What happens in The Day of the Jackal episode four?
WARNING: Major spoilers for episode four ahead.
After the murder of Elias Fest, pressure is on at MI6 to track down the killer, but the Jackal appeared to avoid all detection. Even the security guard, who heard the murder over the phone, fails to offer more information other than the killer was male and spoke in English.
Meanwhile The Jackal, on the road in Metz, France, seems distracted, rear-ending a van while not paying attention. While he tries to pay the driver off, but he refuses, instead hailing down a policeman, who finds a gun and cash in The Jackal’s car. In the panic, he shoots both the driver and the policeman dead, framing the scene so it looks like they killed each other before driving off.
Bianca and Halcrow receive word that the Jackal has a new target, codename Rodin. Damian comes up with a lead which Bianca takes, prompting him to deny that he’s the mole. However, the lead – who runs a British Forces WhatsApp group – proves little help, even mocking her for trying to find someone who could shoot a sniper rifle as far as the Fest hit.
The Jackal calls Nuria, who is panicking after the discovery of his spy room. He convinces her to join him in Paris so they can “talk”. When she arrives, she immediately slaps him across the face and demands the truth. He admits he’s been lying to her, but that he loves her.
However, he continues to lie, denying he’s a killer, and claiming he’s in industrial espionage. He also vows that he will be leaving the profession after one final job. She struggles to believe him, but he eventually talks her around.
In New York, Leonora’s team have got word that the Jackal is behind Elias’s murder, beginning to doubt his capabilities to take out UDC. However, when they find out why, Timothy Winthrop is impressed by his character, and says to stick with him.
Alison has been murdered by Larry, strangled to death after handing his brother over to the police, but is pretending to be her on the phone to Bianca. Arranging a meet up, Larry corners and attempts to kill her, but he makes his escape. They later discover Alison’s body at the hotel.
In light of what happened, Bianca requests her former colleague Vincent Pyne join the team, which Isabel obliges.
Larry calls Norman for help as he goes on the run, allowing us to see the illusive figure for so long. He’s got an arm injury, but is still doing target practice to ensure he’s a good shot.
UDC, currently in Croatia, receives word that a hit has been taken out on him, but he dismisses the security fears, saying he expected it. He insists on heading to Tallinn, Estonia for the launch of River, despite the vulnerable position he’s in.
The Jackal arrives in Tallinn, attending an event at the arena UDC is expected to appear in, scoping out the venue for the ideal target spot. However, the roof moves, leaving him dangling from electrical cables and dangerously close to death. In the panic, he drops his phone into the crowd, but he’s able to retrieve it with the help of a worker named Rasmus, whom he flirts with.
Bianca and Vincent go for a drink, but when she returns home she finds Larry holding Jasmine captive. She manages to get Jasmine free by shooting Larry in the leg, and nearly kills him before Jasmine stops him. He continues to refuse to hand over Norman.
When The Jackal returns to his hotel room, he finds Leonora waiting for him – and she finally sees his face for the first time.
Ulle Dag Charles
For someone with a contract kill with his name on it, Ulle Dag Charles – or UDC, as he’s most known as – has a striking amount of confidence.
Despite him knowing he is the prime target for an assassin, he is adamant the launch of River – a new technology set to revolutionise financial transparency – needs to go ahead, intending to take over the world.
For some businessmen, this could prove catastrophic, after decades of shady dealings in order to get their conglomerates to the top of the food chain. Enter: The Jackal, who is able to take said problem out.
Khalid Abdalla, who plays him, explains: “UDC is a bit of an anomaly. He is a tech billionaire who in his early 20s, created a company, Daghouse, which, with time, has come to underpin the credit and financial systems of our world.
“He is someone who has been f**ked by almost every ideology and every identity that exists in the world, and yet somehow still understands the dream in all of them. So in this, where we kind of find him, he is at that stage, that moment in his life, where he has reclaimed himself, and he's reached a point where this great project, River is his answer.”
The Jackal and Nuria’s relationship
Nuria and The Jackal’s marriage is treading dangerous waters if it is to survive – especially now that Nuria knows husband “Charles” is hiding secrets that threaten the lives of her entire family.
But even now, she doesn’t know the full story, with star Eddie Redmayne believing The Jackal simply can’t help himself but to lie.
“It's a massive moment when Nuria finds the Jackal's secret room,” he explains. “So I don't believe that he's thinking in this moment he's going to kill her, I think he is, in his incredibly shrewd, cold, tactical way, working out how he is going to manage the situation and continue this web of lies.
“I believe that he's sort of almost forgotten in that psychotic way what truth is. His initial instinct is always just to continue the lies”
“One of the things that I love about this version of The Day of the Jackal is, on the one hand, it has all of the action and the set piece quality of the hunter being hunted, but at the same time, the thing that I hope makes it unique is the humanity at the core of it,” Redmwayne continues.
“And for me, Ursula’s Nuria and The Jackal’s relationship there, as well as Bianca and Paul, is really rooted in something different. It is a more human story, and despite the extremes of what these people's lives are, hopefully there are things that people can understand and relate to.”