When I wrote about The Recruit season 1, I was mostly fascinated by its crisp storyline, characterization, and acting performance. As a fan of spy-thrillers, this show became an instant hit for my eyes. Though I feel that season 1’s story danced around Belarus narrative too much which I called out in my review, I felt this show had all the makings of a perfect spy-thriller drama for binge-watchers back in 2022. Gladly, the show never banked on fake social media promotions or paid reviews like The Night Agent and remained a success on its own strong points.
Come 2025, the season 2 takes a notch up and positions itself in this genre comfortably again. The strongest aspect of this show was and is still the script that takes us on a globetrotting journey all around the world and yet keeps it too tight to bring charm in every episode. I generally like the projects where I see the name Doug Liman but Alexy Hawley does bring that rookieness in the script that’s just enough for our protagonist Owen Hendricks played by Noah Centineo. I feel that the perfect balance of humor sprinkled all over the script in dialogues is a treat to watch. It never breaches the level of stupidity and yet keeps it sane.
The season 2 picks up from its leftover storyline but quickly redirects the focus on the extraction of a South Korean civilian married to a National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent which becomes the central theme of the story. But, like many Hollywood storylines, this show too vilifies the Russian portrayal to an extent that felt nauseated. I do have part of my family from Belarus and the reason why I know that the general portrayal and perception built up in Hollywood plots is nothing but a joke. The rest of the world gets introduced to Russian life through Hollywood mostly and therefore I reserve my rights to complain about this nonsense wherever or whenever I see the same Hollywood crass attitude and hostility.
But, in all other circumstances, this show brings up all the aspects of crisp storyline, quirky dialogues, and perfect editing. I must say that in the climax I do get frustrated to see riveting bullets all around and yet none of them hit our main characters of season 2. This bit is for sure an exaggeration in terms of directing an escape sequence even when it comes to finding similarities to the likes of Mission Impossible franchise. I think I can point this out in terms of Alexi Hawley’s directorial take as in his other TV shows such as Castle or The Rookie. But, if you come to terms with it and see some of its bits from a dark humor perspective, this show shouldn’t be missed.