The Day of the Jackal episode 10 marked a fitting finale to what is easily the best thriller series of 2024. Even before its premiere, the Sky Atlantic (UK) and Peacock (US) series was already generating enough buzz for its star cast and the fact that it is an adaptation of a book widely hailed as one of the best political thrillers of all time. So, here is The Day of the Jackal ending explained along with a peek into the possibility of season 2.
The 10-episode thriller series premiered in the UK on 7 November 2024 on Sky and NOW with the first five episodes. But Peacock began airing the series in the US and the rest of the world starting 14 November. It concluded on 12 December (13 December in some regions).
The show has been met with critical acclaim and received nods in best drama series categories and Eddie Redmayne has been nominated for his performance as the titular assassin in acting categories at both Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. Expect more accolades for the show and the cast when BAFTA announces its nominations.
The Day of the Jackal TV series: Its cast, ending explained and more
What is The Day of the Jackal about?
Based on the acclaimed thriller book by Frederick Forsyth, The Day of the Jackal follows a ruthless assassin. In the series, he is contracted to kill a billionaire tech mogul but an intrepid MI6 agent gets wind of it and plans to stop him.
Though based on the 1971 novel and its subsequent 1973 film adaptation, which is one of the best Frederick Forsyth movies of all time, the show moves on a completely different trajectory.
The film, one of the greatest political or conspiracy thriller movies of all time, is true to the novel. In it, the titular assassin, played by Edward Fox, has been hired by the French militant group Organisation armée secrète (OSS) to kill French President Charles de Gaulle. On his tail is Deputy Commissioner Claude Lebel, played by Michael Lonsdale, whose first task is to find out who the Jackal actually is since the cops have no record of him.
Unlike the film, where the Jackal is simply a cold-blooded assassin and kills off people once his purpose is over, the show presents the Jackal as a family man. There is also a past life of the Jackal in the TV series, which is not present in the movie or the book. Everything – from the target to the stunning filming locations – is different in The Day of the JackalTV series, including the ending, which we have explained here.
The Day of the Jackal TV series cast
The spy thriller series boasts a fantastic ensemble cast led by a galaxy of top talent from the UK and one famous name from Spain — Úrsula Corberó of Money Heist(2017–2021) fame.
Here are the actors and the characters they play on The Day of the Jackal:
Eddie Redmayne as The Jackal
Lashana Lynch as Bianca
Úrsula Corberó as Nuria
Charles Dance as Timothy Winthrop
Nick Blood as Vincent ‘Vince’ Pyne
Chukwudi Iwuji as Osita Halcrow
Lia Williams as Isabel Kirby
Khalid Abdalla as Ulle Dag Charles (UDC)
Eleanor Matsuura as Zina Jansone
Sule Rimi as Paul Pullman
Richard Dormer as Norman Stoke
Adam James as Jeremy Whitelock
The Day of the Jackal season 1 ending explained
Warning: Spoilers
Episodes 1-7:
The series begins with an assassination attempt in London which goes awry, but we later realise that it was all a ploy (and a plot device) to take out the real target by the Jackal. The actual assassination leads MI6 operative Bianca to launch an investigation, during which she realises that something big is about to happen given the involvement of a master gunsmith named Norman Stoke.
The Jackal lives in Spain under the alias Charles with his wife Nuria and their young son. He is approached by Zina Jansone, a contact working for crooked financier Timothy Winthrop, to assassinate billionaire tech genius and activist UDC. Winthrop wants UDC dead fearing that a new software, named River, about to be launched by the latter will reveal his dirty dealings as well as those of several other shady people around the world. The Jackal accepts the task for a higher payment and thus begins the cat-and-mouse chase which forms the core of the series.
Over the course of the next few episodes, we see Jackal making elaborate schemes to get to his target while also trying to keep his family life intact. Nuria has already got wind of something amiss with ‘Charles’. In the next few episodes she, with her brother, discovers the real identity of her husband.
On the other hand, Bianca is hot on the Jackal’s trail. But the biggest hindrance to her work is Isabel Kirby, the MI6 deputy chief of staff. Isabel works closely with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Whitelock, who is actually on the payroll of Winthrop. To continue her investigation, Bianca works with her friend and trusted MI6 agent Vincent Pyne. The two embark on a mission that takes them to Budapest to capture Norman. They fail as the Jackal eliminates him when he is captured. However, before killing Norman, the Jackal got a special gun made for himself.
Episodes 8-10:
As the number of victims mounts, many of them innocents who were unfortunate enough to come in the way of the assassin, Bianca discovers that the Jackal is actually Alexander Duggan — a record-breaking British Army sniper who was thought to have died in Afghanistan in 2013. In flashbacks, we see how the Jackal, or Duggan, as his real name is, kills his own squad barring his spotter, Gary, for committing war crimes. In a way, this part of the series (revealed in the eighth episode) throws a rather sympathetic light on the Jackal and tries to build a narrative that he is not a heartless criminal, which is actually far from the truth as we see him kill an elderly couple in the final episode.
In the penultimate episode, the Jackal reveals his secret to Nuria, who, despite knowing fully well that her husband is a contract killer who is wanted by the cops across Europe, strangely makes no fuss. The reason behind this is not explained in the first season of The Day of the Jackal, but we can assume that it is because she fears for her own life and that of their child at his hands.
Anyway, Bianca hits a dead-end because Isabel suspends the investigation. Yet she is still determined to get to the Jackal. However, the Jackal manages to kill UDC and ensures that River is never released.
In the season finale of The Day of the Jackal, Bianca has quit the MI6 in disgust of their work and corruption. She has managed to mend her strained ties with her husband, Paul, and their young daughter. But Isabel summons her back on a suicidal mission — to kill the Jackal. It is evident at this point that Isabel, Whitelock and Winthrop do not want any loose ends in the killing of UDC that might lead the authorities around the world to them.
The final showdown happens in Spain, at the Jackal’s home. Bianca and Vince stake out his mansion, where they see Nuria escape with her son in a taxi. Bianca and Vince are not aware that the Jackal had called up Nuria feeling distraught after killing the elderly couple and told her they are not safe in the house.
The Jackal arrives at the mansion but by then he has already been tipped off by Zina that Winthrop is trying to get both of them killed. Shocked that Nuria has also left him, he prepares to make his own escape.
Bianca and Vince attempt to get to him. They kill Nuria’s brother, but the gunfire alerts the Jackal. He quickly eliminates Vince and then puts a bullet in the head of Bianca. This was a kind of sorry end to an otherwise fantastic character but also went on to establish why the Jackal is such a feared assassin. The way he quietly moves around the house while Bianca is aiming in another direction underlines that the Jackal is much better trained than even the best in MI6. (Is James Bond taking notes?)
Back in London, Isabel has become the chief of MI6 and tells Halcrow, who was Bianca’s immediate superior, that she went rogue and died because of her own folly. Yet she is unaware that before leaving for Spain, Bianca had messaged Halcrow that Isabel had ordered her to kill the Jackal.
The series ends with the Jackal in Budapest, with visible injuries to his face while trying to escape after killing Bianca. He has donned a new look, possibly a new identity, too, and is clearly on the wanted list as he looks back at the cops he has just walked past at a square. He meets Zina, who shows him a newspaper with a photograph of Winthrop saying, “I know you don’t like an unpaid debt”. Before leaving, the Jackal tells her, “There’s someone I gotta find first”. In other words, he will search for Nuria and his son before going after Winthrop.
Will there be a The Day of the Jackalseason 2?
Of course, The Day of the Jackal season 2 is happening! A second season of the show was greenlit on 22 November.
In the film, Lebel dramatically bursts into a Parisian apartment and shoots the Jackal dead just before the latter is about to take his shot at de Gaulle from the window. In the show, however, Jackal is not only alive, he has also shot to death Bianca — the character drawn on the lines of Lebel.
As The Day of the Jackal season 1 ending explained above shows, the Jackal will be after Winthrop now. Maybe even Isabel. There is also a hint dropped in the finale episode during a conversation Zina had with her handler before the assassination attempt on her. It has a cursory “let’s meet in New York” message. Thus, expect the Jackal to cross the Atlantic into the Big Apple in The Day of the Jackal season 2. It would really be thrilling to see some sharp sniper action from one of those skyscrapers!
Watch The Day of the Jackal on JioCinema.
Hero and Featured images: Courtesy of PEACOCK/Marcell Piti/SKY/Carnival – © 2023 Carnival Film & Television Limited via IMDb
The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
