Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan - First Episode

'Former military and up-and-coming CIA analyst, Jack Ryan is thrust into the middle of the action.' This is one way to describe the first episode of the new Amazon Prime show, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. As a fan of, the for me familiar, Tom Clancy games, I soon spotted this show as a September release. And just as well! The first episode captivated me and made me curious about the following episodes, which are also available on Amazon Prime.



The opening scene immediately grabs your attention. It starts in the Middle East, in Lebanon to be precise, in the 1980s. Times were still good for the two brothers we see on screen, but unfortunately good times don't last. Particularly when the Beqaa valley is bombarded by several fighter jets. We shift to the present where we meet Jack Ryan (John Krasinski, The Office), a former military and up-and-coming CIA analyst - I have to say, after John Krasinski's part as Jim Halpert in The Ofice, this is a nice reference to his earlier acting days. After Ryan discovers several suspicious transactions, he informs his new no-nonsense boss, James Greer (Wendell Pierce, Suits). After some arguing with Greer and an investigation, he takes Ryan with him into the middle of the action: Yemen. Here the real story unfolds and Jack's adventure starts.

We see two sides of the same coin

In the past several well-known actors played the part of Jack Ryan; Alec Baldwin, Ben Affleck, Chris Pine and Harrison Ford are the big names who played the part on the silver screen. But Krasinski is the first one to play the part in a TV series and in my opinion this was a good choice. The show has a good structure. It shows the earlier days of Jack Ryan as a CIA analyst. We also see two sides of the same coin, the coin being the series. The story of the CIA and how they track terrorists and the world of those terrorists. It's often difficult to find a good balance, but Jack Ryan succeeds.



This pilot gave a good idea of the rest of the series. It certainly seems like an action-filled show. It shows two sides of a story and makes you want to watch the rest. Fortunately, the whole series can be seen on Amazon Prime, so binge-watching is possible. I will definitely do so!