Reacher Season Three, on Prime

[Jack] Reacher looks a lot like Paul Bunyan, or his ox, Babe, but he is more of a lone wolf by temperament. He is also skeptical of bureaucrats and government officials, despite having run the Army’s special 110^th Investigative Unit. Nevertheless, he agrees to go undercover for the DEA. The circumstances involved are unusual, dicey, and embargoed. Regardless, Reacher takes on the dangerous assignment, but the bad guys will be the ones in trouble throughout the third season of creator Nick Santora’s Reacher, adapted from Lee Child’s novel Persuader, which premieres tomorrow on Prime Video.

As viewers of season one and season two know, Reacher often generates quite a high body-count, but he lives by a code. Fortunately, one of his initial duties for Zachary Beck presents no moral qualms for Reacher. He regularly serves as the bodyguard for Beck’s son Richard, who has no involvement in his father’s smuggling business. Just what Beck smuggles is not exactly clear. That is one of the reasons why DEA Agent Susan Duffy convinces Reacher to infiltrate Beck’s operation. She also hopes to rescue her informant who worked as a domestic in Beck’s fortress like mansion.

Recher also has personal reasons for agreeing. He suspects an old enemy from his past might be in business with Beck. Reportedly, his target has amnesia, so maybe he won’t remember Reacher if they even come face-to-face—or maybe he will. Obviously, this is a tough gig, especially since Beck has Paulie, a neanderthal henchman who is even bigger and stronger than Reacher.

For backup, Reacher only has Duffy, who is one of the good guys even though she is a Red Sox fan (try doing the math on that one), her soon-to-retire mentor Guillermo Villanueva (whose back, knees, and arches are on the verge of collapse), and Steven Elliott, the rookie who botched the paperwork for a warrant, landing them in the bureaucratic wilderness. Of course, Reacher’s old comrade Frances Neagley will always back-up her former commanding officer, but he wants to protect her from his suspected nemesis.

All three seasons of Reacher are rock-solid and reasonably faithful to Child’s books. In this case, Reacher’s complicated relationships with the Becks, father and son, elevate what might otherwise seem like a relatively simple infiltrate-and-bust thriller. Aside from the imposing Ritchson (who still convincingly looks the part of Reacher), Anthony Michael Hall most stands out this season for his surprisingly complex portrayal of Zachary Beck. He is not exactly what we assume, which adds considerably to the drama.

Based on his work as Paulie, Olivier Richters could credibly audition to play King Kong in the next Monsterverse film. Brian Tee (from The Wolverine) brings even more villainous vibes as Beck’s associate, Quinn. Sonya Cassidy and Roberto Montesinos have a nice friendly bickering rapport as Duffy and Villanueva, but the former’s chemistry with Ritchson is not nearly as strong as what he developed with Willa Fitzgerald in season one and Serinda Swan in season two.

Nevertheless, Recher still does what Reacher does best, early and often. In fact, the cathartic payback this time around is even more satisfying. For the first time, Reacher relies on an extended mid-season flashback sequence, but in this case, it is fully justified. Still enthusiastically recommended for fans of Child’s books and butt-kicking in general, Reacher season three starts streaming tomorrow (2/20) on Prime Video.