The Recruit Season 3’s Story Tease Means The Show Could Repeat A Big Mistake From Season 2

Early teases about The Recruit season 3 suggest that the hit Netflix thriller series could repeat the same mistake as The Recruit season 2. Just weeks after the release of The Recruit season 2, series creator Alexi Hawley is already fielding questions about what a potential third season of The Recruit could look like. Hawley revealed that he has not started developing The Recruit season 3 and is still "waiting for Netflix to officially do their thing with it." That said, Hawley is "feeling super positive about it, as positive as you can feel in this town at this time."

Hawley also noted that The Recruit season 1 was meant to be filmed around the world. While there are a variety of international settings in The Recruit season 1, Hawley confirmed that due to the pandemic, "[director of The Recruit's first two episodes] Doug Liman went to shoot in Vienna, everything else was shot in Montreal and faked it." Hawley was excited to shoot parts of The Recruit season 2 in Korea but hasn't determined where he'd like to take the show next. "I feel like we’ve done Russia, we’ve done Korea. So maybe Latin America, Africa would be exciting."

The Recruit Season 3 Would Likely Be Another Brand-New Standalone Story

The Recruit Season 2 Featured A Variety Of New Characters & Locations

Based on Hawley's recent comments on The Recruit season 3, it sounds like he plans to expand the Netflix series into a brand-new global territory rather than reverting to season 1's Russian-inspired roots. With the absence of Laura Haddock’s Max in The Recruit Season 2 and the ambiguous outcome for Max's daughter Nichka, Hawley has set himself up nicely to discard both of their characters completely in The Recruit season 3. Although he hasn't officially begun developing The Recruit season 3, it's clear that Hawley is focused on new elements, characters, and locations for Noah Centineo's CIA lawyer Owen.

If The Recruit season 3 does happen, it will likely repeat its season 2 formula and introduce a new CIA graymailer to replace Teo Yoo's Jang Kyun. Based on The Recruit season 2's ending, it's entirely possible that Jang Kyun could return as a CIA asset instead of threatening to expose classified intel.

During its shortened six-episode run, The Recruit season 2 proved it was comfortable taking familiar foundational characters, such as Hannah, Nyland, and Lester, and surrounding them with fresh circumstances and antagonists in new environments. Viewers can expect a similar standalone approach to The Recruit season 3.

The Recruit Season 2 Barely Felt Like A Sequel To The First Season

Season 2 Hit The Reset Button But Used A Familiar Structure

Unlike other shows that establish a specific setting, The Recruit is flexible and malleable, giving it the ability to head in an endless number of directions. Even though The Recruit season 2 picked up exactly where The Recruit season 1's cliffhanger ending left off, it quickly dropped Max's character and felt like a reset button for the overall series. Much like season 1, Owen finds himself back in his small office at the CIA's General Counsel in Washington D.C. and quickly discovers a graymail threat. Rather than continue certain threads in season 1, season 2 reuses its structure.

A show like The Recruit is wrapped entirely around its star lead. A handful of current action thrillers follow a similar template, such as Prime Video's Reacher, with the supporting cast revolving around the hero. Reacher season 1 takes place in a rural Southern town while season 2 is set in New York City. It is natural for these shows to switch up settings and antagonists, even at the expense of cutting character arcs and story progressions short. In The Recruit's case, only Hannah and Terrence represent Owen's core group and were notably featured less in The Recruit season 2.

The Recruit Season 2’s Ending Means It Might Now Be An Anthology

Expect The Recruit Season 3 To Feature New Scenery & Side Characters

Combined with Hawley's recent comments, The Recruit season 2's ending sets the show up to become more anthological in season 3 and beyond. The series is undoubtedly Centineo's and would likely not be able to carry on without him. Season 2 demonstrated that the characters around Owen are more expendable than ever before. It's no coincidence that Teo Yoo, who was nominated for a BAFTA for his Oscar-nominated movie Past Lives (2023), landed a lead role in a Netflix series soon after. This suggests that Netflix will place another trendy actor next to Owen in The Recruit season 3.

This also suggests that The Recruit season 2's new characters such as Shin Do-Hyun's Yoo Jin Lee and Kim Young-ah's Grace Cho will not return for season 3, especially if there is another drastic location change.

If The Recruit season 3 travels to Latin America or Africa, Hawley may have trouble finding natural ways to include Yoo Jin, Grace, and even Jang Kyun in season 3. On the other hand, Nathan Fillion's CIA Director Alton West had more of a prominent role in The Recruit season 2 compared to his virtual appearance in the final episode of season 1, hinting at a further expansion for his character.

What The Recruit Season 3 Should Really Look Like

Owen Should Become A CIA Field Agent & Rekindle His Flame With Hannah

While the anthological approach is enjoyable and typical for these kinds of action thriller shows, there should still be some overarching storylines and aspects from the previous seasons for the sake of continuity. The Recruit season 2's biggest unanswered questions, such as what happened to Nichka after she was taken by the Russian agents, should be addressed even if her character is killed off. Nichka is a fun antagonist and should continue to go after Owen in The Recruit season 3, especially if that takes her out of her home country of Russia and into a more neutral territory.

The Recruit season 3 already has several questions to consider: who will be the new graymailer, where are they from, what do they want from the CIA, and where will that take Owen? As far as Owen's love interest goes, he and Hannah should continue their "will they, won't they" dynamic in season 3, although it's more than likely that Owen may encounter someone new based on his track record. Unless Yoo Jin moves to D.C., it appears that her romance with Owen is doomed.

At this point, Owen should drop the lawyer act and formally start training as a field agent, which could also give Fillion's character more purpose. This could reduce all the General Counsel roles – Amelia, Nyland, Janus, Lester, and Violet – in The Recruit season 3 but make way for exciting new casting choices in exchange.