The fourth season of Jack Ryan sees Jack investigating a case that suggests the CIA is being used for outside interests. The season is now streaming on Prime Video.
Story
President Udoh of Nigeria is assassinated at the presidential palace in the middle of the night. The assassination involved CIA weaponry, which now puts the CIA under a lot of fire.
Jack Ryan, the deputy director of the CIA, during the confirmation hearings, admits that he can’t say for sure that the CIA is not involved in this assassination because the CIA is in danger of being used by outside interests.
Jack looks into the operations handled by former CIA director Thomas Miller and shuts down nine of them. The move ends up complicating the mission of Domingo Chavez, an undercover CIA operative working in Mexico.
Domingo Chavez has been helping Marquez’s cartel from Mexico form a partnership with the Silver Lotus triad of Myanmar, one of the most elusive criminal enterprises in the world that seeks to find a way into the United States.
Jack and Chavez may have to team up to figure out if this partnership has anything to do with the assassination of President Udoh and what it means for the United States.
Performances
John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Betty Gabriel, and Michael Kelly return with the same spirit they have had for the past seasons. It’s a family for sure now.
While their characters stick together for the most part, at times, Betty Gabriel, as Elizabeth Wright, is challenged to turn on the people she knows in order to adhere to her duties.
Gabriel does a great job of showing that concern and drive to be responsible on her face. She manages to make the viewers mad by making certain decisions.
Michael Peña is the new addition in the role of Domingo Chavez. As required, Peña is able to depict the cold-blooded nature of his character. The eyes of Peña during the action scenes talk about the kind of damage he intends to inflict on his enemies.
Louis Ozawa Changchien, as Chao Fah Sein, shines as a likable character whose only goal is to safeguard his family and get them far away from the triads’ business.
Chao Fah Sein is a character who is always under the pressure of being exposed. Louis Ozawa manages to show the fear the character is facing while trying to be an authoritative figure. The viewers will be convinced that one wrong move will put Chao Fah and his family in unimaginable danger.
Positives
Jack Ryan season 4 has a strong plot that connects the web it wants to create properly. It also sounds very interesting, and once the viewer gets to know who is who in the show, the thrill begins, and it all becomes an easy watch.
The show is pretty much sorted on its action part. Most of the fourth season is filled with intriguing, down-to-earth gunfights and missions. The locations, settings, and way the characters fight it out is always different and kept fresh.
Furthermore, watching new characters such as Chavez and Chao Fah work with Jack’s team is a ride in itself. The chemistry the actors share is mostly to be praised.
Negatives
Jack Ryan season 4, as usual, is very bad at introducing what is really going on in the main plot. The first episode is a sequence of events taking place in Washington, Myanmar, and Mexico, but the viewers have no idea what the point is or what the motives of the lead characters are.
It’s only when a character properly discusses the conflict that one starts understanding the plot. Until then, the viewers will be left hitting the rewind button to make sense of the simplest event and how it affects the future.
Primarily, the writing is to blame here, which is overstuffed and says a lot of things at the same time. It all becomes hard for a viewer to consume, especially when only a few sentences can do the job of many. The show’s attempt to complicate things only makes the story too cramped.
The season may not repeat its action, but it’s investigation, yes. For some reason, Greer’s investigation in the third and fourth episodes is very slow and only reveals that the two missions they are focusing on are connected, which is something Jack and the viewers already know.
Since it’s the final season, Jack Ryan should have had a far bigger and more threatening plot or antagonist. The creators don’t seem to be ready to take risks. The final mission feels like just another one of Jack Ryan’s missions, and the stakes don’t feel that high.
Verdict
Jack Ryan season 4 continues to repeat some of its past mistakes. However, the story in this season is easier to digest once the viewers get to know the motivations of each and every character.
While the writing is not at its best, the action is fresh, and it will keep the viewers on the edge of their seats.
Jack Ryan season 4
Director: Lukas Ettlin, Jann Turner, Shana Stein
Date Created: 2023-06-30 05:30
2.5
Also Read: Jack Ryan season 4 episodes 5 & 6 recaps, review & ending explained