We can all agree upon the fact that among all the seasons of Prime Video’s Jack Ryan, the current one has the most intricate plot, with layers and layers of storylines stacking on top of each other. And it is fascinating how the show actually managed to pull things off and run everything through the same blender to get the juice out of it. With all the core main characters returning, including Abbie Cornish’s Doctor Cathy Mueller, who was last seen in the first season, a lot of new characters were also introduced in this season in order to move around the plot. While Michael Pea’s flamboyant CIA operative Domingo Chavez and Louis Ozawa’s cool-as-a-cucumber Triad boss Chao Fah were the standouts, one other character also managed to leave a mark: Walter, aka William Tuttle.
The character had a mysterious aura surrounding him, which was further enhanced by actor Michael McElhatton, whose most significant role has to be the icy-cold Roose Bolton in HBO’s Game Of Thrones. Even with a limited amount of screen time compared to other actors, McElhatton managed to make Walter’s presence felt throughout the season. In this article, we are going to make an attempt to explore the character while also decoding the entire conspiracy in which he played a key role.
Spoilers Ahead
Who Was Walter?
The character was introduced in the opening five minutes of the new season when he orchestrated the assassination of Nigerian President Udoh. That event triggered a chain reaction of chaos in the context of the story. In fact, the entire story arc of CIA director Wright was completely based on the Nigerian political turmoil, and Walter was the man behind it.
Of course, Walter did have people he was accountable to. He was mostly working under the command of former CIA director Miller, but that didn’t stop him from eliminating Miller when the former director became a loose cannon. Walter also went off on his own and tried to kill James Greer, aka the deputy director of the CIA and our hero Jack Ryan’s former boss.
Greer did get his shot at revenge when he finally figured out how Walter was operating under the pretense of running a small business. Greer tracked down Walter, but upon seeing Jack Ryan getting kidnapped millions of miles away on Walter’s screen, he took the man into custody. Even after being cornered, Walter kept his cool and maintained his swagger by constantly taunting Greer and criticizing the CIA’s activities. It was not particularly surprising for us when it was revealed that Walter, whose real name happened to be Bill Tuttle, was, in fact, a former operative who eventually defected to the dark side.
What Was The Conspiracy?
The conspiracy, which was called “Operation Pluto,” has to be the most significant storyline we ever saw on Jack Ryan. Let us try to simplify the whole thing now that we have all the pieces of the puzzle in hand.
Zeira Lemos was the head of the entire thing. If we really have to determine a second in command, then that would be the Silver Lotus Triad man, Chao Fah. But there were conflicts inside the Triad between Chao Fah and Tin Tun, as the latter was always skeptical about the former’s ways of dealing with things. He also suspected Chao Fah of being a snitch. Well, Tin Tun was not particularly wrong given that Chao Fah indeed planned to get out of the Triad, along with his family, for which he established a connection with CIA operative Domingo Chavez as well as ex-director Miller. Chavez was working deep undercover in the Marquez cartel, for whom he was eliminating other competitors. Of course, he was doing Miller’s bidding, and he was under the impression that whatever he was doing was for the greatest cause, i.e., saving American citizens. Walter, aka Bill Tuttle, was also following Miller’s direction, but he clearly had his own way, up in the hierarchy. There were two other key players in it, which was the surprise element. Senator Henshaw, who, in fact, sanctioned the entry of all the bomb-carrying vehicles into the US through the Mexican border, And Nigerian diplomat Osoji was also in this thing, and his job here was probably becoming an advisor to Elizabeth Wright and putting the CIA in a problematic position. Osoji had a direct line to Lemos, as we saw in the finale.
What Was The Outcome In The End?
There is no shame in admitting that “Operation Pluto” was a foolproof plan, and it did throw an extreme challenge to our heroes. But the reason it failed was because two of the key players changed sides. Chavez was oblivious to the actual plan. Once his men got killed at the doctor’s office in Mexico during a meet-up between Chao Fah and the Marquez cartel, he realized that things were probably not what they seemed like. Naturally, he went to Miller for answers. But Miller was a lost cause, and he couldn’t be of much help. Chavez didn’t even get his chance to get it out of Miller, as Bill Tuttle had already beaten him to the punch and killed Miller. Teaming up with Jack Ryan, who was already looking into “Operation Pluto,” Chavez kept searching for answers, as did, of course, the other key player, Chao Fah. The mob boss from the Silver Lotus Triad was actually a man trying to get out of the darkness and save his family. With Chavez joining the good guys, it was quite obvious that Chao Fah would follow.
Thanks to Chao Fah, the team of Jack Ryan, Domingo Chavez, and Mike November managed to break into the San State Casino, aka Operation Pluto Headquarters. Chao Fah also saved Jack from getting played by Lemos, who deliberately kidnapped Doctor Cathy Mueller, Jack’s romantic interest, in order to get to Jack. Unfortunately, though, while he managed to get his family to the safety of America thanks to his CIA friends, Chao Fah could not survive the wrath of the Triad. But before the curtains came down for him, Chao Fah did pull one of the triggers and blast Tin Tun along with most of the Triad. Lemos met her doom rightfully at the hands of Chavez, who also rescued our man, Jack Ryan.
In the USA, Greer took it personally when Walter tried to kill him, and he took it upon himself to make Walter pay. He did find Walter with the help of TFAD analyst Patrick and took the man into custody. Walter still managed to do his villainy thanks to Jack Ryan still being under their thumb. When Elizabeth Wright and Greer found out about Osoji’s involvement, the Nigerian diplomat managed to squeeze immunity out of Wright in exchange for giving them Jack Ryan’s location. That was not needed, given they had someone like Chavez and Mike November in the fold who would have gone any distance to rescue Jack. Anyway, Wright did manage to give Osoji his due by tricking him and handing him over to the police. The immunity was only from the CIA, after all, which Osoji failed to realize. The final task was finding and defusing the bombs, which Jack Ryan managed to do adequately. But he didn’t just stop there; he also exposed Senator Henshaw in front of everyone. In the world of Jack Ryan, “Operation Pluto” failed, and the good guys won. Would the same have happened if it were our world?
