Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch star in series 1 of The Day of the Jackal, which gets better as it goes on
“I have to do the right thing”
When The Day of the Jackal released its first five episodes in one fell swoop, I dutifully binged them but immediately wished I hadn’t. As watchable as the show is, on this evidence it didn’t quite have the propulsive energy that finds you reaching for the next episode as the credits roll on the one you’ve just finished. I would suggest that a large part of this is due to the writing getting bogged down in the home life of its two key antagonists.
Written and created by Ronan Bennett from Frederick Forsyth’s novel, the essential throughline is a cat and mouse battle between an assassin-for-hire known only as the Jackal and the MI6 intelligence officer whose investigations into him have gotten her the closest to stopping him. As she tracks the aftermath of his kills across lush European locations, those early episodes also featured a lot of complaining spouses and children to its detriment.
The second half of this first series is more effective as it can focus more on the key driver of plot, rather than more clumsy attempts at world-building for the Jackal and Bianca. With the tech billionaire Ulle Dag Charles (Khalid Abdalla) established as the main target, there’s a propulsion to the narrative as Eddie Redmayne’s hitman plots this most difficult of assassinations and Lashana Lynch’s Bianca closes the gap between them by snaffling up every little clue he leaves behind.
There’s a slight sense of silliness that creeps in with the over-the-top nature of the obstacles that get in the Jackal’s way (how many car accidents can he get into in one episode alone…) but I loved that it got a bit gay. There’s emotional pay-offs for both of them in the family stakes in the end so maybe I was wrong about that (I do think binging was the wrong way to watch this). Genuine surprises abound in how brutally everything plays out as it sets up an inevitable sequel. I’d love it if the show could hold onto its quality supporting cast if that is the case – Lia Williams, Jonjo O’Neill, Adam James, Eleanor Matsuura, Chuk Iwuki, Charles Dance, there’s quality from top to bottom.
