Jack Ryan the CIA analyst from the mind of novelist Tom Clancy is back on our screens for prime video. Still portrayed by John Krasinski, with James Greer and Michael Kelly returning respectively as Wendell Pierce and Mike November, the agent faces another set of problems that will have global consequences. The cast is joined by Betty Gabriel (Defending Jacob, Human Capital), James Cosmo (His Dark Materials, Wonder Woman), Peter Guinness (Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Cursed), Nina Hoss (Homeland, A Most Wanted Man), and Alexej Manvelov (Chernobyl, Occupied).

Last season: Jack Ryan was in the middle of political warfare in a corrupt Venezuela.

Premise: Jack Ryan (Krasinski) is on the run and in a race against time. Jack is wrongly implicated in a larger conspiracy and suddenly finds himself a fugitive out in the cold. Now, wanted by both the CIA and an international rogue faction that he has uncovered, Jack is forced underground, crisscrossing Europe, trying to stay alive and prevent a massive global conflict.

Review: It starts very slowly like they’re easing us back into this game of intelligence gathering. However, this time we’re in eastern europe. The plot feels very timely, maybe it’s the players involved but it makes the show a little more real, more grounded.

There’s a steady crescendo to the tension and suspense this season. I loved how old grudges played a part in this story and the idea of the consequences of blindly following orders. The flashbacks were intriguing and tied to the present day events well. The show is an interesting political thriller with solid action scenes that manage not to drag the show into a mindless action-driven series. Having an intellectual type at the center of the show helps the show, and the image of the main character, not to be a shoot first and ask questions later type of show. That said there are inconsistences in the writing but to me most of them fall into nitpicking territory.

Jack Ryan season 3 was very engaging from the start even if it falls into by the numbers type of plot toward the end.

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