Aahana Swrup
In ‘The Day of the Jackal,’ the titular protagonist’s latest mission—the assassination of entrepreneur UDC—continues to throw the killer for unexpected loops. Previously, Jackal comes a hairsbreadth close to snipping the entrepreneur at his public announcement event for River. Nonetheless, another surprising attempt at UDC’s life robs the stellar assassin of his moment, forcing him to flee the scene without terminating his target. Consequently, episode 8 finds Jackal—and everyone else dealing with the aftermath of the felled assassination. While the killer opts to lay low for the time being, Zina contemplates the reaction of her elusive American employees, and MI6 agents Bianca and Vince get a little closer to unearthing their mark’s identity. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Bianca’s Investigation Bears Some Fruit
Bianca has been circling the case of Alexander Duggan—a former soldier considered to be a highly skilled sniper—for some time now. Therefore, as Jackal goes dormant after the racket at UDC’s event, the agent has the perfect time to pick up that thread. As it turns out, the official files on Alexander—and others on his squad—have been severely classified to the point where Bianca has to please a few faces before she can access them. Meanwhile, her previous success in extracting a police sketch for Jackal further complicates the assassin’s life.
In Spain, Nuria and her brother, Alvaro, come across the sketch on the news, leading them to quickly recognize the similarities between the picture and the man they know as Charles. Consequently, in the wake of the discoveries she has made in the previous few days, Nuria concludes that her husband must be involved in UDC’s assassination attempt. Even though she’s reluctant to believe it, Jackal’s harried insistence that Alvaro remains quiet about the sketch only serves to confirm her suspicions.
Back in London, Bianca and Vince eventually gain the clearance to read through the files, which reveal Alexander was part of an elite unit that carried out termination missions in Afghanistan. While the papers state his involvement in top-secret operations, they provide little more information about him. Still, it becomes clear that Alexander and his crew perished—at least on paper—after their trucks blew up during a drive through the IED-infested desert. Yet, Bianca can’t shake her persisting gut feeling that Afghanistan was not the end for Alexander Duggan.
The Truth Behind Alexander Duggan’s Time in Afghanistan
While Bianca peers into Alexander Duggan’s clouded past through reports, Jackal relives his own memories in the wake of the past few taxing weeks. While in Afghanistan—a good decade ago—he served as a sniper on his elite unit. His close comrade, Gary, remained a reliable presence by his side as his spotter. One day, out of the blue, the two received a job offer at a local bar during their off-time. The mysterious facilitator had an employer who wanted a local journalist in Turkey dead for an unknown reason. Given the lucrative pay, neither Gary nor Alexander cared about the morals behind the job and accepted the stranger’s offer.
As a result, Alexander went through with his first non-military kill as a hired assassin. Afterward, the duo returned to their service duties, rolling out for an extraction mission with their crew. The sniper and his spotter were placed at overwatch while the rest of the unit confronted the compound’s security outside. After the guards refused to let the military unit enter or bring their leader out, the unit’s leader—with his trigger-happy finger—laid waste to the entire compound. This came as a shock to Alexander and Gary. Yet, by the time they arrived on the scene, everyone at the compound was already ruthlessly murdered.
Soon, it became evident that the unit had just opened fire at a wedding—which compelled the leader to initiate a clean-up protocol that involved blowing up the entire compound. Alexander’s previous work as a hired assassin proved his ability to overlook needless killing for a good paycheque. Even so, he believed that the work he was doing in the British army was honorable. Therefore, Alexander realizes that he sacrifices his morals as a soldier in the same way he would as an assassin—only right now, he’s doing so for much lower pay.
For the same reason, Alexander concocted a plan as the unit turned back for the drive home. It was his job to be on the lookout for IED bombs during his squad’s drives. Therefore, he found his chance when he spotted a suspicious mound by the roadside. Alexander detached from the crew with his spotter, Gary, to check out the possibility of a bomb in their path. Once he gained enough distance from the soldiers, he detonated a bomb he had previously installed in the vehicles.
Thus, Alexander’s unit blows up to smithereens while he and his very confused partner survive. On paper, this incident read as a bombing accident that took out the entire crew—including Alexander. However, in actuality, the soldier managed to escape so that he could begin a new life as an equally immoral but richer killer. While this revelation sheds some light on Jackal’s backstory, it also raises the question of Gary and his mysterious absence from the killer’s current life.
UDC Can’t Trust His Own People
While this episode unravels Bianca’s investigation and Jackal’s past, it also highlights another crucial aspect of the narrative: UDC. So far, UDC has been a fairly ambiguous figure. He wants to launch his app, River, which would open the doors to financial transparency—something that is inviting the ire of many who would rather keep their dealings a secret. Therefore, the entrepreneur has been riding a narrative high horse. However, in the last episode, when someone other than Jackal stepped up to attempt his murder, a new mystery began.
As it turns out, Zina’s employers did not send the second assassin. Instead, he is suspected to be an individual who infiltrated UDC’s security team to make an attempt at his life. Through the belongings found on his person—as well as his digital footprint—Zina’s employer learns that the assassin believes UDC’s River program is a way for the businessman to gain access to beneficial information. Even though the legibility of these claims remains up in the air, it efficiently plants a seed of doubt about UDC’s real motives.
Read More: The Day of the Jackal Episode 7 Recap: Can’t Miss
