What happened at the end of Reacher season 1? What does that final scene mean and what's going
to happen in the show's forthcoming second season? Keep watching as we dive right in!
For over 20 years, readers worldwide have been enthralled by Lee Child's book series
about the exploits of larger-than-life protagonist, Jack Reacher. After 26 novels,
the character finally hit the small screen with the Amazon Prime original "Reacher."
After two feature films starring Tom Cruise,
Amazon Studios rebooted the series with Alan Ritchson in the titular role. The series also
stars Malcolm Goodwin as Detective Oscar Finlay and Willa Fitzgerald as Roscoe. The first season
runs for eight episodes and is based on the first novel of Lee Child's series, "Killing Floor."
Jack Reacher gets off a bus in Margrave, Georgia,
only to be arrested immediately for murder. Ultimately discovered not to be involved in
the murder, he decides to help with the investigation when more victims appear,
including his brother. The small town of Margrave is unwelcome to outsiders, including the Black
lead detective, Finlay, who transferred down from Boston to escape his life in New England.
Partnered with a young officer, Roscoe, the trio investigates the murders continuing to pile up,
leading them to a powerful businessman, a corrupt federal agent, and even the mayor.
Sitting on the steps of a gazebo when all is said and done,
Reacher says he will be moving on. He isn't one to stay rooted in one place.
But what did this ending mean, and what is next for Reacher?
"It's just who I am."
At the beginning of the season, Reacher was ready to leave the murders in Finlay's hands and move
on but was forced to stay. He only takes on a more active role in the investigation when he
discovers his brother is a victim. However, in the last few moments of the season,
a flashback shows Reacher and his brother, Joe, at the bedside of their dying mother.
It's revealed that when they were younger the brothers got into a fight with a bigger kid.
Joe took the fall, but their mother tells them she always knew it was Jack.
He protected a weaker boy because that was his nature. And when Reacher ended up at Margrave,
his mission started as revenge, but along the way, his nature led him to protect someone new.
The end of the season sees Reacher face the death of his last family member.
It's not just Reacher who faces up to his past throughout the season.
Roscoe also comes to terms with her legacy. During the season, she reveals that the Teale family were
rivals of her own family, the Conklins. In the final minutes of the warehouse battle,
she takes out Mayor Teale for his part in the criminal organization, and Reacher
suggests that she should run for mayor, which would return the town to its rightful place.
As we said before, Finlay isn't from Margrave, but relocated there to get away from Boston.
At the beginning of the season, Reacher mistakenly pegs the detective as a divorced man,
but later, Finlay reveals he is a widower. In his final scene with Reacher,
he informs him he is quitting police work and heads home to move on with his life.
Reacher isn't a man who likes to stick around. Much of his character and story
arc is predicated on him being in a new place and finding himself in a brand-new form of trouble.
That means that there are 25 more books they could have chosen from for Season 2. However,
two stick out as the best possible options for a follow-up season.
Since Season 1 began the Jack Reacher story on-screen with
Lee Child's first book about the detective, it isn't far-fetched to expect
Amazon to next adapt the second book in the series, "Die Trying."
On the other hand, the series introduces someone from Reacher's past that they can
build on. Frances Neagley is a PI and a former member of Reacher's Special Investigations Unit
in the Army. During one episode, after the pair is attacked, they utter a line which
is used in the summary of the 11th book in the series, "Bad Luck and Trouble."
"You do not mess with the special investigators."
Of course, this could just be coincidental. Either way, there are dozens of potential
storylines in the novels to pull from, and with Alan Ritchson at the perfect age to keep going,
Amazon could have a hit series that could go on for a decade or even longer.
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