Warning: Major spoilers for The Night Agent season 2 below!The mysterious Jacob Monroe is a major new character inThe Night Agentseason 2 - and might just become the show’s next major villain. Picking up almost a year on fromThe Night Agent’season 1’s ending, the new series opens with Peter on a disastrous mission in Bangkok; before he knows it, people are dead and he has to go deep undercover to unearth a mole. JoiningThe Night Agent’scastis Louis Herthum as Jacob Monroe, a shadowy figure connected to the theft of a mobile lab used for creating chemical weapons.
With the introduction of Monroe, it feels like the series is setting up its own take on The Cigarette Smoking Man fromThe X-Files. He isn’t season 2’s overarching villain, but he still puts roadblocks in front of Peter (Gabriel Basso), andMonroe is more of a puppetmaster behind the scenes. Audiences should expect to see more of the character in the already greenlitThe Night Agentseason 3, which will follow the cliffhanger the second series closes on.
Jacob Monroe Is A Powerful Intelligent Broker In The Night Agent Season 2
Monroe sells information to the highest bidder
Peter first spots Monroe during his ill-fated Bangkok mission, and later survives an ambush set up by Monroe’s people during the third episode. Peter and Rose (Luciane Buchanan) eventually learn thatMonroe acts as an intelligence broker, selling classified information to the highest bidder. InThe Night Agent’slatest season, Monroe sold information about a top secret chemical weapons program to war criminal Viktor Bala (Dikran Tulaine).
During a meeting between him and Peter, Monroe makes it clear that morality doesn’t figure into his business. He’s not thinking about the people who might die due to the information he sells, and the only person he shows any empathy towards is his henchman, Solomon (Berto Colon). Still,Monroe is willing to make deals so long as they benefit his goals- including betraying Bala when he sees a chance to get intel worth far more to him.
What Jacob Wanted In Bangkok During The Night Action Mission
The Bangkok mission kicks off The Night Agent season 2
The Night Actionseason 2’s action packed openingsees Peter on his first big mission for Night Action - which goes to hell almost immediately. This involved tailing a suspected government leaker named Warren (Teddy Sears) but before Peter and his partner Alice (Brittany Snow) can intercept a package he drops off, they are made. In the ensuing chase,Alice is killed by Solomon, while Monroe’s men bring Warren’s data to him. This contains details on Foxglove, a project that involved weaponizing certain chemicals.
The Night Agent Season 1 Recap: 10 Things You Need To Remember Before Season 2
The Night Agent season 1 included so many twists and turns that need to be remembered, especially given how some key events directly set up season 2.
The goal of this program was to get ahead of terrorists potentially doing the same thing, with the logic being that if the government created these weapons first, they could also manufacture vaccines ahead of time.Monroe’s presence in Bangkok was to retrieve this data from the leaker and sell it to Balaand his people. In hindsight, it might have been a mistake for Monroe to surface in such a public manner, since it means Peter knows what he looks like and that there was a mystery player involved in the Bangkok fiasco.
… when Peter and Monroe’s interests align towards the final episodes of Night Agent season 2, they strike a deal.
Monroe later tries to rectify this after Peter has captured Warren for interrogation; he has Warren taken out by a sniper and tries to make Peter give himself up in exchange for Rose’s safety. Peter worms out of that particular bind, but when their interests align towards the final episodes ofNight Agentseason 2, they strike a deal.
Jacob Monroe’s Connection To Foxglove & Why He Wanted The UN Cast File
Peter is forced to make a deal with the devil in The Night Agent
Being an intelligence broker,Monroe has no direct ties to the Foxgrove program. Instead, he obtained the information from Warren and sold it on to his client, Bala. It turns out the U.S. sold the chemical weapon K.X. to Bala years before, but after he used it on his own people, they denied any involvement. Bala then plotted to have his people - including his reluctant son Tomás (Rob Heaps) - unleash the K.X. inside the UN as revenge.
Rob Heaps
Tomas Bala
Rose is kidnapped towards the end ofThe Night Agentseason 2, and having nowhere else to turn, Peter seeks out Monroe. The broker makes him an offer;in exchange for breaking into the UN and stealing a certain file, Monroe will give up Rose’s location. Peter does the job and hands over the file. It’s only in the finale “Buyer’s Remorse” that Peter learns what was in it.
Monroe used this UN file to force Knox to quit the Presidential race, essentially handing the office to Governor Hagan…
It turns out a Presidential candidate named Knox had first-hand knowledge of the K.X. sale to Bala, and the UN file that Peter stole contained proof of this. Monroe used this file to force Knox to quit the race, essentially handing the Presidency to Governor Hagan (Ward Horton). It’s already been established that Monroe and Hagan have connections, with Peter’s boss Catherine (Amanda Warren) concerned that a compromised, puppet President is about to take office.
Why Jacob Monroe Is Helping Hagan Become President
Monroe has bought the White House for himself
An opening flashback inThe Night Agent’sseason 2 finale shows Hagan and Monroe meeting for the first time. It appears Hagan isn’t terribly popular, but Monroe state he can help with that. It appears Monroe has little interest in directly influencing Hagan’s policies, but instead wants access to White House information. As Catherine tells Peter,any classified information that crosses Hagan’s desk would potentially be up for sale by Monroe to buyers.
Jacob Monroe actor Louis Herthum is best known for playing Peter Abernathy on HBO’sWestworld.
That obviously would be bad news for national security, especially given Monroe’s lack of scruples. That said,there are signs the Monroe/Hagan alliance isn’t airtight. When Hagan learns the Presidency is basically his, he tells Monroe an anecdote about his lucky boots; voters believed them to be from a family member, but in truth, he got them from a thrift store. The moral of this tale is that Hagan believes it’s best to let people believe what they want - like Monroe thinking he’s Hagan’s boss.
Why Peter Needs To Gain Jacob Monroe’s Trust In The Night Agent Season 3
The Night Agent season 3 will see Peter become a double agent
Peter was told by Monroe that stealing the UN file would mean he’d have to work for the broker as a mole inside Night Action. Unwilling to betray his country - like his father Peter Sr did - Peter instead confesses to stealing the file. He faces prison time as a result of his action - until Catherine sees a way to use him.Realizing Monroe’s links with Hagan and concerned about how it will play out, Catherine wants Peter to continue working with Monroeon the side. This way, they can gain an insight into how much Monroe is controlling Hagan.
Night Action itself won’t be directly involved in this operation either, meaning Catherine and Peter will be working alone. It’s also revealed that Monroe somehow had any evidence of Peter’s theft at the UN wiped out, meaning he might be calling on his services soon. Audiences are going to need to wait forThe Night Agentseason 3 to see how this all plays out though.
The Night Agent
Cast
The Night Agent is a suspenseful thriller in which a dedicated FBI agent becomes embroiled in a dangerous conspiracy after answering an emergency line call. Set against the backdrop of political intrigue, the agent uncovers a mole within the White House, posing significant risks to national security.
