Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (September 1, 2024)
Lee Child’s “Jack Reacher” series of novels debuted in 1997 with The Killing Floor, and that became the inspiration for Season One of Amazon Prime’s Reacher. Season Two of the series revolves around the plot for Child’s 2007 novel Bad Luck and Trouble.
All eight episodes appear on these two Blu-ray discs. The plot synopses come from the series’ official site.
ATM: “Reacher (Alan Ritchson) and Frances Neagley (Maria Sten) look into the murder of a member of 110th, a group of Special investigators assembled by Reacher, only to realize the whole unit may be at risk.”
Given that the franchise generally depicts Reacher as the ultimate loner, “ATM” offers an intriguing twist. It shows the “family” Jack formed with his military investigations unit, and that factor creates a nice twist – in theory, at least, as I don’t know how well this will work across eight shows.
This means much of “ATM” leans toward exposition. While we already enjoy familiarity with Reacher, we need to get to know his old unit, a potential villain and the general plot.
“ATM” handles these demands pretty well. A few moments seem clunky and cliché, but the episode nonetheless gets Season Two off to a fairly solid start.
What Happens in Atlantic City: “The investigation into Calvin Franz’s (Luke Bilyk) murder takes Reacher and the surviving members of his former Army unit to Atlantic City where the mystery deepens, danger awaits, and an old flame Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan) gets rekindled.”
While the introduction of Reacher’s unit seemed provocative in “ATM”, the theme already starts to feel a bit tedious in “Happens”. This occurs because Reacher’s former partners come across like cliché roles.
Their lack of creativity or depth threatens to harpoon S2, as I fear we’ll be burdened with them too much of the time the rest of the way. “Happens” still manages some entertainment, but I feel less confident the remainder of S2 will click.
Picture Says a Thousand Words: “After more of his friends fall victim, Reacher forges an uneasy alliance with dogged detective Guy Russo (Domenick Lombardozzi). Their only clue in the case leads the 110th to a troubling discovery.”
We find S2 stuck in neutral via “Words”. While the episode moves along the overall narrative, it still comes with the negatives I mentioned related to the prior program.
As with “City”, this doesn’t mean “Words” flops or really threatens to lose me. It does mean that I think S2 focuses too much on Reacher’s pals and not enough on Reacher himself, which creates a stumbling block.
A Night at the Symphony: “Reacher and his team head to Boston to track down a political aide with insider knowledge of a top secret military-defense contract that may be the reason behind their friends’ deaths.”
On one hand, “Night” comes heavy on stiff exposition. It also doesn’t alter my lack of real interest in Reacher’s 110th associates.
On the other hand, Serinda Swan looks amazing in her revealing dress. I’d call that a wash.
Burial: “Neagley and Dixon discover shocking information about an old friend in Denver while Reacher and David O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos) learn more about the nefarious and mysterious AM (Ferdinand Kingsley).”
With “Burial”, we get a plot that deepens, and that creates moderate intrigue. The episode nonetheless still keeps us bogged down with semi-tedious elements related to the 110th, as even the potential that one of their own went rogue lacks much punch.
New York’s Finest: “As the mystery continues to unfold, Reacher and his team set a trap to even the score.”
On one hand, “Finest” finds S2 stuck in its fairly predictable plot. Reacher’s investigation follows a less than scintillating path, and various personal developments don’t really add much.
On the other hand, Serinda Swan strips to her underwear for one scene. I’d call that a wash.
The Man Goes Through: “As the team closes in on Shane Langston (Robert Patrick), two members of the 110th face danger, compelling Reacher to devise a dangerous plan to rescue them.”
As S2 nears its completion, “Man” manages to ramp up the tension to a degree, but it also continues to lack much real creativity, as we can see most plot developments in advance. Like the prior episodes, “Man” keeps us with it, but it doesn’t really sizzle or make me all that curious to see how S2 ends.
Fly Boy: “Reacher and Neagley make a final desperate attempt to save O’Donnell and Dixon, stop AM and avenge their friends’ murder.”
S2 ends with a theoretical bang via “Fly Boy”, an episode packed with action. However, it all feels like too little, too late to redeem a less than thrilling package of shows.
Again, I don’t think S2 turns into a bad collection of programs. We get enough intrigue and violence to keep us with the overall narrative.
However, S2 simply ignores a lot of what makes the Reacher character appealing in the first place, as it spends way too much time with other roles. All of this leaves us with a moderately entertaining run that disappoints because Season One worked so much better.
