SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for The Night Agent Season 3.

Fans of The Night Agent weren’t thrilled when it was confirmed that Rose Larkin would not return for Season 3. But now that the Netflix series is streaming, it’s clear that Rose’s departure was the proper choice—as long as Shawn Ryan and his team are willing to leave that door open in a potential Season 4. Rose, Peter and their relationship deserve more, but they need time and space to get there.

First and foremost, the incredible talent of actor Luciane Buchanan is definitely missed. Her absence and that of her character are very much felt in The Night Agent Season 3. At least audiences can still watch her in the Apple TV historical drama Chief of War. But Ryan was right when he said, per Deadline, that Season 3’s storyline “didn’t have a satisfying place for Rose.” And the lack of a plotline is far better than forcing in a terrible one.

Fans are well invested into Peter and Rose’s romance, as they should be; in addition to being a major part of the show, it’s also a key element of Matthew Quirk’s original book. If viewers didn’t care about them as a duo something would be wrong. But the emotional arc of The Night Agent Season 3 is Peter being on tilt—feeling like he’s out of control and trying to find it again. The overwhelming sense of responsibility he feels is warping his worldview. To truly tell that story, the writers have to take away Peter’s support systems. Peter can’t completely be spinning out if he has Rose there to steady and reassure him… because she would not let him be as hard on himself as he is particularly in the first few episodes of Season 3.

Leaving Peter on his own is also preferable to demolishing Peter and Rose’s relationship for dramatic effect. Most likely, keeping Rose in the picture would have led to something viewers have seen on so many other TV shows: a couple fights about one of them being withdrawn or upset or having secrets and they get pushed apart. This is a cliched subplot that runs the risk of irritating fans, because the arguments can eschew sense in favor of creating tension. Ryan is capable of writing solid conflict between characters—look at what he did on The Chicago Code—so the latter may not have been as huge a concern on The Night Agent. But why even run the risk, just to do something that’s been done plenty of times before? Something that might even feel like a backstep for these characters, when the first two seasons have established they know how to communicate?

Last but certainly not least, Rose as an individual has earned better than The Night Agent Season 3 would have had to offer. She has always had her own character development in addition to what happens between her and Peter. There’s no clear path to move Rose forward in a meaningful way in Season 3’s plot. Having her deal with Peter’s emotional and mental struggles is not character development for Rose. Looking at the arc for the series’ quasi-Rose substitute, Isabel De Leon, it’s hard to see what Rose could have done in her place. The biggest bit of Isabel’s story is her family reveal, which obviously wouldn’t have been applicable to Rose. Sure, she could have provided an extra set of hands for Peter, but what would that do for her? Other than cast her as Peter’s girl Friday, and she’s better than that. It’s actually very noble of Ryan to put the character aside rather than do something that diminishes her or doesn’t do justice to her, or to what Luciane Buchanan is capable of.

There is one huge caveat here: Rose Larkin deserves a return if The Night Agent Season 4 happens, because she’s also better than the brief explanation given about her in Season 3. Peter had a journey to take on his own in the third season in order for him to grow and to finish his business with Jacob Monroe, and there’s nothing that says Rose couldn’t be (off-screen) also moving herself forward. Having gone well beyond Quirk’s novel, Ryan and company have the chance to craft a Season 4 story that would have space for Rose—and there’s not much reason not to. Peter deserves to have someone who sees him as a person and not just a Night Agent; the death of Catherine Weaver has left him pretty much on an island. He needs an emotional anchor and it’s not Isabel, and the show needs emotional stakes, too.

Of course Peter was right when he said Rose would always be in danger thanks to his job, yet if any series can find a story that makes that danger worth it, it’s The Night Agent. Rose isn’t a damsel in distress. Plus, her return would be a step forward for Peter, to recognize that he doesn’t have to give up everything he loves. As was said in Season 3, the best agents are those who have balance. Peter saw the alternative in his dealings with Adam. The Night Agent Season 3 didn’t need Rose Larkin, but The Night Agent as a whole absolutely still does.

The Night Agent Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Netflix.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.