‘The Terminal List’ Season 2 ending explained: Who was the mole and what happened to James Reece?

'The Terminal List' Season 2 puts James Reece (Chris Pratt) at the center of another international conspiracy involving corrupt CIA operatives, Russian ultranationalists, and a deadly assassination plot. Although the former Navy SEAL receives a presidential pardon, the finale reveals that the threat against him stems from his family's past. In the final episodes, Reece loses his longtime friend Freddy Strain (Gabriel Luna), uncovers a plan to destabilize Russia, and discovers that the conspiracy stretches back decades.

Kestrel was a defunct CIA program designed to arm pro-democracy militias in hostile countries. An unknown figure secretly revived the program to divert American weapons intended for Ukraine into the hands of terrorists. Journalist Katie Buranek (Constance Wu) and Raife Hastings (Tom Hopper) trace the missing shipments to CIA analyst Oliver Grey (Jeremy Bobb), who has been working with Russian ultranationalist Ivan Zarkov, known as the Colonel. Grey's betrayal connects the weapons operation to a larger plan to manipulate international politics.

The conspiracy escalates when Russian President Drozdov is assassinated during a peace summit in Odesa, Ukraine. Freddy dies trying to stop the attack, leaving Reece determined to identify everyone responsible. The investigation leads to Russian oligarch Vasili Adrenov (Costa Ronin), who uses Voltstreem Media to spread misinformation and frame the CIA and Ukraine for the assassination. With help from Adrenov's assistant, Yana, Katie uncovers his connection to Grey and the Colonel.

Adrenov reveals that Freddy wasn't the intended target; the sniper was supposed to kill Reece in retaliation for his father's actions decades earlier. Reece eventually learns that his father, Thomas Reece, killed two Russian military advisers during an operation in Vietnam in 1972.

One of the men was Victor Zarkov, the Colonel's brother and Adrenov's father. Ivan Zarkov spent decades plotting revenge, orchestrating the assassination scheme to install Adrenov in power while making Thomas Reece's son pay for his father's actions.

The epilogue jumps forward one month. The immediate political crisis has eased, but Grey, the Colonel, and the surviving sniper remain at large. At Langley, Reece discovers that his father, Thomas Reece, continued working for the CIA rather than abandoning his family as Reece had believed. Thomas was assassinated in Buenos Aires in 1997. His name appears on the agency's memorial wall alongside Freddy's. Reece also notices that Grey is wearing his father's watch. The detail suggests Grey may know more about the circumstances surrounding Thomas's death and his final CIA mission. This discovery gives Reece another personal reason to pursue the surviving conspirators.

Meanwhile, Katie finishes her book about Reece but hands the manuscript to him instead of publishing it. She decides to return to field reporting, while encouraging him to prioritize his cancer treatment. Reece also puts his $4 million reward into a trust for Freddy's son, Samuel. The season closes with Reece undergoing an MRI in preparation for surgery that could give him a chance to survive his illness. However, Grey's new life in St. Petersburg, Russia, makes it clear that Reece's investigation is far from over.

The show's future remains uncertain, although the creators have discussed potential directions for another season. Showrunner David DiGilio has pointed to Savage Son, the third novel in Jack Carr's series, as a possible source for another season. Carr described the book as an exploration of the dark side of human nature through the relationship between hunter and hunted.

'The Terminal List' Season 2 is now streaming on Prime Video.