‘Reacher’ Season 3 Needs to Address Its Main Character’s Biggest Flaw

The Big Picture

• Reacher values a solitary, nomadic lifestyle devoid of close personal connections.
• Emotional protection may be behind Reacher’s tendency to distance himself from loved ones.
• Season 3 of
  Reacher
  could delve deeper into Reacher’s struggles with maintaining relationships.

As the wait for Season 3 continues, it’s a good time to go back and rewatch the first two seasons of Reacher. Alan Ritchson delivers a terrific, layered performance as the eponymous Jack Reacher throughout the first two seasons. Reacher is a one-man army and a righteous wrecking machine of justice. He is a master marksman, formidable in hand-to-hand combat, and has an intellect that rivals fictional detectives such as Sherlock Holmes and Batman. However, for all of Reacher’s exceptional skills, the first two seasons establish an interesting flaw for the character: Reacher lives a lonely, solitary life, jettisoning anything he deems unnecessary, including friendship and romantic relationships. This is one of the more interesting aspects of Reacher that is subtly touched upon in the first two seasons and warrants further exploration in the upcoming third season.

Reacher’s Lifestyle Doesn’t Leave Room for Personal Attachments

During his days in the Army, Reacher led his own unit in the Military Police, the 110th Special Investigations Unit. Reacher formed a close-knit group, creating familial attachments with his investigators, but once the group was disbanded and Reacher left the army, he took his military pension and moved on with his life. Season 1 picks up after Reacher has left the army, and on a whim, travels to Margrave, Georgia and discovers a counterfeit ring that led to his brother’s murder. After receiving an honorable discharge, Reacher adopts a drifter lifestyle with no job, wife, kids, home, driver’s license, or debts. Reacher prefers a simple life, without putting down roots, so he does not form many meaningful personal attachments.

In the sixth episode of the first season, “Papier,” Detective Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin) astutely points out that it is “not healthy” for Reacher to let go of the people closest to him. Although Reacher quickly dismisses Finlay’s observation, Finlay makes a great point. Before the incident in Margrave, Reacher had not even spoken with his brother for years. They were not exactly estranged and did not have a falling out. Reacher is simply an independent guy, and while he was close to his brother Joe (Christopher Russell) when they were younger, they grew apart after the death of their mother. Unfortunately, Reacher never spoke to his brother again. If he had not wandered into Margrave, he probably wouldn’t have found out about Joe’s murder for years.

This thread continues into Season 2. Reacher is called into action after his former officer, Frances Neagley (Maria Sten), reveals that another member of their unit, Calvin Franz (Luke Bilyk), was mysteriously killed. Upon reuniting with Neagley in the Season 2 premiere, “ATM,” Reacher is surprised to learn that Franz was married and had a child. Additionally, another member of their unit, Stanley Lowery (Dean McKenzie), died in a car accident two years earlier. Since Reacher fell out of touch and didn’t maintain his relationships, he was unaware that people he had considered his close friends had experienced major life events. Neagley and the other 110th members went to Franz’s wedding and Lowrey’s funeral, but Reacher was not present.

It’s rather sad that Reacher learns about these deeply personal or tragic events after the fact. Vagabond life or not, it doesn’t take much to pick up the phone and check on one’s friends to see how they’re doing. Reacher routinely has access to pre-paid cell phones, and nothing is stopping him from maintaining contact with the people he considers his friends and loved ones.

Reacher Likely Distances Himself as a Form of Emotional Protection

The working theory for the reason Reacher loses contact with the people closest to him is a means of emotional protection. A flashback in the first season finale, “Pie,” depicts Joe and Jack saying goodbye to their mother for the last time when she was bedridden and dying from cancer. It was a painful moment for Reacher and the only time he gets visibly emotional and cries during the series. The moment was likely so traumatic for Reacher that he opts to keep people at a distance and avoids making personal connections. Perhaps Reacher creates emotional armor to spare himself from feeling the trauma of losing people close to him.

Reacher’s habit of pushing people away comes at a cost. He misses weddings and funerals, and he’s unavailable when his friends might need his help. In the Season 2 finale of the series, “Fly Boy,” Neagley politely calls Reacher out: “Years without seeing each other, never speaking, getting together only when we’re being shot at? You need to get better at staying in touch.” While she gently addresses the subject with Reacher, she does point out that things need to change. Before saying goodbye, Reacher agrees to Neagley’s terms.

‘Reacher’ Season 3 Can Continue Exploring This Thread

It’s already confirmed that Maria Sten will return as Neagley in Reacher Season 3. Considering Neagley has been a recurring presence throughout the first two seasons, she will likely assist in Reacher’s undercover investigation dealing with Zachary Beck (Anthony Michael Hall). This would be a good way to verify whether Reacher has kept his promise to stay in touch with his friends more often.

Additionally, considering Goodwin made a surprise return as Oscar Finlay in Reacher Season 2, it would be a good idea for cast members first introduced in Season 2 to make returning appearances in Season 3, such as David O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos) and Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan). O’Donnell and Dixon are both trusted friends, and each can serve the plot through their appearances in the third season, since O’Donnell is also a lawyer, and Dixon is a forensics accountant. Considering Reacher is dealing with a rug dealer who is hiding more nefarious operations, that creates an opportunity for Reacher to contact Dixon for assistance. Even if the characters don’t appear related to the main plot, it would be nice to see Reacher maintaining better contact with his friends and checking in on them.

Reacher Season 3 has wrapped filming and is expected to air later next year. The first two seasons are streaming now on Prime Video.

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