REACHER. Why Is Season 3 a Mild Disappointment?

The first season of Reacher, which adapted the novel that kicked off the series about the titular hero—Killing Floor—took TV screens by storm in 2022. Its warm reception from viewers led to an almost immediate decision to adapt more installments from the book series about the former military investigator turned voluntary drifter who travels aimlessly across the U.S., dispensing justice. In the second season, he was joined by former squadmates, and the final showdown edged dangerously close to absurdity—already heavily tested by Reacher’s (Alan Ritchson) over-the-top feats. Nevertheless, I personally really enjoyed the first two seasons and was eagerly awaiting new episodes.

Watching the main character beat down shady types reminded me of old VHS-era action flicks, where the hero didn’t dodge bullets and simply got the job done. It was a joy to watch. The creators took to heart the criticism that Reacher’s team diluted the plot too much, and in the third season, they put the likable giant firmly back at the center of the action. For the most part, he is the driving force behind events, and the camera focuses squarely on him. The story begins when the hero rescues a boy from a kidnapping attempt. It turns out to be the second abduction attempt, so the boy’s father, Zachary (Anthony Michael Hall), offers Reacher a job as his son’s bodyguard. Soon, it becomes clear this is only the beginning of the trouble—the entire plot is far more complex than it initially seems. To top it off, Reacher is also confronted with an unfinished matter from his military past. Season three turned out to be a mild disappointment. The main locations in the first few episodes—Zachary Beck’s sprawling estate and the nearby town—feel deserted, almost post-apocalyptic. Previously, even when the action took place in the remote backwater of Margrave, the town still had that small-town buzz—people walking around, life happening in the background.

Here, it feels like a film set for an end-of-the-world movie where everyone disappeared, leaving only Reacher and a few others behind. The writers also didn’t quite succeed in creating a convincing sense of danger. In season two, even though the characters were constantly on the move, you could feel real tension in the air. In this newest installment, while Reacher is supposedly operating “undercover” and at constant risk of being exposed, it all feels lukewarm and unconvincing. It’s also a shame that the main villain, Quinn (Brian Tee), despite being framed as particularly vile, doesn’t measure up to the antagonists from previous seasons. Fortunately, the supporting characters fare a bit better—especially returning Frances Neagley (Maria Sten) and newcomer Susan Duffy (Sonya Cassidy).

The former makes a great buddy-cop-style duo with Reacher, while the latter, a police officer, partners with him as well. There’s some chemistry between Ritchson and Cassidy, though it’s not as strong as what he had with Willa Fitzgerald in the first season. That’s it for the major downsides. Overall, despite its flaws, I still enjoyed Reacher’s third outing, and by the end—especially in the last two episodes—the series returned to its usual, high level of quality. From the start, the highlight of this season was teased to be the showdown between Reacher and the towering Paulie (played by Olivier Richters, known from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny). And here, the creators delivered. The fight is appropriately brutal, epic, and broken into multiple segments. Its conclusion is almost a textbook example of Chekhov’s Gun. Richters is at his best when he doesn’t speak and lets his massive frame do the acting (he’s even taller than Alan Ritchson, who stands over 6’3″), but he’s convincing in the physical confrontations. The final showdown and the takedown of the main antagonist are also satisfying, though the climax of the previous season, despite being over-the-top, offered more thrills.

I miss these kinds of straightforward plots with a clear-cut divide between good and evil, where the hero simply does what needs to be done—no unnecessary questions, doubts, or moral dilemmas. Reacher resembles a classic Western hero—a nameless stranger who rides into town, sets things right, and then heads off into the sunset. And that’s precisely what Lee Child’s novels and their adaptations are—Westerns, where the scattered frontier towns of the Wild West have been cosmetically replaced by modern cities and towns, and horses by cars.

Everything else—human relationships, evil, and the way it’s fought—remains unchanged. Even though I liked the third season less than the previous ones, I’m eagerly looking forward to more Reacher adventures. The creators are planning to build a universe around this character and have already announced a spin-off about Frances Neagley’s story, as well as a fourth season of the main series—Alan Ritchson recently confirmed it will be based on the thirteenth book in the series, Nothing to Lose.