Owen’s final choice in The Recruit season 2 finale holds shocking implications for the NIS and his future

A still from The Recruit season 2 (Image via Netflix)
A still from The Recruit season 2 (Image via Netflix)

The Recruit season 2 premiered all of its six episodes earlier this week on Thursday, January 30, 2025. It continues the adventures of CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks, played by Noah Centineo, as he navigates the difficult situation he has found himself in, while also trying to make sure that the lives of his friends are saved.

Going in the season finale of The Recruit season 2, Owen makes a huge choice which sees him give Nan Hee and Jang Kyun new identities after saving them from the Russian Intelligence base and making them American assets. However, this development also presents some interesting implications that are certainly to be carried forward in the upcoming season 3 of the series - especially when it comes to the identities of agents.

It's a common trope in spy fiction for CIA or any government organization agents to change their identities - and The Recruit season 2 is playing to those tropes. Going forward in season 3, it can certainly lead to the secrets of these agents being out in the open as with them changing their identities there were certainly some heavy implications.

However, when it comes to Owen himself, fans can also expect to see him get into the role of a full-time field agent as the mission of saving Nan Hee and Jang Kyun certainly showed his capabilities. So, let's dig into the mission of Owen saving the two agents.


Why does Owen need to save Nan Hee and Jang Kyun at the end of The Recruit season 2?

The finale of The Recruit season 2 takes the show's heroes to Vladivostok, Russia. There lies the massive danger for Owen as Nan Hee (Sanghee Lee), Jang Kyun's (Teo Yoo) wife is being held captive as well. Hence, Owen, alongside his love interest Yoo Jin (Shin Do-hyun) and Kyun takes a boat to go into enemy waters.

In The Recruit season 2, it is ultimately revealed that Nan Hee was kidnapped by a Yakuza clan - and the fault ultimately fell upon Jang Kyun's shoulders. He reveals to Owen that the NIS created a type of cryptocurrency that could be tracked, but they and the CIA didn't know how to get criminals to use it. Hence, he then got his wife to use it to pay for her bribes.

This ultimately led the Yakuza to track her and kidnap her. Owen reluctantly agrees to help Jang Kyun as he now knows that the CIA is tracking normal American citizens through cryptocurrency as well and needs to put a stop to it. During the mission, Jang Kyun gets abducted as well - however, Owen can save him too and his wife from the Russian base during the finale.


Noah Centineo talks about Owen's mental state going forward

Following the release of The Recruit season 2, actor Noah Centineo spoke to Netflix about how the season finale may fundamentally change Owen. In The Recruit season 2, Owen does get to rack up quite a high amount of kills - and given that he is a humble CIA lawyer, this would certainly affect him a lot. However, Noah Centineo does have quite the opinions about it.

"“But he gets to try to reclaim his humanity. I don’t think he’s becoming desensitized to killing people,” said Centineo.

Interestingly, the actor does mention Owen trying to reclaim his humanity in The Recruit season 2 given how grueling of a journey it has been for him. It can certainly lead to some major character dynamics in season 3 where Owen will be more hardened as well.

This can be seen set up in the final moments of The Recruit season 2 as well where Owen has finally accepted the fact that he is in a cruel world. Centineo further says that:

“Owen is in a cold, brutal, violent world. The kid has no real friends, but what he does have is leverage and he finds his leverage in unique places.”

Series creator Alexi Hawley also further talks about Owen's journey in the show saying that he does learn a very hard lesson in season 2 of the show.

“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,” said Hawley. “He was not owning it up until late in the game.”

What is The Recruit about?

The Recruit is a Netflix spy series created by Alexi Halwey. The show focused on Owen Hendricks, a CIA lawyer who finds himself in a web of conspiracy and lies and has to get out on the field. The official synopsis reads:

"Recruited out of law school by the CIA, a daredevil young attorney leaps unprepared into the dangerous world of international espionage."

Fans can tune in for The Recruit season 2 as all six episodes are streaming on Netflix right now.


Also read: The Recruit season 1 recap: All to remember before season 2 arrives

Quick Links

Edited by pshmueni
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications