The Tourist 2×02 proves that I was right in being wary of where the second season of this show was going to go. Because after finishing watching it I’m just sitting here wondering how we got into this big old mess and if Helen has actually moved past the person that she was and season one. Because the writers obviously think that she hasn’t got past that so they have to bring Ethan into the mix. Basically, I’m disappointed. Elliott and Helen are no closer to being reunited. In fact, Elliot Stanley isn’t his real name and he has even more family secrets than we could have imagined. But at least he found his family right?! Even though that family has just started, or responded in turn, to a big old war. And all wars leave widowed women and broken hearts. And I don’t want either of those.
First up is Elliot. I feel like I’m finally starting to understand what people have for Jamie Dornan. When he was doing his Fifty Shades thing, I couldn’t get into it. But this bearded look with a slight bit of sass because he’s just so done with everyone and everything around him, I can get behind that. And it really goes to show you his acting range and opens doors for him in the industry but also to people’s hearts. I know that sounds really cheesy but popularity gets you far. And I can see The Tourist pushing him forward into new and uncharted territory. Because even though I know he has done really bad things, the character and not the actor, I want him to be okay and I want him to come face to face with the ghosts or monsters of his past even if he is the monster.
Then there’s Helen, she is by far the most frustrating person in 2×02 of The Tourist. Her behavior was excusable in season one. It made sense for her narrative-wise to push beyond the boundaries set around her. The boundaries put by other people like Ethan and even the boundaries put on to her by her own trauma, they held her back. And I thought that in season 2 we would start moving past that. But I see Helen taking risks in season 2 that make absolutely no sense. I thought she was calculating, smart, and aware of the environment around her even if she led with her heart. And when things got tough in season 1 she helped save the day. But I feel like in season 2 she’s just taking any risk that she wants with no thought of the consequences. Scary family war after witnessing somebody being stabbed in the eye? She’s got no fear to the point where she feels purposefully stupid and one-dimensional like she didn’t experience everything she did in season 1!
Admittedly, I do think that I’m going harder on Helen then I am on Elliot. And that’s due to me having such high hopes for her. I’m trying to reel myself back and not dive into everything and anything that she does. But I like Helen and I want to see the next step in her development in season 2. Unless the writers are way ahead of me and they already understood the importance of someone like Helen and are trying to help her find balance when it comes to her new self. I could work with that. If I can work with that for Elliot as he tries to figure out who he is while choosing the kind of man he wants to become, I can absolutely afford Helen some of that grace and then some.
The only person that I will not allow any grace to is Ethan. The Tourist has made it very easy to hate this man and I feel like the audacity factor has gone up to 20 in 2×02. He’s stuck on a plane with Lena Pascal for however long it takes to get to Ireland from Australia. And it’s very clear by Pascal’s face that she is done with Ethan. In fact, maybe Helen won’t have anything to worry about because Lena will have absolutely destroyed him by the time they land. Then the only thing Ethan has left to do is pack up his things and turn tail. Ethan is a menace to society and I can absolutely imagine what a man like that would do with even an inch of freedom to do what he wants and make others fulfill his wishes.
By The Tourist 2×02 I do have a more clear picture of what this season is about. It’s about family and the past nipping at your heels. The family bit is what makes this season distinct from the first one. But I hope that Elliot gets some actual answers. Because the young man that he kidnapped and had some great comedic timing moments with, only scratches the surface on who he is more than anyone else. Elliot deserves to know who he is. And if he’s the worst human on the planet, he deserves to know. That’s the only way that he’s going to move past it and make peace for himself and Helen. Until then, we’re going to have this season and possibly more as Elliot Stanley or whatever his name is races head first into the consequences of the man he was before he lost his memory.
The Tourist season 1 and 2 is now available on Netflix.
Before you go, please check out our previous review for 2×01 here.