In Amazon Prime Video’s Jack Reacher adaptation, the show changes the languages Reacher speaks, but the shift from the books makes sense — here’s why.

Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher from Reacher season 2 with background of Jack Reacher books

SUMMARY

 In the TV series adaptation of Reacher, the titular character speaks different languages compared to the book series, which makes sense for the modern-day update.
 Season 2 of the show adapts the eleventh book in the series and delves deeper into Reacher’s military backstory while maintaining a balance between the new and the familiar.
 Reacher’s ability to speak Farsi in the show is a realistic detail that ties into his backstory serving in the War in Afghanistan. His knowledge of other languages remains a mystery.

In Amazon Prime Video’s Reacher, the show’s titular character speaks several languages, though they differ from the ones Jack Reacher speaks in Lee Child’s book series. While the change might be jarring for long-time Reacher fans, the shift makes sense for this modern-day update on the story.

By and large, the TV series adaptation has been praised for its faithfulness to Child’s source material, especially in comparison to the not-so-devoted Tom Cruise movie adaptations. In fact, there are quite a few Reacher book traits that Alan Ritchson absolutely nails.

While Reacher season 1 brought Child’s debut novel, Killing Floor, to the screen, season 2 adapts the eleventh Jack Racher novel, Bad Luck and Trouble. The sophomore outing definitely takes some more liberties with Child’s book blueprint, but it also does a great job of excavating Reacher’s military backstory.

When it comes to the details — and “details matter,” as the members of Reacher’s 110th Special Investigations Unit frequently point out — the show knows how to strike a balance between the new and the familiar. Even so, there are some details, like the languages Reacher speaks, that morph accordingly.

What Languages Reacher Speaks In The Show & Books

Alan Ritchson as Reacher pointing a gun at someone off-screen

In Lee Child’s long-running book series, Jack Reacher is a self-proclaimed hobo (not a drifter), and his wanderlust takes him all across the United States. As a kid, Reacher never stayed in one place too long, so the unsettled lifestyle feels familiar.

Interestingly, however, Jack Reacher’s childhood didn’t allow him to see much of the U.S.; his father, Stan Reacher, was a Marine. Shuffled from base to base, and country to country, a young Jack Reacher was exposed to a lot of other cultures as a kid, hence his propensity for languages.

That said, Child capitalizes on Reacher’s upbringing in the books by having him speak several different languages. Aside from English, the Jack Reacher of Child’s novels speaks French, Spanish, and German.

Amazon Prime Video’s adaptation hasn’t opened up many opportunities for Reacher to break out his skills as a conversationalist. Instead, he’s a pretty quiet observer — not unlike his on-the-page counterpart.

In addition to English, Ritchson’s Reacher has spoken Farsi. In Reacher season 2, episode 6, the titular ex-military police officer speaks Farsi with a cab driver, leaving Reacher’s potential knowledge of other languages a mystery.

Why It Makes Sense For Reacher To Understand Farsi In The Show

Alan Ritchson with his feet up on his desk as Reacher

While the protagonist of the Jack Reacher books earns points for being impressively quadrilingual, it doesn’t really add a lot to the stories at hand. In particular, the character knowing French and German doesn’t necessarily open Reacher up to new storytelling possibilities, as those languages are spoken less frequently in the U.S.

Like Spanish, Farsi is not only an increasingly common language in the States, but it also ties into Jack Reacher’s backstory. Given that Reacher is set in the present, he would’ve served during the War in Afghanistan, making his knowledge of Farsi a realistic detail.