WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for The Recruit season 2.
The second season of Netflix’s CIA action dramaThe Recruitsaw many interesting developments and introduced several new characters, leaving further room to expand in a potential season 3. Although Netflix has yet to officially greenlightThe Recruitseason 3, it has been one of the most popular series on the streaming platform since its release on July 27, 2025, which makes its chances of renewal high. There was more than a two-year gap betweenThe Recruitseasons 1 and 2, which surprisingly resulted in ashorter 6-episode season 2 ofThe Recruitcompared to season 1’s 8 episodes.
GivenThe Recruit’snew season 2 characters and updated setting in South Korea, it appears that the popular Netflix series is taking more of an anthological approach, similar to other action thriller series like Amazon Prime Video’sReacher. WhileThe Recruit’starget demographic is younger than"dad shows" likeReacher, both follow a similar formula, which works for viewers who love it but not so much for viewers searching for variety. Switching the setting to South Korea inThe Recruitseason 2 was interesting butcreated an overstuffed season filled with new and old characters, which needs improvement next season.
5Owen Should Train To Become A CIA Field Agent
Owen Hasn’t Done Anything For The CIA In His Actual Field
The most natural fix forThe Recruitseason 3 is for Noah Centineo’s Owen Hendricks to take the proper training to become a CIA field agent.The series seems to have forgotten that Owen’s a lawyerwho has just finished law school, instead sending him out to deal with dangerous graymailers and other international threats without proper authority or training.
Owen stumbles into most of his problems but at this point, he should just leave his lawyer pursuits behind.
While this happy-go-lucky eagerness is a likable part of Owen’s character, something eventually has to give withthe CIA letting an attorney with no field training run rampantunder their banner. Owen stumbles into most of his problems but at this point, he should just leave his lawyer pursuits behind unless he wants to quit the CIA (which he won’t do because then there would be no show).
4Nathan Fillion’s CIA Director Should Have A Bigger Role
He’s One Of The Biggest Names But Has One Of The Smallest Roles
After two seasons, Nathan Fillion’s CIA DirectorAlton West remains one of the most underutilized characters inThe Recruit. He was virtually absent from season 1, appearing briefly inThe Recruitseason 1 finale, before taking on a marginally bigger role in season 2. However, he was still very much a supporting character and didn’t add too much to the main story.
The Recruit Season 3 Story Tease Means The Show Risks Repeating Season 2’s Critical Mistake
Early teases about The Recruit season 3 suggest that the hit Netflix thriller series could repeat the same big mistake as The Recruit season 2.
Given that Fillion is one of the most recognizable actors in the series, his larger role as the CIA Director inThe Recruitwould naturally make sense, as he would become one of the main faces ofThe Recruit’sensemble cast. Giving Fillion a bigger role and more screen time would be an easy fix for reducing the various supporting roles who work at The General Council, such as Violet, Nyland, and Amelia, whose storylines are less compelling and add clutter.Fillion could oversee Owen’s field agent training, which would be a natural progression of his character.
3Hannah & Terence Need To Be More Involved
Their Dynamic Was One Of The Best Parts Of Season 1 – For Us & Owen
Owen constantly bumping into Hannah and Terence at their apartment was one of the best features of The Recruit season 1. They both grounded Owen as his life became instantly out of control since his first day at the CIA. The romantic tension between Hannah and Owen was enjoyable to root for, whileTerence contributed with his positive energy and political connections. All of these attributes seemed to disappear inThe Recruitseason 2.
The Recruit Season 3 Must Do Justice To This Character That Season 2 Totally Failed
The Recruit season 3 needs to give one particular overlooked season 2 character a bigger platform after her key role in The Recruit season 1.
The Recruitseason 3 has to find a way to incorporate Hannah and Terrence into the main story naturally. Hannah’s wealthy and influential family could become antagonists since there is already palpable tension there after her mom manipulated her for business gain.Hannah may even have to choose between her mother and Owen, which could be riveting if it’s set up correctly. Whatever the circumstances, having less of Hannah and Terrence was one of the biggest letdowns of season 2. Hannah obviously had the Jae situation, but other than that, she’s not pertinent to the story as is.
2The Recruit Season 3 Should Take Place In The U.S.
One of the simplest fixes for a lot ofThe Recruitseason 2’s issues would be to set the majority of season 3 in the United States. Adding even more characters in season 3 will require cutting some losses, which I would argue should come from The General Council crew. For example,I still don’t understand why Violet has it out for Owenand don’t understand her overall purpose in the series.
KeepingThe Recruitseason 3 in the U.S. would naturally bring the characters into the equation and allow Terence and Hannah to be more involved.
It’s unclear whetherThe Recruitseason 3 will retain any of season 2’s new Korean characters. Hanging onto Yoo Jin or Jang Kyun is fine, but there’s not enough room for all the season 1 and 2 characters, especially if they switch up the location again. KeepingThe Recruitseason 3 in the U.S. would naturally bring the characters into the equation and allow Terence and Hannah to be more involved. Itwould also justify the General Council crew’s relevance, who felt like outlierswhen they were left in D.C. while Owen was globetrotting throughout season 2.
1Max Has To Return & Take Down (Or Save) Nichka
Max & Nichka’s Backstory Has Not Been Explored Whatsoever
The Recruitseason 2 got off on the wrong foot by not only killing Max but never explaining why Nichka killed her in the first place, leaving her death incredibly and intolerably ambiguous.The amount of unaddressed backstory between Nichka and Maxcould be enough to fill up a six-episode spinoff series. After Nichka’s plan to betray Owen fails at theend ofThe Recruitseason 2, she is taken by the KGB, which also makes her season 3 fate uncertain.
I Don’t Know How, But The Recruit Season 3 Needs To Bring This Character Back After How Season 2 Treated Them
The Recruit season 3 has to bring back a key character after abruptly discarding her without any explanation following The Recruit season 1’s finale.
The Recruitshouldn’t drop Nichka’s storyline in season 3, as she has a lot of potential and is already one of the best characters. Max very much appears to be dead but her body was never shown afterThe Recruitseason 1, which leavesthe slightest chance that she is somehow still aliveand escaped.
Even if Max returned in extended flashback scenes, it could still fill in massive gaps in her backstory with Nichka.
More unrealistic things have happened inThe Recruit– such as that U.S. Navy submarine emergence that came out of nowhere in the season 2 finale – than having Max return. Even if Max returned in extended flashback scenes, it could still fill in massive gaps in her backstory with Nichka and could finally explain whyNichka, aka Karolina, killed her mother without hesitation.The Recruitseason 3 should bring Max back, leaving her and Owen to either take down or rescue Nichka from the KGB.
