‘Jack Ryan’ Recap: ‘Persona Non Grata’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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​There are quite a few elements that go into making a story, great. But of the many pieces to that particular puzzle, one that always stands out to me, is misdirection. Because if a story is able to genuinely surprise an audience in ways they never saw coming, then it has done a fine job of building tension and immersing you in other matters and this is something that Jack Ryan is pulling off in masterful fashion in season two. Because I know personally, I’ve been so intrigued by the spy stuff and the drama that comes with that, that I’ve been completely oblivious to the tension building behind the scenes. That is, until everything exploded in disastrous fashion in the next episode.
 
For ‘Persona Non Grata’ saw everything fall to pieces in epic and devastating fashion and well, I use the word devastating simply because, the collapse of everything that Jack and Greer have been working toward, cost a fan favorite character, their life. Because Matice and his boys found themselves under fire from Reyes’ chief of security, and while they were able to reunite with Uber and get their hands on some quality intel, they were grossly outnumbered. Which prompted Matice to send his boys back to the boat and draw the enemy deeper in the forest, all in the hopes of saving lives and intel and this was… a doomsday decision. Because Matice was grossly outnumbered and outgunned and eventually, Venezuelan forces surrounded him and killed him made a mockery of his corpse as well.
 
But while that is pretty awful in its own right, there were more hardships and awful surprises to be had in this particular tale, and all of them seemed to be the result of President Reyes playing the long game with Jack and Greer. Because after a visit to the shady lawyer that paid Max, our intrepid heroes found themselves detained at the President’s pleasure, and when it became clear that Jack wasn’t backing down in his investigation, Reyes kicked his little plan into overdrive. For he released images of Greer shaking hands with Gloria Bonadle, and of Matice’s corpse, all in the hopes of showing the good people of Venezuela that the United States was robbing them of a fair election, and to complicate matters further, he ordered the Embassy closed, which should have put an end to any further investigation when it comes to the death of Senator Moreno and the president’s potential ties to Jimmy’s untimely passing.
 
However, Reyes really didn’t count on the fact that Jack and Greer and COS November would see right through this shady decision and do whatever it takes to uncover the truth and really, watching this trio arm up and load up on cash was the only real joyous highlight of this story. Because you knew deep down that they were going to get results and quick now that they were free of diplomatic constraints. But alas, this story wasn’t done beating us up just yet. For while November and Jack headed toward the safe house, Greer found himself in a far more precarious situation. For his driver was loyal to Reyes, and he was happy to turn Jim over to the president’s head of security and well, that’s where this one ends, with disaster and devastation and worry since no good can come from Greer’s capture. 
 
If anything, all of these elements made this episode tough to watch, because this one was supremely intense and bleak and honestly, I’m genuinely bothered by Matice’s death. Because I simply did not see such a twist coming and really his passing and how this episode ends speaks to the fact that the stakes are higher than ever on this series and well, now that chaos has arrived, and the team is without support, I have to admit that I am both nervous and anxious to see what happens next. Because at this point, the show isn’t messing around and anything can happen and that will likely make the final two chapters in this particular tale, explosive and powerful and potentially heartbreaking. Until next time.  

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