‘The Recruit’: Creator Alexi Hawley Talks Owen’s Evolution for Season 2 and Plans for Season 3 (Exclusive)

Spoilers ahead for Season 2 of Netflix’s The Recruit.

After over two years, Netflix’s spy thriller The Recruit has finally dropped its second season, and creator Alexi Hawley spoke to PopCulture.com about what could be next. Noah Centineo returned as CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks, who just can’t seem to stay away from international conflicts. Even more so, the second season picked up immediately after the Season 1 cliffhanger, which involved Laura Haddock’s Max Meladze getting killed by her own daughter.

Season 2 also saw Owen getting “pulled into a life-threatening espionage situation in South Korea, only to realize that the bigger threat just might be coming from inside the Agency.” Unlike the first season, Season 2’s intense plot and action sequences managed to wrap up after just six episodes with no cliffhanger. Everyone sailed off in the sunset virtually unharmed, but that doesn’t mean that the story ends there.

“I definitely have plans for a third season,” Hawley shared. “Cliffhangers are bold choices, especially in the television landscape. I like the idea of ending the season with a feeling of satisfaction, whereas Season 1 was, which doesn’t mean that there’s not some stuff outstanding going into, hopefully, Season 3. But, yeah, cliffhangers are a lot, and especially in the streaming world, they’re just they’re dangerous because the last thing you wanna do is end up with your audience not seeing what happens next.”

Meanwhile, Season 2 also included a new side to Owen Hendricks that involved escaping assassins, traveling the globe, and being aware of what he’s actually doing and who is involved. Whether it was because he was a changed man after having to kill someone in the first season or he ended up getting used to being on the run and chasing down bad guys, the evolution from the first episode of Season 1 to the final episode of Season 2 is clear. “It’s been good,” Hawley said, in regards to Owen growing and learning while at the CIA.

“Trying to track this guy who really has good intentions, but he is selfish,” he explained. “And that was really important in Season 1, and even going into Season 2, is the idea that, especially with Hannah, and that relationship that Owen really is… he’s just selfish. He’s just a guy who will get in trouble and ask for help from people and pull them into his trauma in a way that he can rationalize his own head.”

“There is a moment in Season 2 as he’s sort of deep into the season where he does realize in the moment that he’s doing it again,” Hawley continued. “There’s a self-awareness that comes around with Owen in Season 2 about what he does, the way he interacts with the people, and the advantage he takes of them sometimes. In a way, even though he can justify it, he really is trying to save the day. He is really trying to do the right thing, but it’s done in such a way that is unhealthy.”

“And so I appreciate that we could tell this character the story of this character who is actually a pretty… I mean, you love him, but he’s definitely flawed. Which you know, that was I think that would feel good,” Hawley shared. Even though a third season has not been confirmed, it wouldn’t be surprising if that was the case. If a Season 3 happens, the evolution will surely continue and it will be another exciting batch of episodes. Both seasons of The Recruit are streaming now on Netflix.