The Terminal List Season 1 confirmed the tragic reason why Ben Edwards (Taylor Kitsch) betrayed Chris Pratt's James Reece. The Amazon Prime Video series follows Reece as he uncovers a widespread conspiracy tied to his previous mission in Syria, which led to the deaths of his wife and daughter. Throughout the eight-episode debut season, Reece has been on a revenge tour, working alongside his best friend, Edwards, by killing off everyone involved.
Ben Edwards is introduced as a former chief of the Navy SEALs discharged due to a reckless act he'd committed in the past (a story explored in his prequel series, The Terminal List: Dark Wolf). While specifics about his mission in the past didn't come into light, the aftermath of his actions carried over in the series in The Terminal List Season 1, ultimately leading to the revelation of his betrayal in the finale.
Based on Jack Carr's novel of the same name, Amazon Prime Video's The Terminal List features a star-studded cast led by Chris Pratt, Taylor Kitsch, Constance Wu, Riley Leough, Sean Gunn, Jai Courtney, and Jeanne Tripplehorn. The series premiered on July 1, 2022, and The Terminal List has already been renewed for Season 2.
The Reason Why Ben Edwards Betrays James Reece In Terminal List
The Terminal List Season 1 finale revealed the truth about why Ben Edwards decided to betray his best friend, James Reece. It turned out that Ben was the one who led Reece and his Alpha platoon to their deaths during their mission to Syria for $20 million.
Ben knew that the platoon was given an experimental drug called RD-4895, a drug that was supposed to prevent the development of PTSD. However, this drug backfired, and it gave Reece and the entire platoon tumors instead. What made it more complicated is the fact that it was given to these soldiers without consent, which explained why Reece was having spurts of memory loss and sudden instances of collapsing in the first place.
Reece discovered Edwards' betrayal due to Oberon Analytics' involvement. It was revealed that Oberon paid off someone from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) through a bank in Peru, the same country where Edwards went to after he helped Reece take down Secretary Hartley. Edwards was the CIA intelligence source paid by Capstone (the company that covered up the RD-4895 drug trial) to pull some strings and orchestrate the ambush of the Alpha platoon in Syria.
Ben agreed to "betray" Reece and the Alpha platoon because he knew that they already had tumors due to RD-4895, so he wanted to give them an honorable death in the Odin's Sword mission, "rather than in some hospital bed:"
Ben Edwards: "Admiral swore... You were already dead. Said you and the boys had tumors. And I thought, 'Let ’em die with their f*cking boots on... rather than in some hospital bed.'"
Despite the "betrayal," Ben swore that he didn't spend any of the $20 million he received, but it was heartbreaking for Reece when his best friend admitted that he did it for both the money and to give them their rightful deaths. Still, Ben pointed out that he had nothing to do with the death of Reece's wife and daughter:
Reece: "So did you do it for us or you do it for $20 million?"
Edwards: "Maybe both. At first. I haven’t spent a f*cking dime. I can’t. But you should know... I need you to know... that it’s set in f*cking stone. Laura and Luce... I had nothing do with it."
Ben's betrayal was tragic due to a myriad of reasons. He was Reece's longtime best friend, and he joined him in his quest for revenge every step of the way. Reece was blindsided, but it was understandable because he wouldn't have thought that the man who stood by him had already betrayed him from the get-go.
Is Ben Edwards Dead in 'Terminal List'? Here's What Taylor Kitsch Said
At the end of Terminal List Season 1, Reece seemingly killed Ben Edwards inside his boat in Peru, but the fact that it happened off-screen led many fans to believe that he might still be alive, considering that he is an interesting character and his backstory has yet to be explored fully.
Ben Edwards' death also happened in Jack Carr's novel, but the series' ambiguous portrayal of his demise might offer a sliver of hope that he's still alive.
Speaking in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Taylor Kitsch played coy about Ben's death in The Terminal List Season 1, with him only saying, "He could be [alive]. I guess."
Taylor Kitsch's complex and morally challenged portrayal of Ben Edwards landed him a prequel series on Prime Video: The Terminal List: Dark Wolf.
Episode 1 of this spin-off didn't waste time in confirming why Ben was discharged from the Navy in the first place, as it had something to do with his reckless actions of killing a CIA asset in cold blood despite orders to stand down and not pursue the engagement. He killed the asset because he learned that one of the kids of his Iraqi CIA asset was part of the CIA asset's harem. It was an emotional decision driven by revenge.
The Terminal List: Dark Wolf is expected to offer more insight into Ben's betrayal and what led him to sabotage the Alpha Platoon's Odin's Sword mission in Syria.
