Bullet Points: Reacher (Season 2)
If you were a fan of the first season of Reacher on Prime Video, you will absolutely love the second season of Reacher. To borrow the tagline from WrestleMania III, Season 2 of Reacher is bigger, better and badder!
- Setting the Table: Season 2 of Reacher is based on the eleventh book in Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, Bad Luck and Trouble. The premiere episode set the table for what is to come as we learn that someone is targeting former members of the 110th, a group of special investigators that were recruited by and that reported to Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson). The premiere actually opens with the brutal demise of former 110th member Calvin Franz. Reacher hears the news about Franzy from Neagley (Maria Sten reprising her role from the first season), another former member of the 110th.
- And Then There Were Four: Reacher and Neagley reach out to the other former members of the 110th to warn them that trouble could be coming their way… only two respond, former womanizer/current family man David O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos) and Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan, Recoil). The chemistry among our four heroes, seems genuine and real… with a little extra chemistry between Reacher and Dix, if you know what I mean. The additional heroes, mean more boots on the ground as they go into Special Investigator mode to find out, who killed their friends and more importantly why. The investigation takes them from New York City to Atlantic City to Denver and it points them in the direction of a tech company and a microchip that can be used to take down aircraft. The mystery intensifies when they learn that one of their own, Swan, was working for the tech company in question! Worse than Swan being among the dead members of the 110th, would be a Swan who went rogue!!
- The Villains: Obviously a microchip that can help take down any airplane in the world, would be of great interest to terrorist organizations around the world and that’s where Shane Langston (Robert Patrick, Zero Tolerance) comes up with a scheme to basically steal from the tech company that is paying them to run their security. Langston plans on delivering the chips to the chameleon like sociopath, known as A.M. (due to all of his known aliases having the same initials). I said it at the top, Reacher Season 2 is bigger, better and badder and a huge reason for that is the addition of Robert Patrick. Here’s a man who went toe to toe with Arnold Schwarzenegger way back when and now he finds himself against another physically imposing hero in Jack Reacher!
- Flashbacks: We get to see the formation and eventual discharge of the Special Investigator unit through a series of flashbacks seen through out the season. The flashbacks cement the fact that this investigation is deeply personal for Reacher and his team… this is Jack Reacher’s family and somebody is messing with it. We also get to see the romantic sparks between Reacher and Dixon, although that was a line Reacher wasn’t willing to cross while he was Dixon’s boss.
- The Finale: Season 2 ends with one of the most satisfying season finales that I have ever seen. As the second season plays out we learn that the greedy bastard Langston is not a man who likes loose ends… something Reacher and his friends find out the hard way on numerous occasions. Well, Season 2 has something in common with Langston as it leaves absolutely no loose ends and considering each season of Reacher is based on a different Lee Child’s book, there really is no need to include cliffhangers.
Reacher perfectly balances action and intrigue with a dash of comedic moments/lines to make for a well-rounded and highly entertaining show.
I would put Alan Ritchson’s Reacher up there with Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky in terms of likability… who could possibly hate Jack Reacher?!?! Reacher is the ultimate good guy, which makes it easy to care about what happens to him and his friends. And speaking of Reacher’s friends, there is not a weak link in the group… they all deliver and you will believe they are more than a team, they are family.
I believe reviews should end with some Bonus Bullet Points…
- Cameo: It was fun seeing the tweed clad Oscar Finlay (Malcolm Goodwin) back, even if it was briefly, to help out Reacher, following their time together in Margrave in Season 1.
- Product Placement: The Clark Bar gets some love in Season 2.
- Soundtraxx: Season 2 of Reacher featured songs from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Supertramp, Jefferson Starship, The Spencer Davis Group, Electric Light Orchestra and Talking Heads among others.
