When looking at espionage as a television and film experience, few ever take on a unique and vulnerable experience like The Recruit. Iconic characters such as James Bond embodied an unparagoned intelligence, were notoriously independent, and had a masculine presence that dominated much of how an agent in secret intelligence conducted himself.
Characters in the genre, however, are forced to either stay inside the bounds of such a beloved existence within the genre or evolve into something greater as time has passed and the genre has grown. The Recruit opts for a character who is initially naïve, soft, and full of hope for the future but who becomes toughened by experience, along with a female nemesis who has "Bond-like" intelligence and a devilish disposition to bring him down.
What is The Recruit based on?
The Recruit is based on renowned writer and filmmaker Adam Ciralsky's time in the CIA. He was hired in 1996, fresh out of law school, and stayed with the agency until 2000. All of these memories would inspire The Recruit, starring Nick Centineo, who would also be the show's executive producer along with Adam Ciralsky and Alex Hawley.
"It’s also such an unusual position... As a lawyer, your job is obviously to make sure that people are compliant with the law," Ciralsky told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "At the CIA, you work for an organization that, by its very charter, is breaking the law in every country in which it operates. And what you’re trying to do in the course of doing that they’re adhering or abiding by U.S. law."
While the show has many dramatic twists and turns and an explosive conclusion, The Recruit effortlessly dances around some serious themes. With comical dialogue, great chemistry between its characters, and even off-the-wall moments, The Recruit questions personal motives and the desire to win at any cost. While many espionage films or television shows center on a confident CIA agent who has all the cards, The Recruit places a fresh graduate, Owen Hendrix, in the hands of an all-powerful antagonist, Max Meladze, who is capable of destroying him and the agency. This not only subverts the typical espionage plot but also reverses the dynamics between the protagonist and antagonist in such film or television tropes.
What happened in The Recruit season 1?
Like most spy thrillers within the genre, Netflix's hit television series, The Recruit, is all about the power of deception and the art of espionage. While The Recruit uses the common vehicle of the CIA to drive a very immersive plot forward, The Recruit follows the character Owen Hendricks (Noah Centino), who has just graduated from law school and is granted a great job opportunity with the CIA.
Instead of pursuing the creature comforts of working a job with a more stable future, Owen decides to challenge himself by overcoming the struggles and obstacles that come with the erratic nature of doing undercover work for the Central Intelligence Agency. Things do not start the way he planned, as everyone and everything seems intent on making his experience working here a nightmare. When he first meets prisoner Max Meladze (Laura Haddock), she declares that she wants the CIA to clear her name and expose the location of the sensitive documents described in her graymail that surfaced during Hendrix's hazing search. From then on, it becomes clear that the career of his dreams quickly becomes a world enveloped in chaos, where his job title means nothing and he can trust no one.
Hendrix's quest leads him to realize that she is more than he bargained for, with the revelations of her past, avenging her dead husband and daughter, and everything in between, making him question whether he truly knows anyone. Within the genesis of this journey, it's an epic chase for both characters to make it out alive, and if they do, are they saved from the scars of this mission?
This brings the season to the thrilling finish of this chaotic adventure filled with detours and turns: Will Max Meladze be able to escape her fate in the end? Heading towards the end of this journey, it's a race against time to save themselves, but ultimately, it's clear both have very different designs on what freedom from their own personal prisons truly means. Meladze gets a hold of a phone and informs Dawn Gilbane of their location and that images will be sent that hold some weight with Russian intelligence. Hendrix then relays some photographs he took of sensitive information he snuck out of Meladze's safe deposit box at the bank, deciding to save himself and the agency instead. Russian mob boss Nichka and her followers disrupt their plans with an engaged shootout to thwart their mission. In the heat of the confrontation, Hendrix resolves to annihilate the Russian agent that tries to kill Meladze, instead of letting her die.
Since he refuses to follow her orders, Meladze threatens to kill him. He regrets even taking the risk to save her, as it has all led to the grim realization that people have been deceiving him this whole time for their own gains. They both come to realize that Nichka has been hiding her identity this whole time, with Nichka finally revealing that she is indeed Karolina, Max Meladze's "dead" daughter. She proceeds to shoot her mother while the fate of Owen Hendrix still hangs in the balance. How has Karolina avoided detection all these years? How does Meladze's story hold up to the proof that her daughter was murdered?
Is The Recruit renewed for Season 2?
While there is no confirmed release date or "green light" for season 2, speculation has gathered that a new season could surface between January 2023 or the end of 2024. Its cliffhanger conclusion lends credence to believing that a second season is highly plausible. Season 2 also leaves room to explore relationships that have not been further investigated. The Recruit brings an intimate perspective on the relationships and inner workings of the CIA. With this narrative in mind, based on personal gain and the desire to rise above other colleagues at any cost, The Recruit raises the stakes for an even more explosive next season.