Jack Ryan season 4 episode 1 recap: a task the super-spy might not be up to

One of TV and film's most prolific spies returns, because Jack Ryan season 4 brings back John Krasinski's adaptation of the Tom Clancy character for one final adventure. This time, Ryan's foe may be his own agency.

After Ryan's adventures in Russia in season 3 led to him being the Deputy Director of the CIA — but also drew scrutiny when he went rogue — Ryan now finds himself and Director Wright (Betty Gabriel) tasked with picking up the pieces from outgoing director Miller. This is the last season of Prime Video's series Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, so the fate of the character really is up in the air.

Like all good spy shows, Jack Ryan season 4 is twisty and turny, and so you could easily miss a beat when watching an episode. That's why we've written this Jack Ryan season 4 episode 1 recap, for the episode entitled Triage, so you can get all the important pieces of information. For the purposes of clarity, we've presented each storyline together, even though they're all interwoven throughout the episode.

If you still haven't watched the show, we also have a guide on how to watch Jack Ryan season 4 which you can use.

*Spoilers for Jack Ryan season 4 episode 1 follow*

Trouble in Nigeria

After a brief prologue that sees Jack Ryan being hung up in chains in a basement and tortured with electricity, we jump three weeks into the past; a group of soldiers breaks into a compound in Nigeria, kills a man and takes his blood. In charge is a man working behind a bank of computers somewhere, but when the plan goes sour, this man turns off his screen and walks away — turns out he's just working in a normal office building. This man, Mr. Walters, calls someone in Myanmar to confirm that the job is done.

We're introduced to Jack Ryan, now Deputy Director of the CIA, and Director Wright as they take a meeting with the President of the United States. As it turns out, the operatives in Nigeria were using CIA gear, and the man they killed was the Nigerian President, but neither Ryan nor Wright knows whether the operation was a CIA one or not. Outgoing CIA Director Miller ran a hushed operation, and so his replacements are left struggling to pick up his pieces.

At an intelligence commission about the attack several days later, Ryan still doesn't know if the attacks were CIA ones or not — he states that the CIA is at risk of splintering, and outside interests are at play in the organization, but he wants to turn it around. After his actions in Russia in season 3, the committee has doubts, and it sounds like Ryan does too.

Ryan goes home and has a romantic dinner with girlfriend Cathy Mueller (Abbie Cornish, no mention of where she's been since season 1) which is interrupted when James Greer (Wendell Pierce) comes over for a drink. Greer mentions that CIA Director Miller was a fan of using shorthand code at the CIA, which could be why Ryan can't find evidence of the Nigeria operations.

Drugs in Mexico

In Mexico, new character Domingo Chavez (Michael Peña) is carrying a box around a party, and corners a drunk man. Later, Chavez takes said box to Marquez (Diego Wallraff) who opens it to find a pair of hands. Marquez believes these hands are the gateway to his gang building a relationship with the Silver Lotus Triad in Asia.

Chavez talks to police lieutenant Morales, and pays him not to raid Marquez's gang's lab, promising payment will come by the morning of the operation. A few days later, much to Morales' chagrin, the money doesn't come — and his bank account has been shut down.

We also see Chavez talking to a bunch of well-armed American soldiers, and he gives them a plan for a mysterious operation.

Triad in Myanmar

We're also introduced to Chao Fah (Louis Ozawa) who works for the Triad, and upon receiving a text from Marquez with a picture of the hands, they decide to go to Mexico to start up a trade. Fah talks to his son about how things are changing for the Triad, but that it's all about family at heart.

Fah travels to Mexico, where he meets Chavez and a representative of Marquez. However the police show up, and the Triad fights back, leading to a gunfight on the docks.

While the armed men from before extract Chavez, Fah and his son escape in a car. Fah also texts Kyi Fah (Jacelyn Parry) who's about to get on a plane with her daughter, telling her to stay put as there's been a change of plans. The duo don't get on the plane in the end.

Jack Ryan's new mission

Ryan and Greer try to figure out Miller's shorthand to understand all the missions, but there are nine they can't get to the bottom of.

Greer returns to his family home, reconnecting with his estranged ex-wife and two children over dinner. While his daughter jokes about joining the CIA, his son still isn't happy that Greer is back.

Instead of decyphering the files, Ryan calls Director Wright to tell her his plan — he's going to simply cut off funding for these nine operations. The next day after some rowing, Wright approaches Ryan with news of the port fight, with evidence that the CIA was involved in this too.

At a gala for Nigeria which Wright, Ryan and Mueller are all at, we're introduced to two more people: Adebayo 'Ade' Osoji (Okieriete Onaodowan), a passionate lobbyist for Nigeria, and Zeyara Lemos (Zuleikha Robinson), the host of the gala who's also keen to work with Mueller's organization.

After the gala Ryan and Mueller return to his home, but they're not alone. Chavez, hiding in the dark, puts a gun to Ryan's head and tells him that he has 24 hours to "turn Pluto back on" before vanishing. Presumably, this is in reference to one of the nine operations Ryan shut down, and not the planet Pluto which had its planethood rescinded in 2006, as the CIA had no involvement in that.