The Tourist season 2 ending explained: Who is Jamie Dornan's character really?

Throughout the season they got more than they bargained for, as more and more secrets came to light – culminating in another jaw-dropping twist ending, setting up a potential third outing.

Jack Williams, who along with his brother and co-writer Harry participated in a RadioTimes.com debate over The Best Ever TV thriller earlier this year, revealed that this ending could well get followed up on.

He said: "There is a little nod at the very end of this season that does suggest some interesting avenues for exploration, I would say.

"It depends on us finding the right thing, but we love the world and we love the characters and we love working with Jamie and Danielle, so that's always going to be interesting to us."

So, what did we uncover about Jamie Dornan's character in The Tourist season 2? And how did things come to an end for Elliot and Helen this time around? Read on for everything you need to know about the ending of The Tourist season 2.

*WARNING: CONTAINS FULL SPOILERS FOR ALL SIX EPISODES OF THE TOURIST SEASON 2 - NOW AVAILABLE ON BBC iPLAYER*

The Tourist season 2 ending explained: What is the twist?

One of the most crucial pieces of information we learned this season about Jamie Dornan's character, Elliot Stanley, is that he was not, in fact, Elliot Stanley.

Instead, he was Eugene Cassidy, the son of Niamh, matriarch of the Cassidy family, who had been locked in a brutal feud with the McDonnell family for decades. He also seemingly had a penchant and talent for ballet. Go figure.

When Eugene was younger, he had had an affair with Donal McDonnell's wife, Claire, and the two had had a son, Fergal. Donal had tried to kill Eugene, but had instead killed his brother by mistake.

Feeling guilty for his brother's death, this is why Eugene left Ireland in the first place, with Donal left raising Fergal and keeping his ancestry a secret.

When leaving the country, he had taken the name Elliot Stanley... but why?

Who was the real Elliot Stanley?

The real Elliot Stanley was a diver, who Frank McDonnell hired to find a downed plane which his father had been on. His father had called him telling him he had important information to share, but had died on the plane before he could show him.

Hoping to find what was inside, Frank hired Elliot. However, Elliot had also become acquainted with Niamh Cassidy, and had travelled down to the plane with her.

While there, she handcuffed him to the plane and sliced his breathing apparatus with a knife, killing him so he couldn't reveal the truth of what had been found there.

Helen, Ruairi and Ethan discovered this when they met with Elliot's widow Deirdre, who also hinted that Elliot was in fact Eugene's father.

This would explain the resemblance between Eugene and Elliot, as well as, perhaps, why he took his name.

How did the family feud come to an end?

The feud ramped up to new levels when Niamh killed Donal, and everyone assumed it had been Eugene that had done so. The two families met at the Cassidy pub, ready for an all-out war.

However, Helen got there just in the nick of time, having located the files that Frank's father had wanted to show him. Niamh had buried them near the coast years ago, hoping to stop anyone from finding out what she had once she read them.

It turned out that the files were, in fact, love letters between Frank's father and Niamh's mother. They had had an affair, which they kept quiet because of the family feud, but this meant that Frank and Niamh were, in reality, brother and sister.

Niamh had tried to bury the secret because she couldn't forget the past and all that had happened between the two families. Frank seemed willing to forget the past and move on as one joined family, but Niamh stormed out of the pub, unable to do so. Where the two families went from here is unclear.

Did Helen and Elliot get together in The Tourist season 2?

Yes, Helen and Eugene managed to put his past actions and the mystery surrounding him behind them, and moved into a flat together in Amsterdam.

However, there was one last twist in the tale. After Eugene was arrested for Donal's murder earlier in the finale, an article had been published in the local newspaper. Someone had seemingly seen this, tracked Eugene down, and sent him a file on his past.

What was in the file in The Tourist season 2?

Neither Eugene or Helen read it, with both saying they didn't care about his past. Eugene put it in the fire and burned it, and the pair went off to test whether he had retained any of his dancing skills post-amnesia.

However, while they never saw what was in the files, we got a glimpse as the cover burned away. It turns out Eugene was a special agent, at least as far back as 2005.

Exactly what this means for Eugene's past, or indeed the future of The Tourist, remains to be seen...

The Tourist season 2 is available in full now on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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