The Day of the Jackal premiere ending explained: Did the Jackal's identity get revealed?

The Day of the Jackal premiered for American audiences via Peacock on Thursday, November 14, 2024, with a five-episode release. The series is based on a novel of the same name written by author Frederick Forsyth. The story follows the life of an assassin named The Jackal, known for his methodical crimes that left behind no evidence.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for The Day of the Jackal.

The series is a modern rendition of the novel, where a federal agent attempts to track down and finally pin the Jackal. Though the character operates alone on missions, the people around him in his non-covert life also become an important part of either maintaining or destroying the assassin's alibis.

The mid-season episode 5 ended with a close call on The Jackal's identity. Bianca, the agent out to get The Jackal, used an associate Norman Stoke as bait to lure her target out.

However, The Jackal managed to shoot Norman and escape into the forest on a horse, narrowly avoiding being caught by Bianca. However, this does not guarantee the character's safety for the remainder of the series, especially since his wife Nuria is growing suspicious of his truth.

---

What happened with Norman and the Jackal at the end of The Day of the Jackal episode 5?

A still of The Jackal from the trailer for the show (Image via Peacock)

In episode 5 of the series, The Jackal worked on his newest assassination mission with Norman Stoke as his associate in Estonia. Later, Norman went into hiding at a safe house in Budapest to escape all his rivals and those searching for him.

Meanwhile, Bianca used Larry as her source of information on The Jackal. She tortured him physically by almost suffocating him and offered him a reduced prison sentence if he gave her the information she needed. Finally, Larry broke and gave her Norman's location. Even despite her crumbling personal life, Bianca decided to push it all away and pursue the lead she got.

Bianca and her team reached Norman's safe house and conducted a stakeout, getting closer and closer to his location. The Jackal, though also present at the location, was out testing some new guns, and missed the moment when Bianca apprehended Norman. After seeing The Jackal's possessions on Norman's couch, Bianca immediately began questioning him.

However, The Jackal took the bait and re-emerged into the scene at that moment. He shot Norman and rode off on a horse, avoiding Bianca's pursuing bullets.

---

What did Nuria find out about her husband in The Day of the Jackal?

A still of Nuria from the trailer for the show (Image via Peacock)

The Jackal established a fake identity as "Charles" and had a family residing in Spain under that cover name. His wife Nuria began to suspect that something was wrong when "Charles" decided to leave in the middle of a family get-together. Nuria dropped him off at the airport but later saw someone closely resembling her husband in a cab at the main market. This stoked her suspicions further and she decided to investigate.

Soon, Nuria discovered her husband's secret room in the house: the area where he stored all his makeup, prosthetics, fake documents, and some of the weapons he used during his assassinations.

After seeing footage of installed cameras in the house, "Charles" cooked up a story and told Nuria he used to work in espionage. Nuria seemed ill at ease with the response, which may cause some problems for The Jackal moving on, especially if his wife accidentally ends up mentioning these checkered details to the wrong people.

---

What method did the Jackal usually use to finish off his targets?

A still of Bianca from the trailer for the show (Image via Peacock)

The Day of the Jackal depicted The Jackal as a skilled prosthetics and makeup artist, not just a sharp marksman. He concealed his identity, managing to enter restricted buildings and areas where regular people did not have access.

At the very beginning of the series, he used this strategy to shoot at Elias Fest, even though his target was Elias' father Manfred. He used Manfred's hospital visit and shot at him from the window of the opposite building during that moment.

The third leg of The Jackal's operations was always destroying evidence, either systematically or all at once. For Manfred, he planted a bomb in the rooms he used so that nothing could be traced by the authorities. Another important aspect of the killings was The Jackal's anonymity.

Audiences might have noticed throughout the series that the character only accepted advance payments, never exchanged details about himself or his client, and restricted his job till the point where he got paid.

---

Audiences can watch The Day of the Jackal streaming online via Peacock for American audiences. For UK viewers, the episodes of the show air via Sky TV. Interested fans will have to purchase a subscription to the platforms or their associated channels to view the series and related content.