Warning: SPOILER for Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan season 2.
A major character is missing entirely from Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan season 2: Dr. Cathy Mueller (Abbie Cornish) shockingly doesn't appear at all. John Krasinski returns as the titular American hero (and as executive producer) in Jack Ryan season 2; this time, the CIA analyst becomes embroiled in Venezuelan political intrigue as he investigates an illegal shipment of weapons into the South American country. But while Ryan has his hands full pursuing a personal vendetta against President Reyes of Venezuela (Jordi Molla), Cathy is unexpectedly absent from Jack's latest adventure.
In Tom Clancy's novels, Caroline "Cathy" Mueller is a talented surgeon who becomes Mrs. Jack Ryan. Abbie Cornish is, in fact, the fifth actress to play Cathy; Gates McFadden plays her in The Hunt For Red October opposite Alec Baldwin while Anne Archer took the role opposite Harrison Ford in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. The next two Jack Ryan movies are reboots and the romance between younger incarnations of Jack and Cathy became the centerpiece of the story: Bridget Moynahan played Cathy opposite Ben Affleck in The Sum of All Fears while Keira Knightley's Cathy got to join in the action alongside Chris Pine's Jack in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. In Amazon Prime Video's TV reboot of Jack Ryan, fans got to see how Cornish's Cathy meets Krasinski's Ryan and Dr. Mueller plays a key role in how Jack took down the terrorist named Mousa bin Suleiman (Ali Suliman) at the end of Jack Ryan season 1.
Not only is Cathy Mueller missing from Jack Ryan season 2, the crusading CIA agent actually has a new love interest: Jack meets Harriett "Harry Baumann" (Noomi Rapace) in the season 2 premiere episode, "Cargo", and they waste no time sleeping together. It soon becomes apparent their meeting was no accident because Harry is a German intelligence operative who is in Venezuela tracking a mutual target, Max Shenkel (Tom Wlaschiha), the assassin hired to kill Ryan and who successfully murdered Jack's mentor, Senator Moreno (Benito Martinez). Jack and Harry chase Max from Venezuela all the way to London to exact revenge and the German agent later helps Jack in his final battle against President Reyes. Although Jack doesn't feel he can trust Harry entirely, the door was left open for her to return in Jack Ryan season 3.
But where does Jack Ryan season 2 leave Cathy? It's not entirely unusual for Jack's traditional love interest to not be part of his adventures; in The Hunt For Red October, Cathy only makes a brief appearance at the start of the movie before Ryan leaves for his fateful encounter with Soviet defector Captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery). What is strange, however, is that Jack never mentions Cathy in season 2 - has their romance totally fizzled out?
In Jack Ryan season 1, Cathy learned Jack was lying to her about working for the State Department, which was his cover. She was bitterly disappointed with Jack when she found out he was a CIA agent by accident instead of him telling her. In the Jack Ryan season 1 finale, it was James Greer (Wendell Pierce) who helped Cathy during the climactic attack on President Andrew Pickett (Michael Gaston) at her hospital while Jack was in the subway taking out Suleiman. Although their love affair hit the skids, fans assumed Jack and Cathy would patch up their differences in Jack Ryan season 2 since the source material and previous adaptations established they're meant to be together.
It wasn't announced beforehand that Abbie Cornish's Cathy Ryan wouldn't be in Jack Ryan season 2 (or why) so her surprise absence is glaring despite a more focused and action-packed second adventure for Krasinski's Ryan. While Jack's newfound fling with Harry Baumann was interesting and Amazon Prime Video's reboot series is taking Jack Ryan in compelling new directions, longtime fans hope that Cathy and Jack reignite their traditional romance in Jack Ryan season 3.
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan season 2 is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.