Prime Video‘s global hit spy thriller series is finally coming back after three years, but this week’s release comes with a twist, making for an exciting return. Prime Video’s TV show roster is quite packed at the moment. The streaming service is about to see the conclusion of its flagship series, The Boys, on Wednesday, May 20.
As such, this is already one of the biggest weeks in the streamer’s history. That said, The Boys‘ ending is not the only major element that makes this week so special for the streaming giant. Among Prime Video’s best shows are several action series. One of them is Reacher, led by Alan Ritchson, which will return at some point in 2026.
While exciting, Reacher is not Prime Video’s only action series focused on an iconic character to find success at the streamer. In fact, Reacher has had a direct competitor throughout its run on the platform. Although it seemed like that spy thriller series was done, there was a surprising plan behind the scenes, and it will return quite soon, but in a new way.
Central Intelligence Agency · Analyst Assessment Jack Ryan “The world is gray, Jack. Not black and white.”
Eight questions spanning all four seasons of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Prime Video. Every wrong answer is designed to look right — you’ll need real analyst-level knowledge to go eight for eight.
SR CIA Analyst Assessment Division 8 questions · 3 min read
🎯OpsBoots on ground
🔍IntelFollow the money
🎭CastKey players
💣ThreatsGlobal danger
📖LegacyTom Clancy canon
01
In the first season of Jack Ryan, analyst Ryan discovers a pattern of suspicious financial transfers that leads him to track down a dangerous Islamic terrorist. What is the antagonist’s name?
✓ Correct! Mousa bin Suleiman (played by Ali Suliman) is the Season 1 antagonist. A former resistance fighter radicalized by tragedy, he orchestrates a massive terrorist attack that Jack must stop from his desk at T-FAD.
✗ Incorrect. The answer is Mousa bin Suleiman. Played by Ali Suliman, Suleiman is a complex villain whose radicalization is traced back to the loss of his family — making him one of the show’s most compelling antagonists.
02
Before becoming a CIA analyst, Jack Ryan served in the U.S. military and survived a traumatic helicopter crash in Afghanistan. In which branch did he serve?
✓ Correct! Jack Ryan was a U.S. Marine — consistent with both the Prime Video series and Tom Clancy’s original novels. His helicopter crash in Afghanistan left him with a severe back injury and PTSD, driving him to intelligence work.
✗ Incorrect. The answer is the U.S. Marine Corps. In both the show and the novels, Jack Ryan is a former Marine whose combat experience and devastating helicopter crash in Afghanistan shaped his transition to the CIA.
03
Season 2 takes Jack Ryan to a politically unstable South American nation embroiled in corruption, an election crisis, and a potential nuclear weapons conspiracy. Which country?
✓ Correct! Season 2 is set primarily in Venezuela, where Jack uncovers evidence of illegal arms shipments and a potential nuclear threat linked to President Nicolás Reyes. The season tackles political instability and electoral corruption.
✗ Incorrect. The answer is Venezuela. Jack Ryan discovers satellite imagery of illegal weapons shipments in the Venezuelan jungle, pulling him into a conspiracy involving the country’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Reyes.
04
Wendell Pierce plays Jack Ryan’s CIA colleague, mentor, and eventual close friend throughout the series. What is his character’s name?
✓ Correct! James Greer (Wendell Pierce) starts as Jack’s skeptical boss at T-FAD and becomes his most trusted ally. The show reimagines the character from the novels — originally a white admiral — as a Black Muslim CIA officer with a complex past.
✗ Incorrect. The answer is James Greer. Wendell Pierce’s portrayal reimagines the classic Tom Clancy character as a Muslim CIA officer with deep field experience, creating one of the show’s most important dynamics with Jack.
05
In Season 3, Jack Ryan goes on the run across Europe after being framed. The conspiracy he uncovers is connected to a secret Cold War–era Russian project. What is it called?
✓ Correct! The Sokol Project (“sokol” meaning “falcon” in Russian) is a secret plan to destabilize the West and restore Russian dominance. Jack goes rogue across Europe to expose the conspiracy before it triggers a global crisis.
✗ Incorrect. The answer is the Sokol Project. Named after the Russian word for “falcon,” Sokol is a Cold War–era plan to undermine Western alliances from within — and Season 3’s main conspiracy that forces Jack to go on the run.
06
At the beginning of the series, Jack Ryan is a desk analyst at the CIA specializing in a specific field. What is his area of expertise?
✓ Correct! Jack works in T-FAD — the Terror Finance and Arms Division — tracking money flows to identify terrorist networks. It’s his financial analysis skills that first flag Suleiman’s suspicious transfers in the series premiere.
✗ Incorrect. The answer is terror finance and economics. Jack works in T-FAD (Terror Finance and Arms Division), where his ability to trace financial patterns is what originally uncovers the Suleiman threat in Season 1.
07
In the final season, Jack Ryan confronts a rogue CIA faction and a drug cartel while investigating a criminal network stretching from Nigeria to which Southeast Asian country?
✓ Correct! Season 4 follows Jack from Nigeria to Myanmar, where he uncovers a massive drug trafficking operation intertwined with a corrupt faction within the CIA itself. The final season brings the series to a thrilling, globe-spanning conclusion.
✗ Incorrect. The answer is Myanmar (Burma). The final season sends Jack from the streets of Lagos, Nigeria, to the jungles of Myanmar, where he must dismantle a drug empire and root out corruption within his own agency.
08
In Tom Clancy’s original novels — which inspired the Prime Video series — Jack Ryan eventually rises through the government to hold the highest possible office. Which position does he ultimately reach?
✓ Correct! In the novels, Jack Ryan becomes President of the United States after a catastrophic attack on the Capitol during a joint session of Congress. He serves as a reluctant but principled leader across several books in the series.
✗ Incorrect. The answer is President of the United States. In Clancy’s “Executive Orders,” Ryan ascends to the presidency after a devastating attack. He does also serve as CIA Deputy Director and National Security Advisor along the way.
Assessment Complete Your CIA Analyst Clearance Score
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/ 8
This briefing has been filed. The Agency thanks you for your service, analyst.
That show is Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, which starred John Krasinski as the title character for four seasons. While the Prime Video series concluded with season 4 on July 14, 2023, now, nearly three full years later, it is coming back in another format. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War, Krasinski’s first movie as the action hero, will be released on Prime Video this Wednesday, May 20.
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War Brings Back The Franchise To Where It Began
Prime Video choosing not to continue the Jack Ryan series, only to bring back Krasinski’s version of the character and other cast members, like Wendell Pierce as James Greer and Michael Kelly as Mike November, was surprising. That said, it is a fitting move for the franchise, as Krasinski’s spy series is the true outlier. Before the 4-season Prime Video thriller series, only Jack Ryan movies had been released, with the project being the only TV show to come from the franchise to this day. As such, with Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War, it’s back to basics.
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan holds a strong 80% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ghost War is the sixth movie in the Jack Ryan franchise. Before Krasinski got to play the iconic character originated in the novels by Tom Clancy, actors like Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine got to give life to the CIA analyst-turned-capable action hero. So far, the best-received of them by critics and moviegoers alike was the first film, Baldwin’s The Hunt for Red October, which stands at a stellar 88% critics’ and audience scores. The latest Jack Ryan movie was Pine’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, with a negative 55% score from critics and 52% from viewers.
Why John Krasinski’s Jack Ryan Returning In A Movie Is Better Than Season 5
John Krasinski trying to save Wendell Pierce in Jack Ryan: Ghost War
Credit: Jonny Cournoyer/Prime
As the first Jack Ryan movie in 12 years, Ghost War has a major mission on its hands. Not only does it need to properly translate a TV show’s universe to a cinematic format, but it also must make up for Pine’s film not living up to expectations. Still, while an unusual move, having Krasinski return as the character for a movie is better than if Prime Video had moved forward with Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan season 5. After its strong first season, the Prime Video thriller series felt stretched thin at times, with filler moments and narratives that dragged.
Now that the show is done, there is a solid foundation to explain who Krasinski’s Jack Ryan is as a character, as what he loves, what he fears, what motivates him, and more elements have been laid bare for all to see. Instead of risking a dragged-out story in season 5, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War allows the franchise to dive right in with a high-stakes storyline, a bigger budget for intense action scenes, and a lean premise that never lets the film slow down. When it returns this week, the Jack Ryan franchise should be at its best.
