The first three episodes of Alan Ritchson’s Reacher Season 2 are out for viewing, and our titular protagonist, as always, can’t stop getting entangled in impossible dangers and conspiracies. The hulking hero’s journeys have been brought to Prime Video from the novels penned by Lee Child. The archetypal nature of the main character, a self-proclaimed “hobo” and ex-military police officer, underscores his penchant for (unwillingly) always falling into trouble.
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He almost acts like a magnet for such situations, and that’s the classic story arc (usually) revolving around Jack Reacher. Never asking for trouble, but always getting into it. And this is precisely what appeals to leading star Ritchson about the character and his overarching plot. In the press panel for Season 2, the 41-year-old, while highlighting the irony of the trope, suggested why this style of storyline is the perfect kind.
Alan Ritchson’s Perfect Reacher Storyline Reflects The Titular Hero’s Essence
Jack Reacher has a strong sense of justice and resilience. Combine that with his propensity for falling into trouble, and you get a hero who won’t start a fight but will be sure to finish it. That’s the world he inhabits and the norms he follows. This archetypal character attribute and the essence of the hulking, permanent wanderer appeals the most to Alan Ritchson.
During a press panel for Reacher Season 2, Slash Film questioned the leading star about his favorite Reacher book. The actor, who read about 24 Jack Reacher novels in preparation for his role, confirmed that it’s the second novel in the series, Die Trying. The 1998 storyline accentuates the two qualities intrinsic to our protagonist: his ability to lend a helping hand and his tendency to get into trouble without trying.
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The second book in Lee Child’s series sees Jack Reacher in Chicago, helping a woman struggling on crutches with her dry cleaning. The two are soon caught at gunpoint and kidnapped. Now, the hero, as always, needs to find a way out of this unforeseen scenario.
Ritchson discussed how this narrative captures the true nature of Reacher’s personality:
“Reacher just wants to be left alone. I don’t think Reacher goes into a diner in the middle of the Sierra Nevadas looking for a fight, but it finds him.”
Although the main character doesn’t want to get involved in these troubles, the concept contains an ironic undertone because it consistently conflicts with his firm belief in justice. This contradiction is constantly illustrated in the Amazon Prime Video series.
How Jack Reacher Contradicts Himself
The opening sequences of Season 2 highlight the contradiction in Reacher’s character. He doesn’t want to be involved in these problems. Nevertheless, his sense of righteousness and justice refrains him from running away or avoiding them. In the first episode of the latest installment, ATM, Reacher is in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, when he realizes he doesn’t have enough cash.
He goes to an ATM across the street and encounters a woman ahead of him who looks battered and bruised. Jack Reacher, who “wants to be left alone,” could have easily stayed out of the fray. But based on what he could deduce from a car parked on the street, he surmises that the woman is a victim of carjacking and that an armed burglar is holding his son captive.
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Thus, the main character approaches the car, punches the window, and knocks the carjacker out.
Reportedly, this sequence was not in the source material. It’s an addition found only in the series. And it is a significant one, highlighting Reacher’s contradictions as a compelling character.
Alan Ritchson stated how strange it had felt to claim to the mother later that he (as Reacher) doesn’t like getting involved. To the star, that seemed to be “the biggest lie.” Following was his statement, as per Slash Film:
“It was the weirdest thing. I felt so weird saying that after kicking the s**t out of some carjacker, that nobody really asked for his help.”
These moments, especially with Season 2’s release, bring to question Jack Reacher’s essence. How much of what transpires in his journey, throughout both installments, is a by-product of him unknowingly walking into trouble?
As best illustrated by Alan Ritchson’s statement, there are many scenes where nobody asks the hulking hero for help. However, his sense of doing the right thing always triumphs over his need to be left alone.
Therefore, Ritchson’s notion of a perfect Reacher storyline meets with certain contradictions in the overarching narrative of the TV series.
The first three episodes of Reacher Season 2 are available for streaming on Prime Video.
