Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Reacher season 3's finale.ending to Reacher season 3. While their initial plan was supposed to be stealthy, Reacher's use of shotguns caused all hell to break loose, culminating in a full-blown shootout in and around Beck's mansion.

Unsurprisingly, Reacher had no issues with taking down as many of Quinn's men as he could find, with the protagonist looking extra bloodthirsty in the finale. Given Xavier Quinn is arguably Reacher's best villain - as well as his most personal - emotions seemed to get the better of the leading man throughout the season, particularly in the last episode. Not only was he as ruthless as ever, but he even went against his usually pragmatic judgment and killed a seemingly irrelevant side character, the kind of decision that proved his mission was motivated purely by revenge.

Reacher Didn't Need To Kill The Truck Driver In Season 3's Finale

Knocking Out The Truck Driver Instead Of Killing Him Was A Viable Option

While many of Reacher's kills were necessary and even warranted in season 3's finale, killing the truck driver didn't need to happen. Following the ambush, Reacher and his crew kept the truck driver alive so that they could drive through the front gate of Beck's estate without Paulie suspecting any foul play, a plan that proved successful. However, after parking the trucks, the protagonist searched for some rope to tie up the driver, but after failing to find any, he killed him instead. Although the scene was painted as humorous, it highlighted how savage Reacher was throughout season 3.

Even without any rope, Reacher could have easily knocked out the driver and hid him in the back of the truck, which would have been just as effective as shooting him.

Even without any rope, Reacher could have easily knocked out the driver and hid him in the back of the truck, which would have been just as effective as shooting him. Of course, there is always the chance he would've woken up and caused problems before the heroes completed their mission, but executing him felt like overkill. Whereas Quinn and Paulie's Reacher deaths felt unavoidable, killing the truck driver highlighted that, despite his good nature, Reacher still has some moral flaws as he showed a complete disregard for his victim's life, despite knowing nothing about his backstory.

Beck's Story Proves That Not All Of Quinn's Gang Are Willingly Involved

Despite His Questionable Past, Beck Never Wanted To Be A Part Of Quinn's Ruthless Organization

Quinn's sinister nature may make his gang seem guilty by association, but Zachary Beck's storyline proved that wasn't quite the case. Beck was no angel by any means, as he did willingly get into the gunrunning industry, but he was nowhere near as cruel as Quinn, who forcefully took over his operation. Additionally, using the logic that anyone who is involved with Quinn is worthy of death means Richard and his father's staff could also be seen as disposable, yet Reacher knows many of them are actually good people, having spent time with them while undercover.

Therefore, killing the driver makes it seem like Reacher has completely forgotten the fact that some people are forced to work for Quinn. Sure, the driver attempted to send a text warning the villain that the ambush went wrong, but he also followed Reacher's orders when his back was against the wall. As a result, it's impossible to know whether the driver was a willing participant or an unfortunate victim, but the protagonist seemed completely apathetic to his situation and Villanueva even called out Reacher's killing problems in season 3; however, these criticisms were strangely ignored in the finale.

Season 3 Weirdly Stopped Calling Out Reacher's Violence

Reacher's Allies Seemingly Enabled His More Ruthless Side In The Finale

Reacher's excessive violence felt like a quietly important theme throughout season 3, making it all the more surprising that the show stopped questioning his actions. Villanueva's concern about Reacher killing Angel and Mike felt pretty valid, and although Duffy was less interested, even she acknowledged his behavior was a little reckless. Naturally, the DEA agents got to know the protagonist better as the season went on and learned to trust his judgment, but it still feels a little weird that they stopped calling him out and essentially enabled his ruthless side in the finale.

Rather than berating him for killing the truck driver, Duffy simply responds with a mildly annoyed "Are you kidding me?" Additionally, no one seemed upset when Reacher used shotguns and compromised the plan. Instead, they improvised and went loud themselves, leading to a frantic shootout that could've ended badly. While Reacher ultimately helped save the day in the end, Beck still died as a result of the protagonist being a little kill-happy, and his excessive violence could've had bigger ramifications, proving that the main character should have faced a little more criticism from his allies in Reacher season 3's finale.