The Tourist Season 2 story: Elliot Stanley (Jamie Dornan) is happily travelling the world with his girlfriend Helen Chambers (Danielle MacDonald), the former cop who was helping him piece together his identity, after he lost all memory of his life until then in an accident. While the duo had gleaned some information that wasn’t very pretty and that Elliot was quite the bad man, which, explained why there were people after him to kill him, he’s clearly moved on from that and ready to start afresh with Helen. But when they receive a letter from Ireland, supposedly from a childhood friend, she thinks it is best that they chasing this lead.

But as soon as they land in Ireland, Elliot is abducted by the McDonnel family, who are in a bitter rivalry with the Cassidy family, who, as it turns out are his folks. Will there be a blood bath or can Elliot and Helen figure out a peaceful resolution to the conflict?

The Tourist Season 2 review: As a limited series, The Tourist with 6 episodes would have made perfect sense. A guy with amnesia tracing his footsteps, only to realize he was quite the ruthless monster, was a great premise and should have, ideally, ended there. How do you give the leading man a redemption arc when you know he sliced up the people he used as drug mules? But then, these ideal scenarios do not exist very often, and, hence, we get a second season, which although not great in terms of a plot, finds its footing as a fun watch largely in parts due to leading man Jamie Dornan.

Elliot Stanley (Jamie Dornan) still does not have the faintest idea about life before his accident, other than what he has managed to figure out in season 1, that he was a drug kingpin who used human mules to ferry his goodies. Elliot’s a changed man since his accident; he’s not a fan of violence and is ready to face the consequences of his earlier actions. But it turns out that his family and their rivals are quite the murderous lot and his arrival has sparked a bit of unrest.

But if the expectation is for a John Wick-style blood fest, with Mama Cassidy, Niamh (Olwen Fouéré), and Frank McDonnel (Francis Magee) leading their respective sides into battle, the series shies away, with a twist so lame I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. See, many years ago, Mama Cassidy had stolen something that Frank’ father had sent across for him. Frank wants what belongs to him, and she won’t give it up, until, of course, the contents of the hidden box are discovered and delivered by Helen.

The Tourist Season 2 is all of six episodes, but it still feels like a couple too many. Quite a bit of the narrative is devoted to an arc involving Helen, local Garda detective Ruari (Conor MacNeill) and Helen’s ex Ethan (Greg Larsen), who has flown all the way to show her he is no longer the epitome of male toxic behaviour, while also harbouring hopes of winning her back. These were the bits where I really wanted the showrunners to hurry things along - I really didn’t care about Ruari’s love story, for instance. All that matters is what’s new about Elliot Stanley, even though, considering the heinous stuff he’s done in the past, it would not make much of a difference if there’s some good stuff too.

Although the plot is not the most riveting and you can see some of the twists from a mile away, Jamie Dornan manages to keep the show from crumbling to pieces. He’s the one you will be rooting for, despite his pre-accident evil days. I have a theory about that, but saying anything more would be a spoiler, so, I shall reserve that for another time. Suffice to say that Jamie’s charm and humour are what make Season 2 immensely watchable. Danielle MacDonald has moments of brilliance too, but those are limited and her arc has her like a dog with a bone – Elliot may not want to get to the bottom of the mystery that is his life, but she does.

The Tourist Season 2 verdict: The Tourist Season 2 is not half as good as Season 1, but manages to hold one’s attention because of its charismatic leading man, Jamie Dornan. But for him, and his chemistry with Danielle MacDonald, Season 2 wouldn’t have been the fun ride it eventually is. The show ends with a potential lead in for a third season that looks promising. Now that’s something to look forward to.

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