WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for The Recruit season 2 finale.
Early teases aboutThe Recruitseason 3 suggest that the hit Netflix thriller series could repeat the same mistake asThe Recruitseason 2. Just weeks after the release ofThe Recruitseason 2,series creator Alexi Hawley is already fielding questionsabout what a potential third season ofThe Recruitcould look like. Hawley revealed that he has not started developingThe Recruitseason 3and is still “waiting for Netflix to officially do their thing with it.” That said, Hawley is “feeling super positive about it, as positive as you can feel in this town at this time.”
Hawley also noted thatThe Recruitseason 1was meant to be filmed around the world. While there are a variety of international settings inThe Recruitseason 1, Hawley confirmed that due to the pandemic, “[director of The Recruit’s first two episodes] Doug Liman went to shoot in Vienna, everything else was shot in Montreal and faked it.“Hawley was excited to shoot parts ofThe Recruitseason 2 in Koreabut hasn’t determined where he’d like to take the show next. “I feel like we’ve done Russia, we’ve done Korea. So maybe Latin America, Africa would be exciting.”
The Recruit Season 3 Would Likely Be Another Brand-New Standalone Story
The Recruit Season 2 Featured A Variety Of New Characters & Locations
Based on Hawley’s recent comments onThe Recruitseason 3, it sounds like he plans to expand the Netflix series into a brand-new global territory rather than reverting to season 1’s Russian-inspired roots. With the absence ofLaura Haddock’s Max inThe RecruitSeason 2and the ambiguous outcome forMax’s daughter Nichka, Hawley has set himself up nicely to discard both of their characters completely inThe Recruitseason 3. Although he hasn’t officially begun developingThe Recruitseason 3, it’s clear thatHawley is focused on new elements, characters, and locationsforNoah Centineo’s CIA lawyer Owen.
IfThe Recruitseason 3 does happen, it will likely repeat its season 2 formula and introduce a new CIA graymailer to replace Teo Yoo’s Jang Kyun. Based onThe Recruitseason 2’s ending, it’s entirely possible that Jang Kyun could return as a CIA asset instead of threatening to expose classified intel.
The Recruitseason 2 proved it was comfortable taking familiar foundational characters and surrounding them with fresh circumstances and antagonists in new environments.
During its shortenedsix-episode run,The Recruitseason 2proved it was comfortable taking familiar foundational characters, such as Hannah, Nyland, and Lester, and surrounding them with fresh circumstances and antagonists in new environments. Viewers can expecta similar standalone approach toThe Recruitseason 3.
The Recruit Season 2 Barely Felt Like A Sequel To The First Season
Season 2 Hit The Reset Button But Used A Familiar Structure
Unlike other shows that establish a specific setting,The Recruitis flexible and malleable, giving it the ability to head in an endless number of directions. Even thoughThe Recruitseason 2 picked up exactly whereThe Recruitseason 1’s cliffhanger endingleft off, it quickly dropped Max’s character andfelt like a reset button for the overall series. Much like season 1, Owen finds himself back in his small office at the CIA’s General Counsel in Washington D.C. and quickly discovers a graymail threat. Rather than continue certain threads in season 1, season 2 reuses its structure.
The Recruit Season 2’s Ending Confirmed The Noah Centineo Show Has A Problem That Season 3 Must Fix
The abrupt ending of The Recruit season 2 marks the biggest problem with the Netflix action series, raising concerns about The Recruit season 3.
A show likeThe Recruitis wrapped entirely around its star lead. A handful of current action thrillers follow a similar template, such as Prime Video’sReacher, with the supporting cast revolving around the hero.Reacherseason 1 takes place in a rural Southern town while season 2 is set in New York City. It is natural for these shows to switch up settings and antagonists,even at the expense of cutting character arcs and story progressions short. InThe Recruit’scase, only Hannah and Terrence represent Owen’s core group and were notably featured less inThe Recruitseason 2.
The Recruit Season 2’s Ending Means It Might Now Be An Anthology
Expect The Recruit Season 3 To Feature New Scenery & Side Characters
Combined with Hawley’s recent comments,The Recruitseason 2’s ending sets the show up to become more anthological in season 3 and beyond. The series is undoubtedly Centineo’s and would likely not be able to carry on without him. Season 2 demonstrated that thecharacters around Owen are more expendable than everbefore. It’s no coincidence that Teo Yoo, who was nominated for a BAFTA for his Oscar-nominated moviePast Lives(2023), landed a lead role in a Netflix series soon after. This suggests that Netflix will place another trendy actor next to Owen inThe Recruitseason 3.
This also suggests thatThe Recruitseason 2’s new characters such as Shin Do-Hyun’s Yoo Jin Lee and Kim Young-ah’s Grace Cho will not return for season 3, especially if there is another drastic location change.
IfThe Recruitseason 3 travels to Latin America or Africa, Hawley may have trouble finding natural ways to include Yoo Jin, Grace, and even Jang Kyun in season 3.
IfThe Recruitseason 3 travels to Latin America or Africa, Hawley may have trouble finding natural ways to include Yoo Jin, Grace, and even Jang Kyun in season 3. On the other hand,Nathan Fillion’s CIA Director Alton Westhad more of a prominent role inThe Recruitseason 2 compared to his virtual appearance in the final episode of season 1, hinting at a further expansion for his character.
What The Recruit Season 3 Should Really Look Like
Owen Should Become A CIA Field Agent & Rekindle His Flame With Hannah
While the anthological approach is enjoyable and typical for these kinds of action thriller shows, there should still be some overarching storylines and aspects from the previous seasons for the sake of continuity.The Recruitseason 2’s biggest unanswered questions, such as what happened to Nichka after she was taken by the Russian agents, should be addressed even if her character is killed off.Nichka is a fun antagonist and should continue to go after OweninThe Recruitseason 3, especially if that takes her out of her home country of Russia and into a more neutral territory.
10 Best Shows Like The Recruit
Several CIA-oriented action thrillers and espionage dramas like The Recruit are currently available to watch across various streaming platforms.
The Recruitseason 3 already has several questions to consider: who will be the new graymailer, where are they from, what do they want from the CIA, and where will that take Owen? As far as Owen’s love interest goes,he and Hannah should continue their “will they, won’t they” dynamicin season 3, although it’s more than likely that Owen may encounter someone new based on his track record. Unless Yoo Jin moves to D.C., it appears that her romance with Owen is doomed.
At this point, Owen should drop the lawyer act and formally start training as a field agent, which could also give Fillion’s character more purpose. This could reduce all the General Counsel roles – Amelia, Nyland, Janus, Lester, and Violet – inThe Recruitseason 3 but make way for exciting new casting choices in exchange.
