Based on the popular novels of the same name by author Lee Child, Reacher can best be described as a classic American action story.  The story focuses on ex-military police officer, Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson).  An amazingly perceptive investigator, Reacher can read situations with pinpoint accuracy and tactical perception.  He is also an imposing 6 ‘5 and 250lbs.  With a nearly larger-than-life stature, Reacher needs the personality to match.  Although usually preferring to stay silent, he’s a witty and forthright character with an intriguing charisma that has captivated watchers for years.

After a series of movies starring Tom Cruise as Reacher, Amazon Prime chose to make an original streaming series starring the much more accurately sized Ritchson.

Season one of the show revolved around a string of unsolved murders in Margrave, a small town in Georgia.  Working with local police and detectives, Reacher cracked the case, becoming a local legend.   

The second season of Reacher concluded on January 18th, 2024, and it was met with predominantly positive reviews from audiences and critics alike.  The story follows a post -argrave Reacher navigating the country as a nomad.  He lives paycheck to paycheck, only visiting motels and diners for rest and food.  However, when he learns that an old military friend was murdered, he assembles a team of special investigators to discover the truth.

The plot of Reacher season two isn’t unique, but it certainly places the characters on a collision course with fast-paced action and intriguing mystery.  The introduction of new characters from Reacher’s past adds to the scale and world-building for the series while also allowing Reacher to achieve a higher level of character development through dialogue and shared experiences.

The action this season certainly does not disappoint.  The fight scenes are well choreographed and a joy to watch.  The urban environment directly contradicts season one’s rural environment, allowing for fresh combat experiences.  The hand-to-hand combat especially excels this season with even more brutal details than before.

Reacher season two interestingly implements a series of long flashbacks intertwined within each episode.  While flashbacks can often be abused to fill screen time or tamper with pacing, the retrospective memories in Reacher are welcome additions to the story.  They don’t seem to affect the show’s pacing, and they often provide slight but significant details to the future plot.

Reacher season two does unfortunately possess a flaw that holds it back from meeting its former season’s success.  While the show’s first installation remains grounded in realism and sincerity, the second appears to have taken a more extravagant approach.  In the second season, Reacher’s feats of strength reach almost superhuman levels of unbelievability.  Certain moments throughout the show also feel too coincidental to be reasonable.  The villains of this season start off as menacing and mysterious but eventually fall to clichéd tropes. All of these issues stem from a place of illogical action series tropes, so while not particularly likable, these flaws hardly affect the show’s watchability.

The story of Jack Reacher is a modern-day American western.  It has a justice-seeking lone ranger, larger than life characters, and suspenseful adventure. It’s a clear-cut classic action series.  And in an entertainment age of multiverses, inter-dimensional travel, and mythical beasts, sometimes the simpler stories can reach broader audiences.