The Recruit - General Discussion

[AnimeMania]

The Recruit will stream all 8 episodes on December 16, 2022 on Netflix.        \

Owen Hendricks is a new lawyer for the CIA, with only 2 days on the job, he is tasked with going through all the letters the CIA organization has received from people threatening to reveal classified information. Owen comes across a blackmail letter from Max Meladze, a former CIA asset threatening to expose some of the CIA's secrets unless the CIA exonerate her of a serious crime.

Owen must learn to navigate the dark world of political espionage and blend in with a bunch of devious power players as he travels the world in order to save the day.

Noah Centineo as Owen Hendricks, a 24-year-old lawyer at the CIA who is just trying to survive his first week on the job. 

Laura Haddock as Max Meladze, an inmate who tries to blackmail the CIA in order to get released from prison.

Colton Dunn as Lester Kitchens

Aarti Mann as Violet Ebner 

Vondie Curtis-Hall as Walter Nyland 

Kaylah Zander as Amelia Salazar  

Fivel Stewart as Hannah Copeland, Owen Hendricks' roommate and ex-girlfriend

Daniel Quincy Annoh as Terrence, Owen Hendricks' roommate

Kristian Bruun as Janus Ferber

Katharine King So as Sarah Okongo

Andres Turgeon-Trelles as Talco

Alexandra Petrachuk as Kelly Kwitny

Amanda Ip as Bricks

Jamaal Grant as Liam

Andy Assaf as Ahmed

Byron Mann as Xander 

[AnimeMania]

The Recruit     December 16    Netflix     

Episodes 1-8    Titles and Descriptions

Spoiler

S01.E01: I.N.A.S.I.A.L. 

Thrown into the deep end during his first week at the CIA, rookie lawyer Owen Hendricks quickly gets in over his head when he uncovers a possible threat.

S01.E02: N.L.T.S.Y.P. 

While scrambling to learn how to navigate the high-stakes world of international espionage, Owen attempts to track down classified information on Max.

S01.E03: Y.D.E.K.W.Y.D. 

Owen's crash course in CIA protocols continues as he negotiates with Max, goes on a date with a co-worker and contends with a hostile agency employee.

S01.E04: I.Y.D.I.A.A.C. 

When a major snag jeopardizes Max's case, Owen races to find a legal loophole — and urges her not to take matters into her own ruthless hands.

S01.E05: T.S.L.A.Y.P. 

Owen's plan to move on from Max suffers a setback when he's ordered back to Phoenix, where credit cards and prying eyes cause problems at work and home.

S01.E06: I.C.I.N.C. 

On the heels of his risky negotiations on Max's behalf, Owen faces uncomfortable questions from his colleagues — and friends — about their connection.

S01.E07: I.M.F.T.B.S. 
A mission to Geneva to retrieve assets from a Swiss bank account spirals into chaos for Owen and Max, while Hannah's mom pressures her for information.

S01.E08: W.T.F.I.O.H. 
The mission with Max takes a dangerous turn as complications arise, bullets fly — and Owen's personal and professional lives collide.

[twoods]

I’m liking it so far.

[Slider]

Enjoyed it more than I thought I would, though I can’t stand the Hannah story. She’s not likable or interesting. The other roommate is ok, but they don’t give him anything to do.

[Snazzy Daisy]

Watchable but forgettable.

Whenever I see some unbelievable scenes, I keep reminding myself that this is not a real espionage thriller, it is just Alexi Hawley’s creation. His depiction of CIA is best summarized by Janus.

Quote

“This place is an organization of con men, which makes us lawyers for cheats and liars who are actively trying to sabotage us.”

- Janus Ferber

Noah Centineo as Owen Hendricks is OK, particularly in earlier episodes. Then his character gradually gets more ridiculous and annoying especially when he keeps using people around him without consequences. Watching Owen tries to push a subpoena hearing is boring. A CIA lawyer forgets to factor in the Switzerland/US time difference when dealing with international banking facilities? How genius! 🙄

The best part of this show is Laura Haddock as Max Meladze. She’s cunning and a go-getter. There is no sexual tension between Max and Owen, their hookup feels forced and unnecessary.

Some of the unlikeable supporting characters are not needed and have wasted a lot of screen times - the roommate/ex-gf (Hannah), the office bullies (Violet & Lester), the office hookup (Amelia).

Quote

“I don’t want to be that girl who says she’s worried about you.”

- Hannah Copeland

She then spends most of her times worrying about him so much and ridiculously follows him across the continent. 🙄

After spending nearly 8 hours on this show, the viewers don’t deserve that kind of half-baked, wishy-washy cliffhanger. Why do we have to wait for a year or two to know what happens? Just wrap up your season arc properly.

Edited December 18, 2022 by SnazzyDaisy

[marcee]

Add me to the list of Hannah-haters. Despise. I actually enjoyed Amelia and that relationship seemed the most “realistic” out of all of them and, at the very least, was entertaining. Hannah is boring. Their relationship is boring. And Max/Owen is not at all believable or enjoyable and it’s  borderline icky. I knew Nishka was Max’s daughter from the jump. I don’t really care about that either. I wish Owen were more capable. I like his flawed personality - jumping into things headfirst… not thinking too hard before acting… and getting himself into sticky situations on the regular. But I’d prefer him to be smarter, more MacGyver and less MacGruber. I’d like to see him solve things on the fly, using charisma and intelligence - calling in favors. I don’t love stupid and sloppy. There might be promise, but I’m not convinced.

[twoods]

Yeah this show could have done without Hannah’s annoying ass lurking everywhere. I liked the other roommate but she was clearly there to play the jealous ex girlfriend/pretend to have hot chemistry with lead female, and it did not work at all.

[shrewd.buddha]

The most surprising thing about this show is the lack of surprises.  Owen isn't particularly clever or resourceful - he manages to stumble from one situation to the next, surviving because of plot armor. 

I knew what I was in for by the first episode.  When the showrunners aren't confident in their show they tend to do these things:
a) Show part of the high-stakes finale, then flash the title card: "Two Weeks earlier" (or a variation of that)
b) After the first episode, attach a highlight reel preview of  upcoming scenes.

Watching it as a  comedy helps. It is like a mashup of Friends and The Office.
CIA employees using their personal cell phones for work?!  Sure..
Bring Your Kids to Work Day at Langley?!  Why not.. 
 

On 12/18/2022 at 5:33 AM, SnazzyDaisy said:

it is just Alexi Hawley’s creation

.. looking at his "body of work" .. it appears he is attempting to corner the market on "The New Guy at the organization" genre. 

On 12/18/2022 at 5:33 AM, SnazzyDaisy said:

viewers don’t deserve that kind of half-baked, wishy-washy cliffhanger

Agreed. And how long will they put off introducing Owen's mother?  They mention her constantly. This show is so old-school, it's obvious they will try for the high-profile actor boost.  If the first season is a "success", they have more leverage to bargain with. 

Edited December 22, 2022 by shrewd.buddha

[Snazzy Daisy]

19 minutes ago, shrewd.buddha said:

.. looking at his "body of work" .. it appears he is attempting to corner the market on "The New Guy at the organization" genre. 

How many agencies left for him to explore? 😆

I wonder why he didn’t cast Bailey the Wonder Woman as Dawn Gilbane. Instead, he chose Luna Grey.

[overtherainbow]

I know this show is literally CIA propaganda just like Jack Ryan and another cheesy spy thriller but the characters are more endearing than most for a netflix show. The roommates were forgettable though

[JH Lipton]

On 12/18/2022 at 2:33 AM, SnazzyDaisy said:

After spending nearly 8 hours on this show, the viewers don’t deserve that kind of half-baked, wishy-washy cliffhanger. Why do we have to wait for a year or two to know what happens? Just wrap up your season arc properly.

So we wasted almost 8 hours for THAT ending.  So much for the whole premise.  Blergh.

[paigow]

Want to find a secret CIA base in Lebanon? Call a cab

[revbfc]

I was rooting for this show, but it ended in a mess.  I like the characters, it has potential, and I hope season 2 gets its act together.

If there is no season 2, I hope Noah Centineo gets signed to play Superman.  He’d be perfect.

[AnimeMania]

‘The Recruit’ Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix

[30 Helens]

The show was entertaining enough, in a disposable kind of way. I’ll probably watch season 2, but I won’t be waiting breathlessly for it. The biggest problem, for me, was in the casting of Owen. The role needed someone a little more charming, a little less doughy faced. When he would get all tough and badass, the other characters would buy it, but not me. Someone like White Collar-era Matt Bomer would have been a much better choice.

[Ottis]

Is Owen supposed to be charming? Because I’m 17 minutes into the first ep and he is incredibly annoying. The only interesting characters are the agency boss and the sketchy, speed-taking colleague from Orphan Black. Hope Owen chills out soon. UPDATE: OK, Max I like. Owen is like the Zachary Levi  Shazam.

Update after 4 eps (I give every show 3-4 eps): I get it, now. This is basically a show aimed at millenials and Zs  that portrays characters who are 25-35 as Important. Owen is a lawyer and fresh recruit who repeatedly escapes death and talks his way out of lethal situations. One roomie is inexplicably a powerful DC mover and shaker who knows Senators and SC justices (because of her parents, ironically). His coworkers, all young except the boss and a flaky lifer, have Big Plans for the Future (one has a full TV studio set up at her place, to prepare to be a talking head, another thinks of a horrible action for an AI case that raises ethical questions and the show not only ignores them, but credits her with being super clever). 

IRL, no one would take these people seriously. Owen would be dead, the others would be ignored. But the show is designed to appeal to a target audience that already thinks it is not respected enough for its oversized egos. As a result, the show is a bit silly, but it takes itself deadly seriously. And the romantic stuff is just cringy.

The good parts are its depiction of the CIA as well as some of the ways DC works (probably, what do I know), as well as the handful of more realistically experienced characters. So if you can accept that all these newbies can do what they are shown doing, you might like it.

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Ottis

[Mindthinkr]

Came late to this series, but disliked the cliffhanger ending. I expected so much more than a continuation of a bumbling agent. IRL he would fly. 

[AnimeMania]

‘Past Lives’ Star Teo Yoo to Join ‘The Recruit’ Season 2 Cast

The Recruit Season 2 finds Noah Centineo‘s CIA lawyer, Owen Hendricks, pulled into a life-threatening espionage situation in South Korea, only to realize that the bigger threat just might be coming from inside the Agency.

Teo Yoo has been cast as a series regular. He will play a highly skilled South Korean NIS agent with a subversive sense of humor and willing to go to any lengths to protect those he cares about.