The Tourist: Fans Left Conflicted By Twist Ending
Topics: TV And Film, BBC
Kimberley Bond
Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: TV And Film, BBC
**WARNING! Major spoilers for The Tourist ahead**
We binge-watched all of The Tourist the moment it hit BBC iPlayer on New Year’s Day, and we have been mesmerised by Jamie Dornan’s performance as ‘The Man’ who is struggling to find out who he is, after a car accident left him with amnesia.
As the series progresses, we find out his name is actually Elliot Stanley, who served as an accountant to drug lord Kostas.
He went on the run from the LSD-chugging criminal after he fell in love with his fiancée, stealing his precious bag which has over £1million stashed inside it.
But it appears Elliot did more for Kostas than just crunch numbers; after an LSD-fuelled trip of his own, he discovers the identity of the woman he keeps having flashbacks to.
After finding the mysterious figure, the woman revealed Elliot forced people to smuggle heroin, with his actions resulting in the death of two girls after the bags exploded inside them.
Unable to live with the knowledge of the person he used to be, and knowing he’d lost his ally and support in Helen, Elliot takes an overdose – in the last few moments, seeing a text from Helen suggesting they could reconcile.
The ending left fans perplexed – with a lot of questions seemingly left unanswered by the final scenes.
Taking to Twitter, many viewers were conflicted about what they made of how The Tourist concluded.
Some people loved the enigmatic ending, with one person writing: “Ok well that was good. And actually felt like a proper ending. Very funny in places too. 9/10.”
A second person agreed: “What an ending to a brilliant series! I’m left stunned, slightly weepy and smiling!”
“Absolutely epic ending. Wasn’t ready for that!!!” said a third person. “Such a great series. Acting is phenomenal. 10/10. Highly recommend.”
And a fourth praised: “Good grief, that ending of #bbc's #TheTourist. It's going to haunt me in a good way for a long time; a mark of a great show in my books. #JamieDornan mesmerises. And #DanielleMacdonald is a revelation.
But not everyone was full of praise. One person shrugged: “Just finished the series ‘the Tourist’ with Jamie Dornan. Won’t spoil it but slightly strange ending.”
“It was gripping and funny until finale,” said a second. “So wanted to see Helen starting in detective school in the final scene. Feel like we’ve been robbed of an ending worthy of the rest.”
“What on earth was that about?” asked a third. “Sooooo disappointed after 6 episodes with the ending…”
Fingers crossed for season two…we might get some answers…
The Tourist is available on BBC iPlayer.