Written by Harry and Jack Williams, HBO Max’s thriller series “The Tourist” follows Elliot Stanley, whose car is hit by a truck with the intent to kill him. Elliot survives the accident but loses his memory when he wakes up in the hospital. Also, he starts seeing a woman in his dreams, who he doesn’t remember, no matter how hard he tries.
When meeting infamous drug lord Kosta Panigiris, Elliot remembers the woman’s name to be Lena Pascal. The show’s first season ends with Lena arriving in Burnt Ridge, only for her to reveal startling information regarding Elliot’s unknown past. Well, here’s everything you need to know about the character! FRONT SPOILERS.
Who is Lena Pascal?
After the car accident and memory loss, Elliot begins to see a smiling woman in his dreams. Even after trying his best to remember the person’s identity, Elliot fails. However, he remembers the woman’s name to be Lena Pascal, who lives in Adelaide, after drinking Kosta’s LSD-mixed water. When Rogers’ officers attempt to arrest Elliot and Helen, he has a negotiator bring Lena to him in exchange for not shooting a group of hostages to buy Helen time to prove their innocence. The negotiator brings Lena and Elliot to meet her for real.
Elliot’s excitement at getting to know Lena turns to unbearable grief when the latter reveals to Elliot that he used a group of women, including her, to traffic heroin. She tells him how he forced her and her comrades to swallow little plastic bags of heroin to smuggle them. Lena also shows him a terrifying scar from the cut made to retrieve the drugs on his abdomen. As Elliot crumbles out of guilt, Lena informs him of the deaths of his comrades during his smuggling mission. Lena presents herself as living proof of Elliot’s cruelty and savagery.
Elliot is surprised upon hearing Lena’s revelations. The guilt of hurting Lena and her friends leads him to attempt suicide. Lena’s disclosure indicates that she was part of a drug smuggling scheme that Elliot was running, possibly during his time with Kosta as the drug lord’s accountant. Lena, a Russian woman, might have agreed to be part of the money smuggling mission. Risking her own life, Lena completed the mission, only to bear emotional and physical scars. Though she may have come out of the world of drug dealing, Lena still carries the wounds of her time with Elliot, inflicted by the disturbing deaths of her comrades.
Considering Elliot repeatedly dreams of Lena and sees her in his visions, it’s possible their relationship wasn’t just a casual acquaintance in the middle of a drug deal. They could have had a connection together and Elliot may have used it to coerce Lena into being part of the heroin trade. The repeated dreams may also be Elliot’s subconscious efforts to manifest the guilt he suffers from being cruel to Lena and her friends. Lena’s meeting with Elliot could put an end to the unbearable pain she is going through.
When it comes to Elliot’s past, Lena is the essential key to fully unraveling the mystery behind his life before the memory loss. If renewed, we can expect Lena to play a significant role in the show’s second season narrative, most likely focusing on Elliot’s association with Lena and Kosta.
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