Paris Has Fallen Season 1 Ending, Explained: How Does Jacob Pearce Die?

Created by Howard Overman, Hulu’s action series ‘Paris Has Fallen’ season 1 ends with Vincent Taleb and Zara Taylor’s quest to unravel Jacob Pearce’s terrorist plans, which culminates with Paris falling under his heel. Problems arise when personal and professional responsibilities collide in the agents’ lives, forcing them to make difficult choices that cost them in the long run. To make matters even more complicated, the existence of a mole in the task force creates greater challenges as Pearce remains one step ahead of the counter-terrorism forces despite their best efforts to capture the disillusioned former soldier. These predicaments pave the way for a final showdown, affecting the fates of the two agents, a shady benefactor, a lover, and the president. Meanwhile, the truth about the conspiracy finally reaches the public! SPOILERS AHEAD.

Paris Has Fallen Season 1 Plot Recap

During an event, former French Foreign Legion soldier Jacob Pearce launches an attack on the British Embassy, causing the death of Rowan Alexander, the MI6 Head of Station, and a target being painted on the back of French Foreign Minister Philippe Bardin. The latter manages to escape due to the efforts of his security officer, Vincent Taleb, and an undercover MI6 operative, Zara Taylor. However, after escaping, Pearce kidnaps Bardin’s daughter and forces him to shoot himself while threatening to kill her. Subsequently, Pascal Moulin, CEO of the defense contractor KMI Systems, becomes Pearce’s next target as Vincent and Zara join a counter-terrorism task force dedicated to stopping the terrorist. However, like Rowan and Bardin before him, Pearce deals with Moulin by threatening his loved ones.

Following the death of three key political and business figures, Vincent and Zara learn that Pearce is waging his violent crusade against the government higher-ups because of a betrayal. While serving in Afghanistan, Pearce was handed over to the Taliban by his superiors and tortured brutally. After his rescue, the former soldier traveled to Pakistan, where he fell in love with an Afghan woman named Amina Sayyid and her two children. However, they were killed in a car bombing that was meant to silence him from ever revealing the truth about how his own nation turned against him. Upon learning these facts, Vincent and Zara’s work gets complicated as they try to navigate their personal lives alongside their duties as agents.

After more trials and tribulations, Vincent and Zara find themselves at another crossroads when they realize that the French president, Juliette Levesque, sanctioned the operation meant to silence Pearce. This creates a conundrum for Vincent, as he has been in a clandestine relationship with the Head of State and wishes to keep her safe. However, no such avenue is possible as Pearce forges a new plan to take down the president and reveal her true colors to the public. Meanwhile, the counter-terrorism task force faces problems within the building as the possibility of a mole in the ranks jeopardizes their effectiveness. With challenges mounting in every direction, it seems only a matter of time before Pearce gets what he wants.

Paris Has Fallen Season 1 Ending: Who is the Mole?

As the narrative progresses, finding the identity of the mole inside the task force becomes increasingly pivotal. Worried that the person is leaking information to Jacob Pearce and keeping him up-to-date with the developments within the authorities, Vincent and Zara fear that they have no chance of ending the terrorist plot without identifying the person assisting their target. They inform their chief, Matis Garnier, about the rogue agent, and he starts investigating his agents internally. The person who crops up immediately as the mole is Lucas. Throughout the first season, Lucas’ behavior appears suspicious and fishy. However, it is a red herring meant to distract the viewers and the characters. The real mole is Simone, a friend of Zara and a colleague within the task force.

Years before, Simone dated Antoni Kaminski, who was part of Pearce’s team while stationed in Afghanistan. After the latter was betrayed and his squad decimated, Antoni was among those who died in the whole operation. Consequently, Simone became disillusioned with her state’s integrity and became loyal to Pearce’s plans for retribution. However, she finds his methods a tad too extreme, especially since he uses a bomb to threaten the safety of Paris’ innocents. Vincent and Zara manage to track down her sister, Celine, and use her to convince Simone to join their cause. Although she is reluctant, she eventually surrenders and hands over the information regarding the bomb’s whereabouts, which helps the team find it and mount a defusing operation.

Does Pearce Die? Who Kills Him?

At the end of the first season, Jacob Pearce gives an ultimatum to Vincent and Zara to bring the president to him if they don’t want him to detonate the bomb. Following their failure to defuse the explosive, the two agents are forced to give their assurance to the terrorist leader. However, Vincent tries to come up with a failsafe contingency by handing Juliette a gun that she can conceal on her body and use to kill the terrorist at close range. Subsequently, he and his team construct a precarious plan to get the president off-grid before taking her over to Pearce’s location. The plan takes a hit when the terrorists reveal that they have Théa, Zara’s girlfriend, as a hostage to keep any trickery at a minimum. During the hostage exchange, both sides begin firing, which helps Pearce escape with Juliette in the chaos.

However, once inside the building, Juliette sees her opportunity to take down Pearce and shoots him in the mid-riff with her concealed weapon. It momentarily staggers him, but he remains staunch in his conviction. He sits her down in front of a camera for a livestream, making her admit her part in Amina Sayyid’s death and how she put her political ambitions over the lives of innocents. Vincent arrives to distract the terrorist while Zara flanks him through another entrance. While Pearce is busy dealing with Vincent, Zara finishes the terrorist off. Before he takes his final breath, the antagonist manages to shoot one last round of bullets at Juliette, which Vincent bravely takes in her stead. It proves to be Pearce’s final act before he closes his eyes and dies.

Who is Freja’s Benefactor? Where Does She Go?

Although Jacob Pearce works primarily on his own, the terrorist leader is given invaluable help by Freja Karlsson, an ex-Swedish Special Forces soldier, and her mysterious benefactor, Richard. She helps the terrorist out of a variety of tight corners, particularly when he lands himself in the prison cells of the counter-terrorism task force. Despite being a mercenary, she develops a close camaraderie and bond with Pearce, seeing him as someone honorable. Her higher-ups task her to kill Pearce after he completes his mission of discrediting the French president and their government. However, near the end, Freja ignores this directive and lets him deal with the president however he wishes while absconding from the scene.

After Pearce dies, Freja’s whereabouts remain a mystery, as does her involvement in the whole operation. Considering the people she was working for, it seems highly probable that she is part of a network of individuals looking to discredit government figures worldwide. This plan, which also drives Freja, is to financially short the economies of various nations for personal gain. She may have disappeared in the aftermath of Jacob Pearce’s terrorist activities to adopt a low profile and keep herself hidden from those watching. However, her part in the whole plot may reveal itself more succinctly and clearly in the potential seasons as the mercenary’s backstory and motivations seem hazy thus far, leaving the door open for further exploration.

Is Esin Still Alive?

While Jacob Pearce’s death is good news for most, some people do not rejoice in his passing — Esin being the foremost among them. The young daughter of Amina Sayyid is helped countless times by Pearce following her mother‘s death. As such, she sees him as a father figure throughout the narrative. She also views Pearce as someone she could depend on in a country far from hers. He helps her out monetarily and provides for her in a similar fashion to a father might for a child. However, because of his sworn enmity for the government, Pearce cannot stay close to her on the off-chance that he brings undue attention and darker forces calling on her doorstep. Thus, Esin leads a relatively ordinary existence as an immigrant worker in the bowels of Paris.

Esin’s connection to Pearce is particularly important to the counter-terrorism task force. Vincent and Zara try to use her to put pressure on Pearce, knowing that he must be incredibly protective of her well-being because of his relationship with the late Amina. Their hunch proves to be right as the terrorist prioritizes Esin’s life over his endgame at certain points, which is demonstrated perfectly in the scene in which he surrenders himself to the authorities in exchange for her safety. She mounts a helicopter and leaves, her fate unknown at the time. In the final moments, she is shown to be alive and grieving Pearce’s passing. She passes by his final resting place, showcasing that she still remembers him as an important figure in her life.

What Happens to Juliette’s Presidency? Does She Break Up With Vincent?

In the end, Jacob Pearce’s plan to reveal the true colors of Juliette Levesque’s presidency falls flat on its face because of the fickle nature of politics and human beings in general. Following her confession to the watching public, the president organizes another TV interview, only for her to state that her words during the earlier encounter were a sham as she was made to say them at gunpoint. She uses political messaging to position herself as a hero among the masses, unraveling all of Pearce’s intentions to lay the truth bare for everyone to see. Thus, despite his best efforts to showcase the government as a morally bankrupt institute, Juliette plays the dirty game of power to reinforce her authority over people and their belief in a “lie,” which ultimately works out well for her political ambitions.

However, Juliette’s lie comes at the cost of her relationship with Vincent. The president visits him while he recovers in a hospital following his final altercation with Pearce. They have a frank discussion, with both realizing their relationship is impossible in light of everything that has come out since and Juliette’s continued persistence to prioritize her political aspirations over her life with Vincent. Although their feelings are genuine, they have become tarnished with secrets and betrayals. Vincent, in particular, finds it difficult to swallow the fact that, ultimately, Juliette used him to achieve her goals, even if she may not have intended it to be such. Thus, he finds out the hard way that Pearce’s words about soldiers being pawns may have been right all along.

Do Théa and Zara Break Up? Why?

Vincent and Juliette’s breakup is not the only parting of ways in the final moments of the first season. Théa and Zara also separate after the former becomes disillusioned about her partner’s priorities. Earlier in the narrative, she is already prepared to leave her girlfriend after learning the truth about her being an agent and how she has constantly lied to keep it a secret. Thus, their dynamics are somewhat skewed because they both lead entirely different sorts of existence. However, Théa finds it difficult to accept her life as an ordinary citizen, given the dangers Zara regularly faces in the line of duty. Their relationship reaches its breaking point after Zara shoots through Théa’s arm to stop Pearce during the hostage exchange scene. It leaves the latter with major trust issues moving forward.

The final scene between the pair shows Théa voicing her concerns about Zara’s commitment to her job and how she is prepared to do whatever is necessary to ensure her mission is successful, even if it infringes on her partner’s life. Zara has no choice but to accept the confession and voice her opinions to Vincent during a meet-up. They both discuss their recent breakups, finding solace in each other’s loneliness and everything they have lived through over the past few weeks. However, this scene also showcases the similarities between the two characters and how a potential romance may blossom between them. They can be more compatible than they realize as they both understand one another and are involved in the same profession.

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