Diksha Sundriyal
The mystery deepens in the fifth episode of Prime Video’s ‘Reacher’ Season 2 as the members of the 110th discover that the plot against them is much bigger than they’d imagined. The conflict starts to brew as the others are convinced that Tony Swan had something to do with the death of Franz and the others, but Reacher cannot accept it so easily. He knew Swan; he brought him into the 110th. He cannot digest the idea that he misjudged his character. But no matter what Reacher believes, all evidence points towards Swan being the traitor. SPOILERS AHEAD
Reacher Season 2 “Burial” Recap
Before going to DC as planned, Reacher and O’Donnell head to the latter’s house to get his wife and children out of the house to a safe place. Considering all the attacks they have survived so far, they cannot take the risk of diving deeper into danger without making sure that their loved ones don’t become collateral damage. Seeing O’Donnell at his house also makes Reacher realize how out of touch he is with the members of his unit and if he can really say he knows them anymore.
Meanwhile, Neagley and Dixon go to Denver and visit New Age Technologies, where they discover that the 650 they’d been wondering about for so long is the number of missiles that were shipped out of there only minutes before Dixon and Neagley arrived to enquire about them. When they try to catch up with the shipment, they discover that the truck has been hijacked and someone else ran away with all the missiles. But that’s not the worst of it all.
In DC, Reacher and O’Donnell visit Joe’s contacts in Homeland Security. They discover that AM has been on their watchlist for quite a while. He is so good at keeping himself in the shadows that even Homeland Security doesn’t know what he looks like or what his real name is. They use one of his aliases to address him but cannot be sure if it’s real because he has the ability to pass for a number of ethnicities, which makes it impossible to narrow down his identity.
Before they go back to New York, Reacher has a surprise meeting with Senator Malcolm Lavoy, the same congressman whose aide Reacher and Co go their hands on with Finlay’s help to find out exactly what Little Wing is. Instead of threatening Reacher to stop his investigation, Lavoy offers his help and resources on the matter, though his intentions are far from selfless. Trouble further stirs when two shooters crash Franz’s funeral in New York.
Reacher Season 2 Episode 5 Ending: What is Swan’s Role in Little Wing?
Trust is a luxury for Reacher, and he is very specific about the people he relies on. The members of 110th fell into that category, every single one of them because he picked them himself. Having spent all this time with them, solving one case after another, they’d become his family, which is why this case is so personal to him. He is looking for revenge more than justice, and he knows he’ll have it, but what bothers him is whether Swan will be at the receiving end.
By far, Swan has been AWOL, and while it cannot be confirmed whether he is dead, they cannot deny the possibility that not only is he alive but is also orchestrating all the attacks and other bad things happening to them. The proof of this comes from Denver, where Dixon and Neagley discover that he was the one who signed the manifest for the 650 missiles, which are now in the possession of AM. Swan had to be alive for this as his thumbprint couldn’t be forged, and considering everything, he must have done it without being forced to, at least not physically.
What further shakes Reacher’s faith in Swan is the discovery that one of the shooters at Franz’s funeral reveals that he was paid by someone named Swan. But then, he didn’t really see who was hiring and paying him, so there is room for doubt. Still, by far, everything that has come to the surface goes to show nothing more than the fact that Swan is somehow involved with the bad guys.
The show gives a flashback to reveal why Reacher is holding on to hope for Swan so desperately. It turns out that Reacher owes him for saving his life. In a mission they undertook years ago, Reacher and Swan were in enemy territory posing as drug dealers when their cover was blown and Reacher was directly in line for the shooter to kill him. Swan jumped in front of him and took a bullet to the chest of his boss. This showed Reacher that Swan was just as loyal as he expected him to be when he hired him for the job. This is also why he struggles to believe anything against him even now. Still, he cannot refute what is right in front of him.
In the final scene of the episode, Reacher and Neagley try to catch AM by using the shooter. Previously, Reacher found out that AM only deals in bonds when it comes to payments. Because bonds are quite a big deal, it requires him to be present there when the dealing happens. They’d hoped that whoever pays the shooter from the funeral would have some connection to AM. By getting to them, they could find AM. The shooter claimed that Swan was the one who hired him, but nothing could be confirmed until they had solid proof. Reacher wanted that, which is why he sent the shooter back.
While the shooter makes his way to the rendezvous point, Reacher and Neagley wait in the shadow, hoping to get some audio. But then, the building where the shooter was supposed to meet his employer blows up. If there was any doubt that Reacher and his friends were in dangerous territory, it was completely removed. AM and Langston, and whoever else is involved in this conspiracy, is not in the mood to leave any loose ends, and if Reacher and Co don’t get to the bottom of it quickly, more of them are bound to meet a tragic end.
