Jack Ryan – Season 4 Episode 5 “Wukong” Recap & Review

Wukong

Episode 5 of Jack Ryan begins with a threatening call from Zeyara to Marquez. She asks him to expedite the delivery of the shipments to the US border.

Ryan, November, and Chavez arrive in Myanmar. Chao ups his security to ensure that the triggers in the vault are safe. The plan is for November to pose as a gambler and then take it from there. Cathy also arrives in Myanmar with her WHO files. Zeyara greets her and takes her to a refugee camp. November successfully gets Chao’s attention and a meeting is set within the hour.

Patrick, the CIA Analyst working with Greer, informs him of Tuttle’s identity after running the blood on the knife recovered from Tuttle through the system. 

We learn that Zeyara once belonged to the refugee camp she showed Cathy. Later, Dr Tun reaches Chao’s house and investigates if Bennu was really sick. Chao reaches the meeting spot and explains how the mass triggers work. Each trigger is linked to one, unique device. The trigger can be used in any which way possible. Chao gives them a keycard to access the casino and open his safe, which has even more triggers. Since Chao wants out of the game with his family’s security, he wants to end the trail of his legacy by destroying these dangerous weapons. Chao is thorough with his instructions. The casino’s high-end security systems and gamut of checks leaves little room for mistake.

Greer has called his son to drive him to Tuttle. This is an opportunity for them to bond and mend relations.

The artillery van that Chao had mounted earlier in the episode is handed over to Chavez and November. Ryan is riled up when Chao tells him about Cathy being used as bait by Zeyara. “She is alive as long as you are,” Chao says to Ryan. The plan for Zeyara is to distract Ryan and prevent him from getting to the triggers. 

Zeyara finally reveals her true intentions to Cathy and asks her to call Ryan. Chao warns him not to pick up as it could endanger them. Cathy is placed in an old prison used by the British back in the 1800s. Dr Tun, meanwhile, has sensed Chao’s betrayal and is on a rampage. He kills Bennu’s pediatrist and ominously heads for Chao. The trio reaches the casino to execute their plan.

Chao informs Zeyara about their arrival but it is all part of the plan. Jack will be the bait and Chao will pretend to be threatened by his presence and try to apprehend him. November will set up explosives to nullify the security systems. Chavez will have a window of 30 seconds to ensure that he makes it inside. If he can’t, well… the mission fails.

Once the power goes off, Jim springs into action and expertly manoeuvres past the cash desk. It is generally one of the most secure areas in a casino with bulletproof glass and limited entry. Jack takes advantage of this and makes his way inside.

Chao does his bit and updates the lock-safe system. He heads towards the vault with security. Jack and Chavez also head to the vault while November readies the chopper on the roof for the final escape.

Jack video calls Zeyara from inside the vault, holding Chao at gunpoint. He calls Zeyara to the vault with Cathy in exchange for not destroying the triggers. November blocks their entry path so that they cannot escape from the same route. Cathy is able to neutralize one of Zeyara’s henchmen and takes his gun. She heads out and lands on the chopper.

Kyi’s panic call to Chao to update him on Tun’s suspicions springs him into action. The trio – Jack, Chao, and Chavez – head to the compound to get Kyi and Bennu, while November and Cathy head to the airfield. Although the plan for the trio was to head to the airfield as well, Tun’s actions mean they go to the compound. Chao warns Ryan that all the data he needs to crack this mega operation is with Kyi. Saving his family will save the US.

Elizabeth heads to Bethesda to find out who was Dominic Sanderson’s anonymous sponsor. At the compound, there are so signs of Kyi and Bennu. After looking around for a while, Chao finally discovers them hiding behind the bushes. But before he can leave, Chao is shot by Dr Tun with a sniper. 

Elizabeth is shocked to find a photo of Osoji with Sanderson. He is the one running the show. Chao understands he cannot keep up and stay back at the compound to send everyone else ahead. He blows up the house when Tun shows up to finish him off. Zeyara calls Osoji to call Tuttle and sends her men to the airfield. In order to hold Tun and Zeyara’s men, Jack and Chavez stay behind to allow the plane to take off. November picks them up in the chopper and they make it out safely as well.

The chopper soon runs out of fuel so Ryan phones Greer with a location update. He also asks Greer to find Cathy and Kyi as soon as they land. Kyi will lead them to the location of the five bombs that were dispatched, although the team in Myanmar destroyed the triggers.

Greer goes into Tuttle’s house with a SWAT team. Tun’s men have tracked down Ryan and co. November is shot in the shoulder as Chavez and Ryan stage a fightback. Greer and the team are able to neutralize Tuttle. But Greer is shocked by what he sees on the screen. A black ops team pulls in from the riverside toward Ryan’s location. It turns out to be a ploy to kidnap Ryan, who is taken as the episode ends. 

The Episode Review

Compared to the previous season, this season’s pivotal business-end explosions and action sequences seem underwhelming. Typically, this is where the previous seasons have peaked but Season 4 has just kind of fallen flat. The urgency that can be exploited from Chao’s circumstance and his race against time is missing. We are seeing a very dull version of the events without the flavour of Jack Ryan’s hallmark storytelling. 

Episode 5 was all action relative to the other episodes. Everything has “converged” to the biochemical weapons that are heading straight for the US border. It’s not hard to imagine how things will play out. But hopefully, there will be some element of surprise that can make this journey worthwhile.