SERIES REVIEW – In the second season of ‘The Tourist,’ the action moves to Ireland, where the tension slightly decreases, yet Jamie Dornan’s return as the enigmatic hero promises thrilling twists. The new setting and deeper character development compensate for the previous season’s lack of pace, keeping the series exciting for viewers.

In the world of action films, the archetype of an anonymous man without a name or past is common. This character reminds us of Clint Eastwood’s icy stare at his enemies in ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,’ and Viggo Mortensen’s tragic hero in the apocalyptic setting of ‘The Road.’ The mystery surrounding such a character is initially captivating – who is he? What’s his purpose? – but can eventually become stale. Endlessly holding the audience’s attention is a challenge, especially true in the second season of BBC One’s ‘The Tourist,’ where the main character’s life starts to unravel, facing new challenges.

Elliot’s New Ordeals

Following the uncertain conclusion of the first season, viewers will be relieved to find that Elliot (Jamie Dornan) is very much alive and well. He’s journeying through South Asia with his girlfriend, Helen (Danielle Macdonald), who has abandoned her career as a police officer. After a harrowing time in Australia (which included a car crash, memory loss, and numerous life-threatening scenarios), Elliot feels safe. However, his certainty is short-lived, as he is kidnapped by masked criminals shortly after returning to his Irish homeland.

The first season resonated as a thriller from an outsider’s perspective, akin to Robert A. Heinlein’s ‘Stranger in a Strange Land,’ but the second season turns this approach upside down. Now, Helen becomes the tourist, experiencing the Irish landscapes as a foreigner, while for Elliot, returning home also means confronting his past. ‘You seem far from home,’ a local bartender remarks to Helen, who replies, ‘Indeed, I am.’ While the series previously relied on Elliot’s amnesia to illustrate his disorientation, Helen now appears as a more authentic tourist. Her explorations of the Irish countryside intersect with Elliot’s efforts to escape his captors, who challenge him with absurd, ‘Saw’-like tasks, such as being forced to cut off his own legs.

Vulnerable Lead

‘The Tourist’ series provided Jamie Dornan an opportunity to step away from his role as the icy, dominant Christian Grey in the ‘Fifty Shades’ series. His earlier modeling work, particularly for Calvin Klein, taught him to express vulnerability more effectively than dominance. This trait made his portrayal of the serial killer Paul Spector in ‘The Fall’ eerily formidable: a cold-blooded murderer, uneasy with his place in the world. In ‘The Tourist,’ Dornan appears not as an action hero or seducer, but as a man swept up by events, like driftwood on the Lagan River. ‘I once tried to end it all,’ he confides to one of his captors, ‘But now, I’m ready to face the actions I’ve committed.’

The increasingly common character trope in television – seemingly gentle men who are well-versed in the worlds of crime and violence – was pioneered by ‘Breaking Bad,’ continued with ‘Ozark,’ and now further explored in ‘The Tourist.’ The series expands its storytelling scope, giving more depth to Helen’s character and infusing a fresher, lighter tone into the plot. Helen, in her quest to find her kidnapped lover, teams up with detective Conor MacNeill, who is far from the ordinary cop she used to be. ‘I had to get involved!’ she exclaims as the situation spirals out of her control.

Diminished Tension and Mystery

The initial concept of ‘The Tourist’ was straightforward – an anonymous Northern Irish man wakes up from a car crash in Australia, pursued by mysterious assassins with unknown motives. However, the second season is less clear-cut. Ireland, the new setting, feels closer to viewers than distant Australia, reminiscent of Heinlein’s narrative where a Martian visits Earth, but the human interactions here are much more complex. The storyline weaves in a fierce rivalry between two Irish criminal families, one of which Elliot might be an unexpected heir. This element shifts the series from its mystery genre roots towards gangster narratives, though some of the tension characteristic of the first season is lost. Despite the new setting and intricate relationships, the plot still offers rapid twists.

‘The Tourist,’ airing in Australia on Stan, in the United States on HBO, and on the BBC, stands out as one of the finest British thrillers in recent years. The charismatic lead, a slowly unfolding yet authentic romance – showcasing the brilliant chemistry between Dornan and Macdonald – and the increasing stakes all contribute to the success of its second season. While no longer a novelty in the programming lineup and perhaps less unpredictable than its first season, ‘The Tourist’s’ return still delivers a captivating experience for its viewers.

-Gergely Herpai (BadSector)-