In Prime Video’s The Terminal List, U.S. Navy SEAL Lt. Cmdr. James Reece (Chris Pratt) is thrust into a deadly quest for vengeance after a devastating betrayal shatters his life. During his journey, he discovers that his one-time brother-in-arms Ben Edwards (Taylor Kitsch) was complicit in the conspiracy that led to the destruction of everything he holds dear. So what can make a man turn his back on his brotherhood and his very way of life? That’s what the new prequel series The Terminal List: Dark Wolf aims to show us.
Based on the characters and stories from Jack Carr‘s novels, Dark Wolf traces the CIA operative’s path to darkness and reveals just how he could so completely betray his brother.
Edwards’ downward spiral stands in stark contrast to the classic framework for the hero’s journey, where a noble savior finds redemption and glory through a narrative pattern that defines his heroic transformation. While Edwards does follow an archetypal hero arc, it leaves him hollow and without honor or the very brotherhood that once defined him, as portrayed in The Terminal List. Yet audiences feel the need to follow Edwards thanks to Kitsch, who brings a complex and layered performance to the role.
“The character that I created in the book, in the first novel, was not nearly as nuanced as the character that was developed first on the page for The Terminal List Season 1. And then what Taylor brought to that role is really what elevated that to this next level,” series creator and writer Jack Carr told TV Insider. “[He is] why we have a series called Dark Wolf that explores his backstory — because he was a fan-favorite character. He brought such depth and nuance to this character, Ben Edwards.”
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“It became intriguing to us, and I think to Taylor Kitsch as well, what would lead someone to get to that place where he does the things that he does in the first season of The Terminal List,” continued Carr. “And so I think that was maybe a natural deconstruction of this military archetype that we’re maybe more familiar with. And I think it came about naturally, really, due to Taylor Kitsch’s performance in the first season of the Terminal List.”
“Taylor does such an amazing job throughout the season of wearing those scars — both physically and mentally — that operators do. You see, he does a great job of capturing just the wear and tear on the mind and on the body of operators and how it can break down,” confirmed costar, executive producer, technical adviser, and writer Jared Shaw, who plays Ernest “Boozer” Vickers. “Taylor just embodies it perfectly. A lot of operators will be able to see themselves in him.”
“His moral compass is almost spinning out, but you’re also going to see the repercussions of what it is for a man to lose his purpose,” said Kitsch about his turn.
As for the weight of playing a character that is on a path not leading towards redemption or salvation but damnation, Kitsch is clear that he doesn’t judge Edwards and that his path is a story he must take in stride, both as an audience and as an actor.
“I learned pretty early in my career to not judge. So I just try and go for authenticity. It’s not really my responsibility what you take from it. I just try and be rooted emotionally and figure that out, and then I’ll just swing and be with opposite guys, like Pratt and [Tom] Hopper. I don’t go, ‘OK, you’re gonna love Ben and then hate him.’ I just try and root it and make it authentic and let you judge.”
The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, Series Premiere August 27, Prime Video
