Jack Ryan Season Four Early Review

For our review of the last season of Jack Ryan, click here.

It feels like yesterday that Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan first premiered on August 31st, 2018 though now the end is fast approaching as the series is set to end with its fourth and final season. Just a warning, it is a short one at only 6 episodes. That being said, it certainly makes the most of them as it wraps up the story of the titular CIA analyst in a satisfying way. While not perfect, it features Ryan at his best, working behind-the-scenes to stop the next big threat which appeared to come from within. The core cast return along with a few new cast members led by kickass Michael Peña as Domingo “Ding” Chavez, a character Tom Clancy fans will be very familiar with. Offering another thrilling globe-trotting roller coaster full of twists and turns, this season is sure to once again leave viewers on the edge of their seats. Attempting character development as well as its main conspiracy narrative, the balance amongst all the pieces wasn’t quite there. The focus was obviously on Jack, and rightfully so, or maybe it was the short runway of 6 episodes but it leaves a lot open. In the end, it may very well all be set up for a spinoff currently in development starring Peña‘s Chavez.

Rising through the ranks of the CIA, the controversy caused by the embattled former CIA director Thomas Miller (John Schwab) left behind, it was up to acting-director of the CIA, Elizabeth Wright, and the now deputy-director, Jack Ryan, to fix the public image of the agency during an increasingly divided time. To move the agency forward, they needed to clean up the sins of its past for which Miller played a prominent role but that was only one part of the story. Though to get there, it meant having to comb through the redacted scraps he left behind. As director, Miller buried much of his questionable activity and that activity remained ongoing despite his dismissal. Once those details started to come to light, that controversy threatened to tarnish Ryan and Wright’s mission. Creating plausible deniability for the latter as she was on the verge of behind confirmed as the new CIA director, Wright became the public face of the operation as Ryan took the lead and went about doing his thing behind the scenes, acting as a shield for her against growing political scrutiny. Each side of that coin resulted in compelling subplots full of tension and drama. As Ryan ran straight into the fire, Wright needed to weigh her loyalty to Ryan against her ultimate goal of representation.

Operating in between the Ryan and Wright subplots, Jim Greer used his own special set of skills and decades of experience to contribute. But as far as the three were concerned, Miller was only the tip of the iceberg as the larger conspiracy spanned Mexico, Nigeria, Myanmar, and a few other countries in between. Following all those pieces could be daunting but fans have already been through 3 previous seasons of this. In particular, watching Ryan and Greer at work was once again a delight as the addition of Chavez made for an interesting wildcard with his own agenda. As the pieces behind the conspiracy started to come together, the story proved that it still had a few tricks up its sleeve, perhaps a few too much. Trotting around the globe, watching Ryan and co. uncover all the major players and try to move up the conspiracy ladder to get to the truth was exciting as their exploits also led to plenty of action sequences across various locales all the way until the end. On the domestic front, the efforts of Greer and Wright had some intrigue and drama as they made made some headway as everything was indeed connected in one way or another.

As the series approached its final stretch, this season leaned more on its core characters. Though it was nice to see Greer and Wright get more of the spotlight, they were not nearly as compelling to watch in comparison to Ryan outside of Greer’s old school spy moments. In what was no fault of their own, they issues laid mostly with the time they were given to develop. Acting here for the most part to drive the story forward, there were some strong moments of character development outside of the context of the story. However, they seemed to only be as a means to break up the main conspiracy narrative. Be it time and/or narrative constraints, the season did not go nearly far enough with Greer and Wright to truly do them justice. Meanwhile, the subplots revolving around the season’s new characters developing over the course of uncovering the main conspiracy storyline were on the dull side and forgettable. Suffering from the same character development issues, unlike Greer and Wright, they were merely a means to an end therefore not as glaring. Ultimately, as the season and series reached its conclusion, the end delivers a satisfying mic drop moment for Ryan as the franchise charts a potential new direction moving forward.

While the action is a highlight, the best part of Jack Ryan is, without a doubt, another sensational lead performance from John Krasinski as the titular character. Bringing his effortless charm and charisma, his likability and relatability still make Ryan such an engaging character to watch. Not so much the little guy anymore, he takes that same sensibility into a more physically demanding role that saw him turn into an action star of sorts. Combining the essence of what made the character so captivating in the beginning and this new version of him, it really showed his growth. Wendell Pierce and Betty Gabriel were solid, working outside of Ryan. Pierce and Gabriel were fun to watch over the time they spent together. Peña was a scene-stealer as Chavez as his energy was exactly what this season needed. A character in the same vein as Michael Kelly’s Mike November, they unsurprisingly struck up a relationship which added some levity in a twisted kind of way.

At the end of the day, the final season of Jack Ryan gives longtime fans a satisfying and action-packed conclusion within only 6 episodes though it was not without its issues. While the story may be over for Ryan, it leaves the door open for what looks to be a promising future for the franchise as a whole.

still courtesy of Amazon Studios

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.