The Checklist: Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (S4 Ep1) “Triage
Jack Ryan is back for one more go in this iteration of the CIA agent extraordinaire. And by this iteration I am talking about the Prime series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. How does season four match up to the other seasons than I feel are a bit up and down? Only The Checklist can let us know for sure as we take a look at the premier episode of the final season, “Triage”.
- Has Jack Ryan Grown From Lowly CIA Analyst We Met In Season 1? When we meet Jack Ryan (John Krasinski) in season four he is the acting deputy director of the CIA. I would say he has grown. To be fair, when we first see Jack in “Triage” he is strung up and being tortured with electricity in media res style. Jack Ryan is not going gentle into that good night. Betty Gabriel returns as Elizabeth Wright, the acting CIA director and the pair have a much better working relationship after the events of the previous season. More importantly, Jack’s social life gets some growth as Abbie Cornish as Cathy Mueller makes her return after only being in the first season. Our little baby is all grownsed up.
- Does Jack Get Some Help From His Friends? I already mentioned Wright is back and that is all right with me, but I know you are more concerned with James Greer (Wendell Pierce). Greer is back and just as ornery as ever. Ryan and Greer have the best scenes throughout the series, even in the down episodes and I am glad to see it continue. Mike November (Michael Kelly) is back, just not in “Triage” but spoiler alert if you want to see Michael Kelly in a pool with a bunch of old timers check out the second episode. There are plenty of new players, but we don’t get enough info if they are friends or foes, but I like what I see out of Michael Peña as Domingo Chavez and Louis Ozawa as Chao Fah.
- Does The Action Hold Up? I mentioned Jack Ryan getting tortured right at the beginning so those of you into that thing will be happy. The timeline jumps back three weeks and the NODS fanboys should get their kicks with a nighttime assassination on the Nigerian President. There is also a deadly shootout in Mexico, which if movies have thought me anything is a regular occurrence, but I still enjoyed it. The special forces operator action has been a highlight in Jack Ryan and season four doesn’t look like it wants to be left out of the party. Jack does get to keep his hands clean in “Triage” but I’m sure something caused him to have jumper cables to his side.
- Are The Words “Globetrotting Affair” Appropriate To Describe “Triage”? Remember this is only one episode and we still bounce around from Nigeria to Myanmar (also referred to as Burma in the episode), Washington, D.C. (and also Langley, VA) and Mexico. The previous seasons weren’t short on locales, but since this season is focusing on Jack cleaning up something rotten in the CIA, it makes sense to bring in locations that focus on the bad guys wanting to hurt the US with those damn drugs and possibly even worse.
- Is Season Four A Fitting Finale For Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan? I sure hope so, but Prime has decided to up the anticipation levels by releasing the six episodes in two episodes blocks a week apart. I would say right there that there is a higher level of intrigue that is fitting for a series finale. John Krasinksi has really owned the role of Jack Ryan and his growth from analyst to deputy director is believable and “Triage” does a great job of showing what a sticky wicket he has found himself.
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan has managed once again to start off the season with an episode flawlessly passing The Checklist test. Also, “Triage” is a perfect name for an episode where Jack needs to assess and clean up the issues with his predecessors. The perfect episode title reminds me of the first episode of the first season that was also perfectly titled, “Pilot”. Genius! It is sad to see the end of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and John Krasinski, but I probably said the same thing when Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine had their last outing. C’est la vie.
