Warning: spoilers for the final season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan are in play. If you haven’t finished Season 4 yet, you’ve been warned.
Throughout the final season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, we saw Betty Gabriel’s Elizabeth Wright fighting on a battlefield of a different kind: confirmation hearings. As her position as CIA Acting Director is examined by a panel determined to prevent the systemic corruption that’s run rampant in previous seasons, this series regular is being put through her paces.
As it turns out, that sort of challenge was truly felt by Ms. Gabriel, which she admitted during our interview for the Season 4 press day. Taking place before the SAG-AFTRA actor’s strike had started, I spoke with Betty Gabriel and Abbie Cornish about the big finale that’s part of Prime Video’s contribution to the 2023 TV schedule.
It was during that conversation that Gabriel revealed her Senate confirmation hearing scenes to be as much of an endurance test as they seemed to be. Here’s what Betty Gabriel told CinemaBlend about this challenging piece of the Ryan-verse:
While [Elizabeth’s] been bestowed with this great sense of power and this position, she’s still gotta prove herself. She’s still gotta win over the Senate, and that certainly kept me on my toes. Especially when I had to walk into a room full of people, some flashing photographers, and really win them over. Win the room over. That was both something that Betty was going through, as an actor in a room full of people, and having to like give a speech for hours. Like it took the entire day. But also she’s going through that too, as someone who has to impress politically. Which is not something she’s had to do before.
Just reading that story back makes me feel the pressure that Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan exerted on Elizabeth Wright. To think of the prospect of a whole day filming those sorts of scenes could honestly make anyone feel a bit on edge. Even without knowing the end result, the knowledge that the actress prepared and psyched herself up to nail them is pretty rewarding to watch.
Of course, if you’ve completed Season 4, you know that Elizabeth survives that gauntlet with a tensely close result. What’s more, she looks to be a crucial part of the future team that could continue the Clancy-verse for anyone with a Prime Video subscription. As Jack Ryan (John Krasinski) is taking a break from all things clandestine, CIA Director Wright is part of the “hell of a team photo” that Dr. Ryan envisions in the final moments of the series that bears his name.
Part of how John Krasinski’s Jack Ryan will be remembered is clearly through his portrayal of Dr. Ryan, in times of crisis and rest. However, proper credit needs to be given to Betty Gabriel, and the rest of the cast of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, as the entire ecosystem of this streaming series has given us the most in-depth portrayal of this very universe.
Should Michael Peña’s potential Jack Ryan spinoff get off the ground, it would be a delight to see Elizabeth Wright’s reign at the CIA continue delivering justice as only she could. And if anyone wants to challenge those wishes, they should reflect on the words of Ms. Gabriel, which have now been entered into the record.
If for some reason you’ve read this article without finishing Jack Ryan Season 4, don’t worry. There are still plenty of twists to behold, as the now-completed series is available to enjoy on Prime Video. But if you are all caught up, then feel free to enjoy some of the other best Amazon Prime series to binge.
