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Creator (Platform): Nick Santora – based on the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child (Prime)
Publisher (Release): Amazon Studios (2023)
Length: 8 episodes
Genres: Adult; Action; Crime; Thriller; Espionage
❗️Disclaimers❗️:
strong blood, gore, and violence
this review contains low-level spoilers
recommendation: must watch
👍 Pros 👍
Good balance of present day shenanigans and flashbacks to support development
Alan Ritchson and Maria Sten shine as Reacher and Neagley, respectively
Action is gritty and visceral
👎 Cons 👎
Lacklustre core plot that sacrifices itself to focus on the cast
Ham-fisted romance lacks chemistry and is completely out of place
👀 Synopsis & Trailer 👀
Wandering veteran Jack Reacher receives an SOS from an old teammates when one of their friends is brutally murdered. Flying in to take a look, a new conspiracy takes shape with Reacher’s old 110th Special Investigations Unit directly in the crosshairs.
🛎️ Introduction 🛎️
Reacher returns with an even more action-packed second season adapting Lee Child’s Bad Luck and Trouble (which I haven’t managed to get to yet, I’m on book 3: Tripwire). Jumping so far ahead in the book series might initially inspire a little side eye from fans, but it’s a smart choice that continues telling the titular characters story by complimenting the first season’s focus on Jack’s childhood with the second’s glimpse into his time in the army. Alongside, viewers are treated to a twisty tale of loss, revenge, and, quite naturally, bloody conspiracy that form one extremely important question:
How in the hell is it possible that Alan Ritchson got bigger?
🧩 Plots 🧩
Sliding forward nearly 3 years since the adventures in Margrave back in season 1, Reacher’s second outing sees his vagabond lifestyle temporarily paused when a member of his old special investigations unit is found thrown from a helicopter. With the remaining members either on the case or missing, season 2 intersperses its runtime with present day conspiracies and Reacher’s past and relationships with his unit.
We can only wander for so long before the past catches up
It’s, surprisingly, just good. Season 1 is fantastic small-town mystery that builds until its slimy underbelly is revealed, but season 2, while smooth and punchy, doesn’t really build. The action is just as brutal and violently crunchy as before with some fantastic scenes getting the viewer pumped, but it lacks a crescendo that really punctuates its thrilling finale. You don’t fuck with the special investigators, and, while the show really likes to have the characters repeat that, it thankfully shows it, too.
We all need a little stress release
The creators this time are more focused on delivering visual spectacles and developing the relationships of its cast over the core plot holding it together, which sucks a little. Admittedly, it never dips, but having read the entry that season 1 is based on, that season still managed to utterly grip me with its own interpretations and faithful recreations. Season 2, while an enjoyable watch, didn’t quite reach the same heights despite arguably more complex set pieces.
‘The action is just as brutal and violently crunchy as before…’
🎭 Characters 🎭
Alan Ritchson returns to dominate as the stoic and helplessly lovable Jack Reacher. Season 1 focused on building the character’s formative years with his brother, but season 2 manages to feel even more personal as Ritchson sinks deeper into the role, showing a healthier amount of cracks in that gruff exterior to really connect with the character. Even though he prefers solitary wandering, he’s still human, and reuniting with his old teammates that have moved on with their lives, despite his physical and mental skills, cuts him deeply.
Flashbacks better detail his relationship and attitudes toward duty and how, ironically, this made his time in the army contentious, ultimately disillusioning him enough to lead to his thirst for freedom. It simultaneously tries to shove in a romance that comes to fruition in the present day but, for me, this is the weakest vein this season. After his heartful and natural connection with Roscoe in the previous season, the lack of chemistry with Dixon this season is blatant.
Forced romance…just what the season needed…
Speaking of Dixon, one member of Jack’s old unit, the show does its best to build a varied cast of characters to mixed results. Maria Sten returns from the small part she had in season one as Neagley and instantly steals the show. Layered and witty, the brother-sister relationship she shares with Reacher absolutely shines and their back and forths make the viewer question why the show even bothered with anyone else.
The rest of the team struggles. Most don’t appear in the present, with the runtime focused on a core of four. Reacher and Neagley are fire, Serinda Swan is a little wasted as her character Dixon suffers from being the one-dimensional love interest, and Shaun Sipos’s turn as David O’Donnell sits a step above her as the lothario-turned-family man that can never take a situation that seriously. There are some little nuggets of doubt surrounding whether there’s a traitor on the team, but Reacher thankfully bucks the traditional outcome.
The Core Four
In some nice continuity, I was more than happy to see Malcolm Goodwin guest star as Oscar Finlay. Not only is it a nice surprise, it keeps the show’s world alive. A semi-anthology series, Jack Reacher’s wandering nature means each season will probably have a fresh crop of characters, but letting the viewer know that their time with the show will be rewarded and old favourites can always return is appreciated.
Roscoe is mentioned but quickly glossed over, which doesn’t sit too well with me. She is such an integral character to both the first season and Reacher’s development that the disrespect soured the cold romance the writers tried really hard to cram in with Dixon.
‘…season 2 manages to feel even more personal as Ritchson sinks deeper into the role…’
🧠 Final Thoughts 🧠
Reacher’s sophomore season cements it as an action-packed jewel in Amazon’s streaming crown with pitch-perfect casting of Alan Ritchson as the titular character. Even more punchy (literally) and set on a grander stage, season 2 digs deeper into Reacher and his past, layering our stoic hero with dashes of emotion as he hunts a cabal of vicious murderers. Backed by an inconsistent cast of inconsistently developed characters, viewers are in for a fun if light ride that more than warrants a few more seasons for us to sink our teeth into.
The Phoenix Project 
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