The Big Guy has been killing it during Reacher Season 3.
Hell, he’s also been easily killing baddies left, right, and center. We’re only four episodes into the season, and the body count keeps growing.
Of course, that’s part of Reacher’s charm.
Reacher Season 3 is As Gruesome As Ever
With Reacher, we expect many impressive action sequences, kickass, well-choreographed fights, and just enough brutality to make the faint of heart squeamish.
For a series with the mass appeal of Reacher, on a streamer, no doubt, one’s expectations aren’t high regarding things like sensitivity regarding how far they’re willing to go regarding violence.
Unfortunately, depending on the nature of it, television has become graphic. It’s not so much that shows go out of their way to inundate us with gruesome scenes.
The issue has always been when series inject gratuitous gruesomeness and graphics to manipulate whatever emotions the writers are trying to evoke out of the audience.
Reacher hasn’t held back this season. We’ve seen some ruthless and entertaining scenes.
Angel Doll’s death, in particular, still makes me cringe just thinking about it, not to mention how he had to hide the body.
The crunch of his legs will be in my nightmares, but again, that’s classic Reacher.
“Dominique” Finally Shows Why Quinn is a Formidable Villain
The series never spares us, which is why it was particularly impressive that they showed such restraint during Reacher Season 3 Episode 4.
The hour may be polarizing. For a season with precious few episodes, it was a bold choice to use nearly an entire episode to establish why Reacher’s quest to find Quinn is so personal.
Establishing the background as they did makes for some of the best storytelling moments of the season, even if it requires the show to slow down the momentum.
“Dominique” was an evocative episode integral to the rest of the season.
The first couple of episodes of the season tell us that we should hate Quinn and how dangerous he is, but we don’t spend enough time with the villain, played by the fantastic Brian Tee, to feel that danger.
It’s through these flashbacks that everything clicks into place, and the series opts to show us rather than continue telling us why this man is truly evil.
Kohl Effectively Wins Viewers Over in Essential, Illuminating Hour
Somehow, Reacher and Mariah Robinson succeed in making us care enough about Kohl in 40 minutes or less that her death will go down as one of the most tragic the series has produced thus far.
It adds context to why Quinn is so evil and shades in so much about our titular character and how he operates. If anyone still struggled to figure out why it’s easier and preferable for Reacher to walk through life as a lone wolf, it’s clear after seeing what happened to someone he cared for.
If there was ever up for debate why he refused Neagley‘s help on this or even why he regards her so highly in the first place, Quinn cutting a young, promising woman’s life short so brutally gives us all the answers we need.
“Dominique” cuts to the core and emotions of our hero.
Reacher Course Corrects Books By Showing Due Restraint with Kohl’s Murder
In doing so, Reacher pulls off something surprising for a series of this caliber and reputation; it shows restraint and respect.
Too often, series will rely heavily on the brutalization (typically of women) onscreen to motivate male characters but also to manipulate feelings out of the audience.
However, the graphic nature of how those scenes are often depicted tends to undermine whatever points in favor of “shock value.” In some ways, it comes across as exploitative and perverse, sparking so many conversations about how people have become desensitized to violence.
I did not anticipate a series that is notorious for its gruesome scenes to show actual care in how they depicted Kohl’s death.
Fans of the books know that her death was violent. Quinn tortured her in horrific, excessive ways. He violently stabbed her, stripped crucial articles of clothing from her, and performed a sadistic mastectomy.
It’s one of the few times in Reacher’s entire book series that he is rattled to his core. What Quinn does to Kohl is so disturbing and inhumane that it literally makes Reacher sick.
Reacher Leans Into the Art of Subtlety to Hit the Most Emotional Notes
Frankly, it’s something that sparks the aforementioned discourse about violence and trauma porn and even the specific brand of sexism that comes from doing such horrific things to female characters to further a male one’s plot and characterization.
Reacher could’ve easily leaned into this heavily, executing gruesome, graphic scenes that feel ripped from a horror movie.
However, the hour doesn’t. Some of the series’ best and most evocative cinematography show Kohl’s bare, bloodied feet in the frame as she swings from the barn’s rafters.
Her mutilated body is never in the direct frame, only off in the distance, while the camera focuses specifically on Reacher’s face. Alan Ritchson actually does some of his more nuanced work in this series during those moments.
The hour relies heavily on him to sell the sheer brutality of what he’s witnessed as he grapples with shock, rage, hurt, and guilt all at once.
They give us shots of her clothes in a heap on the floor or the blood puddle, implying how much she’s lost. And when Reacher finally garners the strength to take her down and cover her up, respecting her dignity, she’s not nude.
One of the Most Brutal, Graphic Series Sets a New Bar, Of Which Other Shows Should Aspire
From the quick glimpse we get, she’s still in her underwear, which is realistically utilitarian rather than the stereotypical fancy number most series and movies opt for in this instance as some frustrating attempt to hold the male gaze.
Instead, we’re treated to some masterclass, notable work from the episode’s director, DOP, and Ritchson, showcasing how subtlety and restraint can sometimes be more powerful and impactful than the cheap, easy alternative.
Reacher is a series that typically leans into traditional movie and show tropes — some of which are guilty of capitalizing and sensationalizing the violence and brutality.
The series even appeals to demographics that may be put off by the mere analysis of something like this.
And that’s why it’s so impressive and commendable that they didn’t resort to the baseline graphic glorification of violence and brutality against women as many similar formats before Reacher have done.
Reacher knows its audience, influence, and reach. It holds itself to account and, by doing so, sets the bar for other series to do the same.
Over to you, Reacher Fanatics.
What are your thoughts on the season so far? Did you appreciate their approach during this episode? Sound off below!
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