How Reacher Season 3 Fixes Every Major Problem With Season 2

This article contains mild spoilers for "Reacher" Season 3.

"Reacher" is back with what's easily its best season yet. At first glance, the Prime Video streaming powerhouse seems to be just like any other Dad TV Show, a power fantasy about a guy shooting and punching the hell out of anyone who gets in his way. And yet, there is more to "Reacher" than meets the eye. It's a compelling show with intriguing mysteries that mixes '80s macho action with a deep soul and an interest in dismantling corruption. It's also about a very big lad who's extremely talented at smashing people with his meaty hands.

The show's first season was great, but Season 2 stumbled by adapting one of the (relatively) later Jack Reacher novels way too early. It explored a part of Reacher's history that we, as viewers, hadn't had time to really come to care about, all the while meandering and jumping from one location to the next every few minutes and taking the focus away from the titular character.

Thankfully, Season 3 is different. In a welcome change of pace after Season 2, this installment follows Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) as he goes undercover at the mansion of a rich jerk, all in the hopes of finding evidence tying a rug salesman to a target he supposedly killed years ago. /Film's own Jacob Hall has described the Jack Reacher book this season is based on as being a story that "sometimes plays more like a slasher horror movie from the POV of Jason than a traditional thriller." Not only is that a rad description, but the first three episodes of "Reacher" Season 3 alone fix practically every problem from Season 2.

The highs of Season 3 start and end with Reacher himself, who's by far the best and most interesting part of the show around him. This is a man who is literally larger than life (to the point where Ritchson once landed himself in the hospital while trying to achieve the massive physique of the character) and is quick to resort to violence, yet he's no Jack Bauer or The Punisher. Reacher is a very principled guy who (rather brutally) beats bullies, kills racists, and tolerates no hate.

After Season 2 focused too much on the people around Reacher, Season 3 takes a more back to basics approach. This time, the focus is entirely on Reacher rather than the team around him. Because he is undercover, his allies are too far away to make a difference, making the first three episodes all about Reacher being alone and having to rely on his brain (and, primarily, his brawn) to get out of tough situations. Ritchson's performance shines through this season; his charm and deadpan comedic timing make Reacher simultaneously a cheeky nerdball and the most intimidating person in the room.

The undercover aspect also gives this season a level of tension and stakes that were missing from Season 2. Reacher simply can't keep his mouth quiet and do as he is told; instead, he risks his position every five minutes by running his mouth off, insulting every single person around him, and shooting people the moment they start asking questions. Rather than play it coy, Reacher keeps pushing his crooked boss (Anthony Michael Hall's Zachary Beck) and demanding things from him.

Indeed, Season 3 is already both one of the funniest seasons of "Reacher" to date and the one with perhaps the highest stakes. Take the scene at the gym in the second episode, in which Reacher tricks Olivier Richter's gigantic villain Paulie into a Bavarian arm wrestling contest merely as an excuse to punch this mountain of a man really hard in the face. It's a bold and audacious thing for Reacher to do, given his situation, but it's also utterly hilarious.

Season 3 even gives Reacher a young kid to befriend and take care of with Richard Beck (Johnny Berchtold), transforming him into a surrogate father of sorts. This is a new dynamic and it allows Reacher to be both gentle and kind to someone amidst his brutal killing rampage. Their relationship is also quite funny, given how little effort Reacher makes to hide his initial disdain for this spoiled rich brat he's been saddled with.

To that very point, one of the big problems with Season 2 of "Reacher" was its supporting cast. Most of Reacher's old army pals kind of blended together after a while, as the season didn't spend enough time developing their personalities and simply relied on their shared history to flesh them out. Likewise, the Season 2 villains were pretty underwhelming. Ultimately, the convoluted conspiracy the baddies set in motion was more memorable than the characters themselves.

Fortunately, Season 3 doesn't have that problem. For one, Reacher's allies this time around are more interesting and actually have distinct personalities (not to mention an entertaining dynamic). Because they were already a unit before they met Reacher, the show doesn't have to spend time explaining what they stand for or who they are. Rather, we get to enjoy watching them as they slowly come to realize just who, exactly, they're dealing with here.

Then there's Season 3's big bad, a fascinating twist that makes this season different than the previous ones. That's because, in the first three episodes, we learn the man we initially thought was the season's main antagonist is really just a pawn. To be sure, Zachary Beck is a despicable rich prick like Kliner (Chris Webster) from Season 1, but it quickly becomes apparent that he does (in a way) care about his son Richard. Worse yet, while he might act all dangerous and important, he boss is a much bigger fish who's using him for his business. This also makes the elder Beck a bit of a tragic figure, even if he's still pretty much a villain. Last, but not least of all, there's Paulie, aka Bigger Reacher, an incredibly ridiculous character who's all the more amusing to watch because he takes away Reacher's biggest power — his size. 

While we're just getting started with "Reacher" Season 3, it seems the show has gotten its mojo back, judging by its first three episodes.

New episodes of "Reacher" drop Thursdays on Prime Video.