Amazon Prime Video subscribers have likely already seen trailers for Reacher season three, which premiered on Feb. 20 to a flurry of fan fare. The show, which adapts tales from the “Jack Reacher” novel series penned by Lee Child, has rapidly grown to become one of Amazon’s biggest hits, with the first two seasons each garnering critical and audience acclaim. For those that have followed along from the very beginning, it may be difficult to recall exactly where the title character is on his journey at the start of the latest episodes, even with a few action-packed trailers to jog your memory. Luckily, we’ve got you covered, with a full recap and plot summary of Reacher seasons one and two, and a brief but comprehensive deep dive into what we can expect next.
As always, please be forewarned that there will be major spoilers for both seasons of Reacher ahead. We won’t reveal anything about the plot of season three, but we will get into the books a little bit, so those looking to keep the spoilers to an absolute minimum should be sure to proceed with caution. With no further preamble, let’s dive right in, and run through the full scope of Jack Reacher’s many high-octane exploits.
What Happens in Season 1 of ‘Reacher’?
The inaugural season of the series adapts the narrative of Childs’ first novel in the “Jack Reacher” franchise, titled “Killing Floor.” The story begins when Jack’s older brother, Joe Reacher, is discovered to have been murdered in a small town in Georgia. After stepping off of a Greyhound bus and walking to a nearby diner, Jack decides to investigate the murder himself, quickly surmising that the local police are compromised. Jack refuses to speak with the police, nor cooperate with their demands, and eventually finds himself locked in a cell with a local banker named Paul Hubble, who has confessed to killing Joe. Of course, Hubble isn’t the true culprit, and Jack learns that the man only confessed after he was coerced to do so by a local crime syndicate who threatened to harm his family.
While Jack and Paul are in prison fending off criminal attackers, a second murder is discovered with the same MO. The duo are released, just in time for Reacher to connect with a pair of cops that he feels he can actually trust. The officers, Captain Oscar Finlay and beat cop Roscoe Conklin, have expressed a direct interest in putting a stop to police corruption, though they’re hindered by the mayor of Margrave, Grover Teale. As Reacher continues to investigate, he learns that Teale has direct ties to a number of shady businessmen in the town, including a mysterious man named Kliner, whom Reacher suspects may be involved in the murder conspiracy. Things continue to heat up as Paul Hubble goes missing, just as police chief Ed Morrison and his wife are brutally killed. Teale urges Finlay to conduct a sham investigation and sweep the slayings under the rug, as Reacher digs deeper into his brother’s motivation for coming to Margrave in the first place.
The Corruption in Margrave Goes All the Way to the Top
After doing a bit of digging, Jack figures out that Joe was sent to the small town as part of a covert Secret Service investigation into a large-scale counterfeiting operation. He finds that Kliner is the head of the operation, and that the murders likely have to do with covering the whole thing up. Despite Margrave being such a small one-horse town, it turns out that Kliner’s operation provides counterfeit currency to criminals all over the American Southeast, and even a number of South American nations such as Venezuela. This counterfeit cash is then used to purchase illegal goods and launder real money all over the globe.
Unfortunately, the closer Reacher and company get to the truth, the more criminal conspirators begin to drop like flies. Jack fends off Venezuelan mercenaries, crooked cops and street thugs, only to learn that Kliner himself has been murdered. Likewise, Joe’s Secret Service contact Molly Beth Gordon is killed when she travels to the town to meet with Jack. Clearly, the criminals involved in this operation aren’t afraid to lay waste to high ranking businessmen, government officials and even police personnel. Though the mission feels hopeless, it becomes clear that Reacher and his crew are getting close to the truth when the mayor fires Finlay and Roscoe from the force.
Reacher Uncovers the Real Murderer
Roscoe pairs with an FBI Agent named Picard and takes the Hubble family off the grid in order to keep them safe from thugs and mercenaries. With Paul still missing, his wife confesses that he was responsible for laundering money for Kliner, and that he was framed for Joe’s murder because he was caught cooperating with the police to take Kliner down. Unfortunately, Picard is in on the scheme, and turns the family over to the true murderous mastermind, KJ. KJ, the son of Kliner, confesses to nearly all of the murders we’ve seen thus far, and explains that he was systematically taking out everyone that threatened his family’s lucrative counterfeiting operation, including his own father. After capturing Roscoe and the Hubble family, KJ threatens to kill them unless Reacher locates and turns over Paul.
Reacher does some more digging, and eventually finds Paul hiding out in a seedy motel. He also calls in his former military sergeant, Frances Neagley, who flies in to Georgia to storm KJ’s compound. Together, along with Finlay, the gang suit up and prepare to take down the crime syndicate once and for all. In a final climactic battle, Reacher douses the Kliner family warehouse with gasoline, and sets fire to the entire stash of counterfeiting equipment. As this is going on, Finlay takes out Picard, and Roscoe kills Mayor Teale. Together, the former cops get the Hubble family to safety, and unite them with Paul, as Reacher torches KJ in a brutal comeuppance. With the Kliner family crime ring out of commission, the crew are free to return to their lives. Reacher encourages Roscoe to run for mayor, and continue righting the wrongs of the town with systemic change. He visits his brother’s grave site and buries a military medal of remembrance, before throwing up a thumb and hitchhiking to his next chaotic adventure.
Where Does Reacher Go In Season 2?
Like the first season of Reacher, season two offers an adaptation of one of Lee Childs’ self-contained narratives. This season takes on the story of the eleventh book in the series, titled “Bad Luck And Trouble.” In the very beginning, we see that one of Reacher’s former brothers in arms has been tied up by a gang of nefarious thugs, and thrown out of a helicopter to his death in the Catskill Mountains. Reacher receives a secret distress code, which ultimately puts him on the trail, and assembles the remaining members of the 110th special investigations unit to assist. His hand-picked allies include Frances Neagley, as well as David O’Donnell and Karla Dixon. Unfortunately, the quartet come to realize that several of their former platoon members have died under mysterious circumstances in recent years, leaving only a handful of them left.
Their research leads the gang to investigate a Manhattan-based company called New Age, which is run by a ruthless security advisor named Shane Langston. Langston jumps the gun after learning that Reacher is hot on his tail, and sends a group of bikers to kill him, but Reacher whips out his characteristic blend of bone-breaking punches and ultimately comes out on top. Unfortunately, Jack’s string of good luck runs out when he lets his paranoia get the best of him, and assaults an undercover police officer who happens to also be investigating New Age. When the officer, Guy Russo, wakes up, he places Reacher under arrest and interrogates him about his intentions. After surmising that Reacher’s intentions align with his own, Russo explains that he’s chased down a mysterious lead known only as A.M., who is involved in a conspiracy plot with Langston somehow.
Uncovering the Government Corruption Plot
With a little help from his old pal Oscar Finlay, Reacher discovers that New Age is responsible for fulfilling a government defense contract. The contract, titled Little wing, sees the company manufacturing explosive missiles with extreme accuracy for the American military. A senator named Malcolm Lavoy has lobbied special interest groups to assure that New Age gets the contract, in exchange for a hefty kickback from the company. To make matters worse, Reacher learns that Langston has plans to siphon off a supply of hundreds of missiles and sell them to this mysterious A.M. figure, who will in turn auction them to the highest bidder. Reacher and his crew pass their findings along to the senator, who offers his own personal security detail to aid in their fight, as part of a bid to avoid a major political scandal.
Meanwhile, the team makes contact with Marlo Burns, the director of operations at New Age, who helped to program the targeting systems of the missiles. Burns initially intended to use her research for good, but had a falling out with Langston when she refused to arm terrorists for a cash kickback. Langston threatened to kill Marlo and her daughter if she didn’t play ball, so Reacher and his cohorts agree to protect them both. In order to draw Langston out into the open, the team decide to use Marlo as live bait, and set a trap at a local shipyard. Once the mercenaries arrive, Reacher and company engage in a shootout. Though they are largely successful at taking out Langston’s top men, Russo perishes in the fight after taking a bullet to save Marlo’s daughter. As he takes his final breaths, Reacher promises Russo that the’ll finish what he started, and take down New Age for good.
The Final Showdown
Having taken out most of Langston’s top men, Reacher makes the rounds and systemically takes out the remaining hitmen responsible for killing Russo. Marlo and her daughter are sent away to a safehouse in Buffalo, just before Langston manages to kidnap Dixon and O’Donnell. Reacher lies to Langston and tells him that Neagley was killed in the aftermath of their last shootout, before appearing at the New Age headquarters with his hands in the air. The security team bring Reacher inside at gunpoint, where Langston is waiting for him with Dixon and O’Donnell in tow. As Langston outlines some of the finer points of his evil plan, Neagley comes busting in, guns blazing, aided by Senator Lavoy’s security detail. After yet another heart-thumping shootout, Reacher manages to grab Langston and drag him onto his helicopter. The gang get the bird in the air, and Reacher throws the villain out of the sky, in a poetic foil to his fallen colleague’s death at the start of the season.
With nearly all loose ends tied up, Senator Lavoy makes the call for his security team to kill the remaining 110th investigators, so nobody will know about his involvement in the terrorist arms deal. Before his team can turn on our heroes, however, agents from Homeland Security storm his office and place him under arrest, thanks to a tip from Reacher himself. Reacher and his pals then track down A.M. in Colorado, and kill him firing squad style. A quick search of A.M.’s residence sees the crew recovering $65 million in cash, which was meant to be paid to New Age in return for the missile shipment. Reacher and the gang split the cash between themselves, Marlo and her daughter, and the families of their fallen brothers killed by the New Age goons over the course of the last several years. After a brief celebration, the team part ways once more, and Reacher hits the road for his next daring adventure.
What’s Next for Jack Reacher?
If you’ve seen the trailers for season three of Reacher, you can be sure that his next chaotic adventure will be the most action-packed outing thus far. We won’t get into spoiler territory here, but the sight of an even bigger muscle-bound meathead than our beloved protagonist really gives the latest trailer a whole new vibe. The first three episodes premiered on Amazon Prime Video on Feb. 20, with the rest of the episodes airing weekly until the thrilling finale on Mar. 27. If you’re a fan of the “Jack Reacher” books, you can expect to see the narrative of Lee Childs’ 2003 novel “Persuader” adapted in the new season.
In addition to the new batch of Reacher episodes, our hulking eponymous hero is expected to appear in a spinoff series titled Neagley. As you can likely imagine, the spinoff will focus primarily on Frances Neagley, as she works to uncover the truth behind a suspicious conspiracy, just like her brother in arms. For now, we don’t know much about the upcoming project, though Amazon Prime greenlit the project last fall, right around the same time they placed a season four order for Reacher. If all goes according to plan, we should be seeing a lot more of Alan Ritchson’s Jack Reacher cracking heads, cashing checks and traveling the globe in the coming years.
