Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Terminal List: Dark Wolf Episodes 1-3. Three years after audiences were wowed by The Terminal List, Prime Video is returning to the universe created by Navy SEAL-turned-author Jack Carr. If you’ve seen the original action thriller, you know where Ben Edwards (Taylor Kitsch) ends up, but The Terminal List: Dark Wolf tells the story of how he got there. Alongside his closest companions, James Reece (Chris Pratt) and Raife Hastings (Tom Hopper), Dark Wolf expands on Ben’s tenure with the teams, his time with the CIA, and the events leading up to the original series. Here’s how this three-part premiere sets the stage.
‘The Terminal List: Dark Wolf’ Episode 1 Reveals Why Ben Edwards Was Discharged

Taylor Kitsch and Chris Pratt as Ben Edwards and James Reece in ‘The Terminal List: Dark Wolf’
Image via Prime Video

The first episode of The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, “Inherent Resolve,” begins just over halfway through the premiere of the original Terminal List series. Ben sits at the funeral of his friend, Ernest “Boozer” Vickers (Jared Shaw), as Reece mourns his former teammate. Remembering that moment, the series then flashes back seven years to 2015 Iraq. Then, Ben works alongside the local Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) with his team, which includes Raife Hastings and Boozer. The group partakes in a prisoner exchange with ISIS, trading ISIS leader Hamid Al-Jabouri (Joseph Makkar) for 18 hostages. However, things go south when eight hostages (who are strapped with bombs) refuse to move forward, prompting ISIS to fire on the U.S./Iraqi forces. Some hostages die, and Ben’s friend, ISF operator Daran Amiri (Fady Demian), is injured. Three months later at the Forward Operations Base, 10 kilometers from Mosul, Ben trains the ISF unit, reminding them that “If you’re going to break cover, get your brother to safety. Don’t do anything halfway.” However, Reece arrives to assist Ben and Raife in training the ISF. But catching up with Reece takes a back seat when Ben sees Daran and his family trying to leave the base. It’s clear he has a bond with the kids, Zaynab (Nora Harriet) and Afran (Michael Sifain), who affectionately call him “Amo Ben.” Ben offers to help Daran relocate to the U.S., but he insists on reenlisting to help take down ISIS. After a night of bonding, Ben, Reece, Raife, and Boozer discuss their intel on Al-Jabouri, and it turns out he’s currently in Syria, but he plans to circle back to Mosul. The next day, Daran plans to send his wife, Marwa (Sara Noah), and children to America, but is interrupted when a mysterious man intercepts him before he can leave for base. On base, the operatives are briefed on Massoud Danawi (Farshad Farahat), a private weapons dealer out of Lebanon who may be supplying ISIS. ISF will supply the drivers, including Mohammed “Mo” Farooq (Dar Salim), while the SEALs will be in the back undercover. Driving into Mosul, the team pursues Danawi, but everything is put on pause when Ben gets a call from a distraught Daran. He can tell that something is off, as Daran is back on base and nervous. It’s confirmed that Danawi is the man who accosted Daran at his home, having given him a bomb and sent him to cause a disturbance at the base. Ben orders that the operation be turned around. As they head back to base, Jules Landry (Luke Hemsworth) spearheads the search for Daran, who blows the back corner of the mess hall before Ben and the team can make it back. What’s worse? Daran’s children are missing, and his wife is dead. Later, at base, Bill Cox (LaMonica Garrett) tells his men that security will be ramped up at base, but they aren’t going to change why they’re there. Ben and his team are later told that Al-Jabouri was the man behind the bombing and Daran’s turn, and they prep a takedown of the ISIS leader. Unfortunately, Cox and Aaron Fuller (Chris Diamantopoulos) call Ben and Raife in to shut them down, but that’s not good enough for Ben, who perceives that Al-Jabouri has been an asset to the U.S. government this entire time. But Ben and his allies work around the chain of command when Mo offers ISF intel that ISIS weapons are being stored in the neighborhoods outside Mosul. Raife believes that if they can expose Al-Jabouri as an asset, they can burn him and convince ISIS to kill him for them. Convincing command that they’re going after Danawi, Ben, Reece, Raife, and the rest go after Al-Jabouri instead, eventually finding him with Daran’s young daughter. Having been pushed over the edge, Ben executes Al-Jabouri on the spot, and Reece comes up with a cover story that the men all promise to stick to. Afterward, Ben carries Zaynab out to safety, having avenged his fallen friend.
‘The Terminal List: Dark Wolf’ Episode 2 Throws Ben and Raife Into a Whole New World

Taylor Kitsch and Tom Hopper in The Terminal List: Dark Wolf
Image via Prime Video

Episode 2, “The Audition,” begins with Ben asking his friends not to cover for him, as he is willing to take responsibility for his actions. However, Raife repeats a story that clears Ben, noting that it may not keep him from being discharged, but it will keep him out of prison. Elsewhere, Cox, Fuller, and the rest of command discuss Ben’s future. Cox defends Ben, despite the controversy, but Fuller wants him stripped of his rank. “You’re not just taking a bird off of some man’s chest,” Cox suggests. “You’re stripping him of his soul.” Unfortunately, the CIA doesn’t just want Ben’s head for this, they want someone else to go down with him. Reece thinks it should be him, but Raife refuses, admitting that he’s been ready to be out for a while. “There’s a time to serve, and there’s a time to walk away,” Raife says, encouraging Reece not to leave his own platoon behind. Afterward, Ben Edwards and Raife Hastings are stripped of their rank at the behest of the CIA and then sent home. On their way home, they stop in Frankfurt, where their flight to Chicago is delayed. Ben tells his friend that he won’t apologize for what he did to Al-Jabouri, but that he is sorry for what it did to him. Going to a bar, Ben meets a man, Jed Haverford (Robert Wisdom), who buys his drink and pays him for his service, only to reveal that he knows about Al-Jabouri. Haverford explains to Ben and Raife that he needs two shooters for a new operation where Danawi is the target. The spymaster tells them that either they work with him to help take down Danawi, resulting in an honorable discharge and a way back to the teams, or they lose the chance to take down the arms dealer. Raife isn’t terribly interested at first (though he is later convinced), but Ben jumps at the chance. Later, Ben informs his wife Amy (played by Kitsch’s American Primeval co-star Betty Gilpin) over the phone that he won’t be home right away, that he has another job first. Upon hanging up, Raife arrives, and although he understands Ben’s reasoning for killing Al-Jabouri, he tells him that he needs to know that he can find the breaks. In Vienna, Ben and Raife meet Haverford, who directs them to Tal Varon (Shiraz Tzarfati), a Mossad operative who is working jointly with the CIA. Haverford explains that Danawi’s latest meeting is that night at a local club in Krems. That night, Ben and Raife arrive at the rave with Tal looking in on them from afar. Entering the club, they scan the room, quickly finding the man whom Danawi is meant to meet with. It’s there they meet Haverford’s other operative, another Mossad agent, Eliza Perash (Rona-Lee Shimon), who gets in a bit too deep when Danawi arrives. When Eliza pushes a drink too hard on the dealer, he pushes back, forcing the spiked drink on her instead. As Eliza walks away, Ben gets her to safety, but his intervention exposes him as part of the operation, forcing Raife to intervene. With the operation still a go, Val remotely disables Danawi’s car, and Eliza, Ben, and Raife close in. Eventually, Ben and Raife corner Danawi, and Raife takes him down, seemingly beating him to death. “Congrats on the audition, boys,” Haverford says, ordering them to grab his phone and return to base.
Ben Faces New Personal Trials in ‘The Terminal List: Dark Wolf’ Episode 3

Following Ben and Raife’s initiation into Haverford’s team, “What’s Past Is Prologue” dives headfirst into the world of espionage. After the two train, The Terminal List: Dark Wolf pivots to Vahid Rahimi (Hadi Khanjanpour) in Geneva at the Iranian Nuclear Stability Agreement. He and his brother, Cyrus (Alain Ali Washnevsky), speak about “winning the game,” but Vahid is concerned that Danawi has suddenly gone quiet. Back in Germany, Haverford brings more teammates into the fold, including Mo, Landry, and newcomer Ish (Michael Ealy). Mo tells Ben that Daran’s kids got their visas and are on their way to America, which brings a smile to his face, but soon everything is back to business. Haverford reveals that, per Danawi’s phone, they found Balazs Molnar (Eric Colvin) is the man at the end of the money trail. Ben and Eliza are tasked with building a “pattern of life” for the professor. That night, Val sees that Danawi’s phone has a ping. She brings the information to Haverford, and it’s clear that Danawi was obviously meant to be meeting with someone else besides Molnar. In Budapest, Mo and Ish wait for contact with Danawi’s contact, who turns out to be a young woman in her twenties named Tana Haddad (Melina Sinadinou), who may have possible terrorist ties. That night, Mo and Ish discuss what to do about Tana Hadad. Mo has been ordered to confront her, but Ish can tell he doesn’t want to. Still, Mo confronts her and finds out that she’s Danawi’s daughter. She wonders if he’s there to kill her, and he says he is before seemingly shooting her. However, it’s all for show, as Val later reveals that she knows Mo didn’t kill the girl. After he explains his own tragic backstory, Val promises to keep his secret. Meanwhile, Ben and Eliza have been stalking Molnar and have bonded as a result. Their conversation shifts to Eliza’s daughter, who is about to start her conscription with the military. Ben hands her a copy of a famous Wilfred Owen poem, reminding her of “the pity of war.” But this moment is interrupted when Molnar appears and Ben follows him to his lab at the Nuclear Technical Institution. The next day, the team sets up their operation. Molnar meets with Mo and hands over the material that will provide Iran with adequate bearings to build a nuclear bomb within a year. Of course, they’re not the only ones who want it. While Landry grabs Mo before the unfriendlies can get to him, Ish follows one of them onto the subway, where he is suddenly disconnected and killed. Ben arrives and wanders the train to find Ish’s killer, shooting the man at point-blank range and photographing his corpse. New episodes of The Terminal List: Dark Wolf air Wednesdays on Prime Video.

The Terminal List: Dark Wolf

Dark Wolf is off to a pulse-pounding start as the Terminal List universe expands!

Release Date

August 27, 2025

Network

Prime Video

Writers

Jack Carr, David DiGilio

Franchise(s)

The Terminal List

Pros & Cons

More Taylor Kitsch in the Terminal List world makes up for the end of the original series.
Raife Hastings’ introduction does not disappoint.
Turning this military thriller into a spy thriller is a welcome tonal shift.

We’re hoping Chris Pratt is in more than just the first two episodes…