What happens in The Day of the Jackal episode seven?
WARNING: Major spoilers for episode seven ahead.
In Tallinn, Estonia, The Jackal, Bianca and Ulle Dag Charles (UDC) prepare for the launch of River. Zina meets with The Jackal, who asks her to help him sort out the increasing issue of Bianca and MI6’s presence.
MI6 have set up a base for Operation Anubis, and create a photo fit for what the Jackal looks like from their run-in with him to aid their investigation.
Meanwhile The Jackal, having slept with venue worker Rasmus, now has a man unwittingly on the inside. Pretending to be an architect, he convinces Rasmus to slip him into the event building to scope it out.
UDC’s security team once again push him to cancel the River launch but he refuses, even though he’s aware there’s someone out to kill him.
Back in Cadiz, Nuria’s mother and brother Alvaro continue to express their concern about “Charles” and what it is he’s up to. However, they know that he has large sums of cash hidden in his secret room, and convince Nuria to let them borrow some so her brother can buy a stake in a bar.
She reluctantly agrees, but Alvaro pushes his luck, taking more money than planned and also stealing a gun – all while The Jackal watches from his security camera.
Operation Anubis gets word that a police officer has identified the photofit as Peter Gibson, a man staying in an Airbnb in Tallinn. Bianca and Victor head out to the scene, but are immediately ambushed by men shooting at them. While they managed to get away unharmed, Bianca is shaken, knowing that she was a direct target for a hit job.
Once at the Airbnb, they are met by a team of soldiers to help them with the raid, but The Jackal’s already moved on, staying with Rasmus. He tells Rasmus he has a ‘good man face’, thanking him for his kindness over the past few days, before heading back to the venue, where he breaks into a hiding spot he’d located during his last trip, and holes up for the next two days. While sleeping, he has flashbacks to his time in the Army, and when he first met Nuria.
Security locks down the building, but The Jackal escapes detection, hiding in a grate in the rafters. The place is swarmed with police, security guards and secret service agents as UDC arrives. His announcement will be made behind bulletproof glass.
As the event is televised, Bianca’s family watches from London, and Winthrop and his team watch from New York. Rima Buttons, a fellow activist, introduces him on stage, and he comes up through an elevated platform.
As The Jackal takes aim and waits for him to clear the bulletproof glass, things go wrong when a second shooter makes himself known, storming the stage and making a failed attempt on UDC’s life. The Jackal tries to shoot in the fray but misses, alerting Bianca and Victor to the fact he’s there.
With no other choice, The Jackal’s forced to abandon his plans and makes a hasty exit amid the crowd, but in doing so he’s spotted by Rasmus, who was watching the commotion from outside.
Tragically, The Jackal is forced to kill him, breaking his neck and leaving him on the side of the road.
The Mind of UDC
As stubborn as Bianca and The Jackal both are, so too is UDC who, despite knowing there’s a killer targeting him, and his shareholders are wanting him to back out, is adamant at pushing forth with the release of River.
Khalid Abdalla, who plays him, says this is shown visually with his speech, which is all done behind a literal wall of security glass.
“I come up from under the ground into my bulletproof perspex box, that was a really weird thing to be behind,” he told The Jackal Files. “But actually, visually, it sort of gives these amazing reflections, but also it says so much about what we have to hide behind or be behind in order to stand our ground as who we are, and what we believe in.”
“What was amazing about this scene for me is that Khalid Abdalla is a very old pal of mine from the university,” reveals Eddie Redmayne, with Khalid adding, “it's just really funny that the first time that we work together, he’s trying to kill me.”
“It wasn't how we intended it to be, but seeing his force of charisma on stage today was quite something,” adds Eddie.