Here is a wish for the future: Amazon Studios will take the character of Jack Ryan to the big screen and do a few big-budget actioners with no holds barred. John Krasinski has to play the titular role, of course. And the movies need to be more like the earlier Jack Ryan seasons than the later ones in order to be more fun. However, considering Krasinski is a lot more than Jack Ryan, which includes his directorial ambitions, it does not seem very likely, which is really a shame considering how good the actor has been for the role. We are going to come back to this, but for now, let us look into the endgame of Jack Ryan.
Five years after the very on-point, straightforward, action-driven maiden season, Jack Ryan came up with its most twisted, plot-driven story that involves a lot of relevant issues in world politics. The show has changed over the course of time, and the final season is clearly a representation of that change. It is a mash-up between pulp and prestige, which mostly works, although things could have been better. Did the two-part finale manage to answer all our questions? Was it satisfying? Let’s take a closer look.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In The Finale?
From the moment we saw Jack Ryan getting tortured at the den of the Silver Lotus Triad, we all knew it would eventually come to that moment. With Jack finally arriving in Myanmar in last week’s episode 4, it was evident that our hero would eventually get captured. But with Domingo Chavez and Mike November around, we were also quite certain that Jack would get saved after all.
Well, things went exactly as we predicted in the finale, after all. However, it was still thrilling to watch, thanks to the show hitting it out of the park with its trademark action sequences. Especially the one where the trio of Ryan, Chavez, and November infiltrate the Casino was choreographed brilliantly. Despite the predictability, there were still elements of surprise. We were already aware that Zuleikha Robinson’s Zeyra Lemos was, in fact, the mastermind behind the whole conspiracy. She brought Doctor Cathy Mueller in Myanmar with her, only to make things personal for Jack. But the plan didn’t quite work for Lemos, as thanks to Chao Fah playing for the good side, Ryan did a George Costanza (sorry for an obscure Seinfeld reference) by not picking up Lemos’s call, which ensured that he could not be blackmailed. The trio, along with Chao Fah, turned the tables on the bad guys, and Jack pretty much reverse-blackmailed Lemos. With Cathy safe and sound and the mission almost successful, getting away seemed like a matter of time for the heroes. But the dark side still had one last play, which was to threaten Chao Fah’s family. Chao Fah had to take a bullet to save his wife and daughter, while Ryan, Chavez, and November got involved in the mess in order to help him. Of course, given what Chao Fah had done, they couldn’t leave him behind. However, despite Chao Fah not making it, his wife and daughter were still taken to the plane safely by the trio. While Cathy left with Chao Fah’s wife and daughter, the trio stood on the ground to hold off the Silver Lotus Triad army and effectively made sure that the plane got away.
Unfortunately, though, the trio could only get as far as a beach in Thailand, from where Jack got kidnapped by the Triad, and we landed on the fateful opening scene. It was harrowing to see Jack Ryan getting severely tortured by someone like Lemos, but Domingo Chavez soon took care of that by breaking in and taking care of the matter. Chavez is the coolest character of the season, and this only strengthens the chances of the character actually getting the spin-off.
Did Jack Ryan Manage To Save America From The Bomb?
Even though most of the heroics of this season were performed by Chavez, the show is still called Jack Ryan. And the most important bit of action was saved for the man himself. It was good to see Jack getting back to his roots—being an analyst with a sharp, alert mind that works faster than everyone else.
It didn’t take him long to figure out how the bombs were supposed to be snuggled into the USA through the Mexican border, with the help of his colleague Patrick, and the intel he managed to get from Walter, aka Bill Tuttle. In the final action set-piece of the show, we saw Jack, Chavez, Mike, and now deputy director James Greer going to the border, identifying the cars through which the bombs were entering the country, and then fixing the situation in their signature style of adequate action and presence of mind.
But Jack Ryan’s work was still not done. As I said, the guy was an analyst first before an action hero; at least, that’s how this show has always perceived the character—his final job was always supposed to be something that involved brain and not brawn. In front of the Senate committee, Jack Ryan exposed the wrongdoings of Senator Henshaw, a character we never really liked, and now we know why. And then he walked into the sunset, possibly happily ever after, with Cathy. That didn’t happen literally, but you get the drill.
Final Thoughts
Before the beginning of the final season of Jack Ryan, a photo of its poster was shared on social media by Krasinski’s The Office co-star Rainn Wilson, which went viral, unsurprisingly. For the uninitiated, the US version of The Office is one of the most popular TV shows ever made, and Krasinski has his name immortalized in popular culture for playing the character of Jim Halpert in it.
Before the Prime Video show, most of the interpretations of the character of Jack Ryan were larger-than-life and flashy, played by humongous movie stars like Ben Affleck or Harrison Ford. But when Krasinski was handed the assignment, he brought in an everyman angle to the character. Krasinski’s Jack Ryan, despite all his bravado and superheroic activities, was still a regular guy you could run into on the subway. In many ways, Krasinski sort of channeled Jim Halpert in Jack Ryan, and that worked wonderfully in favor of both the character and the show, in my humble opinion.
If we have to be absolutely honest, we are probably not going to miss Jack Ryan the show that much. Because there has always been a lack of originality and innovation, especially given how action franchises like John Wick and Mission Impossible are reinventing the genre, but we should also acknowledge that the show was a great, exhilarating watch, which we all enjoyed as long as it lasted.
