Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for Jack Ryan Season 2.
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan season 2’s ending was an explosive culmination that left the future of the patriotic hero in doubt. John Krasinski returns as Jack Ryan, the brilliant CIA analyst who finds himself pursuing a personal vendetta in Venezuela as he investigates an elaborate mystery. Although Jack Ryan season 2 was set up for a potential reworking of Tom Clancy’s The Hunt For Red October at the end of Jack Ryan season 1, instead, the second season pivoted into a South American adventure for Ryan and his colleague James Greer (Wendell Pierce).
Jack Ryan season 2 is more focused, immersive, and even more action-packed than season 1. Shifting the story to Venezuela brought out a dangerous new side to Ryan where the CIA agent becomes obsessed with exacting revenge after the diabolical President Reyes (Jordi Molla) orders the assassination of Ryan and his mentor, Senator Moreno (Benito Martinez), Jack’s old friend and mentor. Meanwhile, Greer, the CIA Station Chief in Moscow, learns about a mysterious satellite launched from the South China Sea; believing it to be Russian at first, Greer traces its origin to Venezuela where his path crosses with his old friend Ryan. Another big surprise in Jack Ryan season 2 is the absence of Cathy Mueller (Abbie Cornish), who in Tom Clancy’s novels and the Jack Ryan movies is Jack’s wife; instead, Ryan gets a new love interest, Harriett “Harry” Baumann (Noomi Rapace), a German intelligence operative who is in Venezuela tracking Max Shenkel (Tom Wlaschiha), the assassin hired to kill Ryan and Moreno. Another new character is Mike November (Michael Kelly), the CIA Station Chief in Venezuela, who risks his career to help Ryan and Greer.
Set in Venezuela, which is in the midst of an election causing major political upheaval, and featuring a thrilling detour to London where Jack engages in dynamic action sequences inspired by Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Jack Ryan season 2 blends all the international intrigue, global geopolitics, and guns-blazing battles fans could want. Here’s the breakdown of how Jack Ryan solved season 2’s elaborate multinational conspiracy and what it all cost the American hero personally and professionally.
The Entire Venezuela Conspiracy Explained - And Why America Is Complicit
The labyrinthian mystery needing to be solved in Jack Ryan season 2 is what the satellite launched from the South China Sea and shipments of illegal weapons to Venezuela have to do with the murder of Senator Moreno. Ryan and Moreno originally traveled to Venezuela, where Moreno was born, to investigate the illegal weapons but Ryan soon discovered that it wasn’t weapons that were transported to Venezuela, it was expensive mining equipment. The mining cargo was being guarded by mercenaries provided by Eprius, a London-based private military company. Meanwhile, the satellite was equipped with high-powered lenses that could peer into the ground and it was launched to help with the mining.
The entire operation was about mining tantalum, which is a chemical element necessary for all modern electronics. China controls the world’s supply of tantalum but a huge deposit was discovered in Venezuela. Whoever controls the Venezuelan supply of tantalum could not only earn untold billions but could also destabilize the global economy. This was, partly, the goal of President Reyes, who sought to make Venezuela a player on the world stage, thereby securing his status as his country’s strongman leader after he rigged his own re-election. However, Ryan also realized that Reyes couldn’t have arranged all of this by himself and the Venezuelan President had to have an outside partner, which Ryan finally deduced after he hacked into the records of Rupert Thorne (Anthony Stewart Head), the CEO of Eprius, in London.
Ryan discovered that President Reyes’ secret partner in this scheme was United States Senator Mitchell Chapin (Michael O’Neill). Although Chapin was working on his own, his plan was for the U.S. to co-finance Venezuela’s mining operation to eliminate China’s dominance in the tantalum market. (The U.S. also provided the mysterious satellite.) However, the murder of Senator Moreno wasn’t Chapin’s idea, that was all Reyes, but the blood is on the Senator’s hands just the same. Chapin’s actions made the United States complicit in all Reyes’ crimes, including his prison camps for his political enemies (including the husband of the incoming Venezuelan President Gloria Bonalde), the rigged Presidential election, and all of the people Reyes ordered to be killed.
While Venezuela’s political upheaval led to a happy ending with the benevolent Gloria Bonalde (Cristina Umaña) elected as the new President, on the world stage, America looks like it influenced Venezuelan politics due to Ryan and the CIA’s actions.
Jack Ryan Is Driven By Revenge In Season 2 - And He Almost Kills The Venezuelan President
Ryan is markedly different in Jack Ryan season 2 because he’s consumed by revenge for the murder of Senator Moreno in the season 2 premiere, “Cargo”. President Reyes ordered the hit on Moreno and Ryan, which was carried out by Max Shenkel, a German assassin contracted through Eprius. Ryan chased Shenkel all the way to London and even went so far as to find Shenkel’s daughter at her university and use her as bait to entrap Shenkel, although Max was actually killed by his former protege/lover Harriett Baumann.
Still, Ryan wasn’t satisfied by Shenkel’s death and he suspected (correctly) that it was President Reyes who was behind the assassination. Ryan made no effort to hide his hatred of Reyes whenever they met face-to-face and after Reyes captured James Greer to use as a hostage, Jack went into full action-hero mode to lead a strike team into the Presidential palace alongside Mike November. Although the rescue of Greer was the objective, and they were successful (thanks, in part, to the resourceful Greer escaping confinement), Ryan broke from the team and pursued his personal vendetta against Reyes. Ryan went so far as to kill the President’s bodyguards with a grenade, burst into the unarmed Reyes’ office, and put a gun to the President’s head.
November was ultimately able to talk Jack into standing down so that Ryan doesn’t murder a head of state in cold blood on foreign soil (later, November says Reyes died in the ensuing riot when an angry mob stormed the palace incensed at Reyes rigging the election). Overall, Ryan’s personal life and political career are left in shambles after his Venezuelan adventure and his single-minded pursuit of vengeance was a new level of intensity for Jack Ryan - and the fallout from it could threaten his future.
Jack And Greer’s Futures Are In Doubt In Jack Ryan Season 3
Jack Ryan season 2 ends with no setup for season 3, leaving the futures of Ryan and James Greer in doubt. At the start of Jack Ryan season 2, Greer reveals he has a serious heart condition and it’s debilitating enough that he was removed from his coveted position as CIA Station Chief in Moscow. Greer’s heart problems only worsened during the dangerous Venezuelan missions where he was captured and tortured under President Reyes’ orders. Ryan noticed that Greer was in bad shape early on but by the end of season 2, Greer regretfully had to admit that he is no longer physically capable of field duty. Considering James’ disdain for being relegated to a desk job, it’s not clear what the veteran spy will do next.
As for Jack Ryan, his own career is now questionable after he exposed Senator Chapin’s involvement in the Venezuelan conspiracy (and he outright rejected Chapin’s offer to back Ryan if he runs for political office). Ryan had turned down Greer’s offer to join him in Moscow in order to work for his old friend Senator Moreno on Capitol Hill but now that career trajectory is in ruins. However, Ryan still works for the CIA and November indicated that Jack’s attempted murder of President Reyes could be swept under the rug (although Mike’s own status as Station Chief of Venezuela is also up in smoke). Still, Jack Ryan’s faith in his country was shaken by his uncovering of Chapin’s scheme and losing Moreno over it. Season 2 ends sadly for Ryan because of what his Venezuelan adventure cost him personally and professionally. What Jack Ryan will do next is anyone’s guess.
Further, Jack Ryan season 3 is getting a new showrunner: Carleton Cuse, who oversaw the first two seasons, stepped down and has been replaced by Prison Break creator Paul Scheuring. However, the uncertainty season 2 leaves the main characters in can also be a golden opportunity since a change of direction is imminent and anything can happen now. Fans won’t know what to expect when Jack returns in Jack Ryan season 3, which is an exciting prospect.
Next: What To Expect From Jack Ryan Season 3
