WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Reacher seasons 1 & 2.
With the Reacher season 3 premiere just around the corner, here are several key details about Prime Video’s hit action series and Alan Ritchson’s ex-military drifter protagonist to remember ahead of time. Based on the celebrated books by Lee Child, Reacher is an anthological detective thriller series that features a new set of characters, settings, and stakes with each new book and season. Reacher season 1 took place in the rural southern town of Margrave, while most of season 2 unfolded on the dark streets of New York City.
Reacher season 3 adapts the seventh Jack Reacher book, 2003’s Persuader, which features Reacher becoming an undercover federal informant in a Maine college town. Since Reacher moves to various parts of the world throughout the series, there are hardly any characters who appear in multiple seasons, which makes the show inevitably centered around his character. While the books offer a lot more background on the character of Jack Reacher, seasons 1 and 2 have already revealed many key details and past events that have come to define the action hero.
10
Reacher Led The 110th Special Investigations Unit
Reacher season 1 mentioned that Reacher was the commanding officer of the 110th Military Police Special Investigations Unit, which was given much more of a spotlight in season 2. As the leader of the 110th, Reacher commanded a group of 10 soldiers, all of whom he had selected by hand. Members such as Frances Neagley, David O’Donnell, and Karla Dixon, who became Reacher’s season 2 love interest, all worked under Reacher investigating various war crimes and other illicit operations.
Reacher season 2 features a variety of flashbacks of Reacher working with the 110th, showing how great of a squad they were based on their loyalty and chemistry. Reacher led an unauthorized mission to trap three soldiers who were caught selling drugs with the full support of all 10 members of the 110th. Reacher season 2 finds a handful of surviving members of the 110th banding back together to figure out who is behind the murders of several of their 110th comrades. The 110th Special Investigations Unit will always be one of Reacher’s most prized achievements and friend groups.
9
Reacher Worked With Neagley, A Former Special Investigator, In Seasons 1 & 2
Neagley is essentially the only other recurring character in Reacher seasons 1 and 2, making her Reacher’s “sidekick” in a way. Neagley worked under Reacher in the 110th Special Investigations Unit and has remained a reliable and trusted asset, although their relationship runs deeper than missions and objectives alone. Given Reacher’s drifter lifestyle, he can never be kept in one place for too long but he always knows he can count on Neagley to show up or deliver valuable intel.
Neagley lives and works as a private investigator in Chicago and has a particular love for breakfast cereals that borders on obsession. Neagley takes on a bigger role in Reacher season 2, which sparked the development of her own Reacher spin-off series at Amazon. Played by Maria Sten, Neagley will return in Reacher season 3 even though her character was not written in the original Persuader novel by Lee Child.
8
Reacher’s Older Brother Joe Was Murdered In Season 1
One of the biggest motivations for Reacher in season 1 was getting to the bottom of his brother, Joe Reacher’s, disappearance and death. Through his investigation in Margrave, he discovers that his brother was shot and killed in that town and identifies his body at the coroner’s office. Joe was featured in several flashback scenes throughout season 1 to better show the loyal and brotherly relationship that he and Reacher had. Joe is hardly mentioned in Reacher season 2. However, it’s a crucial part of Reacher’s backstory that should not be forgotten while watching Reacher season 3 and beyond.
7
Reacher Season 1’s Oscar Finlay Briefly Returned In Season 2
There is only one other character in the current Reacher television inverse who appears in multiple seasons besides Neagley, the Harvard-educated Oscar Finlay, who worked at the Boston Police Department for 20 years. Finlay was the Captain of the Margrave Police Department and was in charge of all the detectives in his jurisdiction. Finlay initially comes off as quite elitist and stiff, making him a fish out of water in Margrave. Finlay is recently widowed in season 1 and struggled with that loss.
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Finlay and Reacher formed a strong connection throughout their journey in Reacher season 1, which prompted his brief return in Reacher season 2, episode 4. Finlay, played by Malcolm Goodwin, is not confirmed to return in Reacher season 3. However, considering that season 3 takes place in New England, Finlay could make an appearance somehow over the course of the new Reacher season after he relocated back to Boston in season 2.
6
Reacher Killed 3 Civilians In Baghdad For Good Reason
One of the more surprising developments from Reacher season 1 was the revelation that Reacher killed three civilians while serving in the Army in Baghdad. Reacher finally explains to Roscoe in season 1 that the three civilians were sex criminals and pedophiles who molested a young boy. This demonstrated early on that Reacher was more than willing to take justice into his own hands when the law simply could not.
“What Reacher did in Baghdad” was a point of concern during Reacher season 1 and hinted at a flaw in his character or a major blip from his past. Reacher being forthcoming about the situation demonstrated that not only would he be accountable but he would also stand his ground and defend his reasoning, even though the basic gist of the situation sounded bad. Working outside of the law and in accordance with his own moral compass is one of the core concepts of Reacher’s character that should be remembered in season 3.
5
Reacher Had Multiple Love Interests In Seasons 1 & 2
Reacher has casual sexual relations with more than one woman throughout seasons 1 and 2. His first romantic interest was Roscoe Coughlun in season 1, the local Margrave police officer who helped Reacher throughout the season. Since the setting and characters changed in season 2, Reacher sparked a flame with Karla Dixon, a member of the 110th Special Investigations Unit. Although they had chemistry while in the Army, neither found it was appropriate to engage while on duty.
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Reacher season 2 and its Netflix rival made the same mistake, but the Amazon Prime Video show’s season 3 might avoid it after one major story change.
Roscoe is not expected to return in Reacher season 3, especially since her character will likely never leave Margrave and Reacher will not be heading there. Karla could always turn up again, considering she was a character in two Lee Child books, but it’s also unlikely that her character will return in season 3. All signs point to DEA Agent Susan Duffy becoming Reacher’s potential romantic interest in Reacher season 3. Roscoe and Karla both made the first move on Reacher, so it’s not like he’s going out of his way to pursue these connections.
4
Reacher Earned A Silver Star, A Purple Heart & Other Accolades While In The Army
Reacher was a decorated soldier while in the U.S. Army, earning a Silver Star, a Purple Heart, and several other military awards. Reacher also won a Defense Superior Service Medal, a Legion of Merit, a Soldier’s Medal, a Bronze Star, a National Defense Service Medal, an Army Commendation Medal, and an Army Achievement Medal.
According to the books, he was active in the military from 1990 to 1997, when he was discharged due to becoming disenfranchised by the U.S. military and talking back to an LT Colonel. The Reacher series changes the reason why Reacher was discharged, claiming that he wanted to be more free.
3
Reacher Knows Multiple Languages, Including French (From His Mother)
Because Reacher traveled and attended schools on military bases all over the world when he was a kid, he picked up a number of languages in addition to English. Reacher is confirmed to speak at least Spanish, German, and French, the latter of which he learned from his French-speaking mother. Although Ritchson’s Reacher does not speak many languages besides English in the Amazon series, it’s important to keep in mind that Reacher has the ability to do so. Otherwise, having Reacher speak multiple foreign languages as an American citizen would not make any sense.
2
Reacher Has A Love For Music, Especially Blues
Although Reacher can be overly serious at times, he does have a great sense of humor and loves music, particularly blues. The soundtrack in Reacher seasons 1 and 2 provides some of the best moments of the season. With The Reacher season 3 trailer being released with Kansas’s rock classic “Carry on Wayward Son” in the background, it’s a good sign that music will play a big role in the upcoming season. The Reacher: Official Playlist from Prime Video on Apple Music has all of the classic hits from Reacher seasons 1 & 2, such as “Goodby Stranger”, “White Rabbit” and more.
1
Reacher Was Born On A Military Base & Prefers A Drifter Vagabond Lifestyle
If there’s only one thing to know about Reacher, it’s that he’s a “here today, gone tomorrow” type of character. Reacher takes pride in the fact that he isn’t tied down to any one location, going from being rich to poor instantaneously and essentially being blown by the wind toward his next adventure. His nomadic vagabond lifestyle is inherently representative of a modern-day cowboy, even though nowadays it’s societally frowned upon. This drifter personality, however, is what will always make new seasons of Reacher interesting, since there is always a new story to be told and new characters to discover.
Reacher
8/10
- Release Date
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February 3, 2022
- Network
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Prime Video
- Showrunner
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Nick Santora
- Directors
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Omar Madha, Carol Banker, Julian Holmes, Lin Oeding, M.J. Bassett, Norberto Barba, Stephen Surjik, Thomas Vincent
- Writers
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Cait Duffy