Review: Reacher Season 2, You Do Not Mess With The Special Investigators.

Reacher, Season 2

Air Date: Friday, December 15, 2023 on Prime Video

Reviewer Rating: 4 Stars ★★★★★

“I don’t hit soft.” -Reacher

With only a toothbrush and the clothes on his back, retired military police investigator Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) continues to find solace wandering across the United States until he receives a coded message. He learns members of his former Army Unit, the 110th MP Special Investigations, are being murdered. Will Reacher be able to round up the rest of his former team and figure out who is behind the attacks before it’s too late?

Based on the 28 “Jack Reacher” books by Lee Child, season two draws inspiration from the 11th book in the series, “Bad Luck and Trouble.” Showrunner Nick Santora returns bringing some familiar faces from his 2011 drama series Breakout Kings, including Serinda Swan and Domenick Lombardozzi and perhaps others?

The writers do an excellent job reintroducing us to Reacher as he passes through another small town reminiscent of season one. That trip down memory lane is short-lived upon learning of the attacks on his old team. He quickly reunites with the surviving members, vowing the hunted are now the hunters.

With the remaining 110th reunited, the series shifts into high gear. While filmed as a series, season two is essentially an eight-hour action film cut into eight one-hour episodes, giving the audience time to catch their breath in-between.

Watching Reacher and his team creates a different viewing experience compared to season one. Sure, they both have Reacher, but to make a Marvel comparison, season one of Reacher is the Hulk on his own and season two is the Hulk plus the Avengers. Both are filled with bone-crushing action and witty one-liners but any threat to Reacher feels diminished this timebecause of his highly trained peers around him. Unlike season one, when you couldn’t be sure who to trust, someone constantly has his back in this season.

Part of what made the first season enjoyable was the fish-out-of-water element as Reacher stood out everywhere he went. He took on the local hillbillies and the small-town police forces. There was a comedic undertone that went along with the violence.

On the other hand, season two is much darker as the people going after Reacher and his team are also highly skilled. While fans will love the increase in action, there is a marked decrease in some of the humor. There are no bumbling bad cops; these antagonists came to fight.

As much as season two is about Reacher and his team, Lombardozzi, as NYPD detective Guy Russo, stands out as a force to reckon with. Lombardozzi gives an superb performance as you try to figure out which side of the line he’s on. Look for Russo to quickly become a fan favorite this season.

Initially, I was impressed by how the writers wrote Swan’s character investigator Karla Dixon. When her casting was first announced, it was all but a given that she would be this year’s love interest; however, we get an intelligent investigator who happens to be gorgeous. It isn’t until the second half where her character starts falling into those usual female tropes. I haven’t read the books so I’m unaware if that shift was bound to happen, but I enjoyed seeing the talented actress going against common assumptions and wish the writers had stuck with things.

In addition to Swan and Lombardozzi, season two cast introduces us to Shaun Sipos as 110th MP Investigator David O’Donnell; Robert Patrick lends his powerful presence as Shane Langston; and returning from season one is Reacher’s close friend Frances Neagley played by Maria Sten

While the series focuses primarily on Reacher’s size and brute strength, the writers, along with Ritchson, do a great job of peeling back the layers that make up the solitary man. There are some great nonverbal character developments as Reacher reunites with his former unit. We’ve only scratched the surface trying to understand Jack Reacher.

The lack of screen time for Patrick seems criminal. Much of his scenes are based around him getting his men together to put an end to Reacher and his team. Casting of such a talented actor seems wasted when he’s barely on screen but when he is, you understand why he was cast in the first place.

Despite the different tones, season two marks another great chapter in the Reacher saga. I hope we get many more seasons, in addition to Season 3, which was just announced.

The Highly Anticipated New Season of the Hit Series Starring Alan Ritchson Will Premiere Friday, December 15 Only On Amazon Prime.

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.