REVIEW: Jack Ryan Season 3 is Straight and to the Point

Jack Ryan returns for its third season on Prime Video and, honestly, ends up feeling lackluster when all is said and done. John Krasinski returns as the hit Tom Clancy character and this time we find Jack as a CIA case officer in Rome. When Jack is tipped off that someone is trying to restore the Soviet Empire, Jack heads out to find the evidence he needs to confirm the tip. But nothing is ever as it seems, and soon Jack finds himself accused of treason and on the run from the CIA. With the help of his friends, James Greer (Wendell Pierce) and Mike November (Michael Kelly), Jack must stop this plan from going into action if he hopes to stop a World War III and clear his name.

As with the past two seasons of Jack Ryan, this season is filled with a ton of action. But unlike past season, not much story. It focuses solely on Jack’s mission and never diverts from it. There is absolutely no personal growth for the character, and his relationships with the secondary characters take a major backseat, which is a shame because Pierce’s James Greer and Kelly’s Mike November play intricate parts in the overall story. Now don’t get me wrong, there are brief moments where we almost see growth between Jack and these characters, but they are never developed further. Because of that, the show feels less like a Jack Ryan story and just your run of the mill action series. Sure, the fight scenes and car chases are cool, but the story does nothing to humanize Jack.

Krasinski easily steps back into the shoes of Jack this season and doesn’t look back. He has played this character long enough now that you forget you are seeing Krasinski on the screen as the action hero. Pierce and Kelly have always been wonderful players alongside Krasinski and this season they both truly shine. We are given an opportunity to learn more about these characters and these two actors do a fine job seizing this opportunity. We even get to see Pierce jump into to some action scenes, which has been sorely missed in the past seasons. If this season leaves you with anything, it should be that Greer and Kelly need to be utilized more in the fourth and final season.

Newcomers Nina Hoss and Betty Gabriel join the season as Czech President Alena Kovac and CIA Rome Station Chief Elizabeth Wright, respectively. Both characters are good additions to the season, but it is Gabriel’s Wright that will leave the lasting impact. The audience’s feelings towards this character will go back and forth all season, which is mostly due to the writers having crafted a character that is constantly countering Jack every step of the way and Gabriel’s wonderful performance.

Season 3 of Jack Ryan starts with a bang and doesn’t stop until the final credits roll. Even though the story is a bit lacking, the season will still require your full attention and cannot be played as background noise. If you choose to do this, you will spend more time rewinding episodes in order to try an understand what is happening than actually enjoying the season.