Creator of The Recruit Alexi Hawley gives a peek at Owen Hendricks’ future. In the Netflix spy thriller The Recruit, Noah Centineo takes on his first major acting role as Owen. Although viewers are first given a fair introduction to Owen as a lawyer who has recently begun working for the CIA, he quickly finds himself in jeopardy when former CIA asset Max Meladze (Laura Haddock) threatens to divulge the details of her connection with the agency. She asks Owen to serve as a type of middleman, but their relationship develops to the point where both of their lives are in danger.
The eight-episode series, which counts Edge of Tomorrow director and executive producer Doug Liman among its credits, emphasizes that Owen is mostly to blame for much of the peril in The Recruit. He likes taking chances because he always needs to prove and surpass himself. Hawley discusses how the show’s prospective second season will deal with the protagonist’s shortcomings without losing what makes it entertaining in an exclusive conversation with ScreenRant. Here is a quotation from Hawley:
I think the impact of what he’s been through needs to be dealt with. He’s going to be going through stuff. It was really important to us as a show that – he’s not an action hero. He doesn’t pick up a gun until the end. And then he’s incredibly affected by what happens. And so we got to carry that forward at the same time. We don’t want to lose the fun of the show or the character because he is a guy who always runs toward danger. He is a guy who always jumps to the deep end to see if he can get out. And so that carries through as well. It’s just now he’s dealing with some reality, which is super real. So the question is, does he deal with it, or does he suppress it?
During The Recruit Season 2, will Owen become more mature?
The main unanswered issue in The Recruit is how Owen will change, along with its dramatic conclusion. He has been exposed for his inexperience and lack of knowledge right from the start of the series. Owen consistently responds that his father is deceased and that he and his mother have a difficult relationship. Of course, it would be one thing if Owen’s actions had caused no harm to anyone. The Netflix Original, however, repeatedly criticizes the protagonist for his damaging actions from his ex-girlfriend, who still harbors affection for him, and his encouraging pals.
The last episode brought some of it quickly into focus, but most of it just simmers in the background. It makes sense given that the major plot is Max’s secret and how Owen will escape his most recent situation. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy, Centineo gets the opportunity to play his most complicated role by diverging from his work with Lana Condor. The Recruit has barely hinted at such intricacy thus far. The show’s creator affirms that a follow-up will delve deeper and cover more ground.
In any event, Centineo hasn’t served society well as a flawed hero or a cunning spy. In the first two episodes of The Recruit, action, and humor seamlessly coexist as Owen escapes various threats and somehow survives. The series may develop into a truly enjoyable espionage romp if it capitalizes on that more in upcoming episodes while delving into character development.