Warning! This article contains spoilers for Reacher season 3's episode 4.

Reacher season 2 was criticized by many viewers for not living up to the high standards set by season 1. Although season 2 was still entertaining, it had many narrative problems that remained unresolved before it ended its run.

Owing to the dip in the show's quality in season 2, many viewers could not help but wonder whether season 3 would continue the negative trend. While it may still be a little too soon to draw any conclusive judgments about Reacher season 3, it already seems to be outperforming season 2 in more ways than one. One of Reacher season 3's ing characters has also surprisingly addressed one storytelling flaw season 2 failed to address.

Villanueva Is Right About Reacher's Habit Of Killing People On Missions

Reacher Shows No Mercy Towards His Enemies

In Reacher season 3's episode 4, DEA Agent Guillermo Villanueva reaches the end of his wits with Jack Reacher and his methods when he learns he killed both Mike and Angel during his mission. He realizes that since they hired Reacher to work for them, they could face prison time for covering up his trail of blood. After Reacher leaves, and Villanueva finds himself alone with Duffy, he opens up to her about his concerns surrounding Reacher's mindless acts of violence and unforgiving nature towards his enemies.

Although Duffy, too, seems a little concerned, she tries to ignore Reacher's killings while hoping that he will eventually help them succeed with their mission. It is hard not to see where Villanueva is coming from because Jack Reacher has been a little too ruthless since season 2. He did get involved in a lot of fights in season 1 as well but showed some mercy towards the people who crossed paths with him. In seasons 2 and 3, however, he seems to care little about the potential consequences of his actions and expects the DEA agents to cover his tracks.

Reacher Season 2's Killings Were Even Worse Than Season 3's

Many Of His Season 2 Killings Were Unnecessary

Some of the killings in Reacher season 3 have made sense because the titular character is on a covert mission. Since one wrong move could land him in serious trouble, Alan Ritchson's Jack Reacher is forced to eliminate all threats before they learn the truth about what he is trying to do. While some might argue that Reacher could have avoided killing Angel, the side villain had become a major threat to Jack Reacher after he figured out his involvement with law enforcement. If Reacher had not immediately killed him, Angel would have exposed him to Zachary Beck and Xavier Quinn.

Reacher can still be forgiven for his season 3 murders because he was in a "kill or get killed situation" for most of them.

This, in turn, would have forced Reacher to either abandon the mission for good or face Beck and his men all by himself. Owing to this strong sense of justice, Reacher would never go for the former. However, choosing the latter would have led him to his own deathbed. However, while Angel's death makes sense, Mike's murder continues Reacher's trend of killing before he is sure he does not have any other options. Reacher can still be forgiven for his season 3 murders because he was in a "kill or get killed situation" for most of them.

In season 2, however, Jack Reacher went on a killing rampage without caring too much about the chaos he was leaving behind. Towards the end of the season, he and O'Donnell ruthlessly tortured one of the bad guys at a hospital before murdering him in the name of justice. Even with A.M., the Special Investigators could have easily handed him over to law enforcement. However, they chose to gang up against him and shoot him on the spot instead of asking him more about his operation.

The Special Investigators Were Too Like Reacher Himself In Season 2

They Never Questioned Reacher's Actions

Reacher worked with the former of his 110th Special Investigation Unit in season 2, which seemingly brought out his worst tendencies. Since all the Special Investigators were pretty much like him and had desensitized themselves towards killing people, they never questioned Reacher's actions. Instead, they became accomplices to his vigilantism and encouraged him to resort to extreme violence.

The Alan Ritchson character was fairly tame in season 1 because relatively more pacifist characters, like Finlay, balance his aggression and brutality. Even in Reacher season 3, Duffy and Villanueva raise their voices when they realize that the former military police officer is going a little too far with his killings. These story developments from Prime Video's Reacher prove that the main character in the series is better off working with law enforcers who hold him able instead of teaming up with the Special Investigators.