Jack Ryan is back in action. Three years after the debut of the second season of Prime Video’s Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, the CIA operative (played by The Office’s John Krasinski) is finally returning to the small screen. Given that it’s been a while since we checked in with the analyst-turned-field-agent, here’s a refresher on where things stood at the end of Jack Ryan’s last season. Plus, get a preview of what’s to come in season 3.
What happened in ‘Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan’ Season 2
In Jack Ryan Season 2, Jack gets involved in a complicated political situation in Venezuela when he discovers evidence that suggests Russia is supplying weapons to the oil-rich South American nation.
Jack heads to Venezuela, where he connects with his old boss Jim Greer (Wendell Pierce). He also meets CIA station chief Mike November (Michael Kelly). But the country’s corrupt president Nicolás Reyes (Jordi Mollà) – who is locked in a tight reelection race with reformer Gloria Bonalde (Cristina Umaña) – is none too happy that Jack and his CIA buddies are meddling in his country’s affairs. And when U.S. Senator Jim Moreno (Benito Martinez) is assassinated while on a diplomatic visit to Venezuela, the stakes get even higher.
Jack suspects Reyes is behind Moreno’s assassination. As he digs deeper, he discovers that what he thought was a weapons shipment was actually equipment for mining tantalum, a rare and valuable metal. Meanwhile, Reyes is determined to maintain his hold on power, even going so far as to have Greer kidnapped in an attempt to neutralize the CIA threat. That prompts Jack and Mike to go on a high-stakes mission to rescue their friend and colleague, who is being held captive inside the presidential palace. After they find Greer, Jack tracks down Reyes. He’s prepared to kill him, which would cause a major diplomatic crisis, but Mike persuades him not to go rogue.
In the end, Reyes’s schemes to rig the election are exposed and Bonalde claims victory. Mike, Jack, and Greer leave the country. Back in D.C., Jack confronts Senator Mitchell Chapin (Michael O’Neill), whom he’s discovered is behind the company that hoped to mine the Venezuelan tantalum. Chapin was working with Reyes the whole time. The season ends with the FBI arresting the senator as Jack walks away.
What’s next for Jack Ryan in season 3?
When we met Jack in season 1, he was a desk-bound financial analyst with a Ph.D. in economics. His discovery of some suspicious transactions with links to a global terror cell took the former Marine into the field, where he wasn’t entirely comfortable, at least at first. (His PTSD from combat missions in Afghanistan didn’t help.) By season 2, he was far more at ease with his role as a field agent. But he hadn’t let go of his strong moral compass. And as his final interaction with Reyes showed, he’s more than willing to consider bending the rules in pursuit of what he thinks is right.
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We’ll likely see more of that side of the character in Jack Ryan Season 3. When we check in with him again, he’s working as a CIA case officer in Rome. He gets a tip about the resurrection of a 50-year-old secret plot to restore the Soviet empire. Jack goes on a mission to confirm the intelligence he’s received. But when things go sideways, he ends up accused of treason and with a Red Notice out for his arrest.
More ‘Jack Ryan’ questions: Will Greer return to the field? What happened to Cathy?
As Jack finds his footing in the field, his mentor Greer is considering stepping away from the action. His heart troubles – which he initially hid from Jack – were an ongoing issue in season 2. They even cost him his position as station chief in Moscow. By the end of the season, it sounded like he was ready to throw in the towel.
“It’s been a helluva run but it’s over. Time to move on,” he told Jack.
Pierce will return for Jack Ryan Season 3, and he still works for the CIA. But whether he’s back in the field or behind a desk now isn’t clear. We’re betting on the latter. As for Mike November, he’ll be back for season 3 as well, but after the debacle in Venezuela, he’s no longer working for the agency.
One original Jack Ryan cast member who won’t be back for season 3 is Abbie Cornish as Cathy Mueller. Cathy and Jack’s romance was a major subplot in season 1, but she disappeared in season 2, and no explanation was offered for her absence. Given that Jack is married to Cathy in Tom Clancy’s books (which feature an older version of the Ryan character), that left fans a bit puzzled. They may not get answers to what happened to Cathy in season 3, as Cornish won’t appear in those episodes. But she will return for the show’s upcoming fourth season, and we’re confident that she and Jack will eventually end up together.
All episodes of Jack Ryan Season 3 premiere Wednesday, Dec. 21 on Prime Video.
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