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After a long wait, The Recruit season 2 finally premiered on Netflix with all of its six episodes on Thursday, January 30, 2025. It continued the story of humble CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks, played by Noah Centineo, who is pulled into a life of action when he realizes there are multiple deep conspiracies at play. The character teams up with allies and more to complete the mission and make sure everything goes smoothly.
At the end of The Recruit season 2, fans get to see Nichka, played by Maddie Hasson, massively betray Owen. She sells him out to the Russians, presenting interesting setups that will surely be explored in season 3 of the series, which is yet to be confirmed as of now.
Nichka, this season particularly, feels like a Bond villain in many ways. She accompanies the hero on his journey and betrays him at the last possible second. Since Nichka was already shady from the get-go in The Recruit season 2, it will certainly teach Owen to be careful in trusting people.
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Nichka's betrayal of Owen in The Recruit season 2 explored
In Owen's original plan to save Nan Hee and Jang Kyun from the Russians, Owen calls Lester for help. However, when that doesn't work out - Nichka is instead sent to help. However, she doesn't really have Owen's best interest at heart as she ends up selling Owen and the others out to the Russians and the FSB. She even gets the coast guard to start patrolling the water so that they can't escape.
However, Nichka's plan doesn't fully work as she still needs Owen and Jang Kyun alive to get fully paid by the Russians. So, when the CIA director West orders the death of Owen and Jang Kyun, Nichka finds herself in a bit of trouble. The CIA decides to kill Owen and Jang Kyun because they are behind enemy lines and the agency's secrets are at risk of being spilled as well.
Hence, Dawn is sent to execute the two. However, Nichka stumbles upon him in the woods and Dawn's plan is ultimately ruined. The two fight each other which sees Nichka come out on top, but her plan still ends up failing as Owen is able to take her out and save Nan Hee and Jang Kyun from the Russians. They escape via a fishing boat and safely make it back home.
The last that fans get to see of Nichka in The Recruit season 2 is here being yelled at by Russian agents and being knocked out after being hit by a gun. Working with Maddie Hasson, Noah Centineo had a few kind words to say in his interview with Tudum by Netflix, published on January 30:
“Maddie is such a tour de force actress and such a professional, so prepared,” he says. “She does all of her own stunts and is very good, very good at fighting choreography.”
What can fans expect going forward in The Recruit season 3?
Going into season 3 following the heavy setup of The Recruit season 2, fans can expect to see a conflict between Owen and Nichka in season 3 of the series. Everything points towards Nichka being in Russian captivity, and it certainly looks like that is a plot point that can be carried forward into the next season of the show.
As for Owen, there is certainly a lot that can be said. The Recruit season 2 sees Owen needing to get his hands dirty in a way he would have never expected. These events certainly will leave a massive impact on him, and Noah Centineo certainly recognizes that too. In an interview with Netflix following the release of the season, he had this to say:
“But he gets to try to reclaim his humanity. I don’t think he’s becoming desensitized to killing people."
Series creator Alexi Hawley also spoke about Owen's journey saying that he finally recognizes that his actions have consequences and that he needs to take further responsibility as well.
“That is part of Owen’s journey in Season 2 — if you [do] something and bad shit happens, that’s on you. You have to own that,” Hawley says. “He was not owning it up until late in the game.”
So, going into the next season of The Recruit, fans can certainly expect to see a changed Owen and him trying to deal with the aftermath of season 2.
Fans can tune in for The Recruit season 2 right now as all of its six episodes are streaming on Netflix.
