- Title: Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan – Black 22
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While the episode does continue the storyline in Paris following the bombing and Jack Ryan (John Krasinski) and Greer (Wendell Pierce) continuing to pursue Ali (Haaz Sleiman) across the city, the focus of the show’s third episode shifts away from its title character for much of the storyline. “Black 22” offers a long look at Ari spending time with an old friend who offers him temporary refuge and patches up his wounds while also struggling with Suleiman’s (Ali Suliman) orders to leave no witnesses behind. While Ali’s soul may still be saved, according to the Cold War logic of Tom Clancy adapted to the series, any attempt to portray Suleiman as a nuanced character is abandoned in this episode as it firmly entrenches him as the villain both overseas and in his own home.
Worlds away, the episode also focuses on two separate storylines. In the Middle East, we see Hanin‘s (Dina Shihabi) attempt to get her family away from the violence that her husband has brought into their home (including one well-thought-out plan and a second, far more rushed, attempt), and in the United States a plotline follows the a troubled drone pilot (John Magaro) through struggles with his kills and an encounter with a swinging couple (Cynthia Preston and Lee Tergesen) that gets out of hand. Where the two unrelated stories meet allows for Hanin and her daughters to escape rough reprisal from her husband’s soldiers and make their escape. The split focus allows storylines to continue to progress outside of Jack Ryan’s investigation, but also means the show cuts out its star for much more of the episode than it probably should.