Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘The Tourist’ follows the story of a man who loses his memory after a car crash and embarks on a journey of self-exploration in which he discovers some truly disturbing things about himself. Starring Jamie Dornan in the lead role, the show packs many twists and turns, keeping the audience, as well as the protagonist, on edge about what’s to happen next. What makes the unpredictability of his situation even more dangerous is the setting of the story. The Man finds himself in completely unknown waters, with no idea where to run when the danger strikes. SPOILERS AHEAD
The Tourist Takes Place in Australia
The events in ‘The Tourist’ take place in the desolate surroundings of the Australian Outback, where the towns are few and far, with miles and miles of desert between them. The Man is found in the middle of nowhere after he gets in a car crash. Because he has no memory before the accident, his situation becomes uncertain as it becomes even more difficult to trace his past actions due to the lack of people who have seen him.
Luckily, there are a couple of clues that lead The Man to the towns that are just as empty as the desert that surrounds them. The fictional town of Burnt Ridge becomes the center of most of the action, with the Man, his allies, and his enemies gravitating to it in order to figure out what is going on with him. After the crash, he is taken to Cooper Springs, but when he discovers a note in his pocket, he decides to go to Burnt Ridge. Then, a phone call from a stranger brings him even farther into the desert to Murray Waters.
Another important location in his story is a place called Nala Stone Men, where Stonehenge-like structures become a key memory for The Man and the secret he had been hiding, the very thing that got him into trouble in the first place. In the end, he circles around to a place called Devil’s Rock, where all his actions from the past few days, a culmination of all the things he’d done before the car crash and his memory loss, come to a breaking point. This is where his streak of violence and bloodbath ends, leaving him with a better, though still not as clear, idea of who he was and who he is supposed to be now.
The Tourist is Set in Contemporary Times
Getting lost in the middle of nowhere is scary as it is, but getting lost without any technology is even worse. Had ‘The Tourist’ taken place in a timeline where phones were scarcer and getting information was not so easy, then it would have certainly been much, much worse for The Man. However, he is not that unlucky, and his story is set in contemporary times where technology makes things much easier for him, though it is also easier for his enemies to find him.
The story begins with a car crash, and The Man wakes up in a hospital. He spends the entire day staring at the ceiling, and by the end of the day, he becomes fed up with it. The next day, he springs into action when he discovers that there is a note in his pocket, and it can lead him to someone who knows him. This leads him to Burnt Ridge, where things move fast, especially after he meets Luci, who decides to help him and does not mind going the extra mile if that’s what it takes.
Over the course of the next few days, The Man has one shocking discovery about another, which makes him even more unsure of who he is. While the six-episode first season takes the story and the characters a long way, the entire series of events take place over the course of a few days, barely a week or so. It is this fast-paced nature of the series that keeps things interesting and intriguing, leaving the audience craving more.
Read More: The Tourist Ending, Explained: Is Elliot Dead or Alive?
