The Day of the Jackal Recap Season 1 Episode 3: You Know Who I Am

As stone cold as the Jackal was in conducting his business, Bianca exercised the same mission-focused control in her pursuit of him. It was a narrative choice not to show Bianca emotionally affected by the death of young Emma, an innocent who was caught in her life-stakes negotiation with Alison. Yes, Emma had a pre-existing condition, and her death could have happened anywhere. But, as Alison rightly pointed out, it happened inside a police station, because that was where Bianca put her. It made for an interesting dynamic, because at this stage, neither the Jackal nor Bianca seemed to have a line they would not cross to complete their objective. 

The episode opened with a scene of profound grief, of a mother and father in a train, with tickets purchased with money they needed to beg for, now on their way to collect their daughter’s body. It was a shattering portrait of the human cost of intelligence gathering. And it was downhill from there.

Bianca called Alison, expressed how sorry she was for Emma’s death, dangled the possibility of some answers. But of course there were no answers. Bianca wanted to meet with Alison so she could pump her for information on her brother in law Norman Stokes. Bianca even resorted to threatening her and her husband with prosecution. Humanity is not lost in the pursuit of a target; it is weaponised, with words spoken softly by those who represent powerful shadowy institutions. ‘Fck off’ was the only appropriate response.

Alison returned to the hotel and found a husband struggling to contain his fury. Larry’s brother Norman had called earlier and told him what happened in Belarus. Larry sounded pained when he asked Alison what she did, because in the world they lived in, they both knew that meant her death. He asked for her phone, asked who ‘Nadine’ was, confirmed that Alison was the one who gave Norman’s phone number, that led security services to his location. Alison tried to run, but Larry easily caught up with her in the hallway, and after shoving her head against the wall, pulled her by the hair back into the room. It was a brutal portrait of violence against a woman. It was also a searing indictment of the danger Bianca knowingly put Alison in, for the sake of her job, for the sake of the mission.

The mission happened to be an assassin who made an impossible shot. There was growing fear in the intelligence community that the assassination of Manfred Fest would lead to copycat assassinations of other politicians. Because of the botched Belarus operation, the Americans suspected there was a leak from the British side. Internally, Section 303 officers who knew about the raid – Bianca, Osi, Damian – were subjected to questioning. Isabel knew about it as well, though it wasn’t shown if she was interrogated too. Osi told Bianca that for now, they needed to keep the circle tight. And so when Paddy went to Bianca with news on Norman’s phone, Bianca sent Damian to get coffee before allowing her to share the information. Apparently, in the three weeks before the Fest assassination, there was a flurry of calls and texts from a single number belonging to someone code named Jackal. 

The Jackal was on his own mission to wrap up the Munich job. He got the information on the Manfred Fest funeral arrangements, and found his next disguise. It was a brilliantly creepy scene where the driver, Stefan Wolf, was walking to his car, then the Jackal came into view dressed identically, but with a gun out. He got Stefan to get into the boot, and shot him. 

The funeral involved an array of black vehicles and plenty of security. Elias Fest was alone in the back seat; the sole bodyguard that was with him in the car sat up front next to the Jackal. The head of his security, whom he had previously berated for his father’s assassination, was in the follow car. After Elias responded rudely to the Jackal’s attempt at conversation, the Jackal shot the bodyguard, then drove the car roughly away from the convoy.

The Jackal remained steely calm through the car chase, as the follow car with the Fest head of security tried to catch up with them. Elias was able to call, but at some point he dropped his cell phone to the floor. When the Jackal finally stopped driving, it must be with the knowledge that security and police were mere minutes away, but there was not even a hint of hurry on him. ‘You know who I am’, he told Elias, and of course Elias knew. He explained he was just mad, that he would pay the money. For the Jackal, it was no longer about the money. He took time to watch Elias in an absolute panic before he shot him. Then, he put on a new coat and a hat, and left a bomb in the car.

The whole time they were conversing, the line was open, so that the head of the Fest security heard Elias confess that he hired the assassin to kill his father.

As the Jackal now truly wrapped up the Munich job, he looked forward to his most lucrative assignment yet. The $20 million commencement fee has been paid. But, there was trouble at home.

In a tense conversation with his wife Nuria, she told him how she saw him pass in a taxi at Plaza de Flores, when he was supposed to be on a plane. Nuria insisted on a video call, which Charles normally hated. She made him show her his hotel room. Even after all that, she still wanted to fly to Amsterdam that very night, to which Charles absolutely objected to, since he was in Munich, not Amsterdam. Nuria was left dissatisfied and still suspicious, and so she searched Charles’s office. The drawers on his desk were empty. She found a hidden safe on the floor of his closet, but could not open it. Her brother suggested that he find the receipt and get the manufacturer to give her a new code. 

Then came the motherlode. Nuria pored over the renovation plans and found a secret room that was hidden behind a mirror. Her brother drilled through the lock, and inside was Charles’s secret life. His disguises were there. There were drawers with bundles of money in various currencies, along with multiple passports. On his way home, he was alerted of the security breach, and watched from his phone as his wife, his mother in law, and his brother in law stood where he never intended them to be in.     

Rating: A-

Strays

👓Isabel, at Osi’s urging, was going to shut down Bianca’s operation, until Bianca took the luggage she retrieved from Norman’s hiding place and showed them that it was actually a cleverly disguised sniper rifle. Neither she nor security had any idea it was a weapon when she took it through Customs.

👓When the Jackal went to that high end funeral services office and pretended to have a migraine so he could access the computer and install a remote access software, there was a moment, as the lady pulled the blinds down, that the camera focused on the Jackal’s eyes; it slowly changed as the room grew darker. Eddie Redmayne is perfect in this role. 

👓A special forces trainer gave Damian a list of names of snipers who fit the parameters, but he said that unless they improved significantly since they were there, none of them could have made the shot. He also casually mentioned how they could use the person who made the rifle. 

👓Zina asked the Jackal again if he has completed the Munich job. He lied and said he did, but this was before the funeral. 

👓Sparrow (Alison) sent a message to Nadine (Bianca) that she wanted to help. This must be Larry.

You can access Recap Lab’s full coverage of The Day of the Jackal via this link! 

Episode Writer: Ronan Bennett

Episode Director: Brian Kirk

Original Air Date: November 7, 2024

US Air Date: November 14, 2024

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