Red Eye series 2 ending explained: Was Clay Brody a baddie? And why Richard Armitage returned
The twists and surprises kept comingRed Eye series 2 lived up to the cracking drama of the first season as the bodies piled up inside the American Embassy building up to a shocking ending.
The six-part thriller saw Jing Lusi returning as DS Hana Li, the hero of the hit original which also starred Richard Armitage.
Instead of Richard Armitage, Jing was joined by Line of Duty’s Martin Compston as Head of Embassy Security, Clay Brody. But could Hana really trust Brody? Who was ultimately behind the killings at the US Embassy and the bomb on the plane? And who was the assassin who was so ice cool he had time to make a cup of coffee between murders?
Here’s everything you need to know about the ending of Red Eye series 2.
***Warning: spoilers from the Red Eye series 2 ending ahead***
What was the key mystery of Red Eye series 2?
The central mystery of Red Eye series 2 was a prototype military plane crashing into the Atlantic Ocean killing two RAF pilots. The British blamed the Russians. An inquiry found that the plane was shot down by Russian military in the area. Following the attack, the UK expelled a number of Russian diplomats.
So, when a man with a Russian accent called MI5 and said there was a bomb on the government jet carrying their boss, Director General Madeline Delaney, they leapt to the obvious conclusion that the revengeful Russians were behind everything. If anyone left the party at the American embassy for the new ambassador, the terrorist warned he would detonate the bomb on Delaney’s plane.
However, the Russian theory started to fall apart when the killer began murdering people at the US Embassy. Hana and MI5 worked out there was a link between the victims, the US ambassador and the defence secretary, who was onboard the plane with Delaney. All of them had given evidence to the inquiry into the prototype plane crash.
US Ambassador Ronald Tillman (Trevor White) had been in charge of the company making the plane. Meanwhile, Craig Stewart (Glenn Wrage), who was thrown off a balcony to his death inside the US Embassy, was the chief safety officer. Plus, another victim, Perry Lambert (Tibu Fortes), ran an electronics company that worked on the plane. Furthermore, the defence secretary Alex Peterson (Nicholas Rowe) had testified at the inquiry saying he thought it was the Russians.
Why then did the plane crash in Red Eye?
The truth about the plane crash finally came out when Hana and Brody managed to recover the missing flight voice recorder. The US Ambassador had been storing it in his safe. The killer’s ultimate mission had been to recover the flight recorder for his boss as it contained incriminating evidence.
He got as far as the embassy car park but then Hana confronted him. The assassin was about to shoot Hana dead when Brody attacked him. He managed to escape the embassy but left the suitcase behind containing the recording.
At Thames House, Madeline, Hana and Brody listened to the recording. It revealed that a fight had broken out on the plane and Patrick Johnson had been shot. The co-pilot couldn’t then prevent the plane from crashing into the sea.
Who really was Clay Brody? Was he a baddie?
Martin Compston’s character Clay Brody turned out to be Charles Johnson, the brother of dead pilot Patrick Johnson. Clay was his middle name and Brody was his mother’s maiden name. However, he hid his true identity from Hana. This was because he realised he was being set up by the person behind the embassy killings. They wanted to make it look like Patrick’s family were on a revenge mission and that they were behind everything.
Brody was shocked to see his estranged father, Air Marshal John Johnson at the party. He knew someone was framing him and his dad. Brody and his father both had massive payments from a Russian account drop into their bank accounts.
Brody knew if he confessed to Hana his true identity he’d be taken off the case. Hana not surprisingly lost trust in Brody when she finally learnt the truth. And even wondered if he’d lied about the death of his mother. Brody had explained the reason why he brutally lost his temper during police training was because his mother had died that morning.
Brody was frustrated to be in custody. But he managed to take out his guards and escape. Thus he was in a position to help Hana. Ultimately, Brody was a goodie not a baddie.
Red Eye series 2 ending: who ordered the killings and why?
British Defence Secretary Alex Peterson (Nicholas Rowe) was the major villain. The series tricked viewers into believing it was all about the safety faults on the military plane. In fact, what had happened was that Peterson had stolen millions from the Americans during the making of the planes. He needed the voice recording because it contained evidence of his crime.
Peterson had discovered that Patrick Johnson had smuggled the plane’s project manager, Nicholas Martin, onto the doomed flight. Martin had with him evidence that Peterson had embezzled millions and was taking it to the Americans. Peterson contacted the plane and ordered Patrick to turn the flight around. He refused.
So Peterson ordered the co-pilot to turn the plane around. The co-pilot agreed to follow his order and pulled a gun on Patrick. But when Nicholas tried to grab the weapon, Patrick was shot. Peterson was ultimately responsible for the plane crashing.
The US Ambassador was running the plane company and had the voice recording. He used it to blackmail Peterson in his quest to become US President. In the final episode, we went two days back in time and heard Peterson warn the ambassador to stop blackmailing him. When he laughed it off, Peterson set his plan in motion. He hired the assassin to get the briefcase containing the voice recording in the ambassador’s safe.
Peterson needed everyone dead who’d heard the recording. So, he ordered the killer to murder the ambassador along with the others who’d listened to the recording.
Peterson was also behind the fake bomb on his plane! He meant it as a distraction. Peterson also intended to frame Brody. He wanted it to look like he’d been targeted for the evidence he gave to the inquiry.
Red Eye series 2 ending: who was the US Embassy killer?
So, the assassin (played by Tom Forbes) stalking the US Embassy was in fact British not Russian. For much of the series we thought he was Charles Johnson, the brother of Patrick Johnson. However, we eventually discovered Clay Brody was in fact Charles Johnson.
Hana worked out he was British and not Russian when she spotted he had the same SAS tattoo as Brody. Both men had tattoos with the SAS motto “Always a little further”.
Other than the fact he was British, all that was revealed was that he was codenamed Fox. He was in constant contact with mastermind Peterson. Fox was simply a mercenary who was being paid a fortune by Peterson to clean up his mess.
Why didn’t the killer shoot Hana dead in the lift?
The biggest cliffhanger of the entire series was at the end of episode three when Fox appeared to shoot Hana dead. After a great fight, where Hana showed off her kickboxing skills, the killer eventually got the upper hand. He had Hana at his mercy and we heard a gunshot. But at the beginning of episode four we learnt that Hana was alive, but why?
Well, Fox had planted a camera on Hana’s jacket so he could always be one step ahead of her. Eventually Hana worked out that is what had happened. She very uncharacteristically gave Brody a huge hug so she could whisper into his ear about the hidden device.
Hana was then able to use the fact the killer didn’t know she knew about the camera to her advantage.
Red Eye series 2 ending: what was Crimson Icarus?
Series 2 was officially titled Red Eye: Crimson Icarus. Before series 2 went out, some people were a bit baffled by the obscure title. But it made sense once you watched the drama because Crimson Icarus was the secret code given to MI5 about the jet attack. The code was a Russian one and that was another reason MI5 thought the Russians were behind the bomb.
However, acting MI5 boss John Tennant (Jonathan Aris) met his Russian contact Sergei in a London park. It seems every spy drama has to involve someone meeting a contact in a park! Anyway, the Russian pointed out that the code Crimson Icarus was also known to the British and Americans. So, he told John rather than looking at the Russians he should look closer to home.
Why is Richard Armitage in Red Eye series 2?
Yes, Richard Armitage was in Red Eye series 2! ITV kept Richard Armitage’s return as Dr Matthew Nolan, the hero of the first series, a closely guarded secret. The character returned in episode five following Ruth being shot.
Hana’s sister Jess realised the nearest hospital was too far away and that Matthew’s house was nearby. So, she took Ruth there and Matthew saved her life on his kitchen table. He managed to get the bullet out of her stomach and perform a blood transfusion.
Not only, that he helped MI5 access the secret car park footage of Nicholas Martin meeting a mystery man shortly before his death. That man turned out to be Patrick Johnson and this information helped Thames House crack the mystery.
Clearly, Matthew and Jess were on good terms. However, fans hoping that Matthew and Hana were now a couple were left disappointed. There was no evidence they were together. But then again you never know!
What else happened in the Red Eye series 2 ending?
The dramatic conclusion of Red Eye series 2 saw Hana, Brody and Madeline lay a trap for Peterson. They knew he’d arranged to meet Fox at a car park so he could pay him his money for the murders at the embassy. They wanted to capture both Peterson and Fox.
But it started to go wrong when Fox realised there were armed police hiding near Peterson’s car. He believed that Peterson was setting him up. Fox overpowered a police sniper and took his gun. He had Peterson in his sights but then saw Brody get into Peterson’s car. Fox thought Brody might kill Peterson anyway, so he watched.
Brody was wearing a wire. Madeline hoped Brody could trick Peterson into a full confession. And the plan worked. Peterson asked Brody what he wanted and he said money. He said he needed it to flee the country because Peterson had framed him. He said he wanted the same amount the killer had been given for the murders in the embassy. In return, Brody said he’d give Peterson the voice recording.
Peterson agreed and handed over a bag of cash he’d intended to give Fox. Peterson had incriminated himself. But he then made an offensive comment about Brody’s dead brother. Enraged Brody pointed a gun at his head. Luckily, Hana calmed Brody down and convinced him not to ruin his life. Peterson was led away by armed cops and got a load of abuse from Madeline for his crimes.
Hana and Brody shared a hug. Red Eye series 2 ended with Madeline offering Hana a job at MI5. But Hana rejected the offer, saying she was herself as a detective.
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