Sumith Prasad
Netflix’s action series ‘The Recruit’ follows Owen Hendricks, who recently joins the CIA as a lawyer. During his first few days, Owen gets engaged with Max Meladze, a murderer in a Phoenix prison who threatens to release confidential information concerning the agency’s Eastern European spies to gain freedom. Max’s proposition leads her to her release from prison and re-integration into the agency as an asset back in Europe. The first season of the show ends with Max trying to get back into Belarus and the Russian mob sphere as CIA’s asset. The CIA’s operation goes wrong severely, threatening the life of Max. If you are worried about the character’s fate, here’s what we can share about the same! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Max’s Uncertain Fate
After Max’s release from prison, she aspires to return to Belarus or in her words, “home,” even as a CIA asset. She meets Lev to seek his help to find a gateway to get into the Russian mob, only for their meeting to get interrupted by a group of shooters, seemingly led by Nichka Lashin. Even though the shooters try their best to kill Max, Owen manages to rescue her from Lev’s house. The duo then sets out to meet Dawn, the officer in charge of the operation. However, before Dawn could meet them, they get abducted by Nichka, who reveals that she is Karolina, Max’s daughter who was believed to be dead. Before Max could talk to her, Karolina shoots her mother down.
Although the first season of the show ends without confirming that Max is dead or alive, the chances of her surviving the gunshot are little to none. Karolina’s decision to shoot Max without even a conversation shows how much she wants her mother to die. Thus, even if Max manages to stay alive for a short period, it is extremely unlikely that Karolina will bother to save the former’s life. Since Owen is under Karolina’s custody, he may not be able to save Max soon enough, especially when he doesn’t even know where they are upon getting abducted by Karolina’s men.
Karolina has tried to kill Max several times. After Max and Owen escape from Lev’s house, the lawyer lets the asset know that he saw Nichka among the shooters. Max reveals that Nichka is the one who tried to force the Russian mob council to kill her, indicating that Karolina has always tried to see the end of her mother’s life. Her unexpected attack during Lev and Max’s meeting further makes it clear that the latter’s death is her priority. Considering these factors, Max most likely will succumb to her gunshot wound if she hasn’t died yet.
Max had lost her life and family by becoming a hip-pocket asset of the CIA. In one of the flashback sequences, Max’s dead husband is shown, seemingly killed by her enemies. Max, who might haven’t gotten the time and space to be a mother to Karolina due to her obligations as an asset, must have believed that she lost her daughter while she was away for her espionage operations. Max’s allies or enemies might have “adopted” Karolina rather than leaving or killing her. If that’s how she survived, she might have grown up hating her mother for not being there for her and paving the way for her father’s death.
Since Karolina is able to fire a gun at Max ruthlessly, it is evident that the former has nurtured intense hate for the latter. Karolina might have lived all her life dealing with the abandonment of her mother. Considering the same, it isn’t a surprise that the daughter shoots her mother down unflinchingly.
Read More: Do Owen and Hannah End Up Together in The Recruit?
