A strange Reacher TV show change makes more sense thanks to Season 3’s book choice

A story change that felt very strange in Richer Season 2 makes an awful lot more sense in the context of Season 3. Amazon’s Richer TV show is not, and was never designed to be, a like-for-like adaptation of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books, and most of the alterations serve the switch from page to screen. Nevertheless, one particular Season 2 deviation stood out as Jack Reacher at a child’s tea party.

RicherThe titular character and his friends can never really be considered healthy heroes, but they undeniably act as the story’s “good guys” in a broad sense. This was evident in Richer season 1, but less so during season 2’s 110 Special Investigators reunion. As the situation became increasingly desperate, Reacher’s crew gradually slipped from being friendly vigilantes to dangerous rogues, acting more violently and aggressively than the situation truly required.

From the bladder-busting hospital murder to investigating the innocent Chad, Richers heroes became very difficult to root during the investigation of season 2. The problem became even more evident in the aftermath of Richer Season 2’s ending, in which the group executes both Langston’s scientists and AM. No murder was necessary, nor did it happen in the books. Such behavior felt strange on first watch, however Richer Season 3 looks positioned to justify it.

Reacher’s brutality in Season 2 makes perfect sense for Season 3

The Blood Reacher spill creates a slippery slope

Amazon Richer TV show does not adapt Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books in order, but rather cherry picks which story to adapt as it goes along, and Convince Was selected as Season 3’s story of choice. Convince is somewhat unique in Jack Reacher canon, because it involves the great man going undercover to work for the villains, bringing them down from within.

Naturally, the undercover gig requires Reacher to use a level of force and aggression he would typically try to avoid, and acting as the enemy draws out his most violent and vengeful instincts. If, in a parallel universe, Amazon adapted Convince for Richer Season 2 Instead, the shift from season 1’s more heroic version of​​​​​​Jack Reacher to an unforgiving undercover menace would have felt incredibly jarring – an almost unrealistic progression that would inevitably hurt Alan Ritchson’s portrayal of the character.

In the context of the show’s overall arc, Richer Season 2 acts as something of a bridge between the characters’ lighter and darker selves. With his special investigator friends in danger, Reacher turns a few degrees more volatile and ruthless against Langston and AM, and the dial will now continue to turn as he seeks more revenge for fallen comrades in season 3.

Reacher’s Violence in Season 3 could be the perfect setup for Season 4

Will the more moral side of Reacher resurface in Season 4?

Reacher’s moral compass comes under scrutiny in most of his stories, but in Convince More than most. After making a few questionable decisions throughout season 2, Richer Season 3 has the opportunity to bring the ethical boundaries of its title character into sharper narrative focus. Whereas Richer glossed over the excessive acts of violence committed by its protagonists in season 2Amazon’s third season can rightly begin to explore where Reacher’s ethical line is drawn—and what happens when it’s crossed.

Reacher realizing the error of his ways and rediscovering his core values ​​at the end of season 3 would set up a major shift for season 4 — a return to the Reacher of season 1, who tolerated no nonsense but still had a heart as big as theirs. Sleeve. The more pressing question is just how Reacher will recognize that his rampage has gone too far. Maria Sten’s Neagley, who is confirmed for Richer Season 3’s cast, could potentially be the character that pulls him back from the brink, but a more appropriate candidate would be the curiously absent Roscoe.

Roscoe’s return in Richer Season 3 would be the perfect way to remind Jack of what he’s really fighting for, and open the door for a more regular Reacher and Roscoe partnership in Season 4. No other character seems to suit the giant quite like Roscoe, and her prospective return in Richer Season 3 offers by far the most convincing method of quelling a Jack Reacher that ultimately spins out of control.