Does Luka die at the end of Jack Ryan season 3? Explained

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan season 3 proved to be another strong entry for Prime Video, as viewers got the same level of thrills and theatrics out of it. Jack Ryan and James Greer’s duo was as impressive as ever, but another character introduced into the mix was Russian operative Luka Goncharov, played by James Cosmo, who was clearly a fan favorite.

Similar to Krasinski's Ryan, he was also a man of honor and a true patriot. But he was haunted by his past and wanted to redeem himself for a heinous crime that he was involved in back in 1969. While he did get redemption, his fate in the series was left ambiguous.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Jack Ryan season 3

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What happened to Luka in Jack Ryan season 3?

Young Luka in Jack Ryan Season 3 (Image via Prime Video)

Prime Video’s new season of Jack Ryan introduced us to Sokol, a project that the Soviet Union started in 1969. But it was shut down due to its darker prospects, and everyone involved was killed as a means to sweep it under the rug.

Flashbacks revealed that Luka was the second-in-command soldier who was ordered to kill the Sokol scientists. He followed his superior’s order to shut down Project Sokol "completely" and passed the order down to his troops to kill every scientist working on Sokol.

From that moment on, he lived with the guilt of killing the people of Mother Russia, who were simply doing what they were asked for. And upon hearing about Sokol’s rebirth, he wanted to put an end to it by finding out its orchestrator. Ultimately, he did manage to find the ones behind it (Petr Lebedev, Alexei Petrov, and Rolan Antonov) and put a stop to Sokol.

Luka Goncharov in Jack Ryan Season 3 (Image via Prime Video)

He trusted the fact that if he relayed the intel about Sokol’s rebirth to the Americans, then they’d do everything to stop it. So, he worked alongside Jack Ryan, and together, both of them prevented a war between Russia and the United States. While Jack and Jim were awarded medals of honor for their bravery, Luka's story may not have ended happily.

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Did Luka die in Jack Ryan season 3?

Luka's final scene (Image via Prime Video)

Before we saw Jack get his medal, a soldier was sent to pick up Luka from his house at night. And being a highly experienced operative in his country, Luka knew what was about to happen. He has been anticipating it. As soon as he opened his door, he told the soldier,

“Do not worry. I will not make this difficult.”

Earlier in the finale, he also told Rolan Antonov that he will pay for his sins, but "not today." So, when the soldier went to pick up Luka at his doorstep one week later, the writing was on the wall for what was going to happen. The Russian veteran left a letter for Jack saying his final goodbye.

Jack Ryan and James Greer (Image via Prime Video)

In his letter, Luka wrote:

“Jack, we have done our jobs, and done them well. This fight was passed down to us... and will continue on with or without us. But we will always be better than the institutions we serve. And that is what matters when it matters most."

It continues,

"There are no heroes in our profession. But occasionally, there are good men. Men who act on what is right. Not simply doing what they're told. I've not always lived my life with honor. But perhaps I have done enough to die with it. I hope the same for you.”

Because he was among the last ones surviving who knew about Sokol, he was being taken to be executed for what he did back in 1969.

But since Jack Ryan season 3 left it to our interpretation, we can come up with a happy ending where he revealed everything he did to stop Sokol, and got hired by President Surikov. However, such an ending is highly unlikely!