Two of our favorite shows on Netflix are The Recruit and The Night Agent. We love a good procedural and these two are on the top of our list because they are so different than anything that you would find on network television. Both are unique and deliver all of the action that you would need.
Though you could always WANT more.
The Recruit stars Noah Centineo as CIA Lawyer Owen Hendricks. He’s always in some sort of trouble, refusing to go by the books and letting his heart lead the way. That didn’t help him in any way but instead seemed to put everyone in his life at risk.
Seasoned CIA agents and Lawyers are annoyed with Owen. Whenever they see him coming they run the opposite way, but that doesn’t stop Owen from chasing after them.
Season 2 of The Recruit is a continuation of Season 1, but it feels more like you’re looking inside a top-secret file, hoping that you can piece the clues together and save all of the people who are in danger. It’s a nonstop wtf, omg, what is going to happen next ride?
And it is exciting.
RANKING THE RECRUIT EPISODES
- #6 – Episode 5: “W.S.T.W.T.P.”
- #5 – Episode 3: “H.H.I.I.T.K.A.L.”
- #4 – Episode 1: “Y.N.A.H.Y.A.L.”
- #3 – Episode 6: “I.D.N.W.T.B.D.I.”
- #2 – Episode 2: “Y.A.R.A.C.O.T.D.O.P”
- #1 – Episode 4: “A.T.N.W.H.Y.P.A.B.H.”
WHO WE COULD HAVE HAD MORE OF
Where we know that Owen is traveling most of the time in this second season, we would have loved seeing him around his friends more often. One of the reasons that we loved the first season was the personal dynamics of him and his roommates. We do get that Hannah did move out and Terence is working in DC, we miss that dynamic.
That dynamic seemed to ground Owen and it felt a little disingenuous that was no more. Owen needs grounding and family. We do understand that things are always changing and that Yoo is also a part of Owen’s family and they did offer us that dynamic in this season. We do like her, a lot and want her to remain, also.
But we also want Hannah, Owen, and Terence. We need more of them.
WHO WE WISHED WOULD GO AWAY
Dawn. Thank you to the writers that we got our wish there.
Have to admit that there is no love lost for Dawn. It’s kind of a great thing that we hated her that much that we weren’t sad with her last stand, we were happy to see her go. It’s the sign of good writing and good acting that the viewer is left with so many emotions that you just don’t want to deal with the character.
We were emotionally invested. It may have been emotionally invested in her demise, but emotionally invested nonetheless.
WHAT MADE THIS SEASON OF THE RECRUIT STAND OUT
Season 2 of The Recruit stood out because while being serious, it was chaos. Owen – as in the first season – seems to find himself in the craziest of circumstances. That is what makes it so good.
When Owen had Hannah rescued from her kidnapper, I knew that he still cared and would always care. But it was the moment between Owen and Hannah, where he had to do the worst that he could do to her and tell her to forget everything that happened that day.
Hannah needed comfort. She needed her friend. She got neither. Owen was someone that she loved and trusted. It was a moment that you can pinpoint his actual change – the moment that he’s no longer the boy she knew, but he’s the man that the CIA changed him into.
We all know that in television shows or movies, we need character growth. For Owen, these six episodes are what changed him and made us believe that he’s a career CIA agent. Not a career lawyer, but an agent. He will always be pulled back in.
CHARACTER THAT MADE US LAUGH THE MOST
When it comes to the character that made us laugh the most it would have to be Janus. The man is so high-strung that we can’t help but laugh at everything he says because he just doesn’t care. He just wants to make it through his time at the agency without dying or being rubber-roomed.
When Janus is taken into custody by the NIS, the fact that he looks at it like a vacation makes us laugh. He knew what he wanted, wasn’t going to settle for anything less, and still tried to flirt with Grace the entire time.
Janus was suave. He was chaos. He needed a Xanax. We appreciate him.
CHARACTER WE COULD DO WITHOUT
Jae. We do understand why he was there. We do understand how he changed things for everyone and that he was there to get information about Owen from Hannah.
The issue we take with it is that he used Hannah. We love Hannah. She’s finding her way, yes. But aren’t we all? Roadblock after roadblock is put in front of her and Hannah still manages to keep it all together. Jae being a spy for Korea – well, we hope that he goes away for treason.
OVERALL THOUGHTS ON THE RECRUIT
When it comes to Noah Centineo, we don’t always know what to expect. He makes sure that he picks an eclectic mix of roles, but The Recruit makes him stand out. We’ve always known – well since his days on The Fosters. He’s gone on to do many things since then, but we’ll argue that The Recruit is one of his best.
Why?
Noah Centineo is a YA/Rom-com actor. If you watch The Recruit you can – assuredly – add Action Star to his list of things that he’s really good at. In the second season of The Recruit, he enters the world of espionage (again) with charm and flare.
The first season of The Recruit was two episodes longer than this one and what this does show is that they can tighten up storylines and propel them forward with ease. However, that being said, the amount of unanswered questions we have is long.
But the show being able to tie new plot points and characters, while keeping with the first season’s story, was the mark of great writers. The story kept flowing, making it feel like we were watching a movie. The characters were great, but make no mistake The Recruit works because of Centineo.
It is because of Centineo that the viewer can look past how fast things get wrapped up and the holes that are left because a viewer is going to need closure to certain things. For instance, we are not shown if Max is dead and it is left to the viewer’s imagination.
While Owen doesn’t seem to ever get along with anyone, the addition of Jang was a pleasant surprise. The way that these two characters are able to work together, despite being from different cultures and agencies made the six episodes of The Recruit a thrill ride the viewer didn’t want to look away from. The two are able to keep us dialed in on the storyline versus looking away.
The Recruit managed to secure itself as a leading franchise for Netflix, one that they should have a lot of faith in. For us, we were pleasantly surprised that after watching we didn’t lose interest, but instead found ourselves clamoring for the next season of the series.
So what do you say, Netflix? Can we get a third season?
