The Tourist star breaks down season 2 episode 1's shocking basement scene

The episode saw Jamie Dornan's Elliot and his now-girlfriend Helen (Danielle Macdonald) travelling to Ireland, intending to meet with someone who knows about Elliot's past.

However, once there Elliot is almost immediately kidnapped by a criminal family, with a grudge against him for some unknown past misdemeanour.

In an effort to track him down, Helen reaches out to the Garda, and detective Ruairi Slater (Conor MacNeill) is assigned to the case – however, it seems he also has some of his own major issues to deal with...

In the middle of the episode, we see Ruairi visit his mother, who seems to be suffering from locked-in syndrome, taking her some apples.

We then see him go down to the basement, which is kept hidden via a curtain, and take a knife with him. Once down there, we see there is an entire home set-up, with a dining table, fridge, cooker and radio.

He tells a silent woman, who is sat down there and partially hidden from our view, that he is cooking "her favourite", pork and beans, saying she has to eat or she will waste away. So far, so terrifying.

Later, towards the end of the episode, Ruairi visits the basement once more, after he realises he left his phone down there.

Once there, panic and horror set in, when he realises that the woman has fallen from her chair and is lying motionless on the ground.

He rushes over to her, crying, cradling her and telling her he's "so sorry" and that he "didn't realise". That's when the camera swings round and we finally get a full view of the woman, Mary, who is in fact a mannequin.

Speaking at a Q&A for the series ahead of its debut, Ruairi actor MacNeill broke down this shocking sequence, revealing it as one of his favourite scenes from the drama.

He said of filming the sequence: "That scene at the end when I go in and find Mary on the ground... I was taking it so seriously, by the way. I didn't realise what it looked like so I walked out and some of the crew were laughing. I was like, 'What are they laughing at?'

"And then when I saw it, I cried laughing. I was so committed that day. I never read that and went, 'This is hilarious', I read it and the way I read his character, it was heartbreaking."

Read more:

• Jamie Dornan on the key reason he said yes to The Tourist season 2
• The Tourist cast say season 2 is "just as chaotic and surprising"

The Tourist season 2 will be available to stream in full on BBC iPlayer from 1st January 2024. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or visit our Drama hub for more news, interviews and features.

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