HBO Max’s thriller series “The Tourist” follows an amnesiac named Elliot Stanley, who faces an unknown and powerful enemy as he struggles to uncover his identity. Elliot’s efforts to learn about his past lead him to Kosta Panigiris, an infamous drug lord. Kosta threatens to kill Elliot if he doesn’t return the bag containing $1 million that Elliot stole from him. However, Kosta’s expedition to Burnt Ridge to retrieve the valuable bag ends with a serious injury. As he laboriously tries to stay alive, one must wonder about the fate of the notorious criminal. Well, here’s everything you need to know! FRONT SPOILERS.
Is Kosta dead or alive?
Costa is dead. Kosta arrives at Burnt Ridge to retrieve the bag that Elliot and Victoria/Luci stole from him when they ran away. Since the bag contains the first million dollars he has ever won, the bag and the money have sentimental value to Kosta and he decides to do anything to get it back. After kidnapping Rogers’ wife, the drug lord blackmails the detective into capturing and taking Elliot to him. A puzzled Elliot does whatever Kosta asks him to do. Elliot leads the group towards the Stone Men even though he is unsure of the bag’s location. After sufficiently testing Kosta’s patient, Elliot finds the bag.
However, Luci arrives on the scene to save Elliot from Kosta’s viciousness. As someone who knows Kosta very well, Luci is sure that Elliot will bite the dust even if he returns the bag to Kosta. She orders Elliot to start a shootout to kill Kosta so they both escape. Luci’s prediction comes true as Kosta expresses his cruelty after retrieving Elliot’s bag. After creating a distraction, Elliot captures Rogers’ gun, a shootout ensues and Kosta gets shot. He falls to the ground and tries to breathe with all his might.
After Rogers testifies, officers go to the scene and recover Kosta’s body, indicating that Kosta does indeed die. The disreputable ringleader’s life comes to an end in the Australian outback with no one to accompany him in his final moments. Before letting death defeat him outright, Kosta seeks the comfort of his illusion and holds the hands of the imaginary Dimitri. As he sees his hands, hanging alone in the air with no one holding him back, Kosta may have realized that he was still alone and Dimitri’s accompaniment was just a creation of his mind.
When Luci gives him the opportunity to talk to the real Dimitri, Kosta gets the chance to listen to his brother’s wisdom. Although Dimitri tries his best to convince Kosta that he is his real brother, the drug lord listens to the illusion in his head, created by the LSD, and dismisses his brother as a lie. Dimitri’s imaginary influence and the realization that his brother has selfishly abandoned him incites rage in Kosta, leading him to be ruthless. Realizing there is only one way to stay alive, Luci and Elliot kill Kosta to save themselves from the drug lord’s gunfire.
In a way, Kosta paves the way for his own death by sending the real Dimitri back. His LSD-controlled mind improves upon reality in front of the drug lord and intensifies the fury within him, forcing Luci and Elliot to kill him. A little patience to listen and understand Dimitri’s words might have saved his life and prevented Luci from plotting a plan to kill him.
Read more: The tourist ending, explained: Is Elliot dead or alive?
