Jack Ryan episode 4 review: Can someone find John Krasinski a shirt please?

We just saw Hanin and her two daughters escape Suleiman on the last episode of Jack Ryan so we can all breathe a bit easier – at least for now. Jack and the French task force are tracking Ali’s car in hopes that he is going to bring them to Suleiman and going into episode 4 we are very curious to see what happens with that.

Suleiman struggles

Hanin is gone and Suleiman is still visibly sad over losing her and his daughters. Although he is longing for his wife to come back there are other matters he has to tend to like the head of the organization (Al-Radwan) paying him a visit… and it’s not pleasant. He’s heard that Ali is missing, that his wife and children have left him and that Suleiman has been recruiting a militia. Suleiman stands his ground saying that he’s no longer working for him and shows him the money that he’s been gathering. When Suleiman starts paying off Al-Radwan’s men right in front of him they happily join Suleiman. He may have lost his family, but everything that Suleiman has been working towards has finally paid off – he is the head of the snake now and wants to find a way to unite Islam and reclaim their lands.

Can we please lose this “romance” storyline?

We understand why this show would want to have a romantic storyline, especially with John Krasinski in the lead role. Before doing this show he was primarily known for his role on The Office (with a heavy focus on romance) and for doing a bunch of rom-coms, so we get it, but it’s really not working. For us, there is no chemistry between him and Cathy who haven’t even been on a date yet, but in this particular episode we felt like this “connection” was being forced. Jack and the French detective are following Ali and this some how ends up being the right time for him to be pushed into sending Cathy a text to ask her out. Why is this a thing while he’s in the middle of a mission in France? It’s distracting and adds nothing to the rest of the story which is incredibly rich in material. If they really need him to have a love interest then hook him up with this amazing French detective who he actually has some chemistry with.

The search for Ali

The French task force is tracking Ali’s car, but once he runs out of gas he decides it’s better to switch vehicles rather than gas up giving everyone the slip… that is until he stops at the same gas station (to use the bathroom) as Jack. When Ali comes out of the bathroom and sees Jack snooping around the car. A gun fight ensues and Jack misses every single shot he takes at Ali regardless of his military training. He chases Ali into the woods and after another fight Jack isn’t able to subdue him without killing him. Unfortunately, Ali is not the only person that was killed as one of Ali’s shots took out the French detective Jack was working with.

Back at home…

With the hunt for Ali over Greer and Jack head home. Jack goes on his date with Cathy and while the chemistry still isn’t there for us we did finally get a chance to dive a bit further into Jack’s past, which is something this show hasn’t done much of. We knew he was a former Marine and that there was a terrible helicopter accident, but outside of that information on Jack has been pretty dry. We learned about his father dying and the close relationship they had and we also learned more about his actual desk job and what he normally does for the CIA.

Even though Cathy didn’t seem to really be into Jack all that much she still invited him in at the end of the night where we had yet another excuse for Krasinski to take his shirt off. Krasinski is a really great actor, but for some reason almost every episode he’s been in has him shirtless (or without his pants). We get it, he has a great body, but can someone get this guy a shirt already?

Of course Jack will likely be called to action again after we saw a chemical attack happen at a church in France.

Related: Check out our Jack Ryan episode 5 review

CarterMatt Verdict

One of the things we liked about this episode was that they weren’t afraid to shy away from showing the bigotry and fear that some people have out there towards the Muslim community and how many paint the community with the same brush. The scene between Greer and a French detective was especially powerful when Greer revealed that he is a Muslim himself. Jack Ryan has done a really good job showing all different people that are Muslim from Greer, to Ali, to Hanin and Suleiman – all very different people.

What did you think of the fourth episode of Jack Ryan and are you enjoying where the story is going so far? Leave us a comment in the box below with your thoughts. If you want more reviews or scoop on Jack Ryan then be sure to join our official CarterMatt Facebook page to make sure you don’t miss any of our news. (Photo: Amazon)