You'd be forgiven if you need The Day of the Jackal ending explained, because the conclusion of the gripping 10-episode series deviates quite significantly from Frederick Forsyth's book and the 1973 film adaptation, to say the least.
Depicting a cat-and-mouse chase through Europe, the enthralling Sky series sees Eddie Redmayne take on the role of shapeshifting assassin ‘The Jackal’ as he desperately tries to evade MI6 agent Bianca Pullman (Lashana Lynch).
But who actually made it out on top in the end? Here, we explain The Day of the Jackal ending in all its glory, unpicking all the key details that caught us off guard. Needless to say, The Day of the Jackal spoilers lie ahead.
The Day of the Jackal ending explained
The season one finale rounded off with an intense shootout between The Jackal and Bianca after she finally manages to pin him down at his secret family home in Spain. ICYMI, Bianca and Vince Pyne (Nick Blood) locate The Jackal's personal address while investigating his brother-in-law Alvaro (Jon Arias).
On arrival, the two see an upset Nuria (Úrsula Corberó) getting into a taxi with their son Carlito, with the assumption being that she is trying to escape her killer husband.
By the time The Jackal arrives on the scene, he's visibly suffering from wounds after taking an older couple hostage in their camper van earlier on, while also processing Nuria's betrayal.
For a fleeting moment it seems as if Bianca might have the upper hand, however The Jackal is alerted to their presence by Bianca shooting Alvaro as she stumbles home.
Hearing this, The Jackal quickly hides in his weapons locker, which sits behind his bedroom's walk-in wardrobe. In an incredibly tense moment Bianca is painfully close to finally catching The Jackal, though she misses the hidden room.
Ultimately, The Jackal knows all the best nooks to hide within his home, with him killing both Vince and Bianca, seemingly dying instantly.
As Bianca was a key character throughout the series, The Day of the Jackal's ending may well come as a shock, though we're sad to say that it seems like quite a final end.
Given the power of this very dramatic conclusion to the first series, bringing her character back for a second series would feel quite unnatural and would no doubt undermine what made for a shocking twist to the show.
While escaping the scene, he ends up in a car crash, with the show appearing to reveal that he has been killed. However, the final scene shows him meeting up with his new ally Zina Jansone, who suggests that his next target should be her former employer, Timothy Winthrop, after he refused to pay Jackal for the hit on Ulle.
He agrees to the task – but claims that there is someone he needs to find first, hinting that he intends to track down Nuria and his son.
How does The Day of the Jackal ending differ from the original?
For those who haven't read the novel or seen the 1973 film, in the original story The Jackal dies at its conclusion rather than Bianca, so there's that.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Gareth Neame said “Of course, we’re in the business of series television, and there was the idea of sustainability for a returning series. So it was a decision we made quite early on, that we wanted in our version for the law enforcement person to be killed and for our assassin to go on."
Makes sense!
What will The Day of the Jackal season 2 be about?
Following on from that bombshell ending, The Jackal is clearly still on the loose and distraught over the betrayal of his wife Nuria. With that in mind, we can't see a world in which him tracking down Nuria and their son Carlito isn't a key focus in the second season.
The Jackal has also formed a new bond with businesswoman Zina Jansone (Eleanor Matsuura) after she warned him of the authorities' arrival at his home, with their secret meeting yet to come and Timothy Winthrop (Charles Dance) being flagged as a target for his revenge after his failure to pay for the hit of tech mogul Ulle Dag Charles (Khalid Abdalla).
Ultimately, we'll have to wait and see! Watch this space.
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