Who is Tommy Dark in Fool Me Once? The life and death of the character explained

Netflix’s Fool Me Once keeps viewers glued to their seats, with the crime thriller revealing mysteries in surprise twists. Many of the characters are involved in the crimes, while the protagonist, Maya, and the officials, Sami and Eddie, go to great lengths to solve the cases and bring justice.

One of the characters from the show is Tommy Dark, whose involvement in the plot is difficult to place. However, Dark is a crucial part of the story. While on one side, he's linked to the original crime; on the other, he's a victim himself.

In this article, we explore Tommy Dark, an enigma in Fool Me Once streaming on Netflix. Adapted from Harlan Coben’s 2016 novel by the same name, the British television series presented the story in eight episodes. Fool Me Once premiered on the streaming platform on January 1, 2024.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers and advises reader’s discretion.

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Exploring the character of Tommy Dark in Fool Me Once

Tommy Dark made brief appearances in the first few episodes of Fool Me Once. However, he seemed shady, as his involvement with the crimes in the main storyline was hazy.

While fans may wonder who is Tommy Dark in the Harlan Coben mystery, his story arc contains two main facts. One is his involvement with the Burkett family and the other is his death.

Fool Me Once episode 3 saw Maya visiting Corey the Whistle, who had information on many things, including Maya’s war crimes. Corey revealed that Claire, Maya’s sister, had intel about the Burketts paying £9000 to someone named Tommy Dark, every month for 26 years.

Corey found out that Tommy owned a shipping company, but the connection with the Burketts was hazy.

That prompted Maya, played by Michelle Keegan, to conduct a research and approach Tommy’s shipping company to get the address to his home. She got that from a dissatisfied employee who was upset about not getting paid for two months.

At his home, Maya met Tommy’s wife who provided her the evidence of the bank transfers. Moreover, she found out that, Tommy Dark was the captain of a yacht owned by the Burketts, and the money he received was a bribe for keeping a secret. Tommy’s wife further revealed that he was missing for six weeks.

However, confronting Judith Burkett, played by Joanna Lumley, brought no result, as the old lady refused to admit that she was paying Tommy Dark, the captain of the yacht in which Andrew died, any money. At the time Maya thought that Andrew killed himself.

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Who killed Tommy Dark in Fool Me Once?

Joe of the Burkett family was the main culprit. (Image via IMDb, Netflix)

In Fool Me Once episode 5, Corey and Maya found Tommy’s body in the freezer of his rental unit.

It was revealed that Joe killed him to keep his secret from getting public. Maya’s sister Claire had gotten wind of Tommy receiving a huge amount from the Burkett family and was investigating it.

As Tommy knew too much about Joe's dirty secret and was a threat if Claire reached him. Joe eliminated Tommy and used Maya’s car to dispose of the body.

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What’s the twist in Fool Me Once?

The show has a series of crimes occurring at different times in the story. To start with, there's Joe’s crime, which happened 26 years ago, when the Burkett siblings, Andrew and Joe, caused classmate Theo Mora’s death due to alcohol poisoning.

When Andrew got guilty and planned on a confession, his brother Joe pushed him off a boat to ensure that the secret remained intact.

The boat had Tommy Dark as the captain, and the Burkett family bribed him for 26 years to keep his mouth shut. However, Maya’s sister Claire had caught on the truth, along with the drug crimes the Burkett company was involved in.

As such, Joe decided that it was time for Claire to go, and he killed her, staging it as a robbery.

Maya attempted to solve the mysterious deaths. (Image via IMDb, Netflix)

When Maya learnt the complete truth about Claire’s death and Joe’s deceit, she called her husband in the park and killed him with the same gun he had used to kill Claire.

After her arrest, Maya agreed to help the authorities nab the Burkett family for its drug crimes. However, while confronting them, Joe’s brother Neil shoots her. With the incident streamed live, the consequence of Maya's murder is foregone.

The twist in Fool Me Once is that all the main characters die in a series of crimes while the culprits are brought to justice. The series is available on Netflix.