Let's Talk About 'The Night Agent' Season Finale

Audiences must've been hankering for a good espionage thriller, because The Night Agent has surpassed expectations by becoming the most-watched series on Netflix since Wednesday in less than a week since its release. Though originally pitched as just a 10-episode limited series, The Night Agent's story of an FBI agent and his mission to find a mole deep within U.S. national security is now looking into even more seasons with breakout actor Gabriel Basso. According to Deadline, the streaming platform announced its plans to renew the series, citing, "the tremendous reaction" from fans. Before we get to his next mission, however, let's rewind to make sure we have this first story down pat.

What Is The Night Agent About?

Our story begins with Peter Sutherland, an FBI late-night emergency phone handler who is only called for missions involving undercover operatives. Author Matthew Quirk—who wrote The Night Agent novel that was adapted into the Netflix series—confirmed in an interview with The Real Book Spy that while this job is greatly over-exaggerated in the series, a friend once told him about how he used to work the night shift for the FBI. "That idea really stuck with me: a young guy sitting by a phone all night every night, waiting for his moment," Quirk explained. "What happens when the phone rings and he’s suddenly dropped into the middle of an emergency, face-to-face with the most powerful people in Washington?"

As the story unfolds, Sutherland begins investigating the murder of a tech CEO's aunt and uncle. Assassins are also after the bereaved CEO, Rose (Luciane Buchanan), whose family is involved in a dark conspiracy that goes all the way up to the White House. Naturally! In the season finale, its revealed that Vice President Ashley Redfield (Christopher Shyer) and the White House Chief of Staff Diane Farr (Hong Chau) were both pulling the strings. "There are people here who make bad choices for what they think are the right reasons," showrunner Shawn Ryan told Netflix. "But that’s a slippery slope that leads to increased bad decisions, where suddenly you look up and you’ve kind of lost your way and you’ve lost your soul.”

Why Did Rose's Aunt and Uncle Die?

It turns out, through various twists and turns, that Rose's family was killed because they came too close to learning the truth about a DC Metro bombing that occurred early in the series. The incident wasn't a terrorist attack, but instead a coordinated effort by the Vice President and the Chief of Staff to assassinate foreign political leader Omar Zadar (Adam Tsekhman). Zadar miraculously lives, and it's only through their second attempt to eliminate him that Sutherland is able to put the plot together. Stopping the second assassination at Camp David, Sutherland and his team of Night Agents also save the life of the President.

What's Next for The Night Agent?

In the end, Peter hops onto a jet and receives an envelope for his next mission—should he choose to accept it. It's a very Mission: Impossible way of leaving the door open for a potential Season Two, sure, but it's a tried-and-true formula. "One of the reasons we like Peter so much is he's a rule follower who has such a strict moral code that he lives by. We admire the choices he makes,” Ryan told Netflix. “[As a night agent] those choices will become difficult, the stakes will become even higher and the danger he's in will grow even bigger.” More danger? Higher stakes? Sounds perfect for a second season.

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