It became very clear to me after one episode of The Tourist that I was going to devour this show. It takes a lot to hook me. Of course, there has to be a fantastic cast with great chemistry, the story has to feel cohesive, and the pacing has to make sense. You would think that would be easy for studios to accomplish. But it’s become very clear in the last decade or so that that’s not true. But here comes The Tourist with Jamie Dornan, who I’ve only known as that guy from the Gillian Anderson TV show The Fall and the Fifty Shades of Grey movies. And everything that I previously mentioned as being a requirement for loving the show or being hooked on one, is exactly what I saw in The Tourist 1×01.
At the moment we don’t know who Dornan actually is so we’re just going to refer to him as The Man. His character is not what I expected if I’m being honest. The Man is clearly devastated that he can’t remember who he is. But there is still so much personality shining through. You could see it in the way that he smiled at the police woman Helen Chambers, played by Danielle MacDonald, when she fumbled with her pen in the first meeting. You could also see it in the connection he formed with Luci and the lady who took him in. Or even in just the curiosity of what happened to him, how he’s proactive about it, but also how he is holding himself together by a mere inch. I don’t know if this is Dornan’s usual acting, but I think he’s done a fantastic job in this first episode.
And then there’s Helen. Luci is clearly going to be a part of the story. But there’s something about Helen and the way that they expanded on her story in this first episode that makes me feel like it’s actually Dornan’s character and hers that are the central characters of this show. I think this because we learn really small tidbits about Helen’s life that define the kind of person she is. We got to know that she’s trying to lose weight but not for herself. We learned that she’s getting married to an absolute buffoon who assures her that she will one day be pretty again after she loses weight as they’re preparing for their wedding. And we also learned that she has aspirations of grandeur that surpass the small-town living that she’s always known. I’m invested.
Combine The Man and Helen together, and I’m really excited for what this could mean for the story in The Tourist. Because they clearly have chemistry, even though Luci is around and any other show would automatically pair them up. And I’m really interested in seeing what a story like that could bring to life because we often don’t see big girls like Helen taking the stage in the same place of importance as someone like Dornan’s character. It’s refreshing and it makes me feel seen. I’m also hoping that Helen absolutely drops her scumbag fiance and helps The Man find who he is. Because there’s an adventure in front of them and the writers have done an exceptional job in hooking me to watch the other five episodes of this season. That’s a miracle after one episode nowadays.
Luci is definitely the one that I don’t know where she fits into things. Played by Shalom Brune-Franklin, she seemingly ends up being this kind stranger who helps The Man when he’s trying to uncover his past. One bomb later we see her sitting at her home and deleting photos of her with The Man. So clearly this meeting was not a coincidence. And I like that. Because I did not get anything weird from her when she was in the restaurant talking to The Man. And that, I feel, makes her such a strong presence and interesting character just as much as Helen. And again, you don’t see things like this on TV nowadays. Two intriguing women in a show that command the screen in equal but distinct ways? Work.
The mystery of itself also is really working for me. I think it has to do with a combination of Dornan’s acting with the slow menacing nature of that introduction. Because you couldn’t see the man that was chasing The Man. All you knew that it was a scary truck and there’s a reason why The Man is far from home and in Australia. There must be a reason big enough and dangerous enough for this cowboy hat-wearing American to try to run him off the road and then come back to finish the job. That’s not revenge for a petty crime. That was an organized attempt against his life and it’s going to be really interesting to see how these characters keep coming back together as The Man pieces his life together against the Australian outback backdrop.
Ultimately The Tourist 1×01 is a classic slow-burn mystery with plenty of secrets to unravel that doesn’t feel overburdened by exposition or too many in-your-face moments like it has become prevalent in Hollywood to keep your attention. The story is enough to keep my attention. The same thing goes with the acting and these two intriguing women at the forefront of the show. Here’s hoping episode 1×02 keeps the momentum going!
The Tourist season 1 is now available on Netflix.
As someone who has watched the whole season already…it just gets better and better, you’re gonna love it. And Jamie Dornan…