Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for The Day of the Jackal Season 1 finale.
The sun has set on The Day of the Jackal, as Season 1 has officially wrapped up and provided just as many questions as it has answers. Based on Frederick Forsyth's 1972 novel of the same name—which is a fictional account of the events following the OAS' failed attempt to assassinate French president Charles de Gaulle—Sky Atlantic and Peacock's The Day of the Jackalfollows Eddie Redmayne's Jackal, an infamous assassin hired by powerful financier Timothy Winthrop (Charles Dance) to assassinate high-profile billionaire tech entrepreneur Ulle Dag Charles (Khalid Abdalla) for a staggering $100 million, all while being pursued by MI6 agent Bianca Pullman (Lashana Lynch). Just as thrilling and high-stakes as the first eight episodes, the series' two-part finale is filled with major deaths, staggering betrayals, and open-ended final moments.
'The Day of the Jackal' Provides a Backstory for Eddie Redmayne's Character
Image via Peacock Early in the season, while trying to discover the Jackal's identity, Bianca theorizes that he must be a former member of the British Army, but it's not until the series' seventh episode that we're given a real look into the Jackal's past. It's revealed that Bianca was indeed on the right track, and that the Jackal is Alexander Duggan, a radicalized former British Army sniper thought to be killed by an IED while serving in Afghanistan. The reality of this, however, is much more grim.
In what proves to be his final mission for the British Army, Duggan and his squad's attempt to arrest an al-Qaeda leader at a wedding goes horribly wrong. The job is botched and, rather than kidnapping the target, the squad proceeds to massacre a group of innocents and cover up their war crimes. Duggan, furious and disgusted by the actions of his fellow soldiers, uses an IED to kill the squad en masse and fake his own death. This backstory—like many aspects of The Day of the Jackal—diverges from its source material, though the name Duggan is actually a callback to Forsyth's novel. Regardless of book accuracy, though, this much-anticipated explanation goes a long way toward explaining the origin of the Jackal's morally gray nature.
A Conspiracy Emerges in 'The Day of the Jackal'
Image via Peacock As the Jackal pursues Ulle Dag Charles (also known as UDC) with increasing urgency, Bianca and her team at MI6 grow closer to capturing the assassin with each passing episode—with Bianca even narrowing down where the Jackal lives—so it comes as a real surprise when MI6's Deputy Chief of Staff Isabel Kirby (Lia Williams) abruptly ends the investigation in the series' ninth episode. Throughout Season 1, MI6 has been subject to a series of leads and leaks regarding the Jackal, including learning that he had a new target after accepting the UDC job. This all comes together when it's implied that Foreign Secretary Jeremy Whitelock (Adam James) has been pulling strings at MI6 and conspiring with Timothy Winthrop to tie up all loose ends regarding the Jackal and UDC’s assassination, so that nothing can be tied back to Winthrop and his associates.
Related
All the New Movies and Shows Coming to Peacock in November 2024
'Twisters' looks to conjure up a storm on Peacock this November.
One of these loose ends is Bianca, which is why Kirby coaxes her back into pursuing the Jackal, despite the fact that she's quit her job at MI6 and will be operating without any cover. So, Bianca and the Jackal's Europe-wide game of cat-and-mouse comes to an end when the Jackal returns to his wife, Nuria (Úrsula Corberó), and child in Spain. After arriving home to find that his family had fled, the Jackal is tipped off that Bianca and her partner, Vince (Nick Blood), know where he is. He kills Vince quickly and, after ten episodes, the Jackal and Bianca finally (technically) come face-to-face. The face-off is quick, and the Jackal kills Bianca with a single bullet, fleeing the house afterward.
Don't despair, because Bianca gets her revenge in the end — but not on the Jackal. Kirby is promoted to Chief of Staff at MI6 and tells Osi (Chukwudi Iwuji), Bianca's direct supervisor, that Bianca went rogue before confronting the Jackal. What Kirby doesn't know is that Bianca sent a final text to Osi before she died, informing her that she was acting under Kirby's orders, which sets up what promises to be a very interesting rivalry between Osi and Kirby.
The Jackal Completes His Mission, But What's Next?
After a series of setbacks and close calls, the Jackal eventually gets the drop on UDC and manages to kill him in Croatia while he takes a morning swim. The Jackal flees to Spain and, after his confrontation with Bianca, is unexpectedly attacked by Winthrop's men. He's presumed dead, but the finale ends with the Jackal meeting Zina Jansone (Eleanor Matsuura), who was the liaison between Winthrop and the Jackal when setting up the UDC hit in Budapest. Zina reveals Winthrop's deceit and the Jackal tells her he's ready for a new job, but not before he tracks down his wife and child.
Thus ends The Day of the Jackal's high-octane first season, but will there be a second? The short answer is: yes! But we're not sure when. Sky Atlantic has confirmed that Season 2 is in the works, but it will likely be a few years before the Jackal is back on our screens.
Season 1 of The Day of the Jackal is available to stream on Peacock.
The Jackal is a highly effective assassin that deals strictly in dangerous hits for large payouts. However, after one job puts him in the targets of a British intelligence officer, the pair engages in a dangerous and destructive chase across Europe.
Release Date November 7, 2024
Seasons 1
English (US) ·