S02.E01: Cargo

[ohjoy]

Jack Ryan searches for the truth behind Venezuela's transactions with various World Powers. James Greer, about to get sidelined from his new post in Russia, joins Jack in Venezuela and the two find themselves in the midst of a Venezuelan leader's re-elections effort.

[Raja]

So you have  unlimited resources and the Captain of the escorts in your pocket but you don't just blow up all the target cars? Rather you hope your target crawls out so you can play sniper before more police arrive.

That Venezuelan street did look exactly like the Colombian one where the team brought more than one RPG.

Edited November 2, 2019 by Raja

[BaskingsharkGTX]

39 minutes ago, Raja said:

That Venezuelan street did look exactly like the Colombian one where the team brought more than one RPG.

I thought it looked familiar!

I really want to like this show, but it feels so the same as everything else. It's like they reached into the grab-bag of Serious Espionage Cliches and pulled out "Sick Friend/Coworker/Boss", "Unstable Political Regime", "Friendly Politician You Respect Dies In Front Of You", "Vehicular Ambush" and "Weapons Smuggling". 

Are we going to find out what happened to Abbie Cornish/Cathy or has she been Bond Girled down the memory hole?

[Claire85]

So Jack takes a girl back to his room and falls asleep with all his work laying around? I hope he’s playing the long game on that one or he looks really dumb. Then she plants (I assume) a bug in the lamp but he’s leaving the next day anyway? 

[mledawn]

This was not the greatest start to a series. Contrived car explosions where the ONLY VEHICLE saved is the one in which our heroes are travelling - check! Our hero sleeps with a shady woman with all the important state secret files out on the desk - check! Jack is shown to be smarter than your average bear so that was particularly brutal.
Who were the two people following Greer, who took him to the hospital? I missed that part.

[Raja]

40 minutes ago, mledawn said:

This was not the greatest start to a series. Contrived car explosions where the ONLY VEHICLE saved is the one in which our heroes are travelling - check! Our hero sleeps with a shady woman with all the important state secret files out on the desk - check! Jack is shown to be smarter than your average bear so that was particularly brutal.
Who were the two people following Greer, who took him to the hospital? I missed that part.

I took it that he was not a covert secret agent but a known US agent with a loose tail on him.

[mledawn]

25 minutes ago, Raja said:

I took it that he was not a covert secret agent but a known US agent with a loose tail on him.

Yes, he was definitely there as a known US representative, but those two were just your regular run-of-the-mill Russian agents just following him in the course of their day vs ulterior motive?

[auntiemel]

You stabbed a dog, show! NOT. COOL!

[Irlandesa]

On 11/1/2019 at 10:14 AM, BaskingsharkGTX said:

Are we going to find out what happened to Abbie Cornish/Cathy or has she been Bond Girled down the memory hole?

Unless something comes up later, it looks like she's just not going to be mentioned.

I'm okay with that.  This show is a work place drama. It didn't do the personal stuff well but Abbie Cornish, as an actress, would probably require more than a brief cameo here and there.  In Season 1 they tried to force the domestic angle.  I'm glad it looks like they're not even going to bother in Season 2.

[Raja]

This isn't a rewatch show for me but where those Jack's and presumably Cathy's kids at the party with the senator? With the Clancy boy scout going full James Bond and bedding a Ryan girl I would guess the doctor has been killed off screen in the time jump.

[sharifa70]

45 minutes ago, Raja said:

This isn't a rewatch show for me but where those Jack's and presumably Cathy's kids at the party with the senator? With the Clancy boy scout going full James Bond and bedding a Ryan girl I would guess the doctor has been killed off screen in the time jump.

Those were the Senator’s kids.

[Constantinople]

Didn't Jack ever watch Clear and Present Danger?

Doesn't he know 

Current/Former CIA agent named Jack Ryan + South American car caravan + Senior American official + Corrupt/Fake local police = Ambush ?

[blackwing]

On 11/1/2019 at 10:14 AM, BaskingsharkGTX said:

Are we going to find out what happened to Abbie Cornish/Cathy or has she been Bond Girled down the memory hole?

I get that they don't want to focus on her and him.  Jack referenced 9/11 so clearly we are in a rebooted universe... so possibly the two of them don't even end up together in this universe?  The show seems to have preferred to have him being able to carelessly sleep with a woman he noticed in a bar who of course turns out to be a spy.
I do think it would have been nice if the show had at least acknowledged her.  "Whatever happened with that doctor you were seeing...."

On 11/1/2019 at 11:05 AM, mledawn said:

Who were the two people following Greer, who took him to the hospital? I missed that part.

I think they were Russian agents who were assigned to tail him.  He told local police that he saw the man beating up the woman, so the police detained them and roughed the guy up a little.  The guy later comes back and tells Greer that he didn't think it was funny.

Greer is Deputy Head of Station in Moscow, right?  Upthread there is speculation that he is a known CIA asset and that he isn't there covertly.  He secretly met with some Russian spy to exchange information.  It seemed to me that it was a clandestine meeting that they didn't want anybody to find out about because Russian guy said that he would just tell people they are lovers.

So is Greer really doing covert work in Russia?  Because if he is, I would think that the fact that he is black doesn't really lend to helping him blend in in Moscow.  

I was confused about his role in Russia but I guess it doesn't matter anymore now that he is in Venezuela.

[Happywatcher]

Enty says the actress who plays Cathy refused to casting couch for season 2 and got fired.

Okay, so not only is Jack too stupid to lock up classified mission essential photos, but the DSS agents don't know to drive though an ambush?

They murdered a sitting senator. Every single person in congress will vote to send most of the US Army and Marine Corps into that country.

[blackwing]

On 11/5/2019 at 5:52 PM, Happywatcher said:

Enty says the actress who plays Cathy refused to casting couch for season 2 and got fired.

Okay, so not only is Jack too stupid to lock up classified mission essential photos, but the DSS agents don't know to drive though an ambush?

They murdered a sitting senator. Every single person in congress will vote to send most of the US Army and Marine Corps into that country.

Wow, I had no idea that was why she got fired.  Surprised the casting couch still happens and curious as to why she hasn't come forward.

Wanted to add that I absolutely love the opening credits.  These are new this season right?  I love how the images transform into other images.  So incredibly cool.  These credits should win the Emmy for Main Title Design.

[Constantinople]

Reyes needs Russian weapons to fight back U. S. sanctions.

If Russian weapons in Venezuela are a concern, and they result from U.S. sanctions, you could always, I don't know, remove the sanctions.

[Mars477]

On 11/25/2019 at 2:17 PM, Constantinople said:

Reyes needs Russian weapons to fight back U. S. sanctions.

If Russian weapons in Venezuela are a concern, and they result from U.S. sanctions, you could always, I don't know, remove the sanctions.

“Venezuela is secretly buying Russian weapons” is a dumbass fearmongering plot point because, as anyone with a modicum of awareness of what is going on in Venezuela knows, Venezuela is pretty openly buying weapons from the Russians.

[Atlanta]

On 11/1/2019 at 11:45 AM, Claire85 said:

So Jack takes a girl back to his room and falls asleep with all his work laying around? I hope he’s playing the long game on that one or he looks really dumb. Then she plants (I assume) a bug in the lamp but he’s leaving the next day anyway? 

He has to be the dumbest CIA employee ever. 

I miss Abbie.