The Day Of The Jackal: Season 1 Episode 8 – Recap and Review

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Category	Details
Originally Aired	November 28, 2024
Network	Peacock, Sky
Director(s)	Paul Wilmshurst
Writer(s)	Ronan Bennett
Character	ACTOR’S NAME
Charles/Alexander	Eddie Redmayne
Nuria	Ursula Corbero
Alvaro	Jon Arias
Bianca	Lashana Lynch
Vince	Nick Blood
Larry	Patrick O’Kane
Jasmine	Florisa Kamara
Osita	Chukwudi Iwuji
Gary	Gerard Kearns
Isabel	Lia Williams

Storyline Recap

A Man On The Run – Charles, Nuria, Alvaro

While Charles has made it out of Estonia, he isn’t out of the dog house. With Alvaro seeing Charles’ face on the news as a wanted man, Nuria is quick to call Charles to get home and explain himself. Another lie has been revealed, and she is sick of it.

Charles’ reaction? Knowing his brother-in-law, he wants his silence because he knows he’d sell him out to the highest bidder.

Blood On Your Hands – Bianca, Vince, Larry, Jasmine

Though Bianca may get some praise from Jasmine for saving UDC, their family is still splintered due to how her work threatens their lives. But, at the very least, Jasmine did come to visit, and seemingly, looking at her and talking to her leads Bianca to feel like she should speak to Larry and give a proper apology.

As you can imagine, Larry doesn’t want this from Bianca. She has led to the death of his family, from his daughter to his brother, and her coercing his wife to betray him led to her death. Now, with all that in mind, you may wonder why she would ever be in a room with him alone, with solid walls and no means to peer inside?

Good question. Thankfully for her, when Larry pulls out a shiv, he doesn’t attack her as he could have. Unfortunately for her, he does make it so on top of killing most of his family, she ends up with his blood on her hands when he ends his life in front of her and cuts a main vein. Vince is able to help Bianca calm down and remember what she does is save people for a living. Now, have many died to get to one man whose killings aren’t coming as fast or numerous as hers? Yes.

But, with Vince noting that Alexander Duggan’s file has finally been received, maybe this new mark on Bianca could be worth it?

A Man Named Alexander James Gordon Duggan – Alexander, Gary, Osita, Vince, Bianca, Isabel

Getting Alexander’s file has been challenging. Bianca assigned the task to someone she had kept off the main missions. Alexander is dead, and his file was rated STRAPP 2—two levels higher than top secret. Because of this, Isabel has to get the foreign secretary involved. He has to call in a favor from the Ministry of Defense. Then, when Isabel gets the file, Osita, who later gets brought in for questioning, has to watch the two of them.

So, what is in the file? Charles’ real name and story. To summarize, the British military trained Charles, who later got assigned to a top-secret group that assassinated Taliban leaders but decided to end his run due to seeing how much he could make and because his team was filled with psychopaths.

Now, let it be clear: Alexander did kill a man, and that shot did trigger the incident, which was the final straw. However, his teammates mowing down not only members of the Taliban but an entire wedding party, then having their allies cover it up with a bombing? It was too much. So, he used an IED to kill everyone but his spotter Gary and used his newfound anonymity to continue being a sniper, but being paid more by strangers, offering 10s of thousands of pounds over the measly pay the government paid him.

Other Noteworthy Information

• Check out our show reference guide for more information.

New Character Descriptions

Gary

Gary was Alexander’s best friend and spotter.

Review

Trajectory (84/100): Climbing
Fleshing out The Jackal, or Charles, as we refer to him, could easily have meant dismantling a character who needed some kind of mystery to his background. However, as the show pushes you to question what’s next, the decision to look at the past before moving on to what the future holds was a rather smart decision—one that surely makes for the end of the season being a high note.

Highlights

Getting Alexander’s Background

There is just a need to ask if learning Alexander’s background was necessary. While this isn’t “Killing Eve,” and Alexander isn’t presenting a new disguise or identity every episode, characters like him often use the mystique of not having a known past to maintain intrigue. But, one can submit that with the talent behind the show, why use the unknown of the character as a crutch or means to pebble?

In my mind, after the failure to kill UDC, giving us Alexander’s background was a wonderful way to transition and allow time to pass as Alexander and others planned their next move. Now, will this short-term high lead to long-term issues? That’s hard to say. But it was so well crafted that we find ourselves trusting the process rather than wanting to trust the process.

Larry’s Death

I think Larry’s death is far more impactful than let on. The push to show Bianca has a personal life has become something more than giving us an idea she is more than her job – it is a reminder she is a person who has feelings like love and worry, and she can build human connections, despite how many people she gets killed. The same could be said for Alexander, but Bianca still thinks of herself as a good person and on the right side of the law.

So with that, Larry killing himself in front of her, I think, removed that mindset, even if for a moment, that the ends justify the means. She might have taken part in saving UDC, but thus far, the number of people she killed isn’t too far off from Alexander since the German politician was killed. With that in mind, is she really a hero? Does the end justify the means if, alongside notable targets, she is killing innocent people or contributing to their deaths? Does the capture of one man justify the blood spilled and bodies hitting the ground?

Nuria’s Threat

I’ve come to appreciate Nuria. Though being the wife or girlfriend to someone like Alexander quickly makes such a character a liability, increasingly, there is something about Alexander having something to lose. What makes this situation all the more remarkable is that Nuria doesn’t seem like the type who would out, for lack of a better term, Alexander but divorce him and move on with her life. That makes her especially dangerous, for she would always have something over Alexander, and while I don’t believe she would expose him, he’d have to live with the idea she would, never mind her family.

With that, you have a character who demands notice and is to be respected. One of the most deadly characters in the entire show seeks that person’s love and approval, and Nuria makes it clear that it has to be earned.

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