The Terminal List season 2 ends with James Reece finally unmasked his enemy: the Colonel is Ivan Zarkov, a Russian ultranationalist who spent decades plotting revenge on Reece’s family. The finale, “Fathers and Sons,” also leaves Reece with a presidential pardon, a date with brain surgery and one very loose thread. Here is the full ending explained, with the cast, the book clues and what is known about season 3. Spoilers ahead for all of season 2.
Season 2 arrived on Prime Video on October 21, more than four years after season 1, per People. If you only want the big answer, it is this: the assassination plot was never about terrorism. It was a family vendetta with a coup attached.
Who is the Colonel in The Terminal List season 2?
The Colonel is Ivan Zarkov, played by Ilia Volok, per People. In the finale’s epilogue, Reece learns at Langley that his father, Thomas Reece, killed two Russian military advisers during a 1972 operation in Vietnam. One of them was Victor Zarkov, Ivan’s brother. Ivan spent decades building his revenge: assassinate Russian President Drozdov at the Odesa peace summit, install his nephew, media oligarch Vasili Andrenov (Costa Ronin), and make Thomas Reece’s son watch the family rise, per TV Insider.
The sniper in Odesa was actually meant to kill Reece, not CIA officer Freddy Strain (Gabriel Luna). Freddy died in Reece’s place, which is why the finale turns personal. Zarkov, CIA mole Oliver Grey (Jeremy Bobb) and the second sniper are all still at large when the season ends.
How does the finale end for James Reece?
Reece and Raife Hastings (Tom Hopper) track Andrenov to a warehouse before he can reach Russian protection. Wounded, Andrenov gives up one truth (Freddy was never the target) before Reece kills him and slips away as Russian forces arrive, per TV Insider.
Back home, the epilogue rearranges everything Reece believed. His father never abandoned the family: Thomas Reece kept working for the CIA until he was assassinated in Buenos Aires in 1997, and his name is on the agency’s memorial wall next to Freddy’s. Reece also spots his father’s watch on Grey’s wrist, proof the mole was there when Thomas died. He puts his $4 million reward in a trust for Freddy’s son, Samuel, and finally sits down for the MRI he refused all season, per TV Insider.
What happens to Katie Buranek?
Katie (Constance Wu) finishes her book about Reece, then hands him the manuscript instead of publishing it, partly so he can check what his tumor has done to his memory. She leaves Voltstreem, the outlet Andrenov used to push misinformation, and goes back to freelance war reporting, per People. She is also the one who pushes Reece to get treatment.
The Terminal List season 2 cast: who plays who
The most-searched question around the finale is the cast, so here is the quick guide:
- Chris Pratt as James Reece, the former Navy SEAL with a terminal brain tumor
- Gabriel Luna as CIA officer Freddy Strain
- Tom Hopper as Raife Hastings, Reece’s longtime teammate
- Constance Wu as journalist Katie Buranek
- Luke Hemsworth as Jules Landry, the ex-Marine running counterterrorism ops
- Jeremy Bobb as CIA analyst Oliver Grey, the mole
- Costa Ronin as oligarch Vasili Andrenov
- Olga Kurylenko as Yana, Andrenov’s assistant, per People
- Ilia Volok as Ivan Zarkov, the Colonel, per People
One cast note: the season’s hunt has two distinct targets. The CIA first sends Reece after Mohammed “Mo” Farooq (Dar Salim), his former ISOF ally who has defected to Al-Qaeda, per the official Prime Video episode guide and TV Insider. Amin al-Nawaz (Shadi Janho), named by People, is a separate figure: the Al-Qaeda leader Reece’s team moves against later in the season, per Prime Video’s episode 5 synopsis.
Will there be a Terminal List season 3?
Not yet. Prime Video has not renewed the show, per People. The creative team is openly campaigning, though. “If we’re lucky enough to get a third season, Book 3… sits out there,” showrunner David DiGilio told TV Insider. Author Jack Carr called that novel “probably the most popular book” in the series. And Pratt told ComingSoon, per People: “The audience has shown up, and as long as they continue to show up, we want to continue to serve that audience.”
Here is the detail that makes the cliffhanger click (analysis): Carr’s third novel is Savage Son, and the publisher’s synopsis describes Reece recovering from brain surgery in Montana while a traitorous CIA officer shelters with the Russian mafia. That is almost exactly where the finale parks Grey, in St. Petersburg, with Reece prepped for surgery. Season 2 adapted Carr’s second novel, True Believer, so the blueprint for season 3 already exists.
What this means for viewers
- Both seasons stream on Prime Video, along with the prequel series Dark Wolf, if you want Ben Edwards’ backstory before a possible season 3.
- Do not treat the finale as closure. Grey, the Colonel and the second sniper are loose, and the father’s watch is the hook the show clearly wants to pull on next.
- Want the story now? The ending points straight at Carr’s novel Savage Son, and Carr told TV Insider the prequel book Cry Havoc covers Thomas Reece’s Vietnam year for anyone hooked by the father twist.
- Renewal watch: no decision has been announced, so treat any “season 3 confirmed” claim as unverified until Prime Video says it.
How we got here: the timeline
- July 2022: Season 1 premieres on Prime Video, adapting Carr’s first novel.
- 2025: Prequel series Dark Wolf builds out Ben Edwards’ origin.
- October 21, 2026: Season 2 lands on Prime Video, adapting True Believer, per People.
- October 2026: DiGilio, Carr and Pratt all float season 3 in interviews; no renewal yet.
For more finale breakdowns, read our Slow Horses season 6 ending explained and where things stand after the Lioness season 3 finale and season 4 status.
Updated: October 22, 2026, 10:45 p.m. ET. What changed: corrected a sourcing note on the two target characters, and the surname spelling to Andrenov per the source novel and Prime Video. Facts verified against TV Insider, People, Prime Video’s episode guide and Simon & Schuster.
Related: The Terminal List season 2 ending explained in 7 slides
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