What Happens To Owen Now?

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for The Recruit season 2, episode 6.

The ending of The Recruit season 2 finds Noah Centineo’s Owen Hendricks accomplishing his personal mission to reunite Teo Yoo’s Jang Kyun with his kidnapped wife. Throughout the six episodes of The Recruit season 2, Owen finds himself in a similar situation as in season 1 after receiving a cryptic letter from another former CIA asset. After traveling to South Korea to investigate, he discovers that Jang Kyun, an agent at the National Intelligence Service, is a graymailer. Similar to Laura Haddock’s Max Meladze in The Recruit season 1, Jang Kyun demands CIA assistance and threatens to expose classified intel.

The Recruit season 2 trailer introduced Jang Kyun as a potential ally to Owen and the CIA but as the season panned out, their relationship became more complicated. The cliffhanger ending of The Recruit season 1 raised several questions about the identity of Marta, which was a fake name used by Max’s daughter Karolina, who is better known as Russian mafia member Nichka. In The Recruit season 2, episode 6 as a “Krysha”, she assumes another persona as a Russian mafia enforcer, to gain intel on where a Yazuka gang is holding Jang Kyun’s wife hostage before ultimately betraying Owen.

How The U.S. Navy Saved Owen & Jang Kyun From The Russians

An Enormous U.S. Submarine Saves Owen From The Russian Coast Guard

After Owen, Jang Kyun, and Nan Lee are rescued by Yoo Jin and her father’s boat, they are chased by Russian Coast Guard soldiers. Miraculously, a U.S. Navy submarine surfaces just ahead of Yoo Jin’s boat, which scares off the Russian pursuers.

Yoo Jin, played by Shin Do-Hyun, is one of Owen’s childhood friends from Korea.

The Naval officer on the submarine jokes that he never misses a chance to scare the Russians. While it is never explicitly explained how the U.S. Navy knew Owen was in trouble, it’s implied that Nyland must have made a call after walking out on CIA Director Alton West, who authorized Dawn to take out Jang Kyun.

Whose Side Is Nichka On? Motivations & Owen Betrayal Explained

Nichka Is The Most Deceptive Character In The Recruit Season 2

After reluctantly becoming a CIA asset throughout The Recruit season 2, Nichka ends up playing all three sides of the conflict between the CIA, FSB, and the Yakuza. Nichka is primarily motivated by money and power. She ultimately followed the biggest paycheck offered by the FSB.

Unsurprisingly, Nichka’s true allegiance lies with Russia. However, her failure to turn Owen and Jang Kyun into the FSB could put her life in danger.

Nichka also reveals to Owen while she betrays him that she will be getting a promotion, presumably at the FSB, for handing over him and Jang Kyun as prisoners. Unsurprisingly, Nichka’s true allegiance lies with Russia. However, her failure to turn Owen and Jang Kyun into the FSB could put her life in danger.

Why Nichka Kills Dawn In The Recruit Season 2 Finale

Dawn Was Going To Kill Jang Kyun If Nichka Didn’t Stop Her

Dawn was given the green light to kill Jang Kyun by CIA Director West, which would have interfered with Nichka’s endgame plan. Nichka needed Jang Kyun and Owen alive to give to the FSB to collect a massive payday. Knowing that Dawn would not have backed down without a fight, Nichka prepares to go head-to-head with her, which ends up having a major effect on the outcome of The Recruit season 2. Both Nichka and Dawn were fighting for their ambitions. Dawn would have earned the Moscow Point promotion, while Nichka was fighting for her own financial and career gain.

Why The Yakuza Kidnapped Jang Kyun’s Wife, Nan Hee

Jang Kyun Injected Tracable Crypto Into The Yakuza Through His Wife’s NGO

Throughout the first half of The Recruit season 2, Jang Kyun believes the Russians kidnapped his wife, Nan Hee. Through Nichka, Owen tells Jang Kyun that the Yakuza, not the Russians, were behind the kidnapping. Jang Kyun blames himself for the Yamazaki clan of Eastern Russia holding Nan Lee hostage.

Jang Kyun used Nan Hee’s NGO to inject a marked cryptocurrency – which was created by the NIS and CIA – into the Yakuza without her knowledge.

He explains to Owen at the end of The Recruit season 3 that he used Nan Hee’s NGO to inject a marked cryptocurrency – which was created by the NIS and CIA – into the Yakuza without her knowledge. The Yakuza discovered the crypto and traced it back to Nan Hee’s NGO.

Owen’s Plan To Rescue Nan Hee From The Yakuza Explained

Owen Never Planned To Pay The Yakuza $10 Million For Nan Hee

The Recruit season 2 finale saw a collaborative effort between Owen, Lester, and Dawn to save Nan Hee. CIA Director West and Wyland had Amelia “non-paper” Lester and Owen as a precaution to the risky operation, which ended up getting compromised after Nichka hired the Russian Coast Guard to investigate Yoo Jin’s boat.

Owen and Jang Kyun enter the Yakuza boat disguised as kidnapping and ransom (K&R) representatives from episode 4.

Owen and Jang Kyun enter the Yakuza boat disguised as kidnapping and ransom (K&R) representatives from episode 4. They arrived under the pretense of paying the Yakuza $10 million for Nan Hee, luring them into international waters where Dawn and reinforcements would ambush their boat.

Why Violet Wanted Grace To Blame Everything On Owen

Violet Continues To Undermine Owen Behind His Back

Violet gets Janus released from the NIS after making a deal with Grace. The deal would presumably pin everything on Owen relating to the NIS’s two exposed agents, Jang Kyun and Jae King. Whatever deal Violet and Grace made will likely be at the forefront of The Recruit season 3, although the specifics of their agreement aren’t entirely clear.

Hannah exposes Jae’s disguise after catching him copying her laptop’s hard drive.

With Jang Kyun potentially returning next season as a CIA agent, it’s difficult to say whether Violet’s backstabbing efforts against Owen in The Recruit season 2 finale will hold any weight once the men arrive in Washington D.C. It’s one of the bigger mysteries that the Netflix show’s next season will have to address immediately. Whatever happens to them, however, will determine the narrative direction for the series.

Why Dawn Tried To Take Moscow Station From Lester

Dawn Was Willing To Do What Lester Was Not

Before her death, Dawn betrayed Lester by offering to take out Jang Kyun in exchange for Moscow Station – a position that he was interested in. Dawn is consistently untrustworthy throughout both seasons of The Recruit, often placing her ambitions ahead of the CIA and her colleagues. She represents a tough dog-eat-dog mentality that doesn’t win her many allegiances and ultimately results in her death by the knife of Nichka. Similarly, Dawn’s partner Dodge nearly kills Lester after she had previously sent an assassin after him, which is another sign that she was always more of a foe than a friend.

Will Jang Kyun Return As A CIA Agent In The Recruit Season 3?

Owen Was Trying To Recruit Him In Season 2’s Final Scene

The Recruit season 2 sets up Jang Kyun to become a CIA agent. With Owen becoming much more of an experienced field agent than a seasoned lawyer in its sophomore run, he will likely take on an official role as a CIA operative in season 3. Owen faced internal conflicts about the gruesome realities of working in the field, which included killing several more people. Still, Owen may be incentivized to remain at the CIA with Jang Kyun by his side. Grace will certainly have something to say about Jang Kyun potentially switching sides in The Recruit season 3.