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.
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