tourist, Elliot tries to kill himself by crashing his car. When that doesn’t work, he overdoses in the hospital, desperate to escape his all-consuming guilt. Without Helen, he sees no way out of the grief, except that a text arrives from her too late, suggesting that the pair could potentially reconcile, assuming of course Elliot survives…
“After I finished the series, I called Shalom [Brune-Franklin] instantly,” Danielle MacDonald told us before the finale aired. “And I was like, ‘I can’t talk to anyone about this, because nobody has read it and I’m not allowed to say anything, so I need to you to tell me about it. We just need to talk about this whole situation.'”
Viewers felt the same way, taking to Twitter to discuss what turned out to be a rather divisive ending. While some loved the ambiguity surrounding Elliot’s fate, others lamented Helen’s demise, hoping to see her flourish more in her career.
Those who were disappointed with the ending probably wish Dornan had been serious when he joked to us that “the whole series ends with Armageddon, so there’s no more life.” Although, to be fair, he wasn’t exactly wrong, at least when it comes to Elliot’s fate…
Will The Tourist Return for Season 2?
Although at the end of The Tourist’s first season, we didn’t know for sure whether or not Elliot was actually dead — and the show felt like a done deal in many ways — it was soon confirmed by the BBC that The Tourist would return for season 2.
Ahead of the official announcement, there was talk of a potential second season with The Tourist creators Harry and Jack Williams (who were previously known for helming shows like Baptiste, Liar, and The Missing).
“I would love to do this show with these people again,” Harry told the Radio Times. “I’m not entirely sure that’s possible. I love the tone, I love the world. It’s been our lives for three years and we’ve been very, very invested in it, more than any other show.
“We loved every minute of it. Normally you’re sick of it by this point after watching 900 cuts of an episode, but I still love it and would love to do it again.”
Jack also chimed in, saying that, “We’re talking about how we could get back into this world, aren’t we?” To which Harry added, “Yeah, this world and this tone. I feel like we’re not done with that. In terms of story, we’ll see how it goes if people like it.”
A second season of The Tourist could also star Jamie Dornan, meaning Elliot may have survived after all. Ahead of the official renewal news, Dornan said that “conversations are being held” about a second moto and that he “would love” to be involved.
“I read episode six later than Danielle Macdonald because she texted me saying, ‘Oh my god, did you read episode six?’ Dornan said (via Collider).“And I was like, ‘No.’ He was like, ‘Please read it and come back to me.’ And I was like, ‘Okay.’
“But then, it probably took me another week before I got around to reading it, to be honest. Just like every other episode, it was unexpected, but I loved it. We were only making one. It was like, ‘ Let’s just do one series.'”
“That remains the setup. But I know, definitely in the UK, Ireland, Australia and wherever I’ve seen it, the reception has been so crazy, that there’s definitely a demand and a desire for more, so we’ll talk about that.” and we’ll see about that.”
But then again, there are more than enough colorful characters who could carry this story forward without The Man if need be. And who wouldn’t want to see more Danielle MacDonald as Helen? Even if we won’t see Elliot again, a second season of The Tourist could still bring us another unforgettable storyline.
The tourist is available on the BBC iPlayer.
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