Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse Ending Explained [SPOILER!]

SPOILER ALERT: the following article contains massive spoilers, including the ending. If you have not yet seen the movie, proceed at your own risk, or better, come back to this article later!

An elite Navy SEAL uncovers an international conspiracy while seeking justice for the murder of his pregnant wife in Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, the explosive origin story of action hero John Clark — one of the most popular characters in author Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan universe. When a squad of Russian soldiers kills his family in retaliation for his role in a top-secret op, Sr. Chief John Kelly (Michael B. Jordan) pursues the assassins at all costs. Joining forces with a fellow SEAL (Jodie Turner-Smith) and a shadowy CIA agent (Jamie Bell), Kelly’s mission unwittingly exposes a covert plot that threatens to engulf the U.S. and Russia in an all-out war. Torn between personal honor and loyalty to his country, Kelly must fight his enemies without remorse if he hopes to avert disaster and reveal the powerful figures behind the conspiracy.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse Plot Summary and Synopsis

In Aleppo, a team of US Navy SEALs, led by Senior Chief John Kelly, rescue a CIA operative taken hostage by suspected pro-Assad paramilitary members. The SEALs are shocked to find that the captors aren’t Syrian, but are instead Russian military personnel. Three months later, in apparent retaliation for their role in the mission, several members of the team are covertly killed by Russian FSB operatives one by one. Kelly’s pregnant wife Pam is murdered when the Russians break into their house. Despite being shot multiple times himself, Kelly manages to kill all but one of the attackers before being rushed to the hospital with near-fatal wounds.[3]

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Kelly’s friend and fellow SEAL, Lt. Commander Karen Greer, meets with CIA officer Robert Ritter and Secretary of Defense Thomas Clay to discuss how the FSB discovered the SEALs identities and to go over response options. Leaked news of Russia’s unprecedented attack on American soil has caused the already-strained relationship between the two nations to sour further, possibly causing a new cold war. Because of this, the CIA refuses to conduct an investigation into the murders. Greer then illegally passes confidential information to Kelly.

Healed from his injuries, Kelly tracks down a corrupt Russian diplomat, who issued the passports to the FSB operatives, and forces him at gunpoint to give up the name of the surviving assassin before killing him. Sent to prison for the crime, Kelly bargains his way out by revealing the escaped operative is Victor Rykov, an ex-Spetznaz officer who is currently hiding in Murmansk, Russia. Although Greer recommends against letting him participate in Rykov’s capture, Clay overrules her and lets him join on the condition that he serve out his sentence once he returns.[4]

Kelly flies to Russia with Greer and a CIA black ops team with the intent of performing a HALO insertion off the Russian coast. Their plane is intercepted by a Russian fighter and shot down into the Barents Sea. Kelly, Greer, and the surviving team members make their way to Murmansk by zodiac where they meet Ritter. Kelly is suspicious of Ritter and blames him for the intelligence leaks, but Ritter swears he is not the one responsible and agrees to help them find Rykov. Kelly disregards orders and goes off on his own to confront Rykov in his apartment. Rykov reveals that he is wearing a suicide vest and speaks with an American accent, claiming that he is actually a deep cover CIA asset. Rykov detonates the vest, killing himself as the team becomes pinned down by heavy sniper fire. As police arrive, the team realizes that the mission was a setup and that they were supposed to be killed on Russian soil in order to start a war.

Kelly volunteers to stay behind and act as a distraction, giving the team a chance to escape. Despite being badly injured, he manages to get away by stealing a police uniform and hijacking an ambulance. Kelly, Greer, Ritter, and the surviving team members leave the country via boat. When Kelly remarks that he’ll have to go back to prison once he returns, Ritter mentions that no one besides them knows that he’s still alive and provides him with a bag filled with cash.

Back in D.C., Kelly confronts Clay at a restaurant and forces him into his car. After Kelly threatens Clay’s family, he confesses to being the one behind the intelligence leaks and for orchestrating the conflict between the U.S. and Russia. Clay admits that he wanted to start a war with Russia to boost the economy and unite the American people against a common enemy, believing that it was the only way to save America from its political divide.

With Clay’s confession, Kelly drives the car over a bridge and lets it sink to the bottom of the Potomac, drowning Clay. Kelly escapes from the car with help from Greer, who was waiting in the river with SCUBA gear. At Washington Union Station, Greer gives Kelly a new identity provided by Ritter. With his new identity, he leaves to begin his new life as John Clark.

Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse Ending

One year later, Clark meets with a newly promoted Deputy Director Ritter and proposes the creation of a multinational counter-terrorism team, codenamed “Rainbow”.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).