After two thrilling seasons, Jack Ryan returned with Season 3, touching upon the spy genre’s favorite topic—the Cold War! Throughout this season, Jack has been struggling to uncover how an old Cold War plot could cause some real damage if executed today. Finally, the season finale ties it all together!
So what happens in the S3 finale? Does Jack learn what the Sokol project is all about?
In the Jack Ryan S3 finale, Jack uncovers that Petr and Rolan are orchestrating the Sokol Project, a Cold War strategy that can result in a nuclear war. Thankfully, he and Luka manage to pacify both the Americans and the Russians from getting into conflict.
Here’s a detailed explanation of how it all went down:
1. What is the Sokol Project?
The word ‘sokol’ keeps getting thrown around a lot this season, but what does it mean? In Russian, ‘sokol’ means ‘falcon’, and is the name of a Russian military project based on a Soviet war game called Seven Days to the River Rhine.
Seven Days to the River Rhine is, in fact, a real war strategy simulation that was formulated during the Cold War. Jack Ryan’s fictional Sokol Project is almost identical to the real deal. It explores how a nuclear war between the NATO and Warsaw Pact forces can break out within a matter of seven days.
In the episodes gone by, we find out that Luka Goncharov was the second-in-command soldier who was ordered to kill the Sokol scientists. He instructs his subordinates, Petr Lebedev and Rolan Antonov, to complete the task as well. But the two have other plans—reigniting the Sokol Project at the right time.
So decades after the Cold War ended, Petr Lebedev ensures that his daughter, Alena Kovac, becomes Czech Republic’s president. Thankfully, Alena is not too keen on orchestrating a nuclear war, leaving her father to try other strategies. This is where we find ourselves in the finale.
2. How does Jack stop the Sokol Project?
After failing to get his daughter to comply with his nuclear plan, Petr decides to enlist the help of Defense Minister Alexei Petrov. Lending his support, Alexei stages a coup against the Russian President and government.
Of what use will this be? Well, Alexei faces off against the US on international waters. If Alexei’s Russian ship is hostile to theirs, the US will have no option but to fire back, kickstarting a war.
After turning Luka to his side, Jack sends him off to pacify the Russian ship while Jack himself negotiates with the Americans. It’s a tricky situation, but it’s this very tension that’s so beautifully crafted, that makes the finale so great!
Luka swoops in as the savior who not only stops Alexei but also convinces the whole ship’s crew that Alexei is wrong and needs to be imprisoned. Once he achieves this, Jack is also able to pacify the Americans.
It’s finally time for a happy ending. As a new director now, Elizabeth rewards Jack and James with medals of honor for averting a nuclear war.
3. Who dies in the S3 finale?
The three main characters who die in the S3 finale are Alexei Petrov, Petr Lebedev, and Luka Goncharov.
Once Alexei gets arrested, he is immediately killed by the Kremlin soldiers, while Petr is killed by his own daughter, in poetic justice. Rolan, on the other hand, gets imprisoned.
Sadly, even Luka, who heroically saved the day, isn’t safe. By the end of the episode, there’s a mysterious man who shows up at Luka’s doorstep. Luka tells him, “Do not worry, I will not make this difficult,” by which we are to assume that Luka is likely to die off-screen.
4. About Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (also known simply as Jack Ryan) is an American political action thriller television series based on characters from the fictional “Ryanverse” created by Tom Clancy that premiered on Amazon Prime Video.
The first season follows the CIA analyst as he discovers a string of dubious bank transfers carried out by a rising Islamic extremist named Suleiman. The second season sees Jack in the middle of political warfare in a corrupt Venezuela. The third one will see Jack on the run and in a race against time.
Carlton Cuse and Graham Roland created the series, and Cuse serves as an executive producer alongside John Krasinski, Michael Bay, and Mace Neufeld, among others. Krasinski also stars in the series as the title character.
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