The teaser for Reach season three gave audiences their first look at the title character's latest nemesis, burly bodyguard Paulie. Amazon the adaptation cast Alan Ritchson in the lead role, with the star working hard to live up to the human tank depicted in Lee Child's Reach books. Ritchson proved to be perfectly cast, but the first two seasons exposed a problem – none of the villains seemed like a credible threat to the nomadic avenger. That's about to change, with Reach season 3 adaptation Persuaderwhere Jack becomes enemies with the terrible bodyguard named Paulie.
In both stature and actions, Paulie is a total monster. He is also described as being over 7 feet tall and weighing 300 pounds, and Paulie completely towers over Reacher himself. The teaser for Reach season three focuses heavily on the upcoming showdown between Paulie and Reacherwith the series giving Ritchson's hero a genuine physical threat for the first time. If the show is true to its big fight in PersuaderIt will be the most grueling set piece in the Amazon series yet.
Paulie looks great in Reacher season 3 (could have easily gone wrong)
Reacher is in serious trouble with Season 3's Paulie
Paulie will be played by gigantic Dutch bodybuilder Olivier Richters, who is even taller and heavier than Persuader described the character. Even with the brief teaser glimpse, Paulie looks incredible. The bodyguard needs to look like he can break through a brick wall and be able to tear Reacher to pieces with his bare hands. There's a version of Season 3 that would have tried too hard and ended up making the henchman look silly, but When Reacher punches Paulie and the guy barely flinches, it seems like the first time Jack himself has looked concerned.
Child created the character Jack Reacher as a power fantasy for readers, who can think, punch and shoot their way out of any problem. This may look the same if the character never faces a real challenge – that's what made Paulie so memorable in the seventh novel. He's a force of nature, and during the final confrontation, it seems possible that Reacher will die. Bringing Paulie into live action was always going to be a difficult task (literally), but the teaser makes it seem like the producers nailed that challenge. and some more.
Is Paulie the main villain of Reacher season 3?
Paulie isn't the only threat Reacher faces this time
Promotion for Reacher season three is very focused on Paulie and the threat he poses, but ultimately he's not the villain. Reacher takes on a secret mission to get revenge on a former Army intelligence officer named Quinn.who Reacher believed dead for many years. In PersuaderQuinn is more of a shadowy threat, with Reacher's real boss being Zachary Beck (Anthony Michael Hall), who is using his carpet importing business to smuggle other, much more illegal items into the country.
Paulie will be a big talking point in Reacher season 3, but he's just one of several problems the main character has to solve.
Persuader is a unique novel, in that much of the story finds Reacher having to act as an enforcer while trying to rescue a kidnapped DEA agent. He is also never more than one step ahead of his bosses, with Paulie in particular taking an intense dislike for him. Paulie will be an important talking point for Reach Season 3, but he's just one of several problems the main character has to face throughout Season 3.
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