After being falsely branded a traitor and going on the run, Jack Ryan (John Krasinski) boards the USS Roosevelt against orders. He must convince the skeptical Captain Bennett (Marc Menchaca) to ignore naval protocol and de-escalate, even as the Fearless prepares to fire.

Simultaneously, James Greer (Wendell Pierce) and Mike November (Michael Kelly) infiltrate the Kremlin. They work to expose Defense Minister Alexei Petrov (Alexej Manvelov), who orchestrated a coup against President Surikov.

Aboard the Fearless , veteran Russian spymaster Luka Goncharov (James Cosmo) successfully persuades the Executive Officer to relieve their rogue captain, Antonov, of command just after a missile is launched. The Ending and Its Significance

The finale centers on a rogue Russian faction's attempt to provoke the United States into a nuclear exchange. The tension culminates in the Baltic Sea, where the Russian destroyer Fearless and the American vessel USS Roosevelt face off in what critics described as a "maritime game of chicken".