We’re back with our review of episode 2 of Amazon’s new thriller series, Reacher.
Where we Left Off
In episode 1, we met Jack Reacher. Reacher is a retired Army Major and head of the 101st special investigative unit. He's also a highly decorated military hero and former commander of an elite military police unit. These days? He spends his retired time traveling around the country, wherever a whim takes him.
One whim led him to the little town of Margrave GA, at a very inauspicious time. A murder was committed the night before his arrival and as an intimidating-looking stranger, someone identified him as a murder suspect.
Reacher is eventually cleared of the murder, but not before being drawn into the case, eventually learning that the victim is his own brother.
Bodies Start Dropping
Still reeling from learning his own brother is the first murder victim (reeling for Reacher isn’t exactly the same as a normal human being) he joins Detective Finlay and Officer Roscoe to investigate his brother’s murder. Reacher makes it clear that his intent is to discover whoever is responsible and kill them.
The team initially wants to have a chat with Paul Hubble, who inexplicably confessed to the murder, despite being obviously innocent. Reacher knows that Hubble is neck-deep in some criminal enterprise, but doesn’t know much else. Now Hubble has disappeared, either on the run or the next body to be found.
Not long after, the chief of police is found murdered in his home. And by murdered, we’re talking extremely gruesome, in a way that is exactly how Hubble described to Reacher how he was threatened if he got out of line.
It seems that the Chief did exactly that and this is how his failure was addressed by the murders. Based on evidence found by Reacher and Finlay, it is believed there are at least 3 murderers involved in each killing.
Likely Villains Start Lining Up
Even as one likely bad guy goes down (the police Chief) we meet more. Next up is the local mayor, Grover Teale, who names himself the new police chief. He orders Finlay and the rest of the department to conduct a nonsensical investigation into the former chief’s death.
Finlay reaches out to a friend from the FBI, who warned him against taking the job in Margrave. The agent's name is Picard, and takes Hubble’s wife and daughters into protective custody, while they figure out what is going on.
Reacher then sets up a meeting with the corrupt prison guard from episode 1, in hopes of convincing him to giving up whoever ordered killing Reacher and Hubble in prison.
This is Bigger Than it Seems
When Reacher arrives at the meeting with the guard (Spivey), he is met by two South American assassins. During the struggle, the state police arrive, and Reacher, the assassins, and Spivey all escape. Reacher returns to the police station, angry and now convinced things are far more complicated than they could have anticipated.
Roscoe takes him to a bar across the state line to grab a beer and unwind. We get to know a bit more about Reacher and Roscoe. We begin seeing more of Reacher’s backstory as an army kid, growing up with his big brother Joe.
Roscoe also starts to show that she is a lot more than just a potential love interest for Reacher on the show. The two end up spending the night in a motel to wait out a storm, but the show avoids any immediate romantic situation, as Reacher sleeps on the floor.
