Jack Ryan Season 3: Ending Explained.

In the third season of Jack Ryan, the titular agent finds himself in the middle of a Russian conspiracy called Project Sokol. The goal of this operation is to restore the Soviet Union to its former glory and make it the most feared nation in the world. Ryan doesn’t want that, but he’s having a hard time convincing everyone that this is a very real threat because he has nothing tangible to back up his theory. With the blessing of James Greer and Elizabeth Wright,  he literally and figuratively enters murky waters and rescues a Russian informant named Yuri instead of nuclear material pointing to this sinister conspiracy.

Things go awry when the police kill Ryan’s extraction team and the informant, sending him on the run. And Russian Defense Minister Dmitry Popov is assassinated right in front of Czech President Alena Kovac,  sending world politics into a downward spiral. So before we end, let’s talk a little about the two most important things: the roots of Project Sokol and how Jack Ryan discovered the end of the Russians.

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Who Is Running The Sokol Project?

Then in 1969,  young Luka was ordered by his superiors to shut down Project Sokol, which meant killing all the engineers and scientists working on the Russian mission. One of the many soldiers charged with this task was Sergeant Lebedev, who was reluctant to do so. It seemed like it was a moral and ethical issue because nobody wants to kill that many people in one fell swoop. But later it became clear that the reason for his reluctance was that he believed that the Sokol project was the only thing that would make Russia great again. After completing the task, Luka and Lebedev had a small disagreement because the latter thought he had killed the country’s greatest heroes while the former considered them traitors. In today’s Russia, we see Alexei Petrov proposing to President Surikov to respond to NATO’s decision to move missiles to the Czech Republic. However, Luka advises against it as he believes Kovac leaked this information to see how Russia reacts. Before we go to the horrifying meeting with Popov, we learn that Kovac’s father is Petr,  a former Red Army soldier, and Kovac’s adviser.

As Popov drops dead, Alexei hints that the Americans are behind the murder. Surikov does not believe this is enough to move against the US and try to destabilize the nation. Luka partially supports this theory but points out that Alexei wrongly assumes that the United States is behind Dmitry’s assassination and Yuri’s death. He even hints that someone else is behind it. Well, we get a pretty clear indication that it’s an inside job, because Kovac’s bodyguard, Radek Breza, kills one of the two assassins who carried out Popov’s murder, and then blames it on an unsuspecting guy who is then followed by Breza is killed before he can prove his innocence to the police. In case it’s not apparent from the filming, Breza even calls  Alexei to let him know the proverbial loop has been closed. 

A montage of the young Luka going from door to door to bring the last belongings of the deceased engineers to their loved ones confronted with Alexei being sworn in as Russia’s defense minister. It shows that while Luka put an end to the Sokol project in the past, he now has to witness its revival in the present. The only difference here is that he currently doesn’t have the power to stop him by killing a bunch of guys and covering it up with the most absurd excuses. Alexei lets Kovac know that he is moving troops to Ukraine and will soon expand them to the Czech Republic to appear aggressive. This leads Kovac to believe that putting Alexei in power and giving the green light to all these decisions is an inside job. And Alexei almost admits to Luka that he was the one who murdered Popov, then orders him to find Jack Ryan as he is dangerously close to uncovering Project Sokol’s plan. By the way, we also see that Breza’s wife Jana was also involved in the murder of Dmitry, and they sit with Kovac and have lunch because she doesn’t know anything.

She’s not even aware of the fact that her father, Petr, is part of the Sokol cabal, in league with Alexei, and using her to ensure the success of the project. Greer finds this out by finding a photo of Petr and Breza. He even notes that Petr’s accent is more Russian than Czech. We get some information about how young Petr was shot in the chest for disobeying his orders to stop Project Sokol and how he became a citizen of the Czech Republic to ensure the success of this plan. And then we come today and learn that there is a subplot within Project Sokol called Crossbow. In the midst of all this, there’s a pointless little detour where Breza suspects  Petr is working with Greer to “tie up loose ends” and therefore kidnaps Kovac to take advantage of it. It only ends with Petr rescuing Kovac and killing Breza. In retaliation, Kovac releases an APB notice for Petr, bringing Breza’s wife and daughter with him, the former spouting the usual nonsense about patriotism and how the project can’t be stopped. That means he’s partially right because the real plan is to start an all-out war between the US and Russia, something  Luka discovers while infiltrating Ryan Antonov’s house.

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How Does Jack Ryan Get To The Bottom Of Project Sokol?

Before biting the bullet, Yuri tells Ryan that the weapon in question is small and invisible to the radar, and once Popov is killed, it will be detonated at a significant location within 7 days. Arriving at the safe house, Ryan realizes that Wright is willing to use him as a scapegoat for the botched operation (he didn’t find a nuclear warhead or anything) and of course the deaths. Greer advises him not to turn himself in because then they would never do it. be able to get to the bottom of the Sokol project. So he cuts off all communication and decides to go rogue.

Wright and Greer begin tracking Ryan so they can find him before the Russians or another country’s law enforcement agencies arrest him. Of course, not being able to do it alone, Ryan enlists Tony’s help to hide from the police and  Russian intelligence, then calls  Mike November for help. Jack sends a message to Luka (unaware that it’s Luka) to make it public. And he gets what he wants but in a rather violent way because Luka had to bring Konstantin (Russian secret service) and beat him up Ryan and then let him kill him without raising suspicion. By doing so, Luka makes it clear that his priorities in stopping Project Sokol align with Ryan’s, and therefore they can work together to prevent Alexei and the rest of his patriotic cult from ever fulfilling their dreams. And he said that the dreams include tons of uranium supplied by Levan Zubkov. So they go to Budapest and lure Zubkov into asking November for help. Once Zubkov falls in love, Ryan forces him to reveal the location of Uranium., Matoksa from Russia. Once there, Ryan learns that Luka intends to proceed with the plan with the nuclear warhead according to plan so that it can be traced back to the “mastermind”.

The real problem with this kind of storytelling is that we already know all the parts that are in the game that concern Petr and his quest for the success of the Sokol project. There is no element of surprise there. The characters are very thin. Therefore your decisions have no weight that will shake the world. And it’s not even about giving viewers hints before the reveal so they can think they figured out the secret of the show themselves. It’s just bad storytelling. Anyway, the next step in Project Sokol’s plan is to frame the Czech Republic for bombing Russia, which contradicts Ryan’s assumption of making it appear that the US bombed Russia. Luka eventually meets up with Petr and this confrontation ends with Luka shooting Petr in the leg. But it keeps him alive so  Kovac can unwind a bit, which he essentially does to make Petr die easier. What about Ryan? Yes, save the day and prevent the atomic bomb from reaching Russia.

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Does Jack Ryan Stop The USA From Going To War With Russia?

After Ryan learns of Russia’s plans to cover up a political coup by making it appear that the US wants to start a war with them, Ryan storms into Estonia, where  Savage and his team pick him up to visit the US-stop warship. to respond to any act of aggression. Meanwhile, Luka boards the Russian warship “The Fearless” to prevent her from following Alexei’s orders and launching a missile at an American warship. Alexei takes a long look at his war room, almost glad his plan worked. Greer, November, and Kovac lead Minister Popov’s bodyguard through the tunnels that will lead them to the Kremlin, allowing Kovac an audience with President Surikov and giving Greer a chance to speak with Alexei.

Surikov discovers that Alexei ordered Captain Antonov to launch the Fearless, while Surikov’s instructions were to simply prepare it. When Alexei says he wants to end the standoff with the United States, Surikov orders him to bring  The Fearless back to the docks. Luka confronts Antonov that he left Russia and technically the whole world because of a foolish plan to restore the United States jeopardizes the glory of the Soviet Union, which essentially ends with both saying they will one day have to answer for their past crimes. In the war room, Alexei delivers a lively speech to his ministers,  essentially discussing the motivation behind Project Sokol, and then begins voting to remove Surikov so he can conduct his operation without every obstacle. At the same time, Ryan swims aboard the USS Roosevelt, and Greer, Mike, and Kovac reach their respective destinations in the Kremlin. Ryan alerts Captain Andrew Bennett to the coup in Russia and tells him to only be on the defensive if anything goes wrong because going on the offensive is exactly what Alexei and Antonov want. Ryan also lets him know that Luka is in The Fearless and he needs to come out of this argument unscathed to widely expose the Russian conspiracy. Greer tells Alexei that his coup will fail, Surikov will survive and that means Alexei will be imprisoned for being a traitor. Greer offers Alexei a way out of this mess where she has to date him. as quickly as possible. Kovac sits down with Surikov and tells him that Popov was killed by Petr and Alexei and she tells him she has a record to prove it. In return, Surikov must withdraw his troops near the Czech border and refrain from escalating the situation with the USA in. Mike steps in to explain that Alexei intends to make Russia’s situation worse with those two countries to paint the picture that Surikov is weak and then take him out. Surikov then listens to Luka’s recording of Alexei admitting to killing Popov. He quotes Thomas Jefferson and promises to use him to do what Kovac and Mike want him to do. Ryan tries to buy more time for Greer, Mike, and Kovac. Surikov plays the recording of Alexei in the war room.

Realizing what happened, Alexei tries to run away and dies. Surikov continues to include traitors in his cabinet because many of them were willing to support Alexei’s coup plans. All of this information does not reach the USS Roosevelt and the Fearless. So they continue their preparations to attack each other. Despite Luke’s intervention, Antonov fires a missile at the USS Roosevelt. Bennett manages to defend his ship and prepares to return fire. Ryan continues to advise him not to because that’s exactly what Antonov wants. At the White House, Elizabeth Wright says the same to President Charles Bachler, knowing they are walking right into the trap of Alexei and Antonov. Luka successfully performs a riot. Ryan gives a hackneyed speech about sacrificing everyone on the ship for the sake of the country. Things settle down when Luka takes control of the Fearless and tells Bennett that Antonov has been arrested. Bennett to assess the situation and take the necessary action. and,

Well, Bennett decides to de-escalate and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Everyone (and I mean everyone) shakes hands and goes home. Mike offers Kovac his private protection. Bachler appoints Wright as director of the CIA. A week later, Luka is picked up from home, probably to be executed. In a letter to Ryan, he tells him that they have done their job and now the world moves on. He says that this battle you have just participated in was passed down to you from your ancestors and will continue as long as mankind exists. But he hopes they can try to be better than the institutions they serve because that’s the most important thing. Furthermore, he hopes that although he has led a largely dishonorable life, he has done enough to die with honor. And he wishes  Ryan would probably have the same feelings when his time comes. Well, that sounds great from an idealistic and stoic perspective. However, compared to images of Ryan and Greer receiving Medals of Honor from Wright, the wall commemorating CIA members who gave their lives, and then the CIA logo, it all sounds very spotty. Because it glorifies the institution, which is prone to corruption and regularly engages in domestic wiretapping, engages in extrajudicial justice, is guilty of various human rights cases of abuse, and influences public opinion through various illegal means. Halfway through Jack Ryan’s third season, the showrunners drop any pretense of building up the aforementioned Luka monologue. He begins to portray the villains as caricatures close enough to a mustache to twirl them, and the antagonists as people dumb enough to be replaced by someone with half a brain in their head. Jack Ryan and James Greer become those stereotypical, infallible American heroes who can do no wrong, and their confidence and charisma make everyone believe in them. His flaws, humanity, and identification are nowhere to be seen in the painting. The comment about the ingratitude of the job, which tries to show how far the protagonists have to stretch their moral definitions to do their job or have real emotional stakes in the story, has completely evaporated in the atmosphere. And all we are left with is the blatant glorification of the CIA  and oversimplification. Deconstruction of world politics. With Jack Ryan season 4 getting the green light, I hope they dig deeper into their subject rather than treating it in the most cliched way and give their characters real weight in the game. This is Jack Ryan at his weakest. So the only way to go is up.

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