Reel Review: Noah Centineo Gives it his All but The Recruit Season 2 Fails to Stand Out
The Recruit has returned for season two and finds CIA lawyer, Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo) in even more trouble than last season. In pursuing a new gray mail threat in South Kora, Owen gets roped into an espionage situation involving a Korean spy’s wife who is being held in Russia. Pursuing the threat with minimal support from the CIA, Owen puts himself and loved ones in danger.
The first season of The Recruit was a fish out of water tale that disrupted the typical spy thriller genre. The main character being a young and untrained lawyer added a fun layer of surprise especially when it came to gritty fight scenes. The eight episode run time made for a quick binge and concise story. The love interest subplot added higher stakes to the situation by putting loved ones and non-government employees at risk. Owen was a character worth rooting for because he was doing it all on his own and for the right reasons.
While the second season had the opportunity to go in a myriad of directions, the one they picked fell a little flat. While the events of the second season occur only days to weeks after the first, Owen has somehow become a fully trained spy and fighter that is fearless against enemies. The new location of Korea posed an interesting twist, but the setting added very little visually to the show. The only implication of the location had to do with Owen’s past in living there as a child. This resulted in the addition of an old friend and new love interest.
While one of the best aspects of the first season was the on and off again relationship, this season lacked any real chemistry despite its multiple love interests. While Owen’s life and personal security may be on the line, the other pressure is minimal. The stakes aren’t nearly high enough to warrant an invasion of Russian land by a bunch of rookies.
Another gripe with the second season is the six episode structure. While the episodes were about fifty minutes each, the total length didn’t feel long enough to develop new fully formed characters and resulted in a lack of tension. The addition of so many new characters should have made the season feel more fresh but instead just stretched personal investment too thin. The storyline was choppy and somewhat predictable resulting in a lackluster second season.
Noah Centineo did his best with the material showing off some incredible stunt skills, but overall his performance couldn’t hold the show together. Between too many new characters and a lack of chemistry, the second season of The Recruit fails to stand out amongst the crowded genre of spy action thrillers. It makes for a fun watch but has fallen into the overly produced yet under developed series all too common when it comes to streaming originals.
The Recruit is streaming on Netflix.
