Published Feb 24, 2026, 3:30 PM EST
Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Peer Mentor on ScreenRant's New TV team, covering new-release TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy.
Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones).
It was sad to see Rose Larkin absent in The Night Agent season 3, but this actually makes the character's future on the show much more promising. Rose, played by Luciane Buchanan, was a primary character alongside Gabriel Gasso's Peter Sutherland throughout the first two seasons of this action thriller. As Peter's primary love interest, it made sense that she would be among the few characters carried over from season to season. However, The Night Agent season 3 returned for new episodes this year without Buchanan's Rose.
Buchanan announced ahead of The Night Agent season 3 that she wouldn't be taking part, explaining that the show's writers found Rose just didn't fit within this new story. Creator Shawn Ryan confirmed this, explaining that he had "always envisioned the show as telling a new story each season with a revolving cast." Both he and Buchanan expressed hope that Rose would be back in future seasons, but the time just isn't right yet.
Of course, Rose wasn't completely forgotten in this newest batch of The Night Agent episodes. It's clear that Peter still loves Rose, and she continues to serve as a driving point, even though she doesn't appear on screen. Still, this was quite a shift from previous seasons—though that's not a bad thing. Rose was a great character in season 1, but after season 2, she needed a bit of a reset.
Rose Fell Apart As A Character In The Night Agent Season 2
Rose was an excellent feature of The Night Agent season 1. Her cleverness and bravery made her a great partner to Peter, both romantically and otherwise. It was fun to watch these characters fall in love while picking apart that season's overarching conspiracy. However, this dynamic really fell apart in The Night Agent season 2.
Rose stopped being her own entity in season 2. This sophomore installment was all about Peter's moral development as he figured out whether it was okay to do terrible things for the greater good. Rose herself had no real development; instead, she served as a tool for Peter's story. She was angry with him for his bad choices, all the while standing as the motivation behind those same choices as Peter attempted to keep her safe. This could have been interesting, but since Rose was no longer a complex or organic character, she really just came across as annoying.
The frustrating new dynamic between Peter and Rose was a common complaint about The Night Agent season 2, and it is reflected in the disappointing 39% Rotten Tomatoes score from general audiences. It's no coincidence that The Night Agent season 3's score shot up significantly, currently sitting at 79%. It's not that Rose was a bad character, by any means. The writers just stunted her growth and made her difficult to deal with. Now that she has had a break, this can change.
Rose Is In A Better Position To Return In Future Seasons Of The Night Agent
Because Rose became a tool rather than an organically developing character in The Night Agent season 2, it would have been difficult to take her directly into the next story. The show boxed itself in in this regard. Now that it's been established that she doesn't have to be by Peter's side for every single adventure, this character's path has opened right up.
We saw in The Night Agent season 2 that Rose was struggling to deal with the trauma of season 1. It really wouldn't have been fair for the writers to push her through violent storyline after violent storyline. It also wouldn't have helped Peter's character any, since the entire show would have continued to be about his efforts to protect her. Now that these two Night Agent characters have established independence, they are in a better position to come back without the codependence that developed in season 2.
Rose can come and go in future seasons of The Night Agent, offering help and emotional connection for Peter while still living her own life. This Netflix action thriller may not have done any favors for Rose's character in season 2, but now that she has been given a break, she's all set up for better things down the road.
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