The action here is visceral, no-holds-barred, and physical. Every time Reacher gets into a fight, it is a delight to watch.

Cracking Bones and Mysteries: The Return of the Biggest, Meanest Smart Guy in Reacher Season 2

Reacher Season 2 is here, and I can’t say that I wasn’t waiting for it ever since the first season absolutely blew my mind with its action, story, performances, and especially all that Alan Ritchson had to bring to the titular character that was otherwise executed with a lot of gusto and heroism by Tom Cruise.

To play the same character after Cruise and to make it special is a great victory in itself, and that instantaneously made Reacher one of those rare series that I was eagerly anticipating.

The fact that the series is taken from different books by the creator of the character, Lee Child, ensured that the stories were always dense, riddled with different elements, and juiced up with innovative action setpieces, thrilling plot twists, and most importantly, characterized by a detailed and prolonged investigation that I have a penchant for.

So, I dived into “Reacher Season 2” immediately upon its release but was surprised to find out that only 3 episodes of this season would air on December 15th, and the rest would be released every Friday. Thus, I had to wait a long time for the story to culminate and to discuss everything that I loved or hated about the series.

Dense, thrilling, and engaging plot that makes you think:

As has always been the case with “Reacher” stories, both in films and the first season of the series, the plot is the biggest draw here. The story begins with Reacher and his team members from the Army Police getting together to solve the murder of one of their team members from the fabled 110th Unit, referred to as the Special Investigators.

Reacher led this group during his time in the Army and values each member as family. As Reacher and his team members proceed with their investigation into the death of the team member, they quickly realise that someone is trying to kill all the members of the 110th.

Why someone would want that, what was the greater game afoot, was there someone from the 110th involved in the murders, and if Reacher and his remaining team members would survive the ordeal were just some of the questions that drove the narrative of the season.

As is apparent, there was a lot to handle in the series in terms of plot points, minor subplots, and how the story unfolded. The directors and the creator of the story don’t give anything away until the last few episodes of the series, and that proves to be one of its greatest strengths.

Every episode has some new revelation about the greater plot, and the stakes for the characters in this story also drastically rise with each episode, with the final few pitting them against adversaries and situations that look set to end their lives.

The investigative portions of the series, which comprise a large chunk of this story, are done with finesse, and character, and are remarkably easy to decipher even though this is a particularly verbose series and plot-heavy series.

Superb Supporting Cast Given Enough to Do in the Series:

As was the case with the first season, the supporting cast here, primarily comprising Maria Sten, Serinda Swan, Shaun Sipos, and Robert Patrick, is consistently good in the series. They all play characters that have very striking and clearly demarked identities and purposes in the story.

They wonderfully bring those elements to the fore, adding to the overall impact, thrill, and drama of the series. The characters have key roles in the series where the progression of the series depends on their respective actions and is not bulldozed by the enormous and imposing presence of Reacher as the protagonist and his bull-headed ways of ploughing forward irrespective of what was happening around him. I absolutely loved this aspect of the series.

Maria Sten and Shaun Sipos are particularly delightful, with Shaun Sipos’s comic timing and brand of humour making me laugh on numerous occasions when I didn’t expect to in a series of this nature.

Robert Patrick, as the principal antagonist, sells his character completely and delivers everything needed for the antagonist, which I felt was the only lacking element in the first season of the series. Serinda Swan, while not as alluring as Willa Fitzgerald (Roscoe) in the first season, has her own place in the series and comes into her own in key moments delivering a solid performance.

Well-Crafted Action Sequences:

The action here is visceral, no-holds-barred, and physical. Every time Reacher gets into a fight, it is a delight to watch. The kind of physicality that Alan Ritchson brings to the action sequences catapults the action of the series to a much greater height.

He not only looks and feels like a man who would be able to do the kind of things that he is shown doing but also makes us feel every punch, every crack of the bone, and every fall to the last-minute details, ensuring that we are not only immersed in the action but also positioned to fully comprehend and quantify the amount of damage that was being done. That automatically amps up the impact of the action sequences.

The action here is a lot more laid out, and there is also some use of weaponry because of the highly-skilled, technical, and advanced nature of the threat that the team is faced with. However, I really missed a hand-to-hand combat sequence like the one that unfolds in the bathroom of the jail in the first season of the series. They are unable to replicate something of that nature here for some reason.

Alan Ritchson is the Biggest and Meanest Smart Guy You Will Ever See in a Film/Series:

The entire charisma and fun of a series called “Reacher” are derived from the performance of the man essaying the titular character. What a surprise! While that is a no-brainer, it is hard to fathom the contribution of Ritchson to the success of this series until someone closely watches the series and understands that everything inspiring, good, and laudable aspect about the series has him in some form or another associated with it.

This is the kind of series that could have easily disappeared into oblivion, but Ritchson’s performance has ensured that Reacher will forever be immortalized in American popular culture as the biggest and meanest smart guy in a film/series. People generally do not associate behemoths like him with critical thinking and problem-solving.

They work better as muscles and centres of power and destruction. Strangely enough, Ritchson is able to bring a lot of believability and realism to the portions where he is shown doing investigative and deduction work, resulting in him becoming the embodiment of everything that Lee Child wrote or imagined his beloved Jack Reacher to be.

Final Words:

“Reacher Season 2” is mighty entertaining and has everything that made the first season such a rousing success. There will be many who will question some of its over-the-top aspects and eccentricities, but that is something that one has to take in his stride. The source material provides enough content to be played around with, and this gives the mystery and the plot enough room to extend, resulting in a series that doesn’t feel undercooked or underwhelming even after spanning 8 episodes. Alan Ritchson leads from the front, and the supporting cast doesn’t disappoint in any way.

For the first time, we do get a few glimpses of how Reacher was when he was in the army, and those portions of the series, while not actually organically integrating with the rest of the story, did add something special to the existing plot. This is the kind of series that means to entertain you, and it does so with its unabashed approach to storytelling that, even if a little coloured with eccentricities, has enough to hold on to your attention and keep you intrigued. I have already watched this season twice before this review and wouldn’t mind watching it a few times more.