Reacher Season 4’s Premiere Is Brutal, Action-Packed, Hilarious & A Damn Good Time

Critic’s Rating: 4.3 / 5.0

4.3

Damn, it’s good to have Reacher back.

There’s something about listening to that dry wit, watching him kick ass in new and inventive ways, and surrounding himself with an unorthodox band of accomplices while he breaks all the rules to resolve an issue that is utterly delightful.

The first three episodes of Reacher Season 4 waste no time dropping us into a somewhat convoluted political mystery that’s entertaining from the opening moments, and Alan Ritchson has settled nicely into this role.

I emphasize that because Reacher Season 1 had some kinks to work out, as it took a minute to settle into itself. It’s a stark difference from what we get in Reacher Season 4, and that’s the most satisfying thing about when a series actually gets the time and space to evolve.

The new season adapts Lee Child’s 13th novel, Gone Tomorrow, and it kicks things off with a gruesome suicide of Anna on the train when Reacher is merely trying to enjoy his time in Philly.

The situation is instantly gripping.

Not only is it disturbing to see someone visibly struggling and potentially posing a risk to others, but even as Reacher works out that Anna isn’t trying to set off a bomb on the train, something else is troubling her.

It’s already easy to grasp why this is a case that Reacher can’t shake.

As a veteran, suicide is that dark boogeyman that lingers on the fringes. It’s too visceral and familiar, as it’s such a widespread epidemic amongst servicemen and women, sadly.

Watching a woman who was increasingly more desperate as he spoke to her shoot herself in the head without a second thought is the type of thing that Reacher would carry with him a bit.

It motivates him in a way that feels more grounded — in that split second, it’s perfectly clear that no matter where this case would lead him, he wouldn’t walk away or let it go.

But a sure sign of just how much the series has found its rhythm is in its ability to tackle such a dark subject matter, produce the type of gruesomeness while still juggling humor in a way that’s well executed.

Reacher’s entire stint at the police station, for example, had me laughing, particularly when he gave Docherty a hard time simply by being literal or blunt. And to Docherty’s credit, that “Sherlock no Homes” line slayed.

Even comedic beats like an oversized Reacher in the passenger seat of a stolen vehicle with Tamara, Jacob, and the cutest white kitten I’ve ever seen made me laugh out loud.

The series’ ability to strike the right balance with humor, action, and gritty drama has become one of its greatest strengths.

And the adaptation of this particular novel and plot point is another one.

On the surface, it could’ve been a bit dull introducing the idea that Anna was merely helping a sickly Lila track down her absent father, the powerful Senator Samson, and this convoluted shit show was because of something as banal as paternity.

But since it was evident early on that there had to be so much more to this scenario, it was just a matter of waiting for more of the pieces to click into place. After all, the CIA doesn’t just kidnap civilians and apply all that pressure over one senator and some paternity issues, right?

No, they want whatever the hell is on that mysterious drive that no one has gotten their hands on yet, and there are heavy hitters from all corners of the Earth, it seems, in search of the information on it.

Even knowing that there’s a drive out there with some intel, it still was such a fun revelatory moment when Reacher and the others figured out that Anna wasn’t just some lowly clerk working for the government but rather someone with Class A clearance.

The first three episodes had a lot of moving pieces going on at once, and while I’m typically not the biggest fan of the three-episode drops before we switch to weekly ones, in this case, I think it fares better for establishing the overarching mystery.

The real payoff in the conspiracy is in realizing that Anna was working at a higher level for the government and that Lila was a reporter investigating what amounts to war crimes in Indonesia.

That’s the type of content that encourages you to keep tuning in rather than falling off when the initial mystery doesn’t seem intriguing enough.

Reacher, Tamara, and Jacob running around multiple cities like chickens with their heads cut off could have easily gotten frustrating if they slow-fed us that.

Nevertheless, they make such an entertaining team. They may be a unit I’ve enjoyed most thus far, excluding Neagley and Reacher, of course.

Tamara is such a spitfire, and as far as cops willing to assist Reacher, she adapts and rolls with the punches a lot better than previous law enforcement he’s worked with.

She also does a great job of serving as a necessary bridge between Reacher and Jacob.

Jacob is so green, a cop from a small town who has never really had to do anything beyond write traffic tickets.

Now he’s thrust into the deep end of everything, grieving his dead sister, worried about his missing nephew, and trying to hold his own with the likes of a ruthless Reacher and experienced Tamara.

His desire to avenge his sister does make him a liability as he’s too emotional, but Tamara smooths him out and gets him under control a bit, and I love that.

Meanwhile, Russell is the quintessential conspiracy hacker type who is quirky and fun but has real value. He really came into his own during the third installment as we realized just how deeply he got screwed over and why he’s so determined to expose the CIA.

Everyone Reacher is working with has real drive and texture, and it’s been refreshing to have everyone stand out on their own.

It’s the other side of things with Lila where I’m not as enamored.

Perhaps it’s because thus far, she doesn’t feel as well-rounded as the other supporting characters.

Instead, she feels like a character who is going through the motions and is necessary to hit certain beats.

When we got to her and Reacher hooking up, it was so predictable and boring that I rolled my eyes. They don’t even have the type of chemistry that the series properly built up to; she’s just the gorgeous “Damsel” of the season with the plucky journalist trope tacked on.

Thus far, she feels like the obligatory notch on Reacher’s belt.

And that’s in no way a reflection on Agnez Mo, who is doing great with what she’s given, but thus far, Lila feels a bit thin in comparison to the other players.

Lila’s investigation into the US military’s war crimes against Indonesian civilians converging with Anna’s suicide keeps leading back to Senator Samson, and that is interesting.

Samson doesn’t seem to be the issue, though. If anyone has secrets and things worth hiding, it’s Samson’s wife, and I’m curious to see what larger role she may have in all of this. She spends way too much time acting as the go-between and needing to be part of everything.

It’s very evident that she’s the real power player in the family, and he’s feeling more like her puppet.

Of course, she did seem genuinely shocked by Cahill, especially when he committed suicide rather than outright tell Reacher about that operation that is at the root of all of this.

Clearly, the conspiracy from that operation extends so far beyond what everyone thinks, and whatever is on that drive is the key to everything.

What’s interesting is that we don’t have any real clue about where that drive is. Everyone is looking for it, but my guess is that it has something to do with Anna wearing a winter coat in the summer.

That has come up multiple times as they’ve been trying to make sense of what’s going on with Anna. Of course, another factor is that they’re not any closer to locating Anna’s son, Ben.

Chances are, if he doesn’t have it himself, people suspect he does, so they’re after him or have already taken him. Something tells me he may know more about what his mother was up to than Jacob did.

While I’m not as sold on the government conspiracy portion of the arc, especially as it relates to Lila and Amisha just yet, the ride so far has been a blast.

Rebellious Thoughts:

• Tamara is my absolute favorite. From her irritation over Reacher messing with Gritty to her nearly setting a car on fire, she’s just genuinely fun to watch and steals every scene she’s in.
• I’m obsessed with that sweet little kitten! So cute!
• The music this season is fabulous. I loved the entire sequence of Reacher kicking ass in a bowling alley while KC and The Sunshine Band’s Boogie Shoes played in the background.
• Reacher has a shockingly low kill count for him given it’s been three episodes. Surely, he’ll be rectifying that by the end of the season, though.
• Dragging that man down those metal stairs with his head hitting every single step had me cackling.

• Alan Ritchson’s delivery of those deadpan lines gets me every single time. Also, if ever there was a season that supports the headcanon that Jack Reacher is neurodivergent, it’s this one.
• If you’re drinking every time they mention that damn drive, please be responsible.

Over to you, Reacher Fanatics! How do you feel about the season thus far? Let’s discuss below!