Reacher Season 2 was an epic and action-packed ride, and while some fans enjoyed the gorry direction the show took, others were left wondering why the second Season felt so disconnected from Season 1’s plot. But it wasn’t completely a writing and pacing problem. The Reacher series is a TV adaptation of Lee Child’s novels about former military officer Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) as he travels across America helping those he can along the way. The first Season adapted the first Reacher novel, 1997’s Killing Floor.
One of the reasons Reacher Season 2’s TV reputation suffered and it felt so out of place is because it adapted the 13th book in the Reacher series, Bad Luck and Trouble, which follows Reacher as he works on getting revenge after members of his 110th Special Investigators Unit start turning up dead. While the writers expected some fans would be lost this season, it wasn’t supposed to be this out of place from the Reacher storyline they had created in the first season. He reunites with the remaining members of his team to find clues on what’s going on, but the story isn’t as straightforward as fans had hoped. Here are some plot holes in Reacher Season 2 that can be fixed in the upcoming Reacher Season 3, which will adapt Child’s 2003 book, Persuader.
1. The Main Cast Is Practically Invincible
Yes, the main character of this show is Jack Reacher, and it wouldn’t make sense if he died. However, for the next season, the writers shouldn’t have Reacher be invincible; it beats the point of the high stakes in such an action-filled and bloody show. While other characters are expendable, it’s very obvious that Reacher won’t die, so viewers aren’t worried about his life anyway. While the second season had the airplane scene where it felt like he might be thrown off, during the cemetery shoot-out, the shooters hardly injured any members of the team despite having a clean shot multiple times.
Langston also had an opportunity to kill Reacher and Dixon but didn’t take it. Either they were inexperienced, or there was just no chance that any of the Season’s main characters would die that day. Even after trading fists with bikers and sustaining a few cuts and bruises, the remaining members of the 110th always seem to survive. The third Season, which will adapt a book where Reacher suffers a near-fatal injury, will fix this plot armor issue they gave the main character.
2. Reacher’s Character and Lifestyle Choices
In Reacher Season 1, Ritchson’s character was the main star. But in the second season, he seems just to be there when things are happening to give his opinion. The other cast members sometimes stand around giving each other time to talk like it’s class when that isn’t how an actual conversation should be happening. A bigger question this is season is: how does Reacher survive with nothing? Even in the books, Reacher has always been a solo traveler who doesn’t want to be weighed down by anything more than the clothes on his back. If he found it hard to pay for a hotel room, how did he manage to get food during his travels around America? Having just enough cash is great, but what if he gets an emergency? But with how the second season ended, fans won’t have to listen to how broke Reacher is anymore in Season 3 now that he has the cash to help others and can freely use buses across the country.
3. Reacher Season 2 Team Dynamics
Even in the Reacher books, Reacher has always functioned better as a solo traveler, whether he is fighting off bad guys or at a diner having his meals. In Reacher Season 1, he worked closely with Roscoe and Finlay, and they made an amazing team because they let him do his thing. In the second season, Reacher is joined by members of the 110th, and while the show does a great job of making it feel like they’ve known each other for the longest time, something still feels off and strange about their dynamic. The new cast members made this season feel like a new show and not as grounded as the first season. Reacher Season 3 could fix this by bringing back Roscoe and Finlay, but that is unlikely because it’s rumored to be adapting another book despite Finlay’s small cameo in Season 2.
4. Getting a More Solid Villain
One of the main highlights of Reacher Season 1 was the mystery of finding out who the villain was, which happened in the last episodes. However, in Reacher Season 2, the villain is obvious in the first three episodes, which makes watching the rest of the show lack the excitement viewers were drawn to in the beginning. The bad guys in this season were also not as threatening as they could have been, which made the mission of the 110th much easier to accomplish.
While viewers always want the good guys to win, it shouldn’t be so easy. The problem with the villain could also be because of the setting and quick pacing. In Season 1, the pacing was much slower, which made revealing essential details about the villains more interesting as time went on. With Reacher’s life on the line in the upcoming third season, viewers might get to see a more solid villain who will be an equal threat to the big guy. Until then, here are other reasons why Reacher Season 2 fell short.
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