Reacher is taking a massive risk with its season 2 direction, as it's veering away from one of the key factors which made season 1 such a success. Reacher season 1 was a major hit for Amazon Prime, a brilliant blend of compelling character study and entertaining crime drama. Essential to this was how enigmatic Jack Reacher was. As an adaptation of Lee Child's debut Reacher novel, The Killing Floor, it introduced both audiences and the residents of Margrave, Georgia, to Reacher simultaneously. Reacher's personality and past unfolded in real-time, which was one of the reasons the show was so gripping.
Reacher season 2 is jumping forward 10 novels to adapt the 11th Reacher book, Bad Luck and Trouble. Rather than having characters like Finlay and Roscoe return in Reacher season 2, presuming the adaptation is faithful, the plot will center around characters well-acquainted with Reacher's history, namely his former colleagues from the U.S. Army 110th MP Special Investigation Unit. This will provide curious audiences further insight into Reacher's past, but surrounding him with familiar faces who know him intimately might also erode Reacher's air of mystery.
Who Will Reacher Be Working With In Season 2
If the show's plot is faithful to Bad Luck and Trouble, the only secondary character returning from Reacher season 1 will be Neagley. The novel's storyline followed Reacher and Neagley reuniting with their former army buddies after one of their team , Calvin Franz, turned up dead. Given Reacher and Neagley spent much of the novel reassembling their unit, it began to feel like a (wo)men-on-a-mission story arc.
Reacher season 2 will feature a cast of allies largely different from season 1. Neagley aside, this team likely includes Karla Dixon, an MP chosen by Reacher himself because of her aptitude for mathematics, and David O'Donnell, who owned unique ceramic weapons including a knuckleduster and switchblade. There are also new characters being introduced, in the form of NYPD officers Guy Russo and Marsh, a change from the book prompted by moving the setting to the East Coast. Presuming Reacher shares a similar relationship with the police in season 2 as he does in Bad Luck and Trouble, he will maintain a strained but mutually beneficial partnership with the authorities.
Why Reacher Season 2 Can Work With Such A Huge Change
Surrounding the brooding giant with old faces in Reacher season 2 might remove some of the mystique which made him so compelling in season 1, but conversely, it will also be interesting to see him team up with similarly hyper-competent former MPs. Neagley already illustrated how captivating a personality she is in season 1, while O'Donnell and Dixon are fascinating characters in Bad Luck and Trouble. If Reacher season 2 manages to balance having a wider ensemble while keeping Reacher as its narrative epicenter, and broadens his backstory without heavy-handedly explaining away his stoicism, it can certainly be as big a success as season 1.